The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and His Alchemical Quest

«I labored on deciphering the allegorical emblems and enigmas contained i n Valentine's first-published w o r k Ein kurtz Summarischer Tractat, better k n o w n as Die Zwölff Schlüssel or The Twelve Keys» — Principe relata el origen del proyecto: descifraba los emblemas del primer impreso de Basil Valentine

«I was fairly confident that one of these figures portrayed the volatilization of gold, a process that fit well w i t h the universal alchemical dictum "to make the fixed volatile" in order to prepare the Philosophers' Stone» — la conjetura de partida, sobre la volatilización del oro y el dictum de hacer volátil lo fijo

«One label we can attach to both is chymistry—where the archaic orthography signals that we mean the sum total of alchemical/chemical topics as understood in the seventeenth century» — la propuesta terminológica: «chymistry», con la ortografía arcaica como señal

«I do not think, however, that chymistry alone is a complete solution» — y su límite, en la misma página: Principe no da el término por suficiente

«I understand M r . Boyle communicated his process about the red earth and mercury to you as well as to me» — Newton escribe a Locke menos de un mes después de la muerte de Boyle, sobre la «red earth»

«An Historical Account of a Degradation of Gold made by an Anti-Elixir (published anonymously in 1678» — el tracto del Anti-Elixir, que Principe cuenta entre los recordatorios de la actividad alquímica de Boyle

«The first of these epitomes, four volumes published by Richard Boulton in 1699-1700, already begins to skew Boyle's works away from chymistry» — sobre el primer epítome, el de Richard Boulton

«reduces them from the original 700 pages to only about 150» — la medida de esa reducción, sobre el Sceptical Chymist y el Producibleness

«A second epitome, and one much more widely used, was produced by the chemist Peter Shaw in 1725» — el segundo epítome, de mayor circulación

«Shaw's introduction contains a passionate four-page defense of Boyle from the "imputation of credulity» — Principe señala el registro apologético de Shaw

«The most important of these is the Turba philosophorum, a text cast as a meeting of adepti to discuss the Stone» — adjudica a la Turba el lugar de precedente dialógico del Dialogue on Transmutation

«saw neer 100 of M r . Boyles high Dutch Chymicall bookes ly exposed in Moorfeilds on the railes» — Robert Hooke, el 21 de marzo de 1693, según lo transcribe Principe

«H o w many of these w o u l d fall into the category of chrysopoeia is open to some question» — y el límite que Principe pone a ese testimonio en la misma página

«a laboratory notebook of George Starkey's that records some of his labors to make the Stone and the alkahest» — entre los siete volúmenes manuscritos redescubiertos en la Royal Society en 1994

«Boyle almost always masks chrysopoetic and spagyric material w i t h a profusion of codes» — sobre el cifrado sistemático de los papeles

«It was this persistent use of codes that prevented John Locke, Daniel Coxe, and Edmund Dickinson from sorting Boyle's chymical papers after his death» — adjudica a los códigos el fracaso de los tres albaceas

«the key or keys of the Chemical terms, w i t h o u t which they could order n o t h i n g» — la queja de los albaceas al ejecutor John Warr, Jr., citada por Principe

«w o n t to melt as it were naturally . . . w i t h o u t Ebullition (almost like Ice in luke-warm w a t e r» — es BOYLE quien escribe el símil, describiendo la disolución del oro en menstruum peracutum

«Classical descriptions of the preparation of the Stone repeatedly use this very simile of dissolving "naturally like ice in w a r m water" quite specifically in order to describe the action of Philosophical Mercury on gold» — y Principe señala que el símil es fórmula canónica, no ocurrencia de Boyle

«But Boyle much more often adhered to the "Mercurialist" method» — la adscripción de Boyle según Principe

«The Mercurialist school follows the via sicca, or "dry way," maintaining that the Philosophical Mercury is a metallic solvent prepared from common mercury, "the water which does not wet the hands» — la doctrina de esa escuela, por la vía seca

«this experiment was performed i n the hands of Henry Oldenburg and L o r d Brouncker, president of the Royal Society» — los testigos del mercurio incandescente

«N e w t o n commends Boyle's secrecy, saying that he "does prudently in being reserved» — Newton a Oldenburg, carta del 26 de abril de 1676

«the fingers of many w i l l itch" to learn the preparation» — de la misma carta

«N e w t o n declares that he does not believe that there is any "great excellence" in Boyle's product» — y de la misma carta, el juicio desfavorable de Newton sobre el producto

«Miles seems to have destroyed this valuable item along w i t h another valuable part of the correspondence from Herigo mentioned below» — sobre el «Mandate» de 1678 llegado desde Caen

«the rest of the Pierre correspondence seems to have survived thanks only to Miles's ignorance of foreign languages» — el alcance de esa pérdida, acotado por Principe

«a fragment of a remarkable dialogue that may be part of Boyle's " O f the supernatural arcana pretended by some Chymists" listed in his ca. 1680 inventory of alchemical w r i t i n g s» — sobre el fragmento que Principe edita como apéndice 3

«That there is great danger of and i n mistaking an evill spirit for a good one» — de los «Arguments for the Negative» del diálogo, transcrito en el apéndice 3

«That most of the stories o w n of witches and apparitions are fictitious or unfitt to be credited» — del mismo lado negativo

«That tis not difficult for the Adepti to discriminate good spirits from evill ones» — y de los «Arguments for the affirmative», en la página siguiente del manuscrito

«I H A V E consistently used the seventeenth-century editions of all of Boyle's works, as I find them preferable to the eighteenth-century Birch editions for a number of reasons.» — Principe declara su criterio de edición: usa siempre las ediciones del siglo XVII de Boyle porque las prefiere a las dieciochescas de Birch

«Additionally, all translations and transcriptions are mine unless otherwise noted.» — y advierte que todas las traducciones y transcripciones del volumen son suyas, salvo aviso

«Robert Boyle (1627-1691) is undoubtedly one of the most influential and fascinating characters of the seventeenth century.» — el punto de partida: Boyle como uno de los personajes más influyentes del siglo XVII

«M a n y science textbooks also routinely refer to Boyle as the "Father of M o d e r n Chemistry," citing h i m as the man w h o broke once and for all from the irrational, misguided alchemy that preceded h i m .» — el rótulo escolar que la monografía se propone discutir: Boyle como padre de la química moderna que rompió con la alquimia irracional

«While it is the task of this volume to refute the double error of that last assertion, there is no denying Robert Boyle's profound impact on the development of experimental science, scientific method, and scientific culture that has earned h i m an enduring place in history.» — Principe anuncia la tarea del volumen frente a ese rótulo, sin negar el peso de Boyle en la ciencia experimental: lo llama un doble error

«Lingering prejudices against what has been seen for the past t w o centuries primarily as irrational and misguided—at worst mere charlatanry and at best pseudoscientific—still persist in some quarters.» — sobre el prejuicio de dos siglos que sigue leyendo la alquimia como irracional o como charlatanería

«Alchemy also makes a very convenient (and simplistic) foil against which to set off modern science.» — y sobre la comodidad historiográfica de usarla como contraste del que se recorta la ciencia moderna

«Further, much published literature on alchemy is simply bad—pitiful translations of primary sources, ahistorical caricatures masquerading as history, and a parade of modern esoterica and assorted fluff presented as if they were directly connected to historical alchemy.» — no exime a la literatura sobre alquimia: traducciones malas, caricaturas ahistóricas y esoterismo moderno presentados como historia

«We must acknowledge, however, that much of that previous horror was based upon a very poor notion of what alchemy was.» — el diagnóstico de Principe sobre el horror previo a la alquimia: descansaba en una noción muy pobre de qué era

«Those previous, immediately negative, views of alchemy arose not out of a view of historical alchemy as it was practiced by serious workers, but rather out of an acceptance of the obscuring layers of negative propaganda and esoteric detritus accreted around alchemy during subsequent generations.» — y adjudica esas visiones negativas a las capas de propaganda y detrito esotérico acumuladas después, no a la alquimia practicada

«The w o r k I have done on Robert Boyle since 1988 has actually been an extended digression.» — Principe cuenta el origen del proyecto: el trabajo sobre Boyle nació como digresión de otra investigación

«During the mid-1980s I was concentrating on the works of the mysterious Basil Valentine, a supposed Benedictine m o n k of Erfurt and author of a large number of very popular and influential alchemical tracts purportedly written in the fifteenth century, but first published only in 1599 and after.» — la investigación previa era sobre Basil Valentine, y ya ahí consigna el problema de atribución: monje supuesto, tratados fechados en el siglo XV pero impresos desde 1599

«A l though I had suspected that a careful study of Boyle's texts w o u l d in fact reveal significant alchemical influence and content, the sheer extent of clearly traditional alchemical material—not predominantly transcripts as in the case of N e w t o n , but considerable original material and laboratory accounts—among Boyle's manuscripts was astonishing.» — lo que dice haber encontrado en los manuscritos: material alquímico tradicional original y cuadernos de laboratorio, no principalmente transcripciones como en Newton

«This study shows, however, h o w Boyle fits into the alchemical context of the seventeenth century, and reveals new (and unexpected) sources for his thought as well as targets of his opposition.» — declara qué se propone el estudio: situar a Boyle en el contexto alquímico del siglo XVII y localizar fuentes suyas y blancos de su oposición

«Boyle may have lived on an island, but he was not himself an island.» — y lo resume en una fórmula: Boyle vivía en una isla pero no era una isla

«It w o u l d , however, be helpful to set d o w n defensible and consistent linguistic conventions so that we can talk accurately and meaningfully about alchemy/chemistry i n the seventeenth century.» — propone fijar convenciones lingüísticas defendibles para poder hablar con precisión de la alquimia y la química del siglo XVII

«One option is to do nothing; but i f we continue to use terminology without consistent and defensible ground rules, we are too liable to employ terms as they suit our historiographic needs, a Procrustean practice of truncating or stretching history to our beliefs rather than constructing our beliefs i n accord w i t h history.» — y objeta la opción de no hacer nada: sin reglas explícitas, los términos se acomodan a la necesidad historiográfica, lo que llama una práctica procrústea

«These subsets can overlap— spagyria, for instance, overlaps w i t h chrysopoeia (some workers believed the Philosophers' Stone to be a spagyric preparation of gold), as well as w i t h iatrochemistry, for most iatrochemists believed that spagyric preparations were especially potent medicines freed from poisonous qualities.» — acota que sus subconjuntos se traslapan: la espagiria con la crisopeya y con la iatroquímica

«The term chymistry is extremely convenient for describing a broad historical domain as it was contemporaneously denominated.» — defiende chymistry por conveniencia descriptiva de un dominio histórico tal como se denominaba entonces

«I w i l l often use the w o r d chrysopoeia. Chrysopoeia and the related argyropoeia are derived from the Greek chrysos (gold) or argyros (silver) plus poiein (to make), and denote specifically the transmutation of base metals into the noble ones. Thus, to speak i n the accurate and precise sense I advocate, the present study centers on Boyle's chrysopoeia—a more rigorously defined realm than "Boyle's alchemy."» — y define crisopeya y argiropeya por su etimología griega, para precisar que el estudio trata de la crisopeya de Boyle y no de su alquimia

«Spagyria (purportedly compounded from the Greek span, to draw forth or separate, and ageirein, to collect together) refers to the process of separating a substance into its Essentials— Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt, for example—purifying these ingredients, and then recombining them into a purified, exalted, regenerated body.» — define espagiria como separar una sustancia en sus esenciales, purificarlas y recombinarlas en un cuerpo exaltado

«We need not abandon altogether the words alchemy and chemistry but only use them cautiously.» — Principe no propone abandonar alchemy ni chemistry, sino usarlas con cautela

«Since chrysopoeia and spagyria are the chief pursuits of those chymists retrospectively called alchemists, I w i l l also employ the phrase traditional alchemy, or occasionally simply alchemy, to refer to these t w o pursuits; I w i l l never use chemistry to refer to seventeenth-century activities.» — y fija su regla propia: usará alquimia tradicional para crisopeya y espagiria, y nunca chemistry para actividades del siglo XVII

«The names of Principles w i l l always be capitalized, while the names of the common substances w i l l not be (e.g., mercury is quicksilver, while Mercury is an alchemical substance not necessarily equivalent to the modern chemist's mercury, the element H g ) .» — la convención tipográfica con la que separa el Principio de la sustancia común: Mercurio con mayúscula no equivale al mercurio del químico moderno

«I n the absence of any comprehensive "primer of alchemy" to which to refer, the historian of alchemy must write not only the history at hand but also the histories of related topics so that his main story makes sense and displays its real significance.» — justifica las digresiones por una carencia del campo: al no existir un manual de alquimia, el historiador tiene que escribir también las historias vecinas

«Taken to extremes, the use of chymistry alone would imply a position of radical nonpersistence of terms—that the practices and knowledge of the seventeenth century are so wholly "other" that our terminology cannot be at all mapped out upon them.» — acota su propia propuesta: usar solo chymistry implicaría una no persistencia radical de los términos, como si el siglo XVII fuera del todo otro

«Boyle had appointed three friends to sort his chymical papers—John Locke, the well-known philosopher; Edmund Dickinson, physician to Charles I I and James I I ; and Daniel Coxe, another physician and longtime friend.» — los tres amigos que Boyle designó para ordenar sus papeles químicos: Locke, Dickinson y Coxe

«Although these three soon gave up their w o r k on the project in despair (more on the reasons later), their abortive project did give rise to a remarkable exchange of letters whose contents have intrigued readers ever since.» — y el desenlace: abandonaron el proyecto con desesperación, aunque el intento dejó un intercambio de cartas

«This study contends that Robert Boyle's traditional alchemical interests were serious and persistent, constituting a significant and influential dimension of his life, thought, and works.» — la tesis del libro, enunciada: los intereses alquímicos tradicionales de Boyle fueron serios y persistentes

«A necessary corollary to this thesis is the contention that our current general understanding of Boyle predominantly as a modern—whether in terms of the origins of modern chemistry, science in general, or the scientific social dynamic—is based upon a selective and sometimes incorrect reading of his activities and works.» — y su corolario, que Principe consigna como parte de la tesis: la imagen corriente de Boyle como moderno descansa en una lectura selectiva y a veces incorrecta

«Soon after his death in 1691, Boyle's chrysopoetic interests and influences began either to fade or to be effaced.» — data el borrado: poco después de su muerte en 1691 los intereses crisopoéticos de Boyle empezaron a desvanecerse o a ser suprimidos

«I n this and similar ways, Boyle's science was made more universally and rigidly mechanical and comprehensive than Boyle had ever made it, and it became a science from which Helmontian and other alchemical notions such as seminal principles, plastic powers, and occult forces (important to Boyle) had been purged.» — y describe el efecto de ese trabajo: la ciencia de Boyle quedó más mecánica y más rígida de lo que él la hizo, purgada de nociones helmoncianas y alquímicas que le importaban

«It w o u l d , however, be incorrect to impute such misrepresentation to a desire on Boulton's part to suppress alchemical content; rather, it seems more likely that they arise out of Boulton's o w n innocence of chymistry and perhaps a goodly measure of sloppiness as well.» — Principe se abstiene de imputar mala fe a Boulton: adjudica las tergiversaciones de su epítome a ignorancia de la química y a descuido, no al deseo de suprimir lo alquímico

«Shaw's epitomization eviscerates Boyle's discursive (admittedly verbose) style that allowed h i m so wide a latitude of expression and belief.» — y su reproche al epítome de Shaw: le extirpa a Boyle el estilo discursivo que le permitía latitud de expresión y de creencia

«Shaw's epitome shows many marks of being "cleansed" of alchemical taints.» — señala en ese epítome las marcas de una limpieza de lo alquímico

«Boulton's epitome garbles the passage to meaninglessness, omitting the fact that a special Mercury is being described:» — el caso concreto: el epítome de Boulton vuelve ininteligible un pasaje al omitir que se describe un Mercurio especial

«The longest-lived portrait of Robert Boyle is that drawn by Thomas Birch in his 1744 biography.» — adjudica a la biografía de Thomas Birch de 1744 el retrato de Boyle más duradero

«Birch seemed fascinated by Boyle's transmutational pursuits. He devoted a lengthy note to a synopsis of the Anti-Elixir tract, the only Boylean w o r k to merit such consideration.» — y observa que a Birch le fascinaban las búsquedas transmutatorias: dedicó una nota larga al tracto del Anti-Elixir, único texto que mereció ese trato

«Birch's Life of Boyle of 1744, however, although many times the length of the dictionary entry, contains a very small proportion of such material, including only a brief mention of Boyle's confession of belief in the Stone to Edmund Halley, and a short notice of the Anti-Elixir tract.» — pero mide la proporción: en la Vida de 1744 el material alquímico ocupa una parte muy pequeña, apenas la confesión a Halley y una noticia del Anti-Elixir

«Likewise, the correspondence published in Birch's 1744 Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle is carefully chosen, excluding almost everything w i t h alchemical content.» — y adjudica una selección deliberada a la correspondencia que Birch publicó: excluye casi todo lo de contenido alquímico

«Some of this alchemical correspondence not only was excluded but may actually have been destroyed—some missing alchemical items are marked " N [ o ] W [ o r t h ] " or " i n a mystic strain" in the inventories made by Birch's assistant Henry Miles.» — consigna que parte de esa correspondencia no solo se excluyó sino que pudo ser destruida, y da la marca del inventario de Henry Miles

«One example is provided by the now-missing letters from one John Matson; the single surviving letter (missed because it was bundled up in a collection of recipes) contains questions regarding the Philosophers' Stone, the preparation of which Matson had underway w i t h Boyle's h e l p .» — el ejemplo que da: las cartas perdidas de John Matson, de las que sobrevivió una porque estaba mezclada con recetas

«Thus it is somewhat surprising that K . C. Schmieder's 1832 study of the history of alchemy refers to Boyle as an advocate ( Verth eidiger) of alchemy.» — el dato que le resulta sorprendente: el estudio de Schmieder de 1832 llama a Boyle defensor de la alquimia

«Schmieder states that Boyle was at first a doubter of alchemy but then "came i n fully on the side of the alchemists" when he published the Anti-Elixir tract in 1 6 7 8 .» — y la razón que Schmieder da, que Principe transcribe sin adoptarla: Boyle habría pasado del lado de los alquimistas al publicar el Anti-Elixir en 1678

«This act provoked a fulminating address to the American A n tiquarian Society by Charles O. Thompson w h o declared that "no greater act of injustice has ever been committed against the fame of a great man.» — la reacción de Charles O. Thompson ante el borrado de Boyle, citada por Principe

«While this approach undoubtedly shed light on a number of previously neglected figures and laid the foundations of the profession, it sometimes devolved into a competition to find the earliest adumbration of some modern (read "correct") notion w i t h o u t a concomitant appreciation of historical context.» — objeta a esa historiografía temprana la competencia por hallar la primera formulación de una noción moderna sin apreciar el contexto

«O f course, this positivist or " W h i g " approach resulted in a sifting of historical texts, preserving and modernizing the modern-sounding, and rejecting the archaic.» — y describe el resultado del enfoque positivista o whig: preservar y modernizar lo que suena moderno y rechazar lo arcaico

«In the case of Boyle, there were always those few well-known examples that seemed to indicate at least interest in chrysopoeia i f not outright belief; as a result, early historians of science were at pains either to explain them away or to make them seem as rational and as sensible as possible— protochemistry rather than pseudoscience.» — señala el apuro de los primeros historiadores de la ciencia con los pasajes de Boyle que indican interés crisopoético: explicarlos o hacerlos parecer protoquímica

«A paradigmatic example of this view of the history of science in general and Boyle i n particular is supplied by George Sarton, w h o saw Boyle as "one of the best prototypes of the modern man of science" and the alchemists as "fools or knaves, or more often a combination of both in various proportions.» — el ejemplo paradigmático que elige, George Sarton, con su juicio sobre Boyle y sobre los alquimistas

«But he also inexplicably confounds Boyle's menstruum peracutum not only w i t h the alkahest (the universal solvent) but w i t h the Philosophers' Stone (the universal transmuting agent) as well—sufficient testimony to the minimal understanding then available of even the most rudimentary of alchemical principles.» — y el error técnico que le adjudica a Sarton: confunde el menstruum peracutum de Boyle con el alkahest y con la piedra filosofal

«A t any rate, after this measured admission, Sarton emphasizes that Boyle had nothing whatsoever to do w i t h the "occult implications" of alchemy, and thus concludes that "Boyle was not an alchemist, although he accepted the postulate that the» — y la conclusión que Sarton saca de ahí, que Principe transcribe: Boyle no fue alquimista

«He denies any chrysopoetic content to the incalescent mercury paper and disputes the authenticity of the Anti-Elixir tract, claiming that it "reads more like a parody or m i l d satire upon alchemical treatises than a serious account of actual experimentation.» — sobre Lynn Thorndike, que niega contenido crisopoético al artículo del mercurio incandescente y disputa la autenticidad del Anti-Elixir por leerlo como parodia; Principe lo separa de Kuhn, que en la plana anterior leía esos intereses como estudios químicos

«M o r e notes the usual signs of Boyle's alchemy but points out that "one is apt to overlook what an obsession it was," and clearsightedly refers the neglect of Boyle's alchemical pursuits to the emphasis laid by biographical writers upon his "institution of modern chemistry.» — en cambio recoge de More la observación de que se pasa por alto qué obsesión fue la alquimia para Boyle

«Fisch discriminated between seventeenth-century atomists: some (like Hobbes) adopted Epicurean-style atomism, but Boyle's corpuscularian system was built upon a conception of nature that was closely linked to G o d — the scientist's actions in nature parallel those of the priest in the temple.» — y de Fisch, la distinción entre atomistas del siglo XVII: el corpuscularismo de Boyle sobre una concepción de la naturaleza ligada a Dios

«While the contributions of M o r e , Fisch, and West conflicted w i t h the predominantly positivist and " W h i g " tenor of the times, those of the most influential of Boyle's surveyors, Marie Boas H a l l , largely conformed to it.» — y sitúa a Marie Boas Hall como la más influyente de sus reseñadores, conforme al tenor positivista de la época

«Thus she was at pains to organize and rationalize Boyle's chemistry, making it as much like physics and as little like the foregoing chymistry as possible, thereby portraying Boyle as a reformer and revolutionary.» — adjudica a Boas Hall el esfuerzo por organizar la química de Boyle para que se pareciera a la física y no a la quimia previa

«Boas Hall's curious use of the w o r d mystical encapsulates her attitude toward alchemy.» — y señala el uso que ella hace de la palabra mystical como cifra de su actitud ante la alquimia

«For example, in explaining away Boyle's belief in metallic transmutation as nothing more than a logical consequence of his corpuscularian hypothesis, she remarks that "while misguided, [it] does not mean that Boyle was slipping into mystical alchemism.» — el ejemplo que cita: para ella la creencia de Boyle en la transmutación era consecuencia lógica del corpuscularismo, no una recaída

«Ironically, we w i l l see later that Boyle did in fact embrace a real mysticism closely tied to his alchemy.» — y anuncia lo que sostendrá contra eso, con su ironía a cuestas: Boyle sí abrazó un misticismo real ligado a su alquimia

«But the price exacted for this feat was the "Enlightenmentization" of Boyle—finer-grained but philosophically analogous to the eighteenth-century portrayal of Boyle—by the magnification of his modern-oriented labors and the concomitant suppression of unwelcome traces of alchemical interest and belief.» — el precio que le adjudica a esa operación: la ilustración de Boyle por magnificación de sus trabajos modernos y supresión de lo alquímico

«M c G u i r e rightly noted that the problem of overmodernization "results, primarily, from interpreting seventeenth-century developments in the light of eighteenth-century h i s t o r y .» — recoge de McGuire el diagnóstico de la sobremodernización: interpretar el siglo XVII a la luz del XVIII

«She succeeded admirably in calling attention to Boyle and arguing for his important place in the history of science, especially chemistry.» — y le reconoce a Boas Hall haber llamado la atención sobre Boyle y argumentado su lugar en la historia de la ciencia

«The n o w popular sociological approach emphasizes the social networks that earlier studies wrongly ignored, but in some of its stronger applications often ignores the fact that our historical characters believed themselves to be more than the manipulators or the manipulated of a social system.» — objeta al enfoque sociológico que ignore que los personajes históricos se creían algo más que manipuladores o manipulados de un sistema social

«Rose-Mary Sargent has rightly questioned the validity of some philosophical assumptions and the "collectivist" approach of Leviathan and the Air-Pump, whereby the opinions of Boyle's contemporaries are unproblematically transferred to Boyle, and Boyle's views similarly extended to the Royal Society.» — y recoge de Rose-Mary Sargent la objeción al método colectivista de Leviathan and the Air-Pump, que traslada sin problema las opiniones de los contemporáneos a Boyle

«Using a formidable array of sensitively interpreted archival material, Michael Hunter has revealed a complex and deeply troubled Boyle w h o little resembles the calculating, strategizing Boyle of the sociological school.» — de Michael Hunter, un Boyle complejo y atribulado que no se parece al Boyle calculador de la escuela sociológica

«Jan Wojcik has questioned the "dogmatic Boyle" presented by sociological studies, and she notes that such portrayals owe much to the long tradition of "re-creating" Boyle set forth in this chapter.» — y de Jan Wojcik, la objeción al Boyle dogmático de los estudios sociológicos

«Wojcik's observation points out that although the sociological is the most recent and apparently innovative model, it is curiously retrogressive, for it has taken "at face value the portrait of Boyle drawn by previous generations of Boyle scholars," a portrait that is far from complete.» — que Principe recoge con su punta: el modelo más reciente resulta retrógrado porque tomó al pie de la letra el retrato heredado

«It implicitly assumes, as did earlier historiography, that the origins of modern science lie in a seventeenth-century revolution w i t h the Royal Society of the Restoration at its center.» — la objeción de Principe al supuesto que comparten la historiografía vieja y la sociológica: que el origen de la ciencia moderna esté en una revolución con la Royal Society al centro

«I might add that finding sociological explanations too frequently becomes, as Karl Popper might say, like finding M a r x i s t or psychoanalytical ones: they are almost always discoverable when sought, but rarely verifiable as causes.» — y su reserva sobre las explicaciones sociológicas: casi siempre se encuentran cuando se buscan, rara vez se verifican como causas

«Beretta claims that it is "better to stop regarding alchemy as a scientific or experimental endeavor"; otherwise, we are left to conclude that alchemy was "a pathological state of mind" (331).» — recoge de Beretta la posición contraria: dejar de considerar la alquimia un empeño científico o experimental

«A close examination of the Sceptical Chymist, however, reveals that its origins and content are not so straightforward as generally presumed.» — sobre el Sceptical Chymist, anuncia que su origen y contenido no son tan directos como se presume

«Interestingly, this view of the Sceptical Chymist is by no means a solely twentieth-century phenomenon; already by the late eighteenth century the Sceptical Chymist was viewed as an attack against alchemy.» — y data la lectura antialquímica de ese libro mucho antes del siglo XX

«Siegmund Heinrich Güldenfalk, in his 1784 defense of transmutation, equates Boyle's title w i t h antialchemical sentiments, remarking sarcastically that "those 'Sceptical Chymists' w i l l have to wait a good long while" before any Adept Philosopher w i l l deign to visit them w i t h the powder of transmutation.» — el ejemplo que da: Güldenfalk, en 1784, equipara el título de Boyle con el sentimiento antialquímico

«The Sceptical Chymist is Boyle's most cited w o r k in histories of chemistry dating from the first half of this century.» — mide su lugar: es la obra de Boyle más citada en las historias de la química de la primera mitad del siglo XX

«I suspect historians of chemistry have enshrined the Sceptical Chymist less owing to its content than to their o w n anxiety to locate a Principia or De revolutionibus of chemistry.» — y propone una razón para ese lugar, dicha como sospecha: la ansiedad de los historiadores por localizar un Principia de la química

«The Sceptical Chymist is a very difficult text, perhaps the most difficult of all Boyle's works in terms of readability and coherence.» — califica el texto como el más difícil de Boyle en legibilidad y coherencia

«It displays an ample measure of Boyle's notorious prolixity and digressive style, and fully indulges his penchant for equivocation.» — con su prolijidad, su estilo digresivo y su gusto por la equivocación

«The reader is then presented w i t h a second full title page that surprisingly intervenes after page 34, and when the following "First Part" begins, Themistius and Philoponus have vanished, and we hear no more of them for almost t w o hundred pages until (in the "fourth part") Carneades utters the words " i f Themistius were here . . . " but w i t h out offering an explanation of where he has gone.» — describe la incoherencia material del libro: una segunda portada después de la página 34, y personajes que desaparecen doscientas páginas

«Boyle himself remarks in the preface that the book is " m a i m ' d and imperfect," and is an agglomeration of several dialogues involving the same speakers.» — Principe cita a Boyle sobre su propio libro: lo declara mutilado e imperfecto, aglomeración de varios diálogos

«The narrator, who acts as the recording secretary for the discussion, is referred to as if he were Boyle on several occasions (135, 253, 303, 339, 386), but elsewhere "Mr. Boyle" is referred to as an absent third party (78 and 252), and of course, Carneades' experiments are Boyle's own.» — y describe la ambigüedad del narrador, tratado unas veces como Boyle y otras como tercero ausente

«Nowhere i n Boyle's texts have I found alchemy and chemistry paired as i f they referred to separate things.» — el resultado de su búsqueda en el corpus de Boyle: en ningún lugar aparecen alchemy y chemistry emparejadas como cosas distintas

«It has been suggested that chymistry refers to more technological or medicinal subjects, while alchemy is retained for matters relating to the Philosophers' Stone and such like, but I cannot find such a division using» — consigna la propuesta ajena de que chymistry cubriría lo técnico y medicinal y alchemy la piedra, y declara que no encuentra esa división

«Boyle writes, for example, of the enigmatic books of the chymists and of the "supernaturall arcana of the chymists," clearly in reference to what we w o u l d n o w call alchemy, certainly not chemistry.» — el dato que aduce: Boyle habla de los libros enigmáticos de los chymists y de sus arcana sobrenaturales, en referencia a lo que hoy llamaríamos alquimia

«I n sum, we cannot view the terminology embedded i n the title as a sign of "modernity" or as distancing Boyle from the alchemical tradition; indeed, it leaves open the possibility that it actually allies h i m to that tradition more than a title such as the Sceptical Natural Philosopher w o u l d have done.» — y saca de ahí su conclusión sobre el título del libro: no puede leerse como signo de modernidad ni como distancia de la tradición alquímica

«Boyle writes, "believe me when I declare that I distinguish betwixt those Chymists that are either Cheats, or but Laborants, and the true Adepti."» — la distinción que sí hace Boyle, en sus propias palabras, entre tramposos, laborantes y verdaderos adeptos

«I make a great difference between the avow'd Cultivators of that A r t , " writes Boyle, "and look not w i t h the same eyes on the opinions or performances of vulgar Chymists, and Chymical Philosophers.» — y la misma diferencia entre cultivadores del arte, con los quimistas vulgares de un lado y los filósofos químicos del otro

«These "higher order" chymists w h o live "conceaPd in the w o r l d " and who can transmute the metals, are clearly traditional alchemists or, more properly speaking, chrysopoeians.» — Principe adjudica a esos quimistas de orden superior la identidad de alquimistas tradicionales, o mejor dicho de crisopeyos

«Boyle notes that if these "adept Philosophers" were to show some of their arcana—particularly analyzing menstrua such as the alkahest—they might be able to "induce me, and perhaps the Chymists too, to entertaine other thoughts about the constitution of compounded bodies (as they are w o n t to be call'd) than either I or they n o w have.» — y cita a Boyle diciendo que si los filósofos adeptos mostraran sus arcana podrían moverlo a otras ideas sobre la constitución de los cuerpos

«Thus, perhaps surprisingly to many, Boyle does not direct the Sceptical Chymist against "alchemical adepts" but rather calls them to be his teachers.» — de donde saca su lectura: el Sceptical Chymist no va dirigido contra los adeptos alquímicos, a quienes Boyle llama a ser sus maestros

«Boyle is somewhat agnostic about the real existence of these secretive adepti, but by 1680 he was sure of» — aunque acota el estado de la creencia: Boyle es algo agnóstico sobre la existencia real de esos adeptos secretos

«It has long been recognized that one of the "problems" of chymistry before the eighteenth century was its status as a practical or technical art rather than as a branch of natural philosophy.» — el problema de estatus que Principe pone de fondo: la quimia era arte práctico o técnico antes que rama de la filosofía natural

«One of Boyle's chief contributions to chemistry is in fact his attempt to elevate its status by insisting upon its usefulness to natural philosophy.» — y adjudica a Boyle como contribución principal el intento de elevar ese estatus insistiendo en su utilidad para la filosofía natural

«I n the Sceptical Chymist then, one of Boyle's arguments is that the manual practices, poorly constructed notions, and unproven assertions of practical chymists debilitate chymistry in the eyes of natural philosophers.» — de ahí lee uno de los argumentos del Sceptical Chymist: las prácticas manuales y las afirmaciones no probadas de los quimistas prácticos debilitan la quimia ante los filósofos naturales

«Although there is some diversity in format and selection of topics in these textbooks, they share a common emphasis on practical pharmaceutical preparations and reliance upon Paracelsian principles.» — describe los manuales de quimia por lo que comparten: preparaciones farmacéuticas y principios paracelsianos

«Indeed, all these textbooks define chymistry primarily in terms of making medicines, and some explicitly restrict the scope of chymistry to pharmacy alone.» — y los define por su alcance: definen la quimia sobre todo como fabricación de medicinas, y algunos la restringen a la farmacia

«In the following section I shall endeavor to show conclusively, by a consideration of the content of Boyle's arguments, that the Sceptical Chymist is directed against the theories, practices, and beliefs of the laborants, apothecaries, textbook writers, and Paracelsian systematizers, and not against the proponents and adepti of chrysopoetic alchemy.» — anuncia contra quién dirige su lectura del libro: laborantes, boticarios, autores de manuales y sistematizadores paracelsianos, no los adeptos crisopeyos

«The first proposition of the Sceptical Chymist is a denial of the opinion that fire is a universal and sufficient analyzer capable of dividing all bodies into their constituent ingredients.» — la primera proposición del libro, según Principe: negar que el fuego sea analizador universal y suficiente

«W h e n Boyle assails this belief, he turns for support to the Flemish Jan Baptista van Helmont, whose alkahest was reputed to be the universal analyzer of bodies, decomposing even coals, stones, and metals that common fire cannot alter into simple constituent bodies.» — y señala a quién acude Boyle para sostenerlo: a van Helmont, cuyo alkahest tenía fama de analizador universal

«The notion of the alkahest as a universal resolving agent was developed by van Helmont, who equated the alkahest with Paracelsus's sal circulatum, mentioned in his De renovañone et restoratione, which could reduce bodies to their primal substance.» — traza la genealogía del alkahest, que van Helmont equipara al sal circulatum de Paracelso

«Van Helmont also terms the alkahest ignis Gehennae, alluding to its property of dividing and purging all substances like hellfire.» — y recoge el otro nombre que van Helmont le da, ignis Gehennae, por dividir y purgar como fuego infernal

«Boyle's refutation of the universality and elementary nature of these substances has generally been viewed as a direct attack on the foundations of traditional alchemy, and the Sceptical Chymist has been celebrated for "disposing o f " this theory.» — consigna la lectura corriente de la refutación de esos principios como ataque a los fundamentos de la alquimia tradicional

«The chief difficulty w i t h this facile conclusion, however, is that it assumes that alchemy was universally built upon the doctrine of the tria prima.» — y le objeta su supuesto: que la alquimia se construyera universalmente sobre la doctrina de la tria prima

«The chymical doctrine Boyle assails is that all bodies are composed of a finite number of elemental substances—either three (Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt) in the usual formulation of the tria prima, or five (Mercury, Sulphur, Salt, Phlegm, and Earth) in an expanded seventeenth-century variant.» — precisa qué doctrina ataca Boyle: que todos los cuerpos se compongan de tres principios, o de cinco en la variante ampliada del siglo XVII

«These conceptions date back ultimately to Aristotle's attribution of the origin of minerals to t w o exhalations that arise from the center of the earth owing to the heat of the sun.» — y remonta esas concepciones a Aristóteles y sus dos exhalaciones que originan los minerales

«It is important to note that although there is a temporal progression here—the dyad dating from the M i d d l e Ages, the triad from the sixteenth century, and the pentad from the early seventeenth—the advancement of one system did not automatically displace its predecessor.» — advierte que la progresión temporal de díada, tríada y péntada no fue desplazamiento: el avance de un sistema no anuló a su predecesor

«were literally considered to be the constituents of metals, the terms Mercury and Sulphur could be extended analogically and attached to a vast number of other substances that bore some similitude to the metallic principles or their mutual activity.» — explica el mecanismo analógico: Mercurio y Azufre se extienden a un sinnúmero de sustancias que guardan alguna semejanza con los principios metálicos

«Thus they function also as Decknamen for any pair of substances (particularly those used in the preparation of the Stone) that can relate to one another in the way the subterranean Mercury and Sulphur do in the formation of metals—for example, in an active-passive, masculinefeminine, or coagulant-coagulated fashion.» — y por eso funcionan como Decknamen de cualquier par que se relacione como activo y pasivo, masculino y femenino, coagulante y coagulado

«This simple reaction seems to me to be a major foundation for the analogical properties of the alchemical principles Mercury and Sulphur—Sulphur as the coagulant of Mercury.» — propone como fundamento de esa analogía una reacción concreta, con la marca de que es su lectura: el Azufre como coagulante del Mercurio

«According to traditional belief, male semen coagulates female menstrual blood into a fetus; thus in this pair, semen is Sulphur (as well as male and active), while menstrual blood is Mercury (as well as female and passive).» — el otro par tradicional, semen y sangre menstrual, con el semen como Azufre y la sangre como Mercurio

«I n the Paracelsian triad the largely analogical, relative, and fluid categories of the Mercury and Sulphur of the dyad are made more rigid so that the tria prima become universal, constant, primary, elemental bodies.» — y el cambio que introduce la tríada paracelsiana: las categorías fluidas y relativas de la díada se vuelven cuerpos elementales universales y constantes

«Quercetanus, one of the most important early expositors of the Paracelsian tria prima, insists in his 1603 Liber de priscorum philosophorum verae medicinae materia that Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt are present in all bodies, and that the scope of chymical philosophy includes not only m i n erals and metals but also plants and animals, weather, and even celestial bodies.» — cita a Quercetanus, de los primeros expositores de la tria prima, extendiéndola a plantas, animales, clima y cuerpos celestes

«The vulgar chymists, to whom the grand arcanum was as little known as the true principles of mixed bodies, misled by the equivocation of the name of principle, took the Salt, Mercury, and Sulphur for general principles.» — recoge de DuClos la explicación del deslizamiento: los quimistas vulgares, engañados por el equívoco del nombre principio, tomaron Sal, Mercurio y Azufre por principios generales

«Historians might question the specific details of DuClos's history of the principles, but his division of usage clearly illustrates his recognition of the expansion of the principles by later chymical schools.» — y acota su propio uso de ese testimonio: se puede cuestionar el detalle histórico de DuClos y aun así sirve para ilustrar la expansión de los principios

«Further, since Paracelsus de-emphasized chrysopoeia i n favor of chymical medicine, Paracelsians devoted more of their effort to medical preparations than to chrysopoeia.» — Principe adjudica a Paracelso el haber desenfatizado la crisopeya en favor de la medicina química

«The textbook tradition, which is an expression of specifically iatrochemical interests, embraces without exception the triad or pentad as the true principles separable by fire from all bodies.» — y describe la tradición de manuales como adopción sin excepción de la tríada o la péntada

«It is crucial to understand that the realm of alchemy is not coterminous with that of Paracelsus and his followers.» — el punto que le importa fijar: el ámbito de la alquimia no coincide con el de Paracelso y sus seguidores

«Paracelsus was by no means the chief of the alchemists but rather was as iconoclastic in regard to alchemy—especially chrysopoeia—as he was i n regard to medicine or r e l i g i o n .» — y va más lejos: Paracelso fue tan iconoclasta respecto de la alquimia, y sobre todo de la crisopeya, como respecto de la medicina o la religión

«Accordingly, some seekers after transmutation were anti-Paracelsian or simply non-Paracelsian, and their works show little or no interest in chemiatria.» — de ahí que algunos buscadores de la transmutación fueran antiparacelsianos o simplemente no paracelsianos

«One example is the aforementioned Gaston D u C l o w h o , even though writing his defense of chrysopoeia in the midst of the vigorous Paracelsian revival in France, never once in all his writings makes reference to Paracelsus or a single Paracelsian notion, including the tria prima.» — el ejemplo que aduce, DuClos, que en toda su obra no menciona ni una vez a Paracelso ni la tria prima

«back to medieval and Renaissance authorities like Geber, the pseudo-Lull, and George Ripley w h o wrote before the conception of the tria prima, these later chrysopoeians often found the dyad to be sufficient, and its analogical nature suited to the writing of their allegorical, secretive works.» — y la razón que da: esos crisopeyos tardíos remontan a Geber, al pseudo Lulio y a Ripley, anteriores a la tria prima, y la díada les basta

«Even the otherwise thoroughly Paracelsian textbook writer Jean Beguin seems to contradict himself in this area: for in his Tyrocinium he first claims that the tria prima constitute all bodies, but later when describing the composition of metals, he invokes only the t w o principles of the old dyad—Mercury and Sulphur.» — señala la contradicción de Beguin, que sostiene la tria prima y luego invoca solo la díada al describir los metales

«I n spite of these distinctions, one must be careful not to err in the opposite direction by thinking of chrysopoeians and Paracelsian iatrochemists as wholly disjoined groups; in the seventeenth century there are quite a few notable overlaps—for example, the popular "Basilius Valentinus"—who adopted Paracelsian notions including the tria prima and sought both the Stone and chymical medicines.» — y acota su propia distinción para no caer en el error opuesto: hubo traslapes notables, como el corpus de Basilio Valentín

«It might plausibly be objected that Boyle opposes the less comprehensive dyad implicitly along w i t h the broader Paracelsian tria prima and pentad, but his comments concerning the mineral realm imply that he did not.» — objeta la lectura de que Boyle se oponga también a la díada: sus comentarios sobre el reino mineral implican que no

«But for the Salt of Gold, I never could either see it, or be satisfied that there was ever such a thing separated, in rerum natura, by the relation of any credible eye witnesse.» — el texto de Boyle que lo sostiene: nunca pudo ver la Sal del oro ni quedar satisfecho de que se separara

«Here Boyle allows that substances denominable as Mercury and Sulphur can i n fact be isolated from gold (he himself had prepared the Sulphur of gold and been shown its Mercury), thus acquiescing in the claims of non-Paracelsian chrysopoeians but at the same time denying the claims of the Paracelsians' tria prima by refusing to admit the Salt p r i n c i p l e .» — de donde Principe lee la posición de Boyle: concede Mercurio y Azufre a los crisopeyos no paracelsianos y niega la Sal a los paracelsianos

«Here again Boyle explicitly allows for the dyad in the mineral realm (but not in the vegetable or animal, and no Salt anywhere), while maintaining that the Mercury and Sulphur are not elemental: "there may sometimes either a running Mercury, or a Combustible Substance be obtain'd from a Mineral, or even a Metal; yet I need not Concede either of them to be an Element.» — cita a Boyle concediendo la díada en el reino mineral y negando que Mercurio o Azufre sean elementos

«Boyle states that if the tria prima were presented but as a Notion useful among Others, to increase Humane knowledge, they had deserv'd more of our thanks; and less of our Opposition; but . . . the Thing that they pretend is not so much to contribute a Notion toward the Improvement of Philosophy, as to make this Notion (attended by a few lesse considerable ones) pass for a New Philosophy it self.» — y el pasaje donde Boyle distingue: la tria prima como noción útil habría merecido gracias, pero se la pretende hacer pasar por una filosofía nueva

«Boyle singles out Quercetanus, "the grand stickler for the Tria Prima" by name for criticism on this score.» — señala a quién nombra Boyle en ese reproche, Quercetanus, el gran defensor de la tria prima

«Boyle goes on to assert that even these metalline Mercuries differ from one another, and as evidence he cites D u C l o regarding the properties of the Mercury of silver and the Mercury of tin, as well as the "Experienc'd Alexander van Suchten" regarding the Mercury of copper.» — y a quién cita en cambio como autoridad: a DuClos sobre los Mercurios de la plata y del estaño, y a van Suchten sobre el del cobre

«Boyle first reiterates his dissatisfaction specifically w i t h the extension of the principles: " W h a t they can mean, w i t h congruity to their o w n Principles, by the Mercury of A n i mals and Vegetables, ' t w i l l not be so easie to find o u t . "» — la objeción de Boyle a la extensión de los principios, en su letra: qué pueden querer decir con el Mercurio de animales y vegetales

«Boyle's criticism of such pretentious "chymical philosophies" accords well w i t h his general distaste for broad philosophical systems.» — Principe conecta esa crítica con el disgusto general de Boyle por los sistemas filosóficos amplios

«It is w o r t h pointing out that Boyle's usual reticence to name his opponents may have caused h i m to suppress mention of recent authors like Davisson and Barlet (who were still living) and to use the names of only those w h o (like Beguin and Quercetanus) were dead by 1661.» — y propone una explicación de a quiénes nombra y a quiénes no: su reticencia a nombrar opuso los muertos a los vivos

«Later in life Boyle declared that he wrote the Sceptical Chymist "to take those Artists off ther excessive Confidence in their principles and to make them a litle more Philosoph[ical] w i t h their A r t . "» — cita la declaración tardía de Boyle sobre por qué escribió el libro: para quitarles a esos artistas la confianza excesiva en sus principios

«But another danger is more rigidly practical, and Boyle cites it explicitly. " I fear," he writes, "that the too confident opinion of the Doctrine I question has made divers practitioners of Physich, make w r o n g estimates of M e d i c i n e s . "» — y el peligro práctico que Boyle señala: que la doctrina cuestionada haya hecho errar a los médicos en la estimación de las medicinas

«Corpuscularian matter theories were in fact widely accepted in alchemical circles, as W i l l i a m N e w m a n has clearly shown.» — el punto de fondo contra la dicotomía: las teorías corpusculares fueron aceptadas ampliamente en los círculos alquímicos, como mostró William Newman

«Both van Helmont himself and the extremely popular Eirenaeus Philalethes (alias George Starkey and sometime collaborator w i t h Boyle on chymical projects) employ corpuscularian explanatory systems.» — y los casos que aduce, van Helmont y Eirenaeus Philalethes, alias de George Starkey y a veces colaborador de Boyle

«Further, N e w m a n has provided good evidence that Boyle's o w n early adoption of corpuscularianism comes not solely from the renowned revivers of ancient atomism, such as Gassendi and Descartes, but at least partially from the tradition of chymical corpuscularianism dating back to Geber.» — y recoge de Newman el argumento sobre el origen del corpuscularismo de Boyle: al menos en parte de la tradición química que remonta a Geber, no solo de Gassendi y Descartes

«Close examination shows, however, that Boyle's criticisms—while real enough—are not directed primarily at traditional alchemical authors and their mysteries.» — Principe acota el alcance de las críticas de Boyle: son reales, pero no apuntan sobre todo a los autores alquímicos tradicionales y sus misterios

«M o s t of Boyle's criticism, however, is directed at obscurity of expression—the failure of chymists to teach principles clearly and coherently—not at secrecy.» — y precisa el blanco: la oscuridad de expresión, la falla al enseñar principios, no el secreto

«Interestingly, while the modern reader w o u l d naturally associate the allegorical books regarding the Philosophers' Stone w i t h what Boyle terms "Metaphoricall Descriptions," this is not at all what he means.» — advierte contra la asociación espontánea del lector moderno entre los libros alegóricos de la piedra y lo que Boyle llama descripciones metafóricas

«This fact lies behind Boyle's often-quoted sentiment that he valued the chymists' contributions "upon the score of their experiments, not upon that of Their Speculations," and that there is "great Difference betwixt the being able to make Experiments, and the being able to give a Philosophical Account of t h e m .» — recoge la frase más citada de Boyle sobre los quimistas, valorados por sus experimentos y no por sus especulaciones

«he declares that much may be said to Excuse the Chymists when they write Darkly and Aenigmatically, about the Preparation of their Elixir, and Some few other grand Arcana, the divulging of which they may upon Grounds Plausible enough esteem unfit; yet» — y el pasaje donde Boyle excusa a los quimistas por escribir oscura y enigmáticamente sobre el Elixir y unos pocos arcana mayores

«He notes also that his Excellency and Grounds of the Mechanical Hypothesis (1674) is written in relation to "what the Author had written (by way of Dialogue) about the Requisites of a good Hypothesis" although he is "not willing to let that, at least quickly come a b r o a d .» — el hilo que sigue: Boyle relaciona su Excellency of the Mechanical Hypothesis con un diálogo previo sobre los requisitos de una buena hipótesis

«Boyle explicitly states that other dialogues (and we k n o w the "Requisites" to have been a dialogue) were related to the Sceptical Chymist.» — y consigna que Boyle declara expresamente que otros diálogos se relacionaban con el Sceptical Chymist

«These three observations are consolidated by the most important piece of evidence—a hitherto uncited manuscript among the Boyle Papers entitled "The REQUISITES of a Good H Y P O T H E S I S .» — la pieza que aporta: un manuscrito hasta entonces no citado entre los Boyle Papers, con ese título

«The inclusion of the alchemist Zosimus in the dialogue implies that Boyle saw the drawing of good hypotheses as closely related to chymistry, and the close similarity of the cast of characters to that in the Sceptical Chymist argues for at least a conceptual, i f not a direct, link between the t w o works.» — de la presencia del alquimista Zósimo en ese diálogo deriva un vínculo al menos conceptual entre las dos obras

«If indeed, as seems likely, the "Requisites" and the early Sceptical Chymist were part of a connected set of dialogues, it is intriguing to speculate on what lies behind the change of name from Zosimus to Philoponus.» — y presenta como especulación declarada el cambio de nombre de Zósimo a Filopono

«He may also have felt it disrespectful or insulting to use Zosimus's name in this connection, potentially drawing the displeasure of the adepti (who felt themselves to be part of the lineage back to Zosimus), by w h o m he still wished to be "both willingly and thankfully instructed.» — una de las conjeturas que ofrece: Boyle pudo temer que usar el nombre de Zósimo ofendiera a los adeptos, por quienes deseaba ser instruido

«A deficiency of much of the earlier literature on Boyle is its concentration on the Boyle of the 1660s, and the implicit assumption that Boyle never developed or changed his mind outside of that period—it is not coincidental that the Boyle of the 1660s fits best w i t h the portrait of a "modern."» — señala un defecto de la literatura previa: concentrarse en el Boyle de la década de 1660 y suponer que no cambió de opinión fuera de ese periodo

«Indeed, one of the points I w i l l argue throughout this study is that Boyle became more devoted to traditional alchemy as he grew older, not less—quite the opposite of Boas Hall's claim that he "rapidly eschewed" alchemy.» — la tesis cronológica de Principe, enunciada contra Boas Hall: Boyle se volvió más devoto de la alquimia tradicional al envejecer, no menos

«Boyle coming strongly to the defense of the adepts' metalline Mercury.» — en el apéndice de 1680 lo ve saliendo con fuerza en defensa del Mercurio metálico de los adeptos

«He writes that "the indisposition I had," and " m y longe backwardnes to beleeve" in such Mercuries, have been overcome by both his o w n experience and that of other trustworthy persons.» — y cita a Boyle describiendo su cambio de opinión: su larga renuencia a creer, vencida por su experiencia y la de personas fiables

«he himself possessed "portions of the Mercury's of more than one or t w o metalls."» — y declarando que poseía porciones de los Mercurios de más de uno o dos metales

«Boyle's unequivocal affirmation of metalline Mercuries not only links h i m closely w i t h a key feature of chrysopoetic alchemy but also flatly contradicts the Halls' assertion that Boyle "rejected the whole concept" of metalline Mercuries.» — Principe adjudica a esa afirmación un peso doble: liga a Boyle con un rasgo clave de la crisopeya y contradice a los Hall, que le atribuían rechazar el concepto

«Boyle makes a similar affirmation of belief in metalline and mineral Sulphurs in the corresponding section on Sulphur, where he claims them also to be real and preparable, as well as being Magisteries rather than elemental principles.» — y señala la afirmación paralela sobre los Azufres metálicos y minerales, reales y preparables pero Magisterios y no principios elementales

«Boyle actually criticizes those w h o deny the existence of such Mercuries.» — más aún, dice, Boyle critica a quienes niegan la existencia de esos Mercurios

«Rolfinck's flat denial of the existence of metalline Mercuries elicited a lengthy refutation from Johann Joachim Becher (1635-1682)» — reconstruye la polémica: la negación de Rolfinck provocó una refutación larga de Becher

«Thus it is clear that the 1670s witnessed considerable debate regarding the existence of metalline Mercuries, and that these discussions employed Rolfinck's and Utis's phrase non-entia chemica.» — y data el debate: la década de 1670 vio discusión considerable sobre los Mercurios metálicos, con la fórmula non-entia chemica

«It is noteworthy that Boyle sides w i t h the defenders of the alchemical Mercuries of the metals.» — y consigna de qué lado quedó Boyle en ella

«He more forcefully distinguishes the warranted secrecy of the adepti from the ambiguity, incoherence, or error of the "vulgar chymists," castigating the latter while casually and nonjudgmentally recognizing the former.» — el matiz que ve en el Boyle tardío: distingue el secreto justificado de los adeptos de la ambigüedad y el error de los quimistas vulgares

«Johann Kunckel's Chymische Brille contra non-entia chymica in his 1677 Chymische Anmerckungen likewise asserts the reality of metalline Mercuries against Rolfinck; his defense reappeared at London in 1678 in a Latin t r a n s l a t i o n .» — y suma a Kunckel, que afirma la realidad de los Mercurios metálicos contra Rolfinck y reaparece en Londres traducido al latín

«The first k i n d of processes, those of the adepti, may be obscure, but those of the vulgar chymists are simply false.» — la distinción que Principe adjudica al Boyle tardío: los procesos de los adeptos pueden ser oscuros, los de los quimistas vulgares son sencillamente falsos

«Boyle not only leaves the adepti's processes uncriticized but tacitly commends them when he appends entire processes verbatim out of Paracelsus and L u l l as examples.» — y observa que Boyle no solo deja sin criticar los procesos de los adeptos sino que anexa procesos enteros de Paracelso y Lulio

«Boyle matter-of-factly states w h y the receipts of the adepti are difficult to f o l l o w — without negative comment—and then claims to k n o w the hidden meaning of this philosophical salt, but rather slyly demurs from naming it, thinking it "needless" to do so.» — señala el gesto de Boyle ante la receta de Lulio: explica sin reproche por qué son difíciles de seguir, dice conocer el sentido oculto y se niega a nombrarlo

«But Boyle is clearly no longer one of those naive readers, for the effect of this circumspect revelation that Boyle is "vers'd in the more mysterious parts of Hermetick Philosophy" is that Boyle sets himself up, not yet as an adept, but at least as an advanced Son of the A r t .» — y lee ahí una posición: Boyle se coloca, no como adepto todavía, al menos como Hijo del Arte avanzado

«Clearly, Boyle has come a long way in the previous t w o decades; his frustration at the obscurity and "affected Equivocations" of the adepti evident i n the Sceptical Chymist is absent here, being replaced w i t h not only understanding but, so it seems, a willingness to continue the mystery.» — el contraste que mide en veinte años: la frustración del Sceptical Chymist ante las equivocaciones afectadas de los adeptos está ausente, sustituida por comprensión y por disposición a continuar el misterio

«I have shown that the vulgarly received notion of the Sceptical Chymist is faulty and cannot be immediately and uncomplicatedly adduced against the thesis that Boyle was deeply involved in traditional transmutatory alchemy.» — el balance del capítulo: la noción corriente del Sceptical Chymist es defectuosa y no puede aducirse sin más contra la tesis del libro

«It should n o w be clear that Boyle distinguishes classes among chymists, differentiating the lower, "vulgar chymists"—identified here as laborants, iatrochemical pharmacists and textbook writers, and Paracelsian systematizers—from the "Chymical Philosophers" or alchemical adepti.» — y la distinción que Principe da por establecida en el texto de Boyle, entre quimistas vulgares y filósofos químicos o adeptos alquímicos

«The prime target of the Sceptical Chymist is not those we w o u l d today tend to call alchemists, but rather the Paracelsian chymists (although Boyle accords some respect to Paracelsus himself).» — adjudica el blanco principal del libro a los quimistas paracelsianos, con la salvedad de que Boyle guarda respeto al propio Paracelso

«Additionally, Boyle's respect for, belief in, and knowledge of the arcana of the chrysopoetic adepti increased w i t h time; the 1680 appendix to the Sceptical Chymist shows an increased commitment to important alchemical ideas and new criticism of those w h o reject them.» — y fecha el crecimiento: el apéndice de 1680 muestra mayor compromiso con ideas alquímicas importantes

«Boyle's approval of the "high esoterics" (chrysopoeians) rather than the " l o w technicians" (Paracelsian chymists and apothecaries) requires greater appreciation and scrutiny in the historiography of the origins of modern science, which may have focused too heavily on the rhetoric (from the Royal Society, for example) regarding learning from tradesmen, artisans, and laborants.» — de ahí saca una consecuencia para la historia de la ciencia: la preferencia de Boyle por los esotéricos altos sobre los técnicos bajos pide más escrutinio del que ha tenido

«Specifically, the identification of textbook writers as a chief target of the Sceptical Chymist seems to conflict w i t h the model of the "didactic origins" of modern chemistry advanced by Owen Hannaway's Chemists and the Word.» — señala el conflicto con el modelo de los orígenes didácticos de la química de Owen Hannaway

«Boyle recognizes both aspects of the textbook tradition and criticizes both, rejecting those w h o debilitate the status of chymistry by insisting upon its practical operations and technical applications (the Libavius-Beguin dynasty), as well as those w h o overextend chymistry into extravagant world-systems (the Croll-Quercetanus dynasty).» — y propone su propia lectura de la tradición de manuales: Boyle critica sus dos linajes, el técnico de Libavius y Beguin y el cosmológico de Croll y Quercetanus

«We have seen in fact that Boyle was not anxious "to disown" all of "his chemical forebears" but was quite precise in his identification and targeting of specific groups w i t h i n chymistry for praise or blame.» — Principe precisa contra Golinski: Boyle no repudiaba a todos sus antecesores químicos, sino que identificaba grupos concretos para alabar o culpar

«Clericuzio also rejects Golinski's contention that the Sceptical Chymisfs purpose was to replace "traditional discourse" w i t h experimental essays, and favors instead Boyle's o w n explicitly enunciated natural philosophical motives regarding the chymical principles.» — y recoge de Clericuzio el rechazo a que el propósito del libro fuera sustituir el discurso tradicional por ensayos experimentales

«Allen Debus, in numerous learned books and articles, has convincingly argued for the importance of the Paracelsians in the early modern period.» — reconoce a Allen Debus haber argumentado la importancia de los paracelsianos en la modernidad temprana

«Boyle's discrimination between the Paracelsians and the chrysopoeians can help correct what is an unexpected by-product of Debus's notable success in rightly arguing for the importance of the Paracelsians.» — y propone que la distinción de Boyle entre paracelsianos y crisopeyos corrige un subproducto inesperado de ese éxito

«Boyle routinely makes concessions to the chrysopoetic adepti and expresses belief in some of their important tenets.» — el hecho que le importa: Boyle hace concesiones rutinarias a los adeptos crisopeyos y declara creer en algunos de sus principios

«It is n o w no longer necessary, for example, to strive to show a "rational," nonalchemical origin to Boyle's belief in transmutation lest it conflict w i t h the Sceptical Chymist.» — de donde ya no hace falta, dice, buscarle un origen racional y no alquímico a su creencia en la transmutación

«The assessment of Boyle's views on this topic has been hampered by the fact that Boyle's corpus lacks a sustained and explicit treatment of his views on this subject.» — acota el estado de la evidencia: la valoración se ha visto obstaculizada porque el corpus de Boyle no trata el asunto de forma sostenida y explícita

«While Boyle did not in fact publish any works devoted primarily to stating his views on traditional alchemy, he did w o r k on several in manuscript.» — aunque señala que sí trabajó varias obras del tema en manuscrito

«A list datable to ca. 1680 inventories seven works on alchemical subjects:» — y la pieza que aduce: una lista datable hacia 1680 que inventaría siete obras sobre temas alquímicos

«The first item on Boyle's l i s t — O f the Transmutation & Generation of Mettais—provides further information about the context of the Anti-Elixir tract.» — de esa lista lee el contexto del Anti-Elixir: el primer título del inventario

«The first mention of this Dialogue on Transmutation outside of Boyle's private papers was i n 1744, w i t h the publication of Thomas Birch's edition of the Works.» — data la primera mención del Dialogue on Transmutation fuera de los papeles privados de Boyle en 1744, con la edición de Birch

«Miles's list was published in the Works; fifteenth on that list stands the Origin of Minerals and Metals—Conferences about the Transmutation and Melioration of Metals, and it is cited as not extant.» — y consigna cómo aparece en la lista de Miles: decimoquinto, y citado como no existente

«I w i l l n o w summarize briefly that the dialogue was written over an extended period from ca. 1675 to the mid-1680s, and that the fragments» — Principe fecha la escritura del diálogo entre 1675 y mediados de la década de 1680

«the fragments assembled i n the appendix are from various stages of the project and should not be imagined to fit together seamlessly like pieces of a single puzzle.» — y advierte al lector sobre el estatus de su reconstrucción: los fragmentos del apéndice vienen de distintas etapas y no encajan sin costura

«The idea of a plot and a setting in a Boylean dialogue may strike the knowing reader oddly, for in Boyle's published dialogues there is generally little of either to speak of; however, the storytelling aspect of the Dialogue on Transmutation is surprisingly strong.» — señala lo insólito del texto dentro de la obra de Boyle: en sus diálogos publicados apenas hay trama ni escenario, y aquí lo narrativo es fuerte

«Heliodorus regulates the debate by allowing the assembly to divide itself into three groups—those denying the existence of the Philosophers' Stone (the anti-Lapidists) headed by Erastus, those affirming the Stone (the Lapidists) headed by Zosimus, and a neutral party headed by Eleutherius.» — describe la mecánica de la asamblea: Heliodoro divide a los presentes en antilapidistas con Erasto, lapidistas con Zósimo y un partido neutral con Eleuterio

«Zosimus illustrates his argument by asserting that people never require that brewers be able to give a philosophical account of fermentation and malting before they w i l l believe that brewers can make beer.» — el argumento de Zósimo por analogía: a los cerveceros no se les exige explicar filosóficamente la fermentación para creerles que hacen cerveza

«Zosimus employs a corpuscularian hypothesis, arguing that some "parts [of the Philosophers' Stone] may be so commodiously shap'd that their effects are greater than one might easily imagine," and he adduces the rapid curdling of milk by a small quantity of rennet as an analogous example of such a process.» — y su hipótesis corpuscular, con el cuajo como ejemplo de un efecto grande a partir de poca materia

«The next six fragments, constituting a significant fraction of the text, consist of experimental accounts given by various Lapidists in answer to Erastus's objections.» — mide el peso del material experimental: los seis fragmentos siguientes, una fracción considerable del texto, son relatos de experiencias de los lapidistas

«The most striking of these latter is a highly detailed account of the transmutation of lead into gold as witnessed by Boyle himself.» — el más llamativo, según Principe: un relato detallado de la transmutación de plomo en oro presenciada por el propio Boyle

«These last fragments are problematic, for the vigor of their attack on the adepti is somewhat at odds w i t h conclusions drawn throughout this study from the rest of the Dialogue and Boyle's other writings.» — declara el problema que le plantean los últimos fragmentos: la fuerza de su ataque a los adeptos discrepa de las conclusiones del resto del estudio

«First, these fragments may have been deleted from the final version, for a toned-down and shortened version of their contents appears i n Erastus's opening statement, which is a draft of later date.» — y ofrece la primera explicación como conjetura: pudieron ser eliminados de la versión final, pues su contenido aparece atenuado en un borrador posterior

«Just as the serried ranks of experimental testimonies summoned by Zosimus and his colleagues refute Erastus's a priori arguments, so these last fragments (if they were even retained by Boyle) may have been balanced or dismissed by a Lapidisi response.» — y la tercera, también condicionada: la réplica de los lapidistas pudo equilibrarlos o desecharlos, si es que Boyle los conservó

«Pyrophilus remarks that " i f . . . A r t has produc'd an Anti-Elixir, that is able in a very short time, to w o r k a very notable, though deteriorating, change upon a Metal; I see not w h y it should be thought impossible that A r t may also make a true Elixir. "» — cierra con la inferencia que Pirófilo saca del Anti-Elixir: si el arte produjo un antielixir, no ve por qué sería imposible que produzca un elixir verdadero

«For a man as reticent to engage i n controversy as Boyle, especially in a case as controversial as alchemical transmutation, the dialogue format is particularly appropriate.» — Principe adjudica la elección del diálogo al carácter de Boyle: reticente a la controversia, y más en un caso tan disputado como la transmutación

«Yet another contributor to Boyle's choice of the dialogue, however, is his youthful addiction to romances and his attempts to achieve a smoother prose style by grafting fictional forms onto otherwise drier (natural philosophical or moral) subjects.» — y suma otra causa: su afición juvenil a los romances y su intento de injertar formas de ficción en materias más secas

«The Turba was very highly regarded for its supposed antiquity and authority.» — sobre la Turba, señala el prestigio que se le daba por su supuesta antigüedad y autoridad

«Rather than a chance meeting of friends (as in Carneades' garden in the Sceptical Chymist) or the more amorphous settings in Boyle's other dialogues, the Dialogue on Transmutation presents a discussion carried on at a meeting of a " M o s t Noble Society" constituted for the purpose of investigating and discussing topics of natural philosophy.» — el escenario, que Principe considera significativo: no un encuentro casual sino la reunión de una Sociedad Nobilísima para tratar filosofía natural

«The rules and characteristics of this society as cited in the text identify it as either the Royal Society itself or at least a very closely analogous society invented for the sake of the Dialogue.» — y la identificación que propone: las reglas citadas la vuelven la Royal Society misma o una sociedad muy análoga inventada para el caso

«His presence in itself is not unlike that of the numerous foreign visitors w h o were admitted to meetings of the Royal Society.» — la presencia del extranjero, que compara con los visitantes admitidos a las sesiones de la Royal Society

«It is also possible that the suppression of the Dialogue may have stemmed partly from uncertainty about the suitability of portraying the society discussing alchemical transmutation and, especially, vindicating it at the conclusion.» — y ofrece como posible una razón de la supresión del diálogo: la duda sobre lo apropiado de retratar a la sociedad discutiendo la transmutación y vindicándola

«While the society had a number of members deeply involved in alchemical endeavors (Elias Ashmole, for example), many natural philosophers and the general public were becoming increasingly suspicious of alchemical claims.» — el contexto que aduce: la sociedad tenía miembros metidos en empresas alquímicas, Elias Ashmole entre ellos, mientras crecía la sospecha pública

«Namely, the Dialogue's society is a much more contentious and voluble arena than recent scholarship w o u l d allow for Boyle and the Royal Society.» — el hallazgo que Principe subraya: la sociedad del diálogo es un ruedo mucho más contencioso y vocinglero que el que la erudición reciente admite para Boyle

«Shapin asserts that "the Royal Society was a place whose inhabitants had learnt to accomplish the assessment and modification of the great majority of knowledge-claims w i t h o u t doing anything visible as negation.» — y lo pone frente a la afirmación de Shapin de que en la Royal Society se aprendió a modificar afirmaciones sin nada visible como negación

«Boyle objected to neither dispute nor refutations— both were essential for uncovering and demonstrating the truth about the natural w o r l d .» — su lectura de Boyle: no objetaba ni la disputa ni las refutaciones, esenciales para descubrir la verdad sobre el mundo natural

«W h a t Boyle does find objectionable is the name-calling and broad condemnations that filled earlier writings.» — sino los insultos y las condenas amplias que llenaban los escritos anteriores

«Boyle's view of chrysopoeia is made clear by the defeat of Erastus and his anti-Lapidists, w h i c h is far more resounding than the lukewarm (and i n complete) refutations of the Sceptical Chymist.» — Principe lee la posición de Boyle en la derrota de Erasto, mucho más rotunda que las réplicas tibias del Sceptical Chymist

«Boyle leaves no doubt about w h o is in the wrong—this dialogue, particularly i n its conclusion, takes on perhaps the broadest epideictic tone of all Boyle's writings.» — y califica el registro del diálogo de epidíctico, el más marcado de todos los escritos de Boyle

«The Dialogue on Transmutation unambiguously expresses Boyle's firm belief i n the reality of the Philosophers' Stone and chrysopoetic transmutation, as well as his dissatisfaction w i t h those w h o are ready to dismiss it out of hand as a nonentity.» — de donde adjudica al texto una expresión inequívoca de la creencia de Boyle en la piedra y en la transmutación crisopoética

«Eleutherius occurs in most of Boyle's dialogues; his name, deriving from the Greek eleutheria (liberty, freedom), sufficiently defines his role as the character to be convinced.» — sobre los nombres, señala que no son arbitrarios: Eleuterio deriva de eleutheria, libertad, y define su papel de personaje a convencer

«Zosimus, w h o heads the party, carries the alchemically respected name of a famous Hellenic Egyptian alchemist of the fourth century.» — Zósimo lleva el nombre del alquimista helenoegipcio del siglo IV, respetado en la tradición

«It w i l l be remembered that Zosimus made an appearance in the 1650s fragment of "The Requisites of a Good Hypothesis," and i f we accept the link between that dialogue and the Sceptical Chymist, he was later replaced by Philoponus.» — y Principe lo reconecta con el fragmento de los Requisitos de los años cincuenta, donde luego fue reemplazado por Filopono

«Philetas, w h o begins the whole dialogue by proffering a piece of alchemical gold, has special importance.» — Filetas, que abre el diálogo ofreciendo un trozo de oro alquímico, tiene para él importancia especial

«Boyle corroborates his similarity to the unfortunate Philetas of Cos in referring to the apparently popular explanation of his poor health "that I brought myself to so much Sickliness by over-much Study.» — y aduce el paralelo que Boyle mismo hace con el Filetas de Cos, por la explicación popular de su mala salud

«Guibertus is certainly Nicholas Guibert, a physician from Lorraine (ca. 1547-ca. 1620), w h o was a vehement opponent of alchemy.» — identifica a Guiberto con Nicolas Guibert, médico de Lorena y opositor vehemente de la alquimia

«The name of the leader of the anti-Lapidists, Erastus, refers to Thomas Erastus (1523-1583), an anti-Paracelsian w h o wrote a lengthy condemnation of Paracelsian medicine and principles in w h i c h he referred to Paracelsus as a "grunting s w i n e . "» — y a Erasto con Thomas Erastus, antiparacelsiano que llamó a Paracelso puerco gruñidor

«Boyle sides strongly w i t h the Lapidists i n favor of the reality of alchemical transmutation.» — el balance: Boyle se pone con fuerza del lado de los lapidistas y de la realidad de la transmutación

«Boyle does preserve the sneering, declamatory style of the historical figure, and the opinions of the interlocutor Erastus do conform to those of the historical Thomas Erastus.» — y precisa qué conserva del personaje histórico: el estilo desdeñoso y declamatorio, y opiniones que sí concuerdan con las del Erasto real

«Although historians have long recognized Boyle's general belief i n the possibility of metallic transmutation, they have in most cases striven to distinguish such belief from the transmutations spoken of by traditional alchemists by depicting Boyle's belief as no more than a logical consequence of his corpuscularian hypothesis—and as such, disconnected from the alchemists' transmutation.» — Principe describe la maniobra historiográfica que objeta: presentar la creencia de Boyle en la transmutación como mera consecuencia lógica del corpuscularismo, desconectada de la de los alquimistas

«since Bodies, having but one common Matter, can be differenc'd but by Accidents, which seem all of them to be the Effects and Consequents of Local Motion, I see not, why it should be absurd to think, that. . . almost of any thing, may at length be made Any thing: as, though out of a wedge of Gold one cannot immediately make a Ring, yet by either Wyre-drawing that Wedge by degrees, or by melting it, and casting a little of it into a Mould, That thing may easily be effected.» — el pasaje de Origine of Formes con que suele instanciarse esa transmutación no alquímica, con el símil de la cuña de oro

«The Dialogue on Transmutation, however, does show Boyle's belief in transmutations explicitly " i n the sense of alchemical projections.» — y su respuesta: el Dialogue on Transmutation sí muestra la creencia en transmutaciones en el sentido de las proyecciones alquímicas

«Universal transmutation occurs only by means of the Philosophers' Stone—the "universal metallic medicine" and the adepts' greatest secret.» — define la transmutación universal: solo por la piedra filosofal, medicina metálica universal y mayor secreto de los adeptos

«While the Stone could transmute all metals, these particularia could transmute only one or a few metals;» — y la particular: los particularia transmutan solo uno o pocos metales

«The universal Philosophers' Stone might be augmented to a stupendous degree of virtue; the portion of the Stone supposedly found by John Dee and Edward Kelley was able to transmute 272,330 times its weight of base metal into g o l d .» — el dato de magnitud que da para la piedra aumentada, con el caso de la que hallaron John Dee y Edward Kelley

«Particularia, on the other hand, were incapable of augmentation either in quality or quantity and could transmute at best only five or six times their weight of metal.» — frente a los particularia, incapaces de aumento y capaces cuando mucho de cinco o seis veces su peso

«Valentine's "Stone of Fire" mentioned at the conclusion of his Triumpf-Wagen antimonii (1604) is an example of a particularium.» — el ejemplo que toma del corpus de Basilio Valentín, la Piedra de Fuego del Triumph-Wagen antimonii

«as far as the heavens are raised above the earth, so far is the true Philosophers' Stone from this Stone of F i r e .» — y la sentencia de ese corpus sobre la distancia entre las dos piedras, que Principe cita

«Even Werner Rolfinck, a fierce opponent of transmutation, recognizes the same distinction into universal and particular in his condemnation of alchemy, where he divides chrysopoeia into these t w o categories and then denies the reality of each in t u r n .» — señala que hasta Rolfinck, opositor feroz, reconoce la misma división en universal y particular antes de negar ambas

«Boyle asserts that "there may be a real Transmutation of one Metal into another," but quickly points out that " I speak not here of Projection, whereby one part of an Aurifick Powder is said to turn I k n o w not h o w many 100 or 1000 parts of an ignobler Metal into Silver or Gold, . . . because, though Projection includes Transmutation, Transmutation is not all one w i t h Projection, but far easier then i t . "» — el pasaje donde Boyle afirma que puede haber transmutación real de un metal en otro y separa de inmediato la transmutación de la proyección

«This white powder, when fused w i t h borax (as flux) provided tiny metallic globules that Boyle found to be silver—thus Boyle concluded that his menstruum was capable of converting gold into silver, a metallic transmutation, "though Deteriorating."» — y el experimento propio de Boyle: el menstruo que le convirtió oro en plata, una transmutación deteriorante

«Boyle's use of the traditional alchemical distinction into universal and particular is further evidenced by his recognition that a large array of particularia can be prepared.» — Principe ve el uso de la distinción tradicional en el reconocimiento de Boyle de que puede prepararse un arsenal de particularia

«But another reason is to allow "poor Artists" to make themselves a living by them, and here Boyle's understanding of the lesser potency of particulars is made clear when he writes that "the greatest number of Particulars are not considerably Lucrative unies made in great quantitys.» — y en la razón que Boyle da para publicarlos, con su límite dentro: los particularia no son lucrativos salvo en gran cantidad

«Boyle notes that "various liquors can be made . . . which do not only separate the silver which they dissolve from the gold which they leave behind undissolved, but are also (as the chemists speak) gradators, that is, they are designed to advance some parts of the silver into luna fixa or g o l d .» — el término técnico que recoge de Boyle, gradators, licores que adelantan parte de la plata a luna fija u oro

«Boyle clearly and forcefully affirms the reality of this universal transmutation.» — consigna la afirmación de la transmutación universal en el diálogo como clara y enfática

«I n Origine of Formes he claims his o w n success w i t h a particular transmutation ("though Deteriorating"), in an unpublished part of Usefulnesse he asserts the reality of gradators, and late in life he compiled collections of particularia.» — y la escalona con lo publicado: éxito en una transmutación particular, realidad de los gradadores, colecciones tardías de particularia

«Thus the transmutation treated in the Dialogue is not merely a corollary of Boyle's corpuscularianism; it is identical w i t h the central tenet of traditional chrysopoeian alchemy.» — de ahí su conclusión: la transmutación del diálogo no es corolario del corpuscularismo sino idéntica al principio central de la alquimia crisopoética

«When Boyle explains the ability of his menstruum peracutum to transmute yellow gold into white silver, he suggests that however the Chymists are wont to talke irrationally enough of what they call Tinctura Auri, and Anima Auri; yet, in a sober sense, some such thing may be admitted . . .» — cita a Boyle admitiendo en sentido sobrio algo como la Tinctura Auri y el Anima Auri de los quimistas

«Moreover, the distinction between a corpuscular basis for transmutation and some supposedly "alchemical" one rests upon a false dichotomy, for alchemical accounts of transmutations often employ explicitly corpuscularian terms.» — y objeta la dicotomía entre base corpuscular y base alquímica, porque los relatos alquímicos emplean términos corpusculares explícitos

«Boyle's usage of the phrase anima auri, or soul of gold, in reference to his extract of gold links it to the alchemical Sulphur of gold, for Sulphur and soul are considered synonymous in alchemical parlance.» — adjudica al anima auri de Boyle el vínculo con el Azufre del oro, pues Azufre y alma son sinónimos en el lenguaje alquímico

«Boyle in fact uses the term Sulphur when referring to this extract i n a brief intimation of the same process made i n the Sceptical Chymist.» — y señala que Boyle usa el término Azufre para ese extracto en el propio Sceptical Chymist

«Since the menstruum peracutum process dates from the 1650s and originates i n Valentine's book on making the Stone, it argues for Boyle's early attempts to prepare the Stone, in opposition to his contrary protestations» — de la datación del proceso deriva un argumento sobre los intentos tempranos de Boyle de preparar la piedra, contra sus propias protestas

«But this denial of the profitability of chrysopoeia is refuted not only by several alchemical works but by Boyle himself.» — y objeta la negación de que la crisopeya sea rentable, objetada según él por obras alquímicas y por el propio Boyle

«He writes that the transmuting powder once given h i m "was not an extract from gold, which w o u l d have converted only so much mercury as there had been of the gold from which it was extracted.» — el testimonio de Boyle que Principe aduce: el polvo transmutador que le dieron no era extracto de oro, porque uno de esos convertiría solo tanto mercurio como oro se gastó

«While Boyle does not mention any attempts of his o w n to transplant the anima auri he extracted w i t h his menstruum peracutum, he elsewhere affirms an instance of that very process, noting that it was even done w i t h profit.» — señala que Boyle afirma en otro lugar ese mismo proceso, y con provecho

«Note h o w Boyle was careful to ask if the labor actually produced more gold than it destroyed, and so learned that a 50 percent increase was obtained.» — y subraya el cuidado de Boyle al interrogar el caso: preguntó si el trabajo produjo más oro del que destruyó, y supo del cincuenta por ciento de aumento

«Küffler's testimonial letter reprinted by Helvetius relates that I found an aqua fortis in my laboratory . . . I poured this over Solar calx, namely, gold prepared in the common way, and after the third cohobation, it sublimed the Tincture of gold with itself into the neck of the retort, which tincture I mixed with silver precipitated in the common way, and saw that one ounce of the sublimed Tincture of Gold transmuted. . . one and a half ounces of silver into the best gold.» — la carta testimonial de Küffler que reproduce Helvetius, con su cohobación y su tintura de oro sublimada

«Clearly, the process of the transplantation of the "soul of gold" mentioned by DuClo, Valentine, van Helmont, and Starkey is the same as that recounted by Boyle in Origine of Formes and in "Un-succeeding Experiments." Although Erastus claims that there is "no real possibility" of such an extraction of an anima auri and its transplantation, Boyle's citation of his o w n and Kiiffler's experiences indicates that he believed in such a process.» — de donde Principe identifica ese proceso con el de la transplantación del alma del oro que describen DuClos, Valentín, van Helmont y Starkey

«He seems certain of the "matter of fact," that is, that a menstruum has separated a yellow material from gold, leaving a residual white metal, and that yellow material has been successfully employed in transmuting silver into gold.» — y acota qué es lo que Boyle da por seguro: la materia de hecho, no la explicación

«Boyle's first explanation, which is based upon the extractability of "Tinging parts," comes directly from traditional alchemical sources that posited the color of gold in its Sulphur.» — adjudica la primera explicación de Boyle a fuentes alquímicas tradicionales que ponían el color del oro en su Azufre

«But Boyle subjoins a second explanation that it is not impossible, but that the Yellowishness of that rich Metal may proceed not from any particular Corpuscles of that Colour, but from the Texture of the Metal . . . consequently, the Whiteness, and other Changes, produc'd in the new Metal we obtain'd, may be attributed not to the extraction of any tinging Particles, but to a Change of Texture, whereon the Colour, as well as other Properties of the Gold did depend.» — y transcribe la segunda, que Boyle yuxtapone sin decidir: el color por textura del metal y no por corpúsculos tingentes

«It is Boyle's intentional ambiguity, or rather his hesitancy to commit to a single, exclusive explanation of observable phenomena, that has contributed to selective readings of his writings.» — el rasgo de Boyle que Principe señala como raíz de las lecturas selectivas: su renuencia a comprometerse con una explicación única

«Historians wishing to emphasize Boyle's commitment to the "mechanical philosophy" can readily take up the texture explanation and neglect the "Tinging parts" explanation.» — y describe la operación que permite: quedarse con la textura y desatender las partes tingentes

«I f Boyle declined to decide between rival explanations, we ought not do it for him on the basis of subsequent scientific knowledge or our o w n notions and historiographie models, but rather recognize his o w n diversity of opinion.» — de ahí su regla de lectura: si Boyle declinó decidir, no hay que decidir por él desde el conocimiento posterior

«Erastus denies the extractability of any "Tinging parts" from gold and adopts instead the "texture" explanation.» — el reparto que hace en el diálogo: Erasto niega las partes tingentes y adopta la explicación por textura

«Boyle's insistence on the malleability of the white copper arises from the knowledge that copper is easily rendered white when it is alloyed with a small quantity of arsenic, but that white alloy is brittle, and so Boyle wants to emphasize that this white copper is not a trivial product.» — Principe explica por qué Boyle insiste en que su cobre blanco es maleable: el cobre blanqueado con arsénico queda quebradizo, y Boyle quiere marcar que su producto no es trivial

«Since Boyle goes on to describe this effect i n the second heading, the answer to his first question about the extractability of a tincture from copper must be "yes."» — y lee la respuesta implícita de un encabezado a la pregunta anterior sobre la extraibilidad de una tintura del cobre

«Thus this outline of a lost or unwritten composition argues that as late as 1687 Boyle continued to believe in the extractability of highly colored tinctures from the metals leaving residual white metals.» — de ese esquema de una obra perdida o no escrita data hasta 1687 la creencia de Boyle en tinturas extraíbles que dejan metales blancos

«This continuity not only evidences Boyle's persistent belief i n the heterogeneity of the metals and the maintenance of alchemical theories of their composition (i.e., that they contain an extractable, color-donating Sulphur) but also answers our original question by indicating that Erastus's dismissal of the extraction/transplantation theory is not representative of Boyle's o w n views.» — y saca de esa continuidad la respuesta a su propia pregunta: el desdén de Erasto por la extracción no representa las ideas de Boyle

«A t most, Erastus is giving voice to Boyle's typical reticence to commit to a single hypothesis regarding the true explanation of phenomena.» — aunque concede un mínimo: Erasto podría estar dando voz a la reticencia de Boyle a comprometerse con una hipótesis única

«Certainly, it is clear that Erastus's negative views on transmutation by projection are thoroughly repudiated in the main thrust of the Dialogue.» — y da por claro que las opiniones negativas de Erasto sobre la transmutación por proyección quedan repudiadas en el cuerpo del diálogo

«While it survives only in fragmentary form, the extant text provides a hitherto unavailable resource for assessing Boyle's real attitudes toward chrysopoeia.» — acota el estado del texto que edita: sobrevive solo en forma fragmentaria, y aun así es un recurso antes indisponible

«I have indicated Boyle's authorship of alchemical tracts and underscored the significance and rhetorical uniqueness of the Dialogue on Transmutation.» — el balance del capítulo: la autoría alquímica de Boyle y la singularidad retórica del diálogo

«Boyle's knowledge and maintenance of traditional alchemical principles, particularly as regards types of transmutations and the analysis of heterogeneous metals, have also been showcased.» — y el conocimiento de principios alquímicos tradicionales que le adjudica, sobre tipos de transmutación y análisis de metales heterogéneos

«The foregoing arguments and evidence demonstrate beyond doubt Boyle's abiding belief and activity i n both chrysopoeia and metallic spagyria.» — Principe declara el alcance que da a esa evidencia sobre la creencia y la actividad de Boyle en crisopeya y espagiria metálica

«This w o r k strongly asserts Boyle's belief in the claims of traditional alchemy regarding the existence of the Philosophers' Stone and its ability to effect chrysopoetic transmutations by projection.» — y lo repite sobre el diálogo: afirma con fuerza la creencia de Boyle en la existencia de la piedra y en su poder de transmutar por proyección

«It is important to answer the question of h o w Boyle was himself convinced of the truth of chrysopoetic claims and h o w he endeavored in turn to convince the Dialogue's readers of their truth.» — la pregunta que abre el capítulo siguiente: cómo se convenció Boyle de la verdad de esas afirmaciones y cómo intentó convencer a sus lectores

«Boyle then (under the guise of Zosimus) divides his defense into t w o parts, stating that transmutation by the Philosophers' Stone can be first "countenanced by things Analogicall in nature or A r t " and then "prov'd, by particular Histories and other testimonies.» — la división que Boyle pone en boca de Zósimo: la transmutación se avala por analogías en la naturaleza o el arte y se prueba por historias y testimonios

«T w o of these, the small quantity of rennet used to coagulate a great deal of milk, and the ability of a small flame to propagate itself through a vast amount of w o o d , are canonical alchemical images.» — Principe identifica dos de esas analogías, el cuajo y el fuego, como imágenes alquímicas canónicas

«A l chemists often compared the Philosophers' Stone to rennet, for it can coagulate quicksilver or molten lead into gold.» — y documenta la primera: los alquimistas comparaban la piedra con el cuajo porque coagula el azogue o el plomo fundido en oro

«Likewise, it is also called a fire, for it can diffuse itself through imperfect metals like fire through k i n d l i n g .» — y la segunda: se la llama fuego porque se difunde por los metales imperfectos como el fuego por la leña

«He mentions also the (chemically accurate) observation that only a trifling amount of t i n can significantly alter the physical properties of metals, as well as the "unanimous tradition of the Chymists" that the mere vapor of lead can cause mercury to solidify.» — las observaciones propias que Boyle suma, entre ellas la tradición unánime de los quimistas sobre el vapor de plomo que solidifica el mercurio

«It is clear both from Zosimus's opening statement and from the small amount of space devoted to "things Analogicall" that Boyle gives probatory preeminence to testimonial accounts.» — el orden probatorio que Principe adjudica a Boyle: el testimonio pesa más que las analogías, y lo mide por el espacio dedicado a cada cosa

«While theoretical considerations played a major role in alchemical apologetics throughout the history of alchemy in the Latin West, by the seventeenth century accounts of transmutations had risen to an equal or even greater importance.» — y sitúa ese giro en la historia de la apologética alquímica: para el siglo XVII los relatos de transmutación habían subido a importancia igual o mayor que la teoría

«M a n y are painstakingly precise, noting exact times, places, persons (often of rank and station) in attendance, the quantity of gold or silver produced, and so forth.» — describe la factura de esos relatos: precisos hasta el detalle, con horas, lugares, personas de rango y cantidades

«Helvetius himself performed the projection on six drachms of lead, transmuting it successfully into gold.» — el caso de Helvetius, que proyecta sobre seis dracmas de plomo y las transmuta

«To test the authenticity of the gold, Helvetius brought it to the mint-master of his province, w h o assayed it by quartation.» — y la verificación que Principe consigna: llevó el oro al maestro de la casa de moneda de su provincia, que lo ensayó por cuartación

«This account soon achieved great notoriety; for example, Benedict Spinoza went to both the assayer and to Helvetius to confirm its veracity.» — el eco del relato, con Spinoza acudiendo al ensayador y a Helvetius para confirmarlo

«Helvetius's visitor claimed the Stone could be made in three days, and the Stone he showed Helvetius was of a yellow color; traditionally, alchemical writers claimed that the confection of the Stone required at least nine months and resulted in a red material.» — y las discrepancias que Principe señala en el propio relato frente a la doctrina recibida: tres días en vez de nueve meses, color amarillo en vez de rojo

«These coins bore the bust of Leopold on one side, and on the other the verse "Aus Wenzel Seylers Pulvers Macht, Bin ich v o n Z i n n zu Gold gemacht» — las monedas de Seyler con el verso que declara la transmutación de estaño en oro

«Becher verified the reality of the transmutations but denied that Seyler had actually produced the powder, claiming instead that he was an ignorant thief.» — el juicio dividido de Becher, que verifica la realidad de las transmutaciones y niega que Seyler produjera el polvo, al que llama ladrón ignorante

«Boyle wrote that supposing the truth of this, I say, this one positive instance will better prove the reality of what they call the philosophers' stone, than all the cheats and fictions, wherewith pretending chemists have deluded the unskilful and the credulous, will prove that there can be no such thing as the elixir, nor no such operation as projection.» — el pasaje de Boyle sobre el peso probatorio de una sola instancia positiva frente a todos los fraudes de los quimistas pretendientes

«(According to other contemporaneous texts, Kelley is supposed to have obtained the powder of projection from the tomb of a bishop i n the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey!)» — el relato paralelo de otros textos contemporáneos sobre Kelley y el polvo hallado en la tumba de un obispo en Glastonbury, que Principe consigna entre paréntesis y con signo de admiración

«Boyle sought out the imperial ambassador, Count Waldstein, while he was in L o n d o n (from 5 June 1677 to 9 M a r c h 1679) to inquire about Seyler's transmutations, which the count had witnessed.» — el trabajo de campo de Boyle: buscó al embajador imperial, el conde Waldstein, mientras estuvo en Londres, para preguntarle por las transmutaciones que había presenciado

«Becher had been one of the inspectors appointed by the emperor to investigate the veracity of Seyler's transmutations.» — y la posición de Becher en el caso, inspector nombrado por el emperador

«The secondhand nature of all these accounts, regardless of the identity of the witnesses, renders them inferior to direct experience.» — la regla probatoria que Principe atribuye al material: por buenos que sean los testigos, lo de segunda mano es inferior a la experiencia directa

«The most powerful evidence for Boyle (or for anyone else, for that matter) of the reality of projective transmutation w o u l d naturally be the sight of such an event before his o w n eyes.» — de donde la evidencia más poderosa sería ver el suceso con los propios ojos

«Indeed, Boyle was not at all lacking in firsthand experience of chrysopoeia.» — y su afirmación de que a Boyle no le faltó esa experiencia de primera mano

«Fragment 10 of the Dialogue, a lengthy narrative spoken by the Lapidisi Philoponus, becomes the most significant of the transmutation accounts when we recognize that it actually represents Boyle's first person eyewitness description of a transmutation of lead into gold.» — el fragmento 10 del diálogo, que Principe identifica como la descripción de Boyle en primera persona de una transmutación de plomo en oro

«While other fragments also represent Boyle's testimony of experiments, these pale in importance next to an account of Boyle's o w n meeting w i t h a traveling adept w h o showed h i m projective transmutation.» — y jerarquiza: otros fragmentos también recogen su testimonio, pero palidecen junto al encuentro con un adepto viajero

«After heating the crucible strongly for fifteen minutes, they allow it to cool, and, upon knocking out the cooled mass, Philoponus is amazed to find a ponderous yellow metal, which his later tests show to be pure gold.» — el desenlace del relato: al golpear la masa fría, Filopono halla un metal amarillo pesado que sus pruebas posteriores muestran ser oro puro

«Philoponus's fluency i n French, his knowledge of assaying, and his liveried "footman at the house dore" all point to his identity w i t h Boyle.» — y los indicios con que Principe identifica a Filopono con Boyle: su francés, su conocimiento del ensaye y su lacayo en la puerta

«The importance of this event for Boyle should not be underestimated.» — Principe advierte contra subestimar la importancia de ese suceso para Boyle

«Although Boyle never entirely dismissed the possibility that the transmutatory Elixir existed, he does express some reservations i n published works and confesses to Burnet (in the "Burnet M e m o r a n d u m " ) that he "was long very distrustfull of what is comonly related concerning the Philosophers Stone.» — y consigna la reserva previa que Boyle confiesa a Burnet: fue largo tiempo desconfiado de lo que se cuenta de la piedra

«By Boyle's o w n account, it was this very incident that gave h i m "convincing satisfaction in that matter.» — para adjudicar el cambio al incidente mismo, por cuenta del propio Boyle

«The alchemist's disciple claimed that the elusive Philalethes was living in France, and at Boyle's behest agreed to carry letters to h i m from Boyle.» — el hilo que se abre ahí: el discípulo dijo que Philalethes vivía en Francia y aceptó llevarle cartas de Boyle

«Huygens notes that his brother Christiaan had been told by Boyle himself that a man had once visited h i m and made an ounce of gold from lead (using a bright red powder); Boyle later heard that the alchemist had been arrested in France.» — el testimonio de Huygens, que oyó de su hermano Christiaan lo que Boyle le contó del hombre que hizo una onza de oro con polvo rojo

«The stories diverge in terms of w h o exactly was imprisoned (the adept, according to Faustius, or his disciple, according to Huygens) and whether or not anyone died in falling from a horse, but such differences may be attributable to garbling during transmission;» — y Principe declara las divergencias entre las versiones antes de usarlas, atribuyéndolas a la transmisión

«I n fragment 10 Boyle recounts that he later learned " o f t w o severall transmutations that our Traveller had made i n one towne, of both which operations they were assur'd by the Persons themselves i n whose sight &c favour they were made, whereof one whose name I k n o w is at present a learned professor of Phisick in a university not very far o f [ f ] .» — el dato que Boyle añade: supo después de dos transmutaciones del viajero en un mismo pueblo, una de ellas ante quien hoy es profesor de medicina

«I n his o w n letter, Dickinson states that he had long been interested in transmutatory alchemy but had» — el testimonio de Dickinson sobre su propio interés antiguo en la alquimia transmutatoria

«I n 1679, however, he passed through England again, met Dickinson in L o n don, found h i m still interested in chymistry, and, in order to excite his industry t o w a r d chrysopoetic studies, showed h i m t w o projections.» — y el episodio de 1679, cuando el adepto le mostró dos proyecciones para excitar su industria

«The only difficulty in this identification is that Boyle describes his projector as a "servant &c young Disciple of an Adeptus," whereas Mundanus states that he had been "an Adept philosopher for more than forty years," in which case (unless he were impossibly precocious) he must have been at least sixty.» — la dificultad que Principe declara en su identificación: Boyle habla de un joven discípulo de un adepto y Mundano dice llevar más de cuarenta años de adepto

«Nonetheless, the difficulty is not insurmountable. For the notable similarities, especially in light of Boyle's later mention of Mundanus by name, are sufficiently striking to countenance the speculation that Boyle's "Traveller" was Mundanus's apprentice, and the t w o traveled together» — y la sortea sin ocultarla, proponiendo como especulación que el viajero fuera el aprendiz de Mundano

«This high rank accords w i t h Dickinson's repeated address to M u n - danus as "your excellency." Indeed, Boyle uses the high status of this adept (whether or not he is rightly identified w i t h Mundanus) to combat criticisms based upon the questionable character of alchemical projectors, and Boyle immediately contrasts h i m w i t h a thieving projector.» — el uso que Boyle da al rango alto del adepto: combatir las objeciones basadas en el carácter dudoso de los proyectores

«it is almost superfluous to point out that "Mundanus" is a pseudonym and not the genuine name that Boyle and Dickinson presumably k n e w .» — Principe señala lo obvio y lo declara: Mundano es seudónimo, no el nombre que Boyle y Dickinson conocían

«It is also w o r t h noting that "Mundanus" (world-citizen) can also be rendered as "Cosmopolite," a title used by several alchemists, including, most particularly, Michael Sendivogius and Eirenaeus Philalethes.» — y propone su lectura: Mundanus se traduce Cosmopolita, título usado por Sendivogio y por Eirenaeus Philalethes

«Yet it was by no means the only transmutation by projection that Boyle witnessed.» — y acota que no fue la única proyección que Boyle presenció

«One brought him [Boyle] a grain pretended to be the powder of projection but that person putting it unskillfully into the lead the flame scorched his hand so that the shaking it made him lose it[;] somewhat of it stuck to the paper but so litle that the eye without help of a Microscope could not discern it[;] that [particle] he [Boyle] carefully gathered and put to lead in fusion which being so litle could not have great Operation but it stopt the fusion of the lead which made him conclude that a greater quantity might have produced some more considerable change.» — el relato del grano de polvo perdido, la mano chamuscada y la partícula recogida que detuvo la fusión del plomo

«The fact that this minute particle of the Elixir "stopt the fusion of the lead"—that is, caused it to solidify—would have suggested that transmutation to gold was beginning, as gold has a higher melting point than easily fusible lead.» — y la lectura que Principe da a ese detalle: detener la fusión sugería que empezaba la transmutación, pues el oro funde más alto que el plomo

«While van Helmont freely confesses that he is not an adept, he (like Boyle and Helvetius) nonetheless claims to have been given minute portions of the Stone by generous adepti.» — el paralelo con van Helmont, que confiesa no ser adepto y aun así declara haber recibido porciones de la piedra

«I n "Vita aeterna" van Helmont writes that he was given a quarter of a grain (V^ooth of an ounce i n his Flemish system of weights) of the Stone, which, when projected upon eight ounces of boiling mercury, caused "the mercury immediately to stand solid from its flux.» — y su relato del cuarto de grano que hizo cuajar ocho onzas de mercurio hirviente

«But he indeed forgot his promise and was seen neither that whole day nor the following day, nor on any thereafter, so Mr. Boyle, taking up the crucible from the furnace, saw within it a truly golden material that, after subjecting it to all assays, he was forced to declare good gold, although it was slightly inferior in weight.» — la versión donde Boyle, ante el extraño que no volvió, halla en el crisol un material áureo que se ve obligado a declarar buen oro

«This story bears some resemblance to Helvetius's account—the visit of a shabbily dressed stranger w h o promises to return but does not do so.» — que Principe compara con el relato de Helvetius por el visitante mal vestido que promete volver y no vuelve

«The act was repealed in 1689, and according to Newton's testimony, the repeal was initiated by Boyle himself.» — el dato legal: la derogación de 1689, iniciada por Boyle según el testimonio de Newton

«The reader w i l l recall that the repeal of this act, owing to Newton's reference to it i n his letter to John Locke, was one of those long-visible signs of Boyle's alchemical involvements.» — y su lugar en la historiografía: uno de los signos visibles de los enredos alquímicos de Boyle, por la carta de Newton a Locke

«The instances of Boyle's direct observation of chrysopoetic transmutation are surely the "more immediate arguments" that convinced h i m of the real existence of the adepti, as he suggests in the preface to Producibleness.» — Principe identifica las transmutaciones presenciadas con los argumentos más inmediatos que Boyle menciona en el prefacio de Producibleness

«I have never said that I accept the Philosophical Stone because I can clearly explain h o w its properties and operations can be performed, but rather because I have been convinced» — y cita a Boyle diciendo que no acepta la piedra por poder explicarla sino por haber sido convencido

«A l l of these transmutations witnessed by Boyle himself point to the fact that Boyle was convinced of the reality of the Stone and of alchemical transmutation, not primarily by reading or by theoretical considerations, but rather by his o w n direct» — de donde saca su tesis sobre el camino de la convicción: no por lectura ni por teoría, sino por experiencia directa

«One problem is the uncomplicated way in which the authors invoke alchemy as a monolithic entity inherently opposed to the "modern science"» — objeta a Shapin y Schaffer el invocar la alquimia como entidad monolítica opuesta por naturaleza a la ciencia moderna

«Boyle and the Royal Society were constructing. They reinforce their linkage of the Royal Society's program w i t h Restoration social order by heaping together as their opposite "the knowledge claims of alchemical 'secretists' and of sectarian 'enthusiasts' w h o claimed individual and unmediated inspiration from God, or whose solitary treading [sic] of the Book of Nature produced unverifiable observational testimony.» — y cita el pasaje donde amontonan a los secretistas alquímicos con los entusiastas sectarios

«But this grouping of alchemists w i t h enthusiasts is not historically accurate.» — para declarar esa agrupación históricamente inexacta

«While most alchemists did in fact acknowledge their arcana as divine gifts, few expected dramatic divine inspirations after the manner of the "sectarians."» — con el matiz: la mayoría de los alquimistas reconocía sus arcana como dones divinos, pero pocos esperaban inspiraciones dramáticas

«Instead, they too turned to the accumulation and retelling of experiential evidence, most notably codified in the tradition of the transmutation history.» — y la alternativa que describe: acumular y contar evidencia experiencial, codificada en la tradición de la historia de transmutación

«Importantly, the use of circumstantial experiential accounts in the presentation of such "matters of fact" is both less novel to Boyle's air-pump and less complicated than Shapin and Schaffer claim.» — su objeción central: el uso de relatos circunstanciales para presentar hechos es menos novedoso y menos complicado de lo que ellos afirman

«A further example of such accounts is the renowned case of Nicolas Flamel» — el caso de Nicolas Flamel como otro ejemplo de esos relatos

«The first time that I made projection, was upon Mercurie, whereof I turned hälfe a pound, or thereabouts, onto pure Silver, better than that of the Mine, as I my selfe assayed, and made others assay many times.» — con el pasaje donde el narrador cuenta su primera proyección sobre mercurio y los ensayes que mandó hacer

«But Starkey continues, again i n a mode notably similar to Boyle's Dialogue, " I n the next place [the author] adjoynes firm Reasons, proving the probability of what Artists by their A r t do promise; and thirdly, brings in his o w n experimental testimonies, concerning what hee w i t h his eyes had seen, and w i t h his hands handled in this particular, upon which account, as an Ocular witness, he might write w i t h confidence, and certainty.» — y el prefacio de George Starkey, que Principe pone junto al diálogo de Boyle por su misma secuencia: razones firmes y luego testimonios experimentales de testigo ocular

«Starkey, like Boyle, shows the truth of alchemy foremost "by Testimonies, and those of such w h o were themselves professedly Adepti, and also of such w h o did not pretend to the A r t , so that an A r t confirmed by the testimony of its o w n Sons, and Strangers also to it, all being men of undoubted Credit, is not questionable, but by unreasonable Cavillers.» — el modo de prueba de Starkey, que Principe transcribe: testimonios de adeptos y de extraños al arte, todos de crédito indudable

«This moral necessity of believing accounts is found likewise in Boyle's Christian Virtuoso; however, the pursuit of this topic into the domain of Boyle's theology, as illuminating as it is neglected, w o u l d take us too far afield from the issues at hand.» — señala que esa necesidad moral de creer los relatos aparece también en el Christian Virtuoso, y se abstiene de seguir el hilo teológico ahí

«I w i l l point out that Boyle's willingness—indeed, obligation—to believe experiential accounts is intimately tied to the necessity of believing the eyewitness accounts of the Apostles regarding the miracles of Christ—this crucial link was glossed over by Shapin and Schaffer because they failed to acknowledge that Boyle's chief allegiance in life was not to class or country or social order but rather to biblical Christianity.» — y expone el vínculo que le adjudica: la disposición de Boyle a creer relatos experienciales va atada a creer el testimonio de los apóstoles sobre los milagros

«Boyle's overriding concern seems to have been that undermining belief i n testimonial accounts, especially in those which seem incredible, simultaneously undermines the miraculous proofs of the Christian faith offered by the testimonial accounts of the Gospels.» — de donde lee su preocupación de fondo: socavar el testimonio increíble socava las pruebas milagrosas de la fe

«The dichotomy that Shapin and Schaffer draw between Boyle and the Royal Society and the "alchemical secretists" reproduces the rather casual use of alchemy as a foil to "modern" science current in the older positivist historiography.» — y su reproche final a la dicotomía de Shapin y Schaffer: reproduce el uso casual de la alquimia como contraste de la ciencia moderna

«Such a similarity of style, format, and status binds together the alchemical tradition and early modern science; experiential witness accounts are a locus of continuity, not of disjunction.» — frente a lo cual propone su tesis de continuidad: los relatos de testigo son un lugar de continuidad y no de ruptura

«The surviving Boyle correspondence is full of letters from alchemists promising or requesting different things.» — el estado de la correspondencia de Boyle, llena de cartas de alquimistas que prometen o piden cosas

«Erasmus Rothmaler dedicated to Boyle a manuscript entitled Consilium philosophicum vel potius Harmonía philosophica (The philosophical counsel, or rather, the philosophical harmony), which survives among the Boyle Papers.» — el manuscrito que Erasmus Rothmaler le dedicó, conservado entre los Boyle Papers

«Interestingly, the copy bears an endorsement i n Boyle's hand reading, " M r . Rothmaler's Booke that I had from himself e," continued in John Warr's hand, "by way of Gift as I understood it, which I bequeath to M r N e w t o n the Mathematian of Cambridge.» — con el endoso de mano de Boyle y de John Warr que lo lega a Newton, el matemático de Cambridge

«The mysterious Y-Worth, whose alchemical collaborations w i t h N e w t o n have recently been investigated by Karin Figala, dedicated his Spagyric Physician to Boyle (posthumously) i n 1 6 9 2 .» — y el caso de Y-Worth, cuyas colaboraciones alquímicas con Newton investigó Karin Figala, que le dedicó su Spagyric Physician póstumamente

«Becher's 1680 Magnalia naturae, already mentioned as containing the tale of Wenzel Seyler, bears a title-page reference to Boyle as the reason for its publication.» — la Magnalia naturae de Becher de 1680, que en la portada refiere a Boyle como razón de su publicación

«Later, in 1689, Becher's posthumously published Alphabetum minerale, which constitutes the third part of his Tripus hermeticus fatidicus (The prophetic hermetic oracle), bears a dedication to Boyle.» — y el Alphabetum minerale póstumo de 1689, también dedicado a Boyle

«Ordinarily this w o u l d have been sufficient good fortune to render a man happy for life, but when Sonnenburg set about the process, although all the signs were good, he found that he could not afford the coals and maintenance of the furnace to bring the w o r k to completion over nine months or more of continuous and carefully regulated heating.» — el caso de Sonnenburg, que según su relato no pudo costear el carbón y el mantenimiento del horno durante los nueve meses de calentamiento

«Indeed, he claims, he has not the money to carry this "true and infallible process" to conclusion, for "poverty is the thing that suppresses the intellect.» — con su propia sentencia sobre el asunto, que Principe cita: la pobreza suprime el intelecto

«As a result, Sonnenburg asks Boyle in a cover letter i f he can obtain for h i m a "good man . . . devoted to the reformed religion," possibly from among the members of the Royal Society, w h o w o u l d be willing to pay h i m seven thousand pounds for the process.» — y la petición: que Boyle le consiguiera un comprador de la religión reformada dispuesto a pagarle siete mil libras

«N o w clearly Boyle saw the obvious problems w i t h Sonnenburg's proposal—even i f one were convinced of the possibility of producing the Philosophers' Stone (as Boyle was), Sonnenburg's process, for all his protestations regarding its origin w i t h an authentic adept, was still untried.» — Principe adjudica a Boyle haber visto el problema obvio: aun creyendo posible la piedra, el proceso de Sonnenburg seguía sin probarse

«Sonnenburg, thinking that Boyle might be dead or grievously i l l , made inquiries about h i m of "a certain person from H o l l a n d " ; this informant told Sonnenburg that "some imposter had most wickedly deceived" Boyle, and as a result Boyle was likely to be highly suspicious of similar offers.» — el rumor que llegó a Sonnenburg desde Holanda: que un impostor había engañado a Boyle

«Sonnenburg invokes this incident to protest that he is different and should not be forced to suffer because of the evil actions of another, and, as he points out, he is willing to give Boyle the secret for free, provided, of course, that Boyle extracts the seven thousand pounds from somebody else.» — y el uso que Sonnenburg le da, protestando que él es distinto y ofreciendo el secreto gratis siempre que Boyle sacara las siete mil libras de otro

«There could be no better illustration of Boyle's intense eagerness to gain arcane alchemical knowledge than the curious affair in which he was engaged from 1677 to about 1680 involving the elusive Georges Pierre des Clozets; his patron, the supposed patriarch of Antioch; and the Asterism, a secret society of alchemical adepti.» — el caso que Principe considera la mejor ilustración del afán de Boyle por el saber alquímico: el asunto de Georges Pierre des Clozets y el Asterismo

«A letter dated 25 June 1677 signed by "Georges, patriarch of Antioch," and sent to Pierre (then copied by Pierre and sent to Boyle) orders Pierre to go to England and to visit Boyle, show h i m "the projection," and tell h i m that " i t w i l l not be long before God allows h i m [Boyle] to enjoy the happiness of being a true philosopher.» — la carta de 1677 firmada por el patriarca de Antioquía que ordena a Pierre visitar a Boyle y mostrarle la proyección

«I n early 1678, Boyle received a letter dated 24 December 1677 at Constantinople from Georges du Mesnillet, w h o identifies himself as the patriarch of Antioch and the leader of a society of alchemical masters.» — la carta fechada en Constantinopla de Georges du Mesnillet, que se identifica como patriarca de Antioquía y jefe de una sociedad de maestros alquímicos

«I n this letter, the patriarch acknowledges Georges Pierre as his agent and informs Boyle that he is to be nominated for membership in a secret society of adepti at their next general assembly.» — y el contenido: reconoce a Pierre como agente y anuncia la nominación de Boyle a la sociedad secreta

«M o r e strikingly, in A p r i l Pierre advises Boyle "to continue what you have begun, to do what is necessary for you to belong to the Company of T u r k e y .» — el consejo de Pierre en abril, que Boyle hiciera lo necesario para pertenecer a la Compañía de Turquía

«Thus, apparently i n accordance w i t h Pierre's advice, Boyle requested entry to the company and was in fact made a freeman of the Turkey Company the following month on 15 M a y 1 6 7 8 .» — y el hecho documentado: Boyle pidió el ingreso y fue hecho hombre libre de la compañía el 15 de mayo de 1678

«While Boyle's membership in the company has long been k n o w n , it has previously been attributed to his interest in receiving natural historical reports from distant locales; this newly revealed motivation places it in a wholly different light.» — el hallazgo que Principe pone en primer plano: la entrada de Boyle a la compañía se atribuía a su interés por informes de historia natural, y esta motivación la cambia de luz

«While the fate (or existence) of these costly gifts is u n k n o w n , it is clear from the surviving letters that the patriarch's greatest gift did not make its way to Boyle.» — y acota lo que se sabe del envío: el mayor regalo del patriarca no llegó a Boyle

«For in expressing concern that the t w o pearls travel safely to him, the patriarch writes that "they must not be lost like the blessed powder that I entrusted to M r . Pierre.» — la frase de la carta que lo consigna, sobre el polvo bendito confiado a Pierre

«undoubtedly means a sample of the Philosophers' Stone, "projected" by the intermediary rather than sent on to Boyle.» — que Principe lee sin dudar como muestra de la piedra, proyectada por el intermediario en vez de reenviada

«This des Mulens or de Meulans is certainly the D u M o u l i n w h o was in fact tutor to Henry Saville (1660-1688), eldest son of George Saville, L o r d Halifax (1633-1695).» — y la identificación que hace del intermediario con el Du Moulin preceptor del hijo mayor de lord Halifax

«Pierre adds that he appended (with du Mesnillet's blessing) a few of his o w n recipes under Boyle's name—"a few tinctures of antimony . . . and a fixation of mercury"—sealed the packet and sent it to Philalette, the adept w h o w i l l act as Boyle's sponsor at the assembly.» — la maniobra que Pierre confiesa: anexó recetas propias bajo el nombre de Boyle y las mandó selladas al adepto patrocinador

«While it w o u l d be intriguing to link this "Philalette" w i t h the elusive alchemical author and wandering adept Eirenaeus Philalethes, it is clear from related documents that he is Petrus D[omin]um Des mulens tunc temporis in Italia cum filio M y lord halifax, non dubito quin alicubi ilium proiecerit.» — y Principe declara por qué no acepta la lectura tentadora: los documentos relacionados muestran que ese Philalette no es el autor alquímico errante

«O n 7/17 M a r c h 1678, Pierre tells Boyle that the alchemical masters have assembled "near Nice," and that he should prepare himself "to receive the greatest of all advantages.» — el aviso de marzo de 1678: los maestros se han reunido cerca de Niza y Boyle debe prepararse

«A "Polish philosopher" caused plants to flower and set fruit in the space of t w o hours.» — las maravillas que se le reportan de la asamblea, con un filósofo polaco que hace florecer y fructificar plantas en dos horas

«Pursafeda, "the Chinese gentleman," exhibited flasks that he said contained a developing homunculus, a five-month-old foal, and a fox.» — y el caballero chino con frascos que contendrían un homúnculo en formación, un potro y un zorro

«Pierre w o u l d later inform Boyle that twenty-seven people were proposed, but of these only three were accepted.» — el resultado: de veintisiete propuestos, solo tres aceptados

«This letter and document survived until the 1740s when Henry Miles sorted the Boyle archive; he listed it in his inventory as " 1 6 7 8 — f r o m Caen w i t h a Mandate from Philosophers' Assembly—in very uncouth English, not very intelligible Signed by a hand I cannot r e a d . "» — y la huella documental que quedó: la entrada del inventario de Henry Miles, en inglés muy tosco y firmada por una mano que no pudo leer

«Sephrozimez tells Boyle that he n o w has until 6 June to appear either in person or by proxy; i f he chooses one of the approved representatives, he should send whichever of the three he chooses six hundred livres (about fifty-three pounds) to help defray the travel expenses.» — el plazo y el precio que Sephrozimez pone: comparecer en persona o por procurador, y seiscientas libras tornesas al representante

«He must write letters of thanks and acceptance to the assembly and an address (in Latin) that w i l l become part of their records.» — las condiciones de aceptación: cartas de agradecimiento y un discurso en latín que quedaría en las actas

«He must choose w h o w i l l go as his representative, and w h o w i l l accompany him, and must supply the representative w i t h a letter of recommendation and six hundred livres.» — y la designación del representante con su carta de recomendación y su dinero

«Pierre informs h i m that the assembly also offers the option of Boyle's going to Lyons on 30 June, when "six of the principals to w h o m you must swear allegiance" w i l l be t h e r e .» — la alternativa que se le ofrece: ir a Lyon el 30 de junio, donde estarían seis de los principales a quienes debía jurar lealtad

«The v o w of allegiance Boyle must make to the society troubled h i m , as did vows in general.» — el punto que a Boyle le costó, según Principe: el voto de lealtad, como los votos en general

«Boyle's "great (and perhaps peculiar) tenderness in point of oaths" is n o w well recognized, and it was on account of this peculiarity that he declined the presidency of the Royal Society (which required swearing an oath of office) when it was offered to h i m in 1 6 8 0 .» — y el dato con que lo apuntala: por esa misma peculiaridad declinó la presidencia de la Royal Society en 1680, que exigía juramento

«again tries to reassure h i m that the v o w " w i l l hold you to nothing but your service, and w i l l not lead you into any temptation, but w i l l serve as a spur for you to love and serve God the more perfectly, and in another fashion than you have done h i t h e r t o .» — la tranquilización de Pierre, que el voto no lo obligaría a nada salvo a servir y a amar a Dios más perfectamente

«I n addition to his ordinary aversion to oaths, Boyle might well have feared that making a v o w to a corporate body overseas might be, or at least appear, treasonable.» — y la conjetura que Principe suma sobre el temor de Boyle: que un voto a un cuerpo corporativo en el extranjero pareciera traición

«As far as can be made out from the letters, Pierre showed le M o i n e something he should have shown only to Boyle, and as a result the Asterism has sentenced h i m to three months in prison.» — el enredo de le Moine, por el que el Asterismo habría sentenciado a Pierre a tres meses de cárcel

«Thus Pierre asks Boyle for a letter of support to beg "these gentlemen to let me off my prison sentence that has been brought on me by M r . le M o i n e .» — y la petición consiguiente de una carta de apoyo de Boyle

«Thus Pierre had them cast in France, but when at the request of a friend he fired one, it burst and killed four people.» — el episodio de los cañones fundidos en Francia, uno de los cuales reventó y mató a cuatro personas

«Pierre, not surprisingly perhaps, was sued and had to pay more than seven thousand livres (£622) in damages.» — con su consecuencia judicial: Pierre demandado y condenado a más de siete mil libras tornesas en daños

«Both lost items were i n "very uncouth English" and were therefore readable by Miles, w h o found them either irrelevant to or inappropriate for Boyle's eighteenth-century image.» — la explicación que Principe da a la pérdida de los dos documentos: estaban en inglés muy tosco y por eso Miles pudo leerlos

«The rest of the Pierre documents are i n Latin or French and were therefore unintelligible to Miles, and so were spared, presumably on the premise that they might contain something of value.» — mientras el resto, en latín o francés, le resultó ininteligible y se salvó

«M o d e r n historians can reflect thankfully on the poor language instruction afforded eighteenth-century Dissenting ministers; had Miles read Latin or French, we might have no record at all of Boyle's alchemical correspondence.» — y la reflexión con que lo cierra, sobre la mala instrucción en lenguas de los ministros disidentes del siglo XVIII

«It seems that one M r . la Marche, w h o according to Pierre was employed as a scribe for the assembly but dismissed for disloyalty, wrote a letter to Boyle through a M r . Carbonnel and aroused his suspicions.» — el episodio de la Marche, escriba despedido por deslealtad, que escribió a Boyle y despertó sus sospechas

«But Pierre protests that la Marche is a scoundrel, for he not only wrote this disquieting letter to Boyle but after his dismissal grew suspicious of the assembly and wrote of it to the king (presumably Louis X I V ) , w h o sent spies and "dispersed most of the Cosmopolites."» — la versión de Pierre: la Marche escribió al rey, que mandó espías y dispersó a los cosmopolitas

«Worse yet, presumably at the bidding of the nervous king, the "guard of the magazine i n the castle of Herigo, having been bribed by money or other means, laid a fuse that blew up the walls, the bastions, and the superb ramparts and more than thirty of our masters.» — y el desenlace que Pierre le cuenta, con el guardián sobornado que voló las murallas de Herigo y más de treinta maestros

«Pierre asks Boyle not to be "overcome by sadness" at this news of the effects of la Marche's "pernicious designs," but this was apparently the last time that Boyle heard from Pierre; at least no later letters survive.» — que Principe fecha como la última noticia que Boyle tuvo de Pierre, al menos entre lo que sobrevive

«Thus it is probably, as Descqueville feared, a f o r g e r y .» — sobre el agua que Descqueville sospechaba adulterada, Principe declara su propio juicio como probable: una falsificación

«Once this code is cracked (see chapter 5), M r . raxppx turns out to be M r . Pierre, and the balance of De Saingermain's coded epistle is clear.» — el descifrado del código de la carta de De Saingermain, del que sale que el señor cifrado es Pierre

«De Saingermain has found that Pierre is in fact "intimate w i t h the most illustrious figures of this century, he has the honor of being disciple to certain of them," and, more interestingly, "he is not lacking in powder [rlntpx = p o u d r e ] .» — y lo que esa carta dice de él: íntimo de figuras ilustres, discípulo de algunas, y no falto de polvo

«But Boyle continued in an unusually strong tone that he was not inclined to help la Marche in any way because "have some reason not to take it very kindly, that when I wrote to you three or four years ago, about Mr. Pierre des Closets, and seemed much concerned to receive an answer, (and therefore, i f I mistake not, wrote more than once) you never vouchsafed me a line of answer.» — la carta de Boyle a la Marche de 1682, la única que se conoce del lado de Boyle en todo el asunto, con su reproche por el silencio

«Boyle adds that la Marche might redeem himself somewhat i f he helps a certain person (whose name is left blank in the copy) "to recover all those papers of mine, that are to be found among those of your great friend monsieur Pierre, or wherever you k n o w them to be.» — y su pedido: que la Marche ayude a recuperar los papeles suyos que estén entre los de Pierre

«It is easiest to dismiss it all as a confidence trick, as Maddison did in 1969; Desqueville's letter appears to support this conclusion.» — Principe consigna la lectura fácil del asunto y a quién la sostuvo: Maddison lo desechó como estafa en 1969

«But merely denominating Pierre as a con artist seems not only too facile but somewhat beside the point, and smacks too much of the dismissive spirit that once rejected all of alchemical thought as unworthy of investigation.» — y objeta que llamar estafador a Pierre sea a la vez demasiado fácil y ajeno al punto, con un aire del desdén que antes desechaba la alquimia entera

«Rather, we should be ready to learn what Boyle's involvement in this affair tells us about Boyle's attitude toward alchemy, secrecy, and a number of ancillary issues.» — y propone qué preguntar en cambio: qué dice el enredo sobre la actitud de Boyle ante la alquimia y el secreto

«It seems judicious, however, to attempt to ascertain, as far as is n o w possible, where (if anywhere) the truth lies in Pierre's correspondence w i t h Boyle.» — aunque declara que sí conviene averiguar, hasta donde hoy sea posible, dónde está la verdad en esa correspondencia

«Indeed, the patriarchate of Antioch (which by this period was actually resident i n Damascus) was led by Neophytos, w h o occupied the see from late 1672 to 1682, having temporarily deposed Cyril V .» — el dato de archivo que aduce contra la identidad declarada: el patriarcado de Antioquía, entonces residente en Damasco, lo ocupaba Neophytos

«The titular patriarch for 1678, however, was no du Mesnillet but rather one Alessandro Crescenzi.» — y el patriarca titular para 1678 no era ningún du Mesnillet sino Alessandro Crescenzi

«The correspondence claims also that the "patriarch" had a sister in France and an uncle w h o was premier président of the Parlement of Dijon—unlikely connections for an Oriental prelate.» — las conexiones que la correspondencia atribuye al patriarca, improbables para un prelado oriental: hermana en Francia y tío primer presidente del Parlamento de Dijon

«It is reasonable to conclude, then, that du Mesnillet (real or not) bore the title patriarch of Antioch as a sign of his primacy in the Asterism.» — la conclusión que Principe declara razonable, no probada: du Mesnillet llevaba el título de patriarca como signo de primacía en el Asterismo

«This supposition is indeed supported by the fact that Pierre's letter of 7/17 M a y 1678 is dated at Athens even though in the text he states explicitly that he is w r i t i n g from Paris.» — el indicio que sostiene la hipótesis del código de topónimos: una carta fechada en Atenas cuyo texto dice que se escribe desde París

«However titillating such an imaginative reading might be, there is no evidence to support it, and Boyle's notable aversion to political involvement argues strongly against it.» — y el límite que le pone de inmediato: por titilante que sea esa lectura romántica, no hay evidencia que la apoye

«The castle of Herigo presents further clues and problems; no place by that name has yet been identified.» — la abstención sobre el castillo de Herigo: ningún lugar con ese nombre ha sido identificado

«One of Caen's chief lights, Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630-1721), had some interest in chrysopoeia and even records his o w n secondhand transmutation history, and the local historian Gabriel Vanel devotes considerable space to alchemical goings-on in his lengthy study of Caen; unfortunately, neither makes mention of Georges Pierre» — y la búsqueda negativa en los anales de Caen: ni Huet ni el historiador local Vanel mencionan a Georges Pierre

«archives also verified all the claims made by the 1680 letter to Boyle— Georges did in fact die in 1680 and was buried on 26 A p r i l 1680 in the parish of St. J e a n .» — el resultado del trabajo de archivo: la parroquia de St. Jean asienta que Georges Pierre murió en 1680 y fue enterrado el 26 de abril

«Moreover, the claim that Pierre returned to Caen as a very rich man also appears to be true.» — y también, dice Principe, parece cierto que volvió a Caen muy rico

«He, or rather his family, did actually buy a large estate in Bretteville-sur-Odon, a southern suburb of Caen, on 12 November 1679 for the sum of fourteen thousand livres, exactly as Boyle's anonymous informant claims.» — con la compra de la finca de Bretteville-sur-Odon en noviembre de 1679 por catorce mil libras, exactamente como decía el informante anónimo

«According to Pierre, one of the casualties of the detonation was Charles le M o r , " w h o begged me to fire them," the young son of the pewterer on rue St. Jean to w h o m Boyle directed his letters for P i e r r e .» — el detalle del cañón: entre las víctimas, Charles le Mor, hijo del estañero de la calle St. Jean a quien Boyle dirigía sus cartas

«Surprisingly, the St. Jean parish register records Charles le Mor's burial on 30 M a y 1678, the same day as Pierre's letter informing Boyle of the accident.» — y el hallazgo que Principe llama sorprendente: el registro parroquial asienta el entierro de le Mor el mismo día de la carta de Pierre

«While there is of course nothing in the parish record to confirm that le M o r was killed by a badly cast cannon, w h y w o u l d Pierre bother to fabricate so bizarre a story and to weave into it an actual d e a t h ?» — con la salvedad expresa de que nada en el registro consigna la causa, y la pregunta que deja abierta sobre por qué fabricar una historia tan extraña alrededor de una muerte real

«Both Pierre and Descqueville mention M r . de Carbonnel, w h o seems to have been in London, as Boyle was supposed to contact h i m ; he may well be the same de Carbonnel noted as a traveler in a contemporary account of travelers from C a e n .» — el rastreo de los asociados: el señor de Carbonnel, que pudo ser el viajero registrado en un relato contemporáneo de viajeros de Caen

«Although Etienne le M o i n e matches the le M o i n e of the Pierre correspondence i n terms of his connection to Caen and his residence in England during the time of the correspondence, I rather doubt that so important a churchman w o u l d have acted as intermediary i n this affair.» — y una identificación que Principe declina: aunque Etienne le Moine calza en lo geográfico y temporal, duda que un eclesiástico de ese peso hiciera de intermediario

«Where the truth lies remains hard to ascertain.» — su abstención sobre el conjunto: dónde está la verdad sigue siendo difícil de determinar

«I n spite of the lingering questions, however, one thing is quite clear: the affair powerfully asserts Boyle's great eagerness to acquire alchemical knowledge.» — y lo único que da por claro pese a las preguntas: el afán de Boyle por adquirir conocimiento alquímico

«Furthermore, i f Pierre was just a con man, his voyage to England to swindle Robert Boyle w i t h alchemical promises must argue that Boyle's avid interest i n chrysopoeia was widely k n o w n .» — el argumento que saca incluso de la hipótesis del fraude: si Pierre fue estafador, su viaje a Inglaterra arguye que el interés de Boyle era ampliamente conocido

«According to Godfrey, Boyle came into contact w i t h a certain German w h o claimed to k n o w the method of confecting the Philosophers' Stone.» — el relato de Godfrey: Boyle entró en contacto con un alemán que decía saber confeccionar la piedra

«Boyle paid for his passage to England and set Godfrey as his supervisor, presumably on the grounds of both Godfrey's competence in chymistry and his ability to communicate w i t h the visitor i n his native G e r m a n .» — y le pagó el pasaje a Inglaterra poniendo a Godfrey de supervisor, por su competencia química y porque hablaba alemán

«It is interesting to note h o w Boyle "farmed out" this German into the lodging of one of his operators rather than setting h i m up in his laboratory in the Pall M a l l house.» — el detalle de arreglo que Principe subraya: Boyle alojó al alemán con uno de sus operarios en vez de instalarlo en su laboratorio de Pall Mall

«But Boyle shortly thereafter paid for separate lodging for the alchemist, where he soon set up what Godfrey called "some fiddling furnace, enough to make one l a u g h . "» — y luego le pagó alojamiento aparte, donde el alquimista montó lo que Godfrey llamó un horno ridículo

«Godfrey laments bitterly of being caught between Boyle, w h o was all this time "continually eager and desirous of news," and the promising projector, w h o was continually eager and desirous of more money.» — la queja de Godfrey, atrapado entre un Boyle ansioso de noticias y un proyector ansioso de dinero

«Although the projector continued making fine orations on the unity of alchemy and religion, declaiming "against the three antichristian religions as he called it, viz. Popedom, Lutherdom, and Calvinism," no alchemical progress was forthcoming.» — y el retrato del proyector, que declamaba sobre la unidad de alquimia y religión contra los tres papados anticristianos mientras no había avance

«Then Boyle, w h o in Godfrey's words "paid everyone to a tee, yet knew well enough h o w to bestow money, h o w to limit his gifts and not be flush," began to decrease the would-be alchemist's salary.» — el juicio de Godfrey sobre el manejo del dinero de Boyle, que pagaba a todos con exactitud y sabía limitar sus regalos

«The most striking of these was the conversion of lead into gold at the hands of a French alchemist w h o has here been tentatively identified as a disciple of one Theodore Mundanus, an adept k n o w n personally by Boyle's friend Edmund Dickinson.» — el resumen del capítulo: la conversión de plomo en oro por un alquimista francés, identificado con reserva como discípulo de Theodore Mundano

«His avid interest in traditional alchemical topics made h i m the object of numerous dedications of alchemical publications as well as the target of several alchemical schemers.» — y el efecto de su fama: numerosas dedicatorias alquímicas y varios intrigantes que lo tomaron por blanco

«While Boyle frequently received confirmation of alchemical claims, even directly from the hands of adepti, he did not receive thence what he certainly wanted even more—the practical knowledge of the secret preparations of their arcana.» — la distinción que Principe fija: Boyle recibió confirmaciones de las afirmaciones alquímicas, pero no el conocimiento práctico de las preparaciones

«The alchemical literature repeatedly stressed h o w the adepti w o u l d never divulge the secret of their Stone openly—indeed, the second half of the Dialogue spends much time bemoaning the adepti's reticence to speak candidly—and Boyle's experiences verified this policy.» — porque la literatura repetía que los adeptos jamás divulgan el secreto, y la experiencia de Boyle lo verificó

«Sir Isaac N e w t o n presents an extreme case of addiction to the textual tradition w i t h his voluminous collections of alchemical quotations and his Index chemicus; a majority of Newton's " m i l lion words of alchemy" are copied extracts from respected authors.» — y el caso extremo de la tradición textual: Newton y sus colecciones de citas alquímicas, mayormente extractos copiados

«I here disagree sharply with Marco Beretta, who concludes his Enlightenment of Matter with an appendix on alchemy riddled with astounding errors of both fact and interpretation, where he broadly states that alchemy should not be regarded as an experimental endeavor whatsoever (331).» — Principe declara con su nombre un desacuerdo agudo con Beretta, a cuyo apéndice sobre alquimia atribuye errores de hecho y de interpretación

«I have already shown that Boyle was an alchemical author, not only writing the Dialogue on the Transmutation of Metals but also at least planning several additional works on the subject, not to mention the published signs of his chrysopoetic interests i n Anti-Elixir and his Philosophical Transactions paper on the incalescence of mercury w i t h g o l d .» — recapitula la autoría alquímica de Boyle: el diálogo, varias obras planeadas, el Anti-Elixir y el artículo sobre la incalescencia del mercurio

«Since Boyle has rightly gained renown as an experimentalist, his pursuit of chrysopoeia and the Stone must have manifested itself in experimental programs.» — y anuncia el criterio del capítulo: si Boyle fue experimentalista, su búsqueda de la piedra debió manifestarse en programas experimentales

«The substantial number of alchemical manuscripts among Boyle's surviving papers clearly witnesses his study of chrysopoetic authors.» — el testimonio material de su estudio de autores crisopeyos: el número sustancial de manuscritos alquímicos entre sus papeles

«The multiple copies suggest that Boyle may have been comparing manuscripts to arrive at more accurate texts.» — y lo que Principe lee en las copias múltiples, con su modal: Boyle pudo estar comparando manuscritos para fijar textos más exactos

«Eirenaeus Philalethes' De metallorum metamorphosi exists in an early copy in the hand of a scribe of the Hartlib circle.» — el De metallorum metamorphosi de Eirenaeus Philalethes, en copia temprana de mano de un escriba del círculo de Hartlib

«The Concordantia chymica of Alexander van Suchten, an important source for the Philalethean works, appears in t w o different translations, as do the Epistolae philosophicae, Statua philosophorum incognitorum, and other works attributed to Michael Sendivogius.» — y la Concordantia chymica de van Suchten, fuente importante de los escritos philalethianos, en dos traducciones distintas

«Since Boyle's library was dispersed after his death and no catalog of it exists, we cannot calculate its proportion of alchemical books as has been done for N e w t o n ' s .» — el límite documental que Principe declara: la biblioteca de Boyle se dispersó y no hay catálogo, así que no puede medirse su proporción alquímica como se hizo con la de Newton

«The fact that these texts can be dated on the basis of handwriting from the 1650s (Clodius's hand and that of a Hartlib circle scribe) to the late 1670s and 1680s (Bacon's hand and "hand A " ) shows that Boyle's interest in collecting and studying chrysopoetic works stretched over his entire career.» — el argumento por manos de escriba: fechables de los años cincuenta a los ochenta, muestran que el interés se extendió por toda su carrera

«One is " A Diary and Practicke given me by M r . Oughtred," which first recounts (in typically enigmatic language) the preparation of the matter for the Stone and then presents a running account of its progress during ten months of prolonged heating.» — uno de los cuadernos: un diario y práctica dado por Oughtred, con la preparación de la materia de la piedra y diez meses de calentamiento

«Another is the mysterious booklet The Art Begun (Ars coepta), dated 1681 and written in the hand of Boyle's scribe Robin Bacon.» — y el opúsculo The Art Begun, fechado en 1681 y escrito por el escriba Robin Bacon

«high proportion (four out of seven) of treatises on chrysopoeia suggests not only that there were a large number of such titles in Boyle's library, but also that these particular volumes were i n use around the time of Boyle's death» — el argumento por proporción: cuatro tratados de crisopeya sobre siete sugiere no solo abundancia sino uso cercano a la muerte de Boyle

«The sudden appearance of scientific and medical receipts i n such collections (to the exclusion of all else) in 1650 has recently been noted for the first time by H u n t e r .» — el hallazgo de Hunter que Principe recoge: la aparición súbita de recetas científicas y médicas en esas colecciones hacia 1650

«Boyle's long-acknowledged significance and preeminence as an experimentalist should have underscored the promise of such documents to provide a more direct, vivid, and (perhaps) reliable picture of Boyle's experimental endeavors and methodology than his more filtered and polished published tracts.» — y el valor que atribuye a los cuadernos de laboratorio: un cuadro más directo y vívido que los tratados publicados

«A perhaps greater difficulty is the very diversity and disorder of the entries themselves.» — con la dificultad que declara: la propia diversidad y desorden de las entradas

«These records, when quarried for details pertinent to Boyle's alchemy, provide a further dimension and vividness to Boyle's chrysopoetic pursuits.» — de las que, dice, se extraen detalles que dan dimensión a sus empeños crisopoéticos

«Some reveal Boyle's attempts to puzzle out the meanings of respected authors; in one case an entry dated 20 August 1678 reads» — una entrada fechada el 20 de agosto de 1678 lo muestra tratando de descifrar el sentido de autores respetados

«I have elsewhere shown in detail h o w i n private papers and communications dating from the 1650s to his death, Boyle employs no fewer than nine different codes, ciphers, and nomenclators to veil his alchemical activities and processes.» — el resultado del cotejo de papeles privados: Boyle emplea no menos de nueve códigos, cifras y nomencladores para velar sus actividades alquímicas

«By careful analysis and comparison of contexts I have deciphered most of these codes.» — y Principe declara su propio trabajo sobre ellos y su alcance, con su acotación: descifró la mayoría

«I n other cases Boyle employs meaningless words like durca, ormunt, and albeda to stand in the place of substances or operations.» — los códigos de palabras sin sentido que Boyle usa en lugar de sustancias u operaciones

«Crossing or nesting different encoding systems further expands Boyle's secret vocabulary.» — y la ampliación del vocabulario secreto por cruce o anidamiento de sistemas de cifrado

«Even Boyle's reading notes are sometimes encoded. There exists a lengthy set of closely spaced notes in the hand of Boyle's amanuensis Robin Bacon entitled "from Parrac his fourth t o m e .» — el caso de las notas de lectura cifradas, en mano del amanuense Robin Bacon

«The implication is that Boyle did not want Bacon or other scribes or readers to k n o w the true nature of the notes he was taking.» — de donde Principe lee la implicación: Boyle no quería que sus escribas conocieran la naturaleza real de lo que anotaba

«This method of note taking suggests that Boyle was protecting his knowledge by keeping the totality of a process out of the hands of any one person, guarding against the recognition of their alchemical value and subsequent theft.» — y la función que atribuye a ese modo de tomar notas: mantener la totalidad de un proceso fuera del alcance de una sola persona

«A N G E L U S code does not w o r k for Saingermain's February 1680 letter, but assuming that the code there works on the same principle and that the " M r . raxppx" decodes to Mr. Pierre, this other nomenclátor may be shown to be based on the keyword AMOUR.» — el descifrado de una segunda carta con nomenclátor, que Principe presenta condicionado a que funcione con el mismo principio

«The process, as I pointed out in chapter 3, draws its origin from one of Basil Valentine's most cryptic works on making the Stone, and as such, this "gold process" showcases not only Boyle's reading of alchemical authors but also his experimental attempts to re-create their results.» — el proceso del oro, que remonta a una de las obras más crípticas de Basilio Valentín y muestra a Boyle recreando resultados leídos

«While Boyle's simile seems unremarkable to most readers, a contemporaneous seeker for the Stone w o u l d at once recognize its enormous importance.» — y la advertencia de lectura que Principe pone antes del símil: al lector moderno le parece anodino y un buscador contemporáneo reconocería su importancia enorme

«Further, while Basil's text is intentionally obscure, Boyle's description of his o w n w o r k shares some of that obscurity.» — con la observación sobre la escritura de Boyle: comparte parte de la oscuridad intencional del texto de Basilio

«Just as these encoding systems could hide the true nature of Boyle's notes from unwanted inquiry, they could also safeguard correspondence.» — y la doble función del cifrado, que también protege la correspondencia

«Similarly, the extremely popular Wasserstein der Weisen (1619) notes that in the true philosophical solvent, gold dissolves "like ice in some w a r m» — el lugar paralelo del Wasserstein der Weisen, donde el oro se disuelve como hielo en agua tibia

«Likewise, i n the Introitus apertus ad occlusum regis palatium, Eirenaeus Philalethes remarks repeatedly on h o w gold "melts in our Mercury like ice in lukewarm w a t e r» — y el del Introitus apertus, donde Philalethes repite que el oro funde en su Mercurio como hielo en agua tibia

«Boyle's use of the phrase could not be accidental; he was well read in the alchemical literature, and he uses this highly specific phrase in an appropriate context.» — de donde Principe declara que el uso de la frase por Boyle no pudo ser accidental

«The use is deliberate, and its meaning could not be missed by alchemically attuned readers; it proclaims to them (and to them alone) that Boyle believes that he has successfully prepared the eagerly sought-after Philosophical Mercury, the first step in making the Philosophers' Stone.» — y su lectura del sentido cifrado: proclama a los lectores alquímicamente afinados que cree haber preparado el Mercurio filosófico

«Boyle asserts that it "can as little be Volatiliz'd as Destroy'd"; yet he goes on to explain that he has volatilized it, and further that he has "really destroyed even refined gold.» — la tensión que señala en el texto de Boyle: dice que el oro no puede volatilizarse ni destruirse y luego declara haber hecho ambas cosas

«these t w i n claims is made clear by his juxtaposed (but not explicitly connected) quotation of an axiom he attributes to Roger Bacon that " i t is easier to make gold than to destroy i t " (facilius est aurum construere, quam destruere)» — con el axioma que Boyle atribuye a Roger Bacon, más fácil hacer oro que destruirlo

«I f we take these comments together, Boyle implies that since he has i n fact destroyed gold (the more difficult task), the making of gold, an easier process, should follow readily.» — y la implicación que Principe le saca, sin que Boyle la conecte de forma expresa

«Boyle's Attitude to Secrecy Significantly, Boyle's codes and allusive or dispersed descriptions occur only in chrysopoetic and spagyric contexts.» — el dato distributivo que le importa: los códigos y las descripciones dispersas de Boyle solo aparecen en contextos crisopoéticos y espagíricos

«He did not. We saw in chapter 2 h o w the Sceptical Chymist explicitly excuses adepti for " w r i t i n g darkly and aenigmatically" about their grand arcana even while holding those w h o w o u l d teach the general principles of natural philosophy to a standard of openness and clarity.» — y su lectura del Sceptical Chymist a esa luz: excusa a los adeptos por escribir oscura y enigmáticamente sobre sus arcana

«Boyle's allowances for alchemical secrecy are renewed in the 1680 appendix Producibleness of Chymical Principles where, as we saw, he not only condones secrecy for chrysopoetic arcana but actually claims to understand the basis and meaning of at least some of the adepts' metaphorical speech.» — renovada en el apéndice de 1680, donde no solo tolera el secreto sino que dice entender el sentido del habla metafórica de los adeptos

«Boyle's mature attitude to secrecy cannot be gleaned from a youthful w o r k whose motives are far removed from the natural philosophical activities that characterized his later life.» — la regla de método que Principe declara: la actitud madura de Boyle ante el secreto no puede sacarse de una obra juvenil de otros motivos

«But for Boyle, experimentalism was the key to knowledge of the natural w o r l d — t h e Book of Nature took precedence over the books of men, and alchemy was no exception.» — y el principio que le adjudica: el Libro de la Naturaleza precedía a los libros de los hombres, y la alquimia no era excepción

«This transmutational experiment shows not only another example of Boyle's laboratory pursuit of chrysopoeia but also its collaborative nature.» — el rasgo que Principe subraya del experimento transmutatorio: su carácter colaborativo

«Boyle is directing (and perhaps financing) alchemical studies carried on simultaneously by both De Saingermain in Paris and an anonymous German (Hanckwitz?), presumably in London.» — con Boyle dirigiendo y quizá financiando estudios simultáneos en París y en Londres

«While Boyle clearly saw the necessity of maintaining secrecy in regard to chrysopoeia, he nonetheless maintained a "circle" of trusted collaborators.» — y su tesis sobre secreto y colaboración: pese a mantener el secreto, Boyle sostenía un círculo de colaboradores de confianza

«A striking example is provided by John Maison, a chymist in Dover.» — el ejemplo de John Matson, quimista de Dover

«Matson's reference to gentle heating recapitulates the axiom "Let never thy Glasse be hotter then t h o w may feele / A n d suffer styll i n thy hand to holde" enunciated by George Ripley and oft repeated d o w n to Boyle's day.» — cuya referencia al calor suave Principe reconoce como el axioma de George Ripley, repetido hasta la época de Boyle

«M a t - son also expresses the need for secrecy in this matter and tells Boyle that he is ready to discharge his operator w h o is "a litle too cuning barely to perforine what I direct without prying further.» — el secreto en boca de Matson, dispuesto a despedir a su operario por demasiado curioso

«Matson even declares that " I thinke I should w i t h Reluctancy accept of such a secret my selfe, i f by the same means it should come to the hand of an indiscreet person.» — y su declaración de que aceptaría con reticencia semejante secreto si por la misma vía llegara a manos indiscretas

«Both Le Febvre and Matson turn to Boyle for guidance i n their confection of the Stone; clearly, both knew of Boyle's interest in the matter» — el dato que Principe extrae de esas cartas: Le Febvre y Matson acuden a Boyle para orientarse en la confección de la piedra

«While this result is very favorable, Le Febvre is concerned that his digested material is not " o f easy fusion," which is "a property announced in the books"; so he turns to Boyle in the hope that the latter w i l l "let me k n o w h o w I can make this substance melt easily.» — el problema técnico que Le Febvre le plantea, que su materia digerida no funde con facilidad como anuncian los libros

«The process of increasing the fusibility of the Stone is k n o w n as "inceration," from cera (wax); it is necessary that the Stone be as fusible as w a x so that in projection it can melt and penetrate the metals like oil soaking into paper and cause transmutation.» — y la explicación del término: la inceración, de cera, para que la piedra funda y penetre los metales

«The importance of the Philosophical Mercury in traditional alchemy rests upon its indispensability for preparing the Philosophers' Stone, for it is the solvent able to dissolve gold "radically."» — la razón por la que el Mercurio filosófico es indispensable: es el disolvente capaz de disolver el oro radicalmente

«I have already shown h o w i n the late 1650s and early 1660s Boyle implied allusively that his menstruum peracutum was Philosophical Mercury; this marks Boyle's brief and early exploration of the so-called via húmida, or "wet way," which stipulates the use of watery solvents to dissolve gold i n preparation for making the Stone.» — y la vía húmeda de la década de 1650, que Principe describe como exploración breve y temprana de Boyle

«Once common mercury is rightly purified, it becomes more active and penetrating and is then called "animated" or Philosophical» — el nombre que recibe el mercurio común una vez purificado: animado o filosófico

«The Mercury's action on gold is seen as twofold. First, its radical dissolution of gold liberates the "seeds of gold" hidden w i t h i n the innermost recesses of the metal; second, like com» — la doble acción que se le atribuye sobre el oro, empezando por liberar las semillas de oro escondidas en el metal

«The germination, nourishment, and cultivation of the golden seed allows for the multiplication of its virtue, as from one grain a plant grows to yield a hundred grains or more, and thus the Philosophers' Stone is capable of transmuting base metals into gold.» — y la analogía vegetal que sostiene la multiplicación, como de un grano nace una planta de cien granos

«Comm o n gold is dead, but the animated Mercury animates the gold in turn and makes it grow.» — con la fórmula que Principe recoge: el oro común está muerto y el Mercurio animado lo anima y lo hace crecer

«Collesson writes that the Mercury and its employment are not right "unless the common gold visibly vegetates and the peacock's tail [varied colors] appears.» — y el criterio de Collesson para saber si el Mercurio es el correcto, que el oro vegete visiblemente y aparezca la cola de pavorreal

«He notes that the existence of such a Mercury is asserted primarily by those w h o write positively of the transmutation of metals, but a greater number of writers "have reckon'd this sort of Mercuries among the Chimaera's and Non-Entia of the bragging Chymists.» — el estado de la cuestión que Boyle describe: la mayoría de los autores contaba esos Mercurios entre las quimeras y no entidades de los quimistas jactanciosos

«Boyle claims that at length he succeeded in preparing such a substance, mixed it in the palm of his hand w i t h gold powder, and felt a distinct and sometimes strong heat.» — la afirmación de Boyle sobre su propia preparación, mezclada en la palma con polvo de oro y con calor sensible

«Boyle then underlines the importance of this product by explicitly connecting it w i t h chrysopoetic authors, claiming that "some years after" he was in possession of this Mercury, he found in alchemical texts "some dark passages, whence I then ghess'd their knowledge of it, or of some other very like it; and in one of them I found, though not all in the very same place, an Allegorical description of i t .» — y el gesto que Principe subraya: Boyle la conecta con los autores crisopeyos y dice haber hallado después una descripción alegórica de ella

«he declines to affirm that "every Metalline Mercury . . . is the same as that which the Chrysopaean Writers mean by their Philosophick Mercury,» — la abstención expresa de Boyle, que Principe cita: declina afirmar que todo Mercurio metálico sea el Mercurio filosófico de los escritores crisopeyos

«While he clearly describes the effects of the mercury and details the surest ways of testing other mercuries to see i f they w i l l heat w i t h gold, he never mentions the method he used to prepare his mercury.» — el silencio que Principe mide en el artículo: describe los efectos y las pruebas, y nunca menciona el método de preparación

«In fact, a stipulation for the paper's publication, spelled out by Boyle, requires that no questions may be asked about the paper's content: "divers Queries and perhaps Requests, (relating to this Mercury) . . . I w o u l d by all means avoid, for divers Reasons, . . .» — la condición que Boyle puso para publicarlo, que no se le hicieran preguntas sobre su contenido

«Boyle uses a more traditionally alchemical excuse for his secrecy when he cites his fear of the "political inconveniences which might ensue i f [the Mercury] should prove to be of the best k i n d and fall into i l l hands.» — y la excusa de tono alquímico que Boyle da para el secreto, los inconvenientes políticos si el Mercurio cayera en malas manos

«Boyle then boldly asserts that he w i l l never make this mercury again, and adds melodramatically that "for the sake of M a n k i n d , I resolve not to teach the preparation.» — la declaración de Boyle de que no volverá a hacer ese mercurio ni enseñará su preparación, que Principe califica de melodramática

«According to Starkey, this master—bearing the pseudonym Eirenaeus Philalethes— had successfully prepared the Philosophers' Stone, and Starkey had been witness to several transmutations, as well as to the use of the Stone to revive a withered peach tree and to make an old w o m a n g r o w new teeth.» — el relato de Starkey sobre su maestro Eirenaeus Philalethes, con la piedra, el duraznero revivido y la anciana a la que le salieron dientes

«Starkey was born i n Bermuda of English parents, moved to N e w England, and was there graduated in the Harvard class of 1646.» — los datos biográficos de Starkey: nacido en Bermudas de padres ingleses y graduado en Harvard en 1646

«The Boyle-Starkey collaboration was most intense during the early 1650s, although their interaction continued throughout the rest of the decade.» — y la datación de la colaboración con Boyle, más intensa a principios de los años cincuenta

«Boyle's manuscript "Philosophical Collections" of the early 1650s, for example, contains numerous recipes transcribed from Starkey's notes that are recorded as choice secrets.» — las Philosophical Collections de Boyle, con recetas transcritas de las notas de Starkey como secretos escogidos

«M o s t important to the present study of Boyle's incalescent mercury is a fragmentary letter from Starkey to Boyle that has been dated to A p r i l / M a y 1651.» — la pieza central para el asunto: una carta fragmentaria de Starkey a Boyle fechada hacia abril o mayo de 1651

«Starkey explicitly remarks that by his method "[common] mercury can be made into a mercurius Philosophorum."» — donde Starkey dice expresamente que por su método el mercurio común puede hacerse mercurius Philosophorum

«Starkey considers that the alloy of antimony and silver that he prescribes to be amalgamated w i t h common mercury functions to "purge all superfluities from i t , " as witnessed by the black powder that the amalgam spews out when it is ground.» — y explica la función de la aleación de antimonio y plata, purgar las superfluidades

«The experimental fact that Starkey's mercury incalesces w i t h gold (a property not described by him) confirms Starkey as the source of Boyle's incalescent mercury.» — el hecho experimental con que Principe cierra la adjudicación: el mercurio de Starkey incalesce con el oro, propiedad que Starkey no describe

«the fact that some of the phenomena described in alchemical texts—even those dealing w i t h the arcana maiora—can be successfully reproduced in the modern chemical laboratory clearly refutes the claims of those w h o assert that alchemy had no real experimental component.» — y la conclusión de método que saca de haber reproducido esos fenómenos en laboratorio moderno, contra quienes niegan a la alquimia componente experimental

«H a d the alchemists not actually performed and described real laboratory operations, or had they been mere victims of self-induced delusional states, or described the " i r r u p t i o n " or "projection" of the unconscious on matter (as many followers of Carl G. Jung claim), they obviously could not have accurately described actual, reproducible chemical phenomena.» — con el argumento explícito contra la lectura junguiana de la alquimia como proyección del inconsciente sobre la materia

«The 1651 date of Starkey's letter also corresponds excellently w i t h Boyle's reference to 1652 as the date for his first preparation of the incalescent mercury.» — y el ajuste de fechas que le sirve de apoyo: la carta de 1651 concuerda con 1652 como fecha de la primera preparación de Boyle

«It is interesting to note that while Boyle invokes the "Philalethists," he suppresses any mention of Starkey, w h o had died in the Great Plague of 1665, and attributes his discovery of this prized alchemical product merely to his o w n trials and "God's blessing."» — el silencio que Principe señala en Boyle: invoca a los philalethistas y suprime a Starkey, muerto en la peste de 1665, atribuyendo el hallazgo a sus propias pruebas y a la bendición de Dios

«Boyle makes the latter clear when he explains that he hopes he may safely learn . . . what those that are skilful and Judicious enough to deserve to be much considered in such an affair, will think of our Mercury . . . The knowledge of the opinions of the wise and skilful about this case, will be requisite to assist me to take right measures in an affair of this nature.» — y el pasaje donde Boyle dice esperar el juicio de los hábiles para tomar bien sus medidas en un asunto así

«It seems that Boyle was unable to find the means of progressing from the Philosophical Mercury to the Philosophers' Stone.» — el límite que Principe pone al alcance del logro, con su modal: parece que Boyle no halló cómo pasar del Mercurio filosófico a la piedra

«Thus this Philosophical Transactions paper should not be read as a publication in the sense of making knowledge public but rather as an attempt to contact adepti and obtain instruction from them.» — de ahí su relectura del artículo: no una publicación en el sentido de hacer público, sino un intento de contactar adeptos y obtener instrucción

«It extends and makes more specific Boyle's general desire (expressed elsewhere) to be " w i l l ingly and thankfully instructed" by a d e p t i .» — que hace específico el deseo general de Boyle de ser instruido de buen grado y con gratitud

«Accordingly, Boyle (with the help of Oldenburg as a translator) addresses the paper to as large an audience as possible by publishing it in both English and Latin in parallel columns—a publishing practice both unprecedented and unrepeated i n the Philosophical Transactions.» — la evidencia editorial: el artículo salió en inglés y latín en columnas paralelas, práctica sin precedente ni repetición en las Philosophical Transactions

«This desire for exposure is the likeliest explanation for a curious occurrence six years later when Oldenburg's Latin translation was published in the Miscellanea curiosa of the German Academia Naturae Curiosorum under the name of Heinrich Screta.» — y el episodio de la republicación latina bajo el nombre de Heinrich Screta seis años después

«It seems improbable that Screta's republication of the incalescence paper is a mere plagiarism.» — que Principe declara improbable como plagio simple

«I suggest that Screta was acting on Boyle's behalf as a "front" for his chrysopoetic message and request to adepti.» — y propone en cambio, marcándolo como sugerencia suya, que Screta actuara como fachada del mensaje crisopoético de Boyle

«Whether Boyle received the kind of responses from adepti for which he hoped is u n k n o w n .» — con la abstención sobre el resultado: no se sabe si Boyle recibió las respuestas que esperaba de los adeptos

«N e w t o n recognizes at once not only Boyle's authorship of the paper but also that he is "desirous of the sense of others in this point," and particularly that " o f a true Hermetic Philosopher, whose judgement. . . w o u l d be more to be regarded in this point than that of all the w o r l d beside to the contrary.» — la respuesta de Newton, que reconoce la autoría de Boyle y su deseo del juicio de un verdadero filósofo hermético

«N e w t o n states simply, " I perceive I went upon a w r o n g supposition in what I wrote concerning M r . Boyles E x p e r i m e n t .» — y su rectificación posterior, que Principe transcribe: había partido de una suposición equivocada

«Boyle's first mention of this special animated Mercury occurs in his earliest purely natural philosophical w o r k , the unpublished essay " O f the Atomicall Philosophy," datable to ca. 1653.» — la primera mención del Mercurio animado en Boyle, en un ensayo inédito datable hacia 1653

«This mention of its subtility recalls the need for the Philosophical Mercury to be highly penetrating in order to dissolve and open the dense body of gold, and also harkens back to Starkey's explicit comment that his mercury is "twice as volatile" as common mercury.» — cuya alusión a la sutileza Principe conecta con el comentario de Starkey de que su mercurio es dos veces más volátil que el común

«Other chymists w i t h w h o m Boyle was in contact during the 1650s sought the same Philosophical Mercury.» — y el dato de entorno: otros quimistas en contacto con Boyle buscaban el mismo Mercurio filosófico en los años cincuenta

«For example, Hartlib's son-in-law Frederick Clodius showed great interest in Starkey's Philalethean manuscripts and attempted to carry out the process.» — el caso de Frederick Clodius, yerno de Hartlib, interesado en los manuscritos philalethianos de Starkey

«The collection of processes that John Matson sent Boyle in 1676 contains accounts of Matson's direct acquaintance w i t h Clodius, and at one juncture he refers to Clodius's preparation of a special mercury by "Sterke's way, by C [silver] and regulus of $ [antim o n y ] . "» — con la referencia de Matson a la preparación de Clodius por la vía de Starkey

«I n " O f the A t o m - icall Philosophy," Boyle approvingly cites "our deservedly famous Countryman Sr Kenelm Digby," and many receipts in Boyle's mid-1650s collections are attributed to D i g b y .» — la cita aprobatoria de Boyle a Kenelm Digby y las recetas atribuidas a él en sus colecciones

«the air-pump might function as a transmuting engine by drawing out the central water of quicksilver, allowing the residual metallic shells to remain as g o l d .» — la idea de la bomba de aire como máquina transmutadora, extrayendo el agua central del azogue

«Rather, his brief allusion leaves it to the alchemically attuned reader to recognize the importance of the purification of common quicksilver by means of an antimonial alloy.» — y la técnica alusiva de Boyle: deja al lector afinado reconocer la importancia de purificar el azogue con una aleación antimonial

«The difficulty of recognizing the import of typically brief allusions and asides is a recurring issue i n the consideration of Boyle's chrysopoetic pursuits.» — que Principe declara como dificultad recurrente al estudiar sus empeños crisopoéticos

«W h e n decoded, this receipt for incalescent mercury employs antimony ("imbrionated banasis") and copper ("Dakilla") instead of antimony and silver.» — el descifrado de una receta que sustituye la plata por cobre en la preparación del mercurio incalescente

«Clearly Boyle had either heard of this substitution directly from Starkey or had gleaned it from his o w n reading of the Marrow.» — de donde infiere que Boyle oyó la sustitución de Starkey o la sacó de su lectura del Marrow

«A n index (intermittently encoded and datable to the 1680s) of some of Boyle's laboratory processes lists several preparations of incalescent mercury, more than one "process w i t h Columbe Diana" or "Diana's Doves," "the most Compendious way to animate Negirus [mercury]" and "to prepare a $ [mercury] that is thought to surpass that taught by Iraeneus [Philalethes].» — y el índice cifrado de los años ochenta, con procesos y una preparación que se juzga superior a la enseñada por Philalethes

«Pierre goes on to assert that this is still not "the correct method" and promises a better one.» — Pierre le dice a Boyle que ese todavía no es el método correcto y le promete uno mejor

«Although Pierre requests that Boyle destroy the note after reading and memorizing it, Boyle did not do so, for Philalette's note is surely the unsigned document in French preserved elsewhere in the Boyle Letters that gives t w o methods of animating mercury, the first of which is very close to the process Boyle learned from Starkey.» — y Principe consigna que Boyle desobedeció la orden de destruir la nota, que identifica con un documento francés conservado en los Boyle Letters

«Again Boyle strongly assails negators of the reality of metallic Mercuries, claiming that "those w h o looke upon incalescent Mercuries as Chymical non-entia . . . are not competent judges of the possibilities of t h i n g s .» — el ataque de Boyle a quienes tienen los mercurios incalescentes por no entidades químicas, a los que llama jueces incompetentes de lo posible

«Boyle, employing the phrase "animated M e r c u r y " used i n D u C l o , Collesson, and other Mercurialists, asserts such mercuries to be "matters of fact" and claims that his discourse w i l l be useful for readers w h o might "vigorously to prosecute in a Spagiricall way, the more noble sort of Mercuriali Experiments.» — y su afirmación de esos mercurios como materias de hecho, con la lengua de los mercurialistas

«These "more noble" ends are named allusively when Boyle immediately notes that such Mercuries as he has prepared are "fitted to have potent operations, as well upon humane bodies, as the more stubborn ones of Metalls and Minerals"—an allusion to the epithet "medicine of M e n and Metals" commonly given to the Philosophers' Stone.» — el fin alusivo que Boyle nombra, mercurios aptos para obrar sobre cuerpos humanos y metales, que Principe lee como el epíteto de medicina de hombres y metales

«Significantly, in Producibleness Boyle adopts not only the Mercurialist chrysopoeians' language to write about this product but also their theoretical explanations.» — y el punto que le importa: en Producibleness Boyle adopta no solo el lenguaje de los crisopeyos mercurialistas sino sus explicaciones teóricas

«M o r e specifically, he asserts that the noble Mercury he prepared showed a specific gravity greater than that of common mercury, even though he had used no "corporeall gold" i n its preparation (an admixture of gold, the only substance k n o w n to Boyle that was denser than mercury, w o u l d be the only obvious way to increase the density of mercury).» — la afirmación de Boyle sobre la gravedad específica de su Mercurio noble, mayor que la del mercurio común sin haber empleado oro corporal

«But Boyle writes that the higher specific gravity "seem'd to argue, that even spirituali or volatile Gold (for no visible Gold was employ'd)" was able to increase the specific gravity of his m e r c u r y .» — explicada por Boyle mediante el oro volátil o espiritual, ya que no se usó oro visible

«Thus van Suchten asserts that when a drop of animated mercury is evaporated from a silver plate, it leaves behind its volatile gold as a golden spot.» — el lugar paralelo de van Suchten, con la gota de mercurio animado que deja una mancha dorada al evaporarse de una plancha de plata

«Boyle also asserts that he can make more than one kind of noble Mercury employing different methods. Boyle's "animation or spirituali impregnat i o n " may occur in various ways, and "by impregnating them w i t h this, or that Minerali, or metall, [one] may much diversify their qualities and operations.» — y la afirmación de Boyle de poder hacer más de una clase de Mercurio noble por impregnación con distintos minerales o metales

«The notion that mercury contained w i t h i n itself a certain Sulphur whereby it was coagulable into a dry powder (recall that one of Sulphur's chief roles is as a coagulator of Mercury) dates back as far as Geber.» — la genealogía del Azufre coagulante del mercurio, que Principe remonta hasta Geber

«Boyle not only uses alchemical terminology but employs it together w i t h and in the context of Mercurialist explanatory theory.» — y su conclusión sobre el uso: Boyle no solo emplea terminología alquímica sino que lo hace dentro de la teoría explicativa mercurialista

«Boyle seems to respond to Becher when, immediately after recounting an experiment displaying vigorous incalescence i n a glass mortar (almost mimicking Becher 's account), he takes special care to note h o w the incalescence of his mercury "was not a transient and easily vanishing one,» — la respuesta de Boyle a Becher, cuidando de anotar que su incalescencia no era pasajera

«There is evidence of Boyle's attempts to push on from this Philosophical Mercury to the confection of the Philosophers' Stone itself.» — y la evidencia que Principe anuncia de los intentos de pasar del Mercurio filosófico a la piedra

«Boyle records seeing "very pretty vegetations, and sometimes, which is far more considerable, odd changes of colours" upon digesting gold w i t h his Mercury.» — el registro de Boyle sobre vegetaciones y cambios de color al digerir oro con su Mercurio

«The sea is the Philosophical Mercury, the trees the "vegetating gold" that Boyle, Starkey, Collesson, and others describe.» — que Principe descifra en la carta alegórica de Pellegrini: el mar es el Mercurio filosófico y los árboles el oro vegetante

«I n conjunction w i t h this typically alchemical allegory, Pellegrini refers to an ingredient as "Tora," which is another of Boyle's o w n code words (in this case meaning sulphur).» — con el término Tora, que identifica como palabra en clave del propio Boyle

«Apparently Boyle shared his code w i t h Pellegrini (clearly a sign of trust), and Pellegrini must be counted as another member of Boyle's circle of chrysopoetic collaborators.» — y la consecuencia que saca de ese uso compartido: Pellegrini formaba parte del círculo de colaboradores crisopoéticos de Boyle

«Locke's correspondence w i t h Boyle often refers to experimentation, and Boyle must have had a good opinion of Locke's abilities since he chose h i m as an examiner of his chymical papers.» — la posición de Locke, elegido por Boyle como examinador de sus papeles químicos

«Almost exactly a month after the diary entry, Locke writes to Boyle regarding his difficulties in editing History of the Air but closes w i t h the cryptic statement, "give me leave n o w to tell you, that I have water, and I have vessels, I only want soap to be at w o r k . "» — la frase críptica de su carta, que tiene agua y vasijas y solo le falta jabón

«Thus we may n o w resolve Locke's hitherto unintelligible references to "soap" as an appropriate Deckname for that "cleansing" alloy and recognize these receipts as preparations of the incalescent/Philosophical Mercury.» — y el descifrado que Principe propone: jabón como Deckname de la aleación limpiadora, con lo que esas recetas son preparaciones del Mercurio filosófico

«While Locke's exchange w i t h N e w t o n in 1692 marks the last appearance of Boyle's incalescent mercury, it also mentions a certain "red earth" somehow related to the process.» — la aparición de la tierra roja en el intercambio de Locke con Newton en 1692

«According to N e w t o n it was on account of this earth that Boyle had the antitransmutation statute repealed i n 1689.» — y lo que Newton dice de ella: por causa de esa tierra Boyle hizo derogar el estatuto contra la transmutación en 1689

«Boyle probably believed that his "red earth" was a rudimentary form of the Stone, needing further fermentation or multiplication (see chapter 3) to bring it to a higher order of operation.» — la conjetura de Principe sobre lo que Boyle creía de ella, marcada como probable: una forma rudimentaria de la piedra, a falta de fermentación o multiplicación

«N e w t o n claims that Boyle had not in fact brought the process to completion—that is, presumably, to full projective transmutation.» — el juicio de Newton sobre el proceso de Boyle, que no lo habría llevado a término

«N e w t o n bolsters our conclusions regarding Boyle and secrecy when he reveals that he and Boyle communicated i n a somewhat prickly air of mutual distrust.» — y lo que Principe extrae de esa carta sobre el trato entre los dos: se comunicaban en un aire de desconfianza mutua

«N e w t o n writes that in offering some other receipts, Boyle "cumbered them w i t h such circumstances as startled me and made me afraid of any more.» — con la queja de Newton de que Boyle cargaba sus recetas de circunstancias que lo espantaban

«Newton's assessment of Boyle to Locke contradicts what he had written some years previously to Fatio de Duillier, where he claims to have declined taking up Boyle's offer of correspondence on (presumably) alchemical topics because he felt Boyle was "too open &C too desirous of f a m e . "» — la contradicción que Principe señala entre esa carta y lo que Newton había escrito a Fatio, que Boyle era demasiado abierto y deseoso de fama

«Boyle's process, N e w t o n did in fact set about carrying it out straightaway.» — y el hecho de que Newton se puso a ejecutar el proceso de inmediato

«It was later in the same year that Locke sent h i m Boyle's process that N e w t o n suffered his well-known mental illness, which, judging from the exceedingly high levels of the toxic substance found by the microanalysis of Newtonian hair samples, may have been brought about by acute mercury poisoning— the k i n d of poisoning that might very well follow from the multiple distillations and digestions of mercury necessary in Boyle's Mercurialist process.» — la hipótesis que ofrece sobre la enfermedad mental de Newton ese mismo año, con su condicional y su base: los niveles de mercurio hallados en el microanálisis de su cabello

«The incalescence paper is not an isolated item but is only a brief public glimpse of a lifelong pursuit of enormous importance to Boyle.» — el lugar que asigna al artículo de la incalescencia: no una pieza aislada sino un vistazo público breve a una búsqueda de toda la vida

«The objection that Boyle was only borrowing illustrative experiments from "the chymists" does not hold here, for Boyle took not only experiments from this school but also its traditional theories, terminology, and explanations, all the time gazing steadfastly t o w a r d the goal he shared w i t h these alchemical writers—the production of the Philosophers' Stone.» — y su respuesta a la objeción de que Boyle solo tomaba experimentos prestados: tomó de esa escuela también sus teorías, su terminología y sus explicaciones

«A l l the foregoing material, culled from both printed and archival sources, leaves no doubt as to Boyle's continued and intense involvement and belief in traditional chrysopoetic alchemy.» — el alcance que declara para el material reunido de fuentes impresas y de archivo sobre la creencia de Boyle en la crisopeya

«It w o u l d likewise be inappropriate to expect to find in all cases neat and fully satisfactory explanations for the actions and pursuits of a historical character, for the choice of a career or activities stems both from those external influences readily amenable to historical inquiry and certain internal urgings that cannot, by their very nature, lie w i t h i n the historian's realm of inquiry.» — y la cautela con que abre el capítulo de motivos: no cabe esperar explicaciones plenamente satisfactorias para todo, porque parte de los impulsos internos queda fuera del alcance del historiador

«Having posited this caveat, one can, perhaps w i t h as much completeness as is reasonably possible, attribute Boyle's great interest i n chrysopoeia to three chief heads: natural philosophy, medicine, and theology.» — puesto ese límite, agrupa el interés de Boyle bajo tres cabezas: filosofía natural, medicina y teología

«There he cites his desire "to beget a good understanding betwixt the Chymists and the Mechanical Philosophers, w h o have hitherto been too little acquainted w i t h one anothers Learning"—a desire that he hopes w i l l "conduce to the Advancement of Natural Philosophy.» — y cita el deseo de Boyle de propiciar buen entendimiento entre los quimistas y los filósofos mecánicos

«In this essay Boyle clearly reexpresses his defense of chymistry against the Peripatetics w h o have never cultivated it, and against the general view of it as a "useless if not deceitful" study.» — la defensa de la quimia que Principe encuentra en ese ensayo, contra los peripatéticos que nunca la cultivaron

«Indeed, I think that at least two other uses might be added to these twin uses of chymistry: first, its ability to service natural philosophy in general, and second, the promotion of the practical arts.» — con los dos usos que Boyle añade a los recibidos: el servicio a la filosofía natural y la promoción de las artes prácticas

«Herein lies one of Boyle's chief contributions toward modern chemistry, namely, the explicit expansion of the realm of chymistry, w i t h special attention directed t o w a r d its elevation to a philosophical status by the use of chymical processes and experiments for the elucidation of the general principles of natural philosophy.» — y la contribución que Principe le adjudica a la química moderna: la expansión explícita del dominio y su elevación a estatus filosófico

«Boyle advocates the application of chymical effects in a newly systematic way t o w a r d the explanation of causes.» — porque Boyle propone aplicar los efectos químicos de modo sistemático a la explicación de causas

«Similarly, in the rewritten 1659 Seraphic Love, Boyle cites t w o well-known alchemical figures—Paracelsus and van Helmont—as "Learn'd expositors" of the Book of Nature, and he compares "Chymical Furnaces" to the dissecting knives of anatomists for their ability to lay open the recesses of nature.» — el Seraphic Love reescrito de 1659, donde Boyle llama a Paracelso y a van Helmont expositores doctos del Libro de la Naturaleza

«Boyle invoked the transmuting action of the projected Stone on several occasions to instance phenomena that could illustrate more general principles of the corpuscularian or mechanical philosophy he was advocating.» — y el uso que Boyle da a la proyección de la piedra, para instanciar principios generales de la filosofía corpuscular

«Boyle's interest i n the ability of alchemical arcana to contribute powerfully to his program of "associating Chymical Experiments to Philosophical N o t i o n s " undergirds his lifelong interest in the alkahest.» — que Principe conecta con su interés de toda la vida en el alkahest

«Boyle's alchemical authorship appears once again in the context of the alkahest, for his ca. 1680 list of "Tracts Relating to the Hermetical Philosophy" cites a w o r k entitled " O f the liquor Alchahest and other Analizing Menstruums," and he refers to this unpublished essay in the preface to Froducibleness.» — y con su autoría alquímica: la lista de hacia 1680 incluye una obra sobre el licor alkahest y otros menstruos analizadores

«Boyle's early interest in this topic may well stem not only directly from his reading of van Helmont but more immediately from his early association w i t h George Starkey, w h o was deeply involved in the search for the alkahest.» — el origen de ese interés, que atribuye tanto a la lectura de van Helmont como a la asociación temprana con Starkey

«Even though Boyle's tract has not survived in any form, it is clear that his interest in this alchemical arcanum maius stemmed from its ability to "dissect bodies" and reveal more about their constitution for the benefit of natural philosophy.» — y su lectura del motivo, aun sin el tracto: el alkahest interesaba por su capacidad de disecar cuerpos en beneficio de la filosofía natural

«There Boyle notes that at one time he was little concerned to collect particularia because they are chiefly valued for their "Lucriferous" nature, a thing in which he had no interest, having "neither wife, children, or ambition to grow r i c h .» — la razón que Boyle da para no coleccionar particularia, sin mujer, hijos ni ambición de enriquecerse

«These same potential benefits of chrysopoeia were on Boyle's mind years earlier when he noted (1661) that conversation w i t h "true Adepti" might instruct h i m greatly "concerning the Nature and Generation of M e t a l s .» — y lo que esperaba en cambio de la conversación con verdaderos adeptos, instruirse sobre la naturaleza y generación de los metales

«Indeed, after mentioning the processes' utility i n the service of natural philosophy and truth, Boyle notes that such particularia "being skilfully wrought, even in small quantitys may enable a poor and industrious Artist, especially if he be a single man, to get a Livelihood, thô not to grow r i c h .» — el argumento filantrópico de Boyle: los particularia bien trabajados pueden dar de vivir a un artista pobre, aunque no enriquecerlo

«Boyle in fact noted that i f the Philosophers' Stone "were not an Incomparable Medicine, but were onely capable of transmuting other Metalls into G o l d , " its discovery w o u l d not "much advantage M a n k i n d .» — y su jerarquía de valores, que Principe recoge: si la piedra solo transmutara y no fuera medicina incomparable, su hallazgo no beneficiaría mucho a la humanidad

«Indeed, one reason we have not always recognized Boyle's strong medical interests and activities is that he suppressed his examinations and critiques of contemporaneous medicine because of fear of censure by the medical establishment of which Boyle was not a member.» — la razón que da para que no se hayan reconocido sus intereses médicos: Boyle suprimió sus críticas a la medicina por temor a la censura del gremio, del que no era miembro

«Boyle writes that he is willing to publish this particular chrysopoetic process because the amount of gold produced is (unlike the case of the Philosophers' Stone) not so great that it might "threaten the welfare of States, if it should fall into unworthy hands.» — el criterio con que Boyle decide publicar un proceso crisopoético, que la cantidad de oro no amenace el bienestar de los Estados

«The completed Stone was reputed to be a universal medicine, and many chrysopoeians noted that its preparation was closely related to that of aurum potabile, potable gold, the second most potent medicine in the alchemists' cupboard.» — y la conexión tradicional que Principe recoge, entre la piedra completada y el oro potable como medicinas

«While it cannot be denied that alchemical texts are full of religious and metaphysical expressions and references, the comm o n view that alchemy is closely, essentially, and inextricably linked to spiritual or religious topics exaggerates the situation.» — la acotación que Principe pone a la lectura espiritualista: es innegable que los textos alquímicos están llenos de expresiones religiosas, y la visión de un vínculo esencial exagera la situación

«While the initiatic style became quite standard, the overt implication of spiritual, supernatural, or mystical elements i n alchemy remained largely absent until the late fifteenth century.» — y su cronología: la implicación abierta de elementos espirituales o místicos estuvo en gran medida ausente hasta fines del siglo XV

«The use of such metaphorical language, however, does not permit us directly to conclude that such authors meant to imply some innate mystical union between events alchemical and religious, or that they intended such metaphors to act as explanations of processes.» — con la regla de lectura que fija: el lenguaje metafórico no permite concluir que sus autores quisieran una unión innata entre lo alquímico y lo religioso

«The Summa does, however, employ what has been termed an "initiatic style," which invokes God's blessing on the aspiring adept and notes that such a blessing is necessary for success.» — el estilo iniciático que sí reconoce en la Summa, que invoca la bendición de Dios como necesaria para el éxito

«The earliest alchemical texts of the Latin West do not reveal any radical incorporation of or dependence upon religious, spiritual, or esoteric dimensions.» — y su lectura de los textos más antiguos del Occidente latino, sin incorporación radical de dimensiones religiosas o esotéricas

«The need for alchemical secrecy greatly intensified this tendency as alchemical writers (particularly chrysopoeians) strove to create an intricate set of Decknamen w i t h i n allusive or metaphorical frameworks of correspondences that drew freely from ancient mythology, everyday experience, or religious doctrine and imagery.» — la causa que atribuye a la proliferación de correspondencias: la necesidad de secreto y la construcción de Decknamen tomados de la mitología, la experiencia diaria o la imaginería religiosa

«Paracelsus (1493-1541) intensified such linkages and devised a world-system populated w i t h a vast number of supernatural beings and elemental spirits and where natural and sympathetic magic played a central role in an organic cosmos.» — y el punto de inflexión que adjudica a Paracelso, con su cosmos orgánico poblado de seres sobrenaturales y espíritus elementales

«But this view is an expression of minds more accustomed and attuned to the drawing of parallels and the reading of signs and emblems than o u r s .» — la advertencia de método de Principe: esas lecturas expresan mentes más habituadas que la nuestra a trazar paralelos y leer signos

«It does not imply a radical fusion of religious belief or supernatural causation w i t h alchemical theory.» — y lo que niega que impliquen, una fusión radical de creencia religiosa o causación sobrenatural con la teoría alquímica

«I n just the same way, the use of similitudes or images drawn from animal or vegetable life to explain or illustrate alchemical processes does not automatically imply belief in a fully animate and vitalistic w o r l d , as has sometimes been presumed.» — con el paralelo de las imágenes vegetales y animales, que tampoco implican por sí solas un mundo animado y vitalista

«Boyle did (at least in his later years) closely link alchemy and spiritual agencies is in its o w n right a remarkable discovery and is not at all an unavoidable consequence of his chrysopoetic pursuits.» — de donde el hallazgo que reivindica como propio: que Boyle sí ligara alquimia y agencias espirituales no es consecuencia inevitable de su crisopeya

«Readers of the document w i l l be struck not only by h o w much of the document (nearly half) is devoted to projection accounts and spirit experiences, but also by h o w smoothly and readily Boyle passes from one topic to the other.» — lo que a su juicio impresionará al lector del documento: casi la mitad va de relatos de proyección y experiencias con espíritus, y Boyle pasa de un tema al otro con soltura

«Timotheus is confused by this odd response until Arnobius notes first that the "adept philosophy" can provide medicines w o r t h more than gold, but then further reveals that Parisinus aims yet higher, for their studying friend believes that "the acquisition of the Philosophers-stone may be an inlett into another sort of knowledge and a step to the attainment of some intercourse w i t h good spirits.» — lo que Arnobio declara de Parisino, que espera de la piedra una entrada a otro saber y un paso hacia el trato con espíritus buenos

«The spiritual dimensions of Boyle's alchemy are revealed most clearly in t w o unpublished documents that have recently come to light.» — y la base documental que declara: dos documentos inéditos recién salidos a la luz

«Additionally, St. Paul seems to dissuade men from intercourse w i t h angels, for Christ alone is the true Mediator between God and man.» — el argumento paulino que el diálogo pone en contra, que Cristo es el único mediador entre Dios y los hombres

«Finally, says Timotheus, the belief that the Philosophers' Stone could somehow attract angels is fitter for some "whimiscall Enthusiast" than for so learned a man as Parisinus.» — y el reproche de Timoteo, que la creencia sería propia de un entusiasta caprichoso y no de un hombre docto

«Arnobius calmly replies that all these arguments are well-known to Parisinus, and in conversations among Parisinus, Arnobius, and Cornelius, Parisinus has answered them.» — la respuesta de Arnobio, que Parisino ya conoce esos argumentos y los ha contestado

«That point having been granted by the simple authority of Scripture, Arnobius moves on to demonstrate that good spirits, not just evil ones, have been contacted by men, and he cites an instance from the Demonomanie of Jean Bodin (1530-1596) as evidence.» — y el modo de prueba que sigue, con una instancia tomada de la Demonomanie de Jean Bodin

«Boyle was adamant i n his opposition to human arrogance i n the face of the immense and incomprehensible possibilities implanted by God w i t h i n His Creation.» — el principio de Boyle que Principe pone debajo de todo esto, su oposición a la arrogancia humana ante las posibilidades implantadas por Dios en la Creación

«Boyle was clear and firm in his dismissal of human reason as a criterion for judging God's activity and the doctrines of orthodox Christianity.» — la firmeza de Boyle en rechazar la razón humana como criterio para juzgar la actividad de Dios

«His voluntarist theology insisted upon God as the "most free Agent," whose range of possible actions was to be neither circumscribed nor adjudged by human n o t i o n s .» — y su teología voluntarista, con Dios como agente libérrimo cuyo rango de acciones no se circunscribe por nociones humanas

«"There is no necessity," writes Boyle, "that intelligibility to a human understanding should be necessary to the truth or existence of a t h i n g . "» — con su formulación: que algo sea inteligible para el entendimiento humano no es necesario para su verdad o existencia

«Clearly, this firm theological conviction of Boyle's is integral w i t h his equally firm refusal to limit the possibilities of nature—the visible sign of God's activity—based upon our feeble and incomplete understanding of it.» — de donde Principe lee la continuidad con su negativa a limitar las posibilidades de la naturaleza por lo poco que entendemos de ella

«One source is the general credo that knowledge of the Philosophers' Stone was itself a donum Dei.» — el credo general que aduce como fuente, el saber de la piedra como donum Dei

«Paracelsus was said to have been visited by an angel w h o revealed secret knowledge to him, and quite a number of alchemical authors claimed to have gained inspiration from spiritual visitors to their dreams.» — y el repertorio de visitas angélicas, empezando por la que se decía de Paracelso

«Boyle, at least in his younger days, viewed such an origin of chymical knowledge w i t h skepticism, for he then "dare[d] not affirm . . . that G o d discloses to M e n the Great Mystery of Chymistry by Good Angels, or by Nocturnal V i s i o n s . "» — frente a lo cual sitúa el escepticismo del Boyle joven, que no se atrevía a afirmar que Dios revele el misterio por buenos ángeles o visiones nocturnas

«George Starkey claimed to have been visited in a dream by a Eugenius, or good spirit.» — el caso de George Starkey, que decía haber sido visitado en sueños por un Eugenio o espíritu bueno

«Casaubon's warning hinges on the revelation that Dee's supposedly angelic visitors turned out to be demons in disguise—"he mistook false lying Spirits for Angels of Light, and the Divel of Hell for the God of H e a v e n . "» — la advertencia de Casaubon sobre Dee, que tomó espíritus mentirosos por ángeles de luz y al diablo por Dios

«The "angelic" messages were not new divine revelations, as advertised, but rather, as Dee learned too late, the wiles of the Devil conniving both to delude Dee and Kelley and to subvert the political and religious order of the w o r l d .» — y lo que Casaubon sostiene sobre esos mensajes, artimañas del demonio para engañar a Dee y a Kelley y subvertir el orden político y religioso

«M o r h o f met Boyle in 1670, and Boyle recounted to h i m then "various histories of metallic transmutations," including the account of Kelley that Boyle had in fact obtained from one of Kelley's kin.» — el encuentro de Morhof con Boyle en 1670, donde Boyle le contó historias de transmutación incluida la de Kelley, que había obtenido de un pariente suyo

«Casaubon expresses his belief in the possibility of the transmutation of metals into gold, he wholly condemns the notion of the Philosophers' Stone as the means of effecting it; "the Phylosophers Stone, is certainly a meer cheat, the first author and inventor whereof was no other than the Divel.» — y la posición de Casaubon, que admite la transmutación y condena la piedra como engaño cuyo inventor fue el diablo

«A general tenet of this school is that there exist "supernatural Stones" of far greater power than the physical, transmutatory Philosophers' Stone, which was, according to their opinion, the lowest order of Stone, being only physical and natural rather than magical and supernatural.» — el tenet de la escuela que Principe describe: existen piedras sobrenaturales de poder mayor, y la piedra filosofal transmutatoria es el orden más bajo

«Ashmole cites the existence of the "Vegitable, Magicall, and Angelicali Stones."» — la enumeración de Ashmole de las piedras vegetal, mágica y angelical

«According to Ashmole, "Moses and Solomon, (together w i t h Hermes were the only» — y su atribución de ese saber a Moisés, Salomón y Hermes

«It seems, however, that this last Stone w o u l d have been rather difficult to get hold of, for " i t can neither be seene, felt, or weighed, but Tasted o n l y .» — la dificultad práctica que el propio Ashmole consigna de la última piedra, que no se ve, ni se palpa, ni se pesa, solo se gusta

«Ashmole does not reveal his sources directly but rather only ascribes his recognition of these higher arcana to a book entitled De occulta philosophia, attributed to St. Dunstan, and claims that it " w i l l chiefly back" what he declares on this t o p i c .» — la fuente que Ashmole declara, un De occulta philosophia atribuido a san Dunstan

«While the "Epitome" was never published, it must have circulated fairly widely, for copies exist in several l i braries and among the papers of Ashmole and N e w t o n .» — y el dato de circulación del Epítome, nunca impreso y con copias entre los papeles de Ashmole y de Newton

«Yet greater, however, is the Lapis Evangelicus, w h i c h is "yet more stupendous, more immediately Divine."» — la escala de esa escuela, con el Lapis Evangelicus como el más estupendo y más inmediatamente divino

«This notion of these "higher" supernatural Stones, however, still does not exactly match Boyle's attribution of spirit-attracting power to the otherwise, as Boyle himself notes, "purelly corporeall" Philosophers' Stone.» — y el desajuste que Principe declara: esas piedras superiores no coinciden con lo de Boyle, que atribuye el poder de atraer espíritus a la piedra puramente corporal

«Although Ashmole's views seem quite idiosyncratic, he is actually drawing upon tenets current in the aforementioned English school of supernatural alchemy.» — su lectura de Ashmole, cuyas ideas parecen idiosincrásicas y en realidad recogen tenets corrientes de esa escuela inglesa

«These "lesser k n o w n " uses of the Stone are undoubtedly among those which Wilhelm von Schröder explicitly cites as being k n o w n to Boyle.» — el testimonio de Wilhelm von Schröder que Principe aduce sobre los usos menos conocidos de la piedra

«While discussing the various virtues of the Stone, Schröder writes that " m y good friend in England, M r . Robert Boyle, told me that some hundred virtues which the Philosophers' Stone possesses had been communicated to h i m , and that he esteemed such knowledge as highly as that of the secret of the preparation of the Stone itself.» — en el que Schröder cuenta que Boyle le dijo haber recibido comunicación de unas cien virtudes de la piedra y estimarlas tanto como el secreto de su preparación

«There thus seems to have been a seventeenth-century English school of supernatural alchemy from which Boyle could have derived his belief in the spirit-attracting power of the Stone.» — la conclusión que Principe formula con reserva: parece haber habido una escuela inglesa de alquimia sobrenatural de la que Boyle pudo derivar su creencia

«It may well prove impossible to identify a clear textual origin for Boyle's unusual belief, for it is quite likely that he» — y la abstención con que la cierra: quizá resulte imposible identificar un origen textual claro para esa creencia inusual

«Robert Boyle was above all other things a Christian.» — la afirmación con que Principe encabeza el capítulo teológico, Boyle como cristiano por encima de todo lo demás

«His solid and unwavering devotion to biblical Christianity constitutes the backdrop for all his other actions and pursuits.» — y el papel que le da a esa devoción, telón de fondo de todas sus demás acciones

«The writing of moral and devotional treatises characterized his early career; his most reprinted book, Seraphic Love or Motives and Incentives to the Love of God, dates from that period.» — los tratados morales y devocionales de su carrera temprana, con Seraphic Love como su libro más reimpreso

«He funded numerous foreign missions and at the end of his life endowed the annual Boyle Lectures for the defense and propagation of Christianity.» — y sus obras tardías, misiones financiadas y las Boyle Lectures dotadas al final de su vida

«it cannot be denied that "atheism" was in fact seen as a significant threat by many late-seventeenth-century thinkers, including Boyle.» — el dato que Principe da por indiscutible, que el ateísmo se veía como amenaza real a fines del siglo XVII, Boyle incluido

«" A n y one relation of a supernatural phenomenon being fully proved and duly verified," Boyle wrote to Glanvill in 1677, "suffices to evince the thing contended for; and consequently, to invalidate some of the atheists plausiblest arguments.» — con la carta a Glanvill de 1677: un solo fenómeno sobrenatural bien probado bastaría para invalidar los argumentos más plausibles de los ateos

«One well-known project to verify spirit activity is Joseph Glanvill's collection of reports of witchcraft, Saducismus triumphatus (1681).» — el proyecto de Glanvill para verificar la actividad de los espíritus, el Saducismus triumphatus de 1681

«Boyle brought up the subject of witches in his correspondence w i t h Georges Pierre.» — y el dato de que Boyle sacó el tema de las brujas en su correspondencia con Georges Pierre

«He apparently told Pierre about a Scottish witch, and Pierre responded w i t h an account of a group of accused witches brought before the Rouen Parlement.» — con el intercambio sobre una bruja escocesa y las acusadas llevadas ante el Parlamento de Ruan

«Boyle explicitly notes h o w the invocation of spirits by one "skill[ed] i n naturall phylosophy" had in fact already rescued a disciple of "the subtilest Atheist of our times"—no doubt the Monster of M a l m s b u r y — a n d converted h i m into "not only a profest Christian, but a very knowing and devout o n e .» — el caso que Boyle consigna, la conversión de un discípulo del ateo más sutil de su tiempo por obra de quien invocaba espíritus

«But i f the Philosophers' Stone had the capability of attracting spirits and facilitating communication w i t h them, then it might be used actually to demonstrate the existence of spirits at any given time.» — y el uso que la piedra tendría en ese programa, si atrajera espíritus podría demostrar su existencia cuando se quisiera

«The Souls of inquisitive men are commonly so curious, to learn the Nature and Condition of Spirits, as that the over-greedy desire to discover so much as That there are other Spiritual Substances besides the Souls of Men, has prevailed with too many to try forbidden ways of attaining satisfaction; and many have chosen rather to venture the putting themselves within the power of Daemons, than remain ignorant whether or no there are any such Beings:» — con la advertencia que Boyle imprime sobre el riesgo: muchos han preferido ponerse en poder de demonios antes que ignorar si existen otras sustancias espirituales

«The "Burnet M e m o r a n d u m " reveals Boyle's tortured position of being powerfully drawn to supernatural or magical practices as sources of knowledge about the natural or supernatural w o r l d , yet fearful of the possible spiritual perils i n v o l v e d .» — la posición que Principe lee en el Memorándum de Burnet: Boyle atraído con fuerza a las prácticas mágicas como fuente de saber y temeroso de sus peligros espirituales

«Thus the question presents itself: I f Boyle had succeeded i n obtaining the Philosophers' Stone, w o u l d he have actually felt it permissible to employ it to summon spirits?» — y la pregunta que deja planteada, si Boyle habría creído lícito usar la piedra para convocar espíritus

«O f course it is difficult to ascertain Boyle's exact views when he uses the dialogue format; yet since Parisinus seems so clearly to represent Boyle here, and Timotheus's objections on the basis of religion and morality are refuted so perfunctorily, it appears that later in life Boyle might well have been more willing to engage in the spirit-related phenomena that he had previously censured as "forbidden ways" of attaining knowledge.» — que contesta con todas sus reservas de método por tratarse de un diálogo, y aun así se inclina a que en su vejez Boyle habría estado más dispuesto

«This question undergirds several important theological issues including h o w an incorporeal God can cause change in His material creation, and h o w the immaterial human soul is joined to the material body and is able to cause it to move.» — el problema teológico que subyace: cómo un Dios incorpóreo causa cambio en su creación material y cómo el alma se une al cuerpo

«Walter Charleton, for example, notes how "it is Canonical, that no Immaterial can Operate upon a Material, Physically; the inexplicable activity of the Rational Soul upon the body by the mediation of the spirits, and that of Angelical Essences excepted.» — el canon que Charleton enuncia, que ningún inmaterial opera físicamente sobre lo material, con las excepciones del alma racional y las esencias angélicas

«I n an unpublished tract on atheism Boyle asserts his belief that " i f these M e n were satisfied in their scruples about the very notion and Existence of a Spirit or incorporeal Substance Intelligent and Powerfull, and that an Immaterial Substance can worke upon matter, I should thinke them more than hälfe way advanced towards the acknowledgement of the Being of G o d .» — y la declaración de Boyle en un tracto inédito sobre el ateísmo, que resolver ese escrúpulo llevaría a los ateos medio camino andado hacia reconocer a Dios

«Boyle expresses his inability to comprehend "by what merely Mechanical Ty, or Band, an Immaterial Substance [the human soul] can be so durably (perhaps for 80 or 100 Years) joyn'd and united w i t h a Corporeal.» — con su confesión de incapacidad para comprender por qué lazo mecánico un alma inmaterial se une durante décadas a un cuerpo

«Boyle explicitly names the union of "an immaterial Spirit to a humane Body" as belonging to the class of the "Inexplicable" things above reason.» — y su clasificación de esa unión entre las cosas inexplicables que están por encima de la razón

«Boyle notes that a chief objection to accounts of spirit invocations is i n fact the problem of corporeal-incorporeal interactions: " h o w utterly Improbable it is, that druggs, which are but materiali things . . . should have the power to engage either evil or good Angells, which are granted to be Immateriali b e i n g s . "» — la objeción principal que Boyle recoge contra las invocaciones, que unas drogas materiales no deberían poder comprometer a ángeles inmateriales

«But though "improbable" these actions are not "impossible," for here again Boyle invokes our ignorance of the "Nature, Customes & government of the Intelligent Creatures of the spiritual w o r l d " and refuses to let our ignorance govern our beliefs.» — y su respuesta con el modal dentro: improbable no es imposible, e invoca nuestra ignorancia del gobierno del mundo espiritual

«I f the Philosophers' Stone, which "is as truely corporeall as pouder of post [sandstone] or of brick," can in fact "attract or invite incorporeall and intelligent beings," then it provides a precedent for analogous, and more theologically crucial, interactions between corporeal and incorporeal bodies.» — el argumento de precedente que Principe reconstruye: si la piedra, tan corpórea como un polvo de ladrillo, invita seres incorpóreos, hay precedente para la interacción teológicamente crucial

«Boyle may have believed (or perhaps hoped) that the spirits linked to the Philosophers' Stone might be the cause of transmutation.» — y la conjetura que ofrece marcada como creencia o esperanza de Boyle, que los espíritus ligados a la piedra fueran la causa de la transmutación

«But he asserts that the mechanical hypothesis is not degraded in its applicability by such a possibility because "the chief thing, that Inquisitive Naturalists should look after in the explicating of difficult Phenomena, is not so much what the Agent is or does, as, what changes are made in the Patient, to bring it to exhibit the Phenomena that are propos'd; and by what means, and after what manner, those changes are effected.» — el criterio de Boyle que salva la hipótesis mecánica: al naturalista le importa no tanto qué es el agente como qué cambios se producen en el paciente

«That is to say, angels as agents may be real, but such explanations are too distant for the natural philosopher's use; mechanism must be invoked as the immediate—though perhaps not ultimate—cause of changes.» — que Principe traduce así: los ángeles como agentes pueden ser reales, pero quedan demasiado lejos para el uso del filósofo natural

«But as Boyle grew older, he seems to have more fully recognized the potential conflicts between the mechanical worldview he promoted and the religion to which he was devoted.» — el desarrollo que le adjudica con el paso de los años, un reconocimiento más pleno del conflicto entre el mecanicismo que promovía y su religión

«A mechanical universe, functioning regularly by the operation of physical laws, no longer requires divine intervention to keep it running.» — el núcleo del problema: un universo mecánico que funciona por leyes ya no requiere intervención divina

«Even Boyle's favored argument from design had limited effectiveness, for although his metaphor of the w o r l d as a great watch implied the existence of a watchmaker, it ensured neither the continued need for the watchmaker nor His interest i n the continued running of His handiwork.» — y el límite que Principe pone al argumento del designio, porque el reloj implica relojero pero no garantiza su interés continuado

«Thus mechanism tended t o w a r d materialism, which led again, in turn, t o w a r d atheism.» — de donde la pendiente que describe, del mecanicismo al materialismo y de ahí al ateísmo

«O n the other hand, the overemphasis on these very same principles of matter and motion were at the heart of the dismissal by "Epicureans, libertines, and atheists" of the incorporeal, supernatural realm upon whose existence religion depends.» — el otro lado del dilema, el énfasis en materia y movimiento en el corazón del rechazo ateo del reino sobrenatural

«The clearest example is Boyle's dispute w i t h the Cambridge Platonist Henry M o r e , for although Boyle occasionally used notions like "Plastic Power" that were integral to More's thought, he struck back against More's debilitation of mechan i s m .» — la disputa con Henry More, donde Boyle golpea contra el debilitamiento del mecanicismo pese a usar a veces nociones como la potencia plástica

«Yet when M o r e used Boyle's o w n pneumatic experiments to argue for the activity of the Spirit of Nature, he ran afoul of Boyle.» — el punto de fricción: More usó los experimentos neumáticos de Boyle para argumentar la actividad del Espíritu de la Naturaleza

«Indeed, when Boyle's criticism, eventually expressed publicly in 1672, reached More's ears, M o r e was genuinely surprised, for he had expected Boyle to welcome his "demonstration" of the existence of an immaterial spirit against materialists.» — y la sorpresa genuina de More, que esperaba que Boyle celebrara su demostración de una entidad incorpórea

«For Boyle, More's Spirit of the W o r l d was merely unnecessary—"our H y - drostaticks do not need i t " — a n d so Ockham's razor was sufficient to excise it.» — la razón que Boyle opone, que su hidrostática no necesita ese Espíritu, con lo que basta la navaja de Ockham

«The kinds of spirits Boyle might contact through alchemy, moreover, were real entities whose existence was demonstrable by the testimony of Scripture; More's Spirit was a tenuous construct without evidence.» — y la distinción que Principe fija: los espíritus alcanzables por la alquimia eran entidades cuya existencia demostraba la Escritura, y el Espíritu de More una construcción sin evidencia

«While Boyle asserted the power of the mechanical hypothesis to M o r e , he stressed its limits before the libertines and atheists, not only noting the cases where the mechanical hypothesis failed to give an adequate account of the phenomena, but also asserting the importance of studying incorporeal substances themselves.» — el doble frente de Boyle: afirma el poder del mecanicismo ante More y subraya sus límites ante los libertinos

«Accordingly, we find Boyle particularly interested in topics that might straddle this divide: miracles, witchcraft, and, above all, his peculiar brand of spirittinged alchemy.» — de ahí su interés por los temas que cruzan la divisoria, milagros, brujería y su alquimia teñida de espíritu

«Chrysopoetic alchemy in Boyle's version constituted an interface between the natural, mechanical realm and the supernatural, miraculous realm.» — la tesis del capítulo: la alquimia crisopoética de Boyle constituía una interfaz entre lo natural mecánico y lo sobrenatural milagroso

«But, according to Boyle's belief in its "higher functions," it acted as well upon the suprasensual realm, attracting angels and spirits by what must be nonmechanical means, and could thus instance both the existence of spirits and the possibility of interactions between the corporeal and the incorporeal.» — que actuaría sobre lo suprasensual por medios necesariamente no mecánicos

«The Philosophers' Stone offered the promise of a clean and defensible boundary between a mechanical natural philosophy and Christian theology.» — y la promesa que Principe le adjudica: una frontera limpia y defendible entre filosofía natural mecánica y teología cristiana

«Boyle's philanthropy, too, could be furthered by chrysopoeia; the Philosophers' Stone was esteemed not only the medicine of metals but the medicine of man as well.» — el eslabón filantrópico: la piedra estimada no solo medicina de metales sino también de hombres

«THERE CAN NOW be no uncertainty about Robert Boyle's avid pursuit of traditional chrysopoetic alchemy.» — el balance del epílogo sobre la búsqueda crisopoética de Boyle

«It seems to me imperative that historians be specific i n the future about the branches of alchemy they wish to study or to invoke, and be sensitive to the competing schools of thought w i t h i n each branch.» — y el imperativo de método que deja a los historiadores, ser específicos sobre qué rama de la alquimia estudian o invocan

«These dual benefits w i l l show the inadequacy of the common practice of juxtaposing a monolithic "alchemy" as a foil to early modern science.» — con la consecuencia: se ve lo inadecuado de yuxtaponer una alquimia monolítica como contraste de la ciencia moderna

«N o w that the alchemical interests of so many figures of the early modern period are being revealed, we must take into consideration that the alchemy of Isaac N e w t o n is not the alchemy of Robert Boyle, and neither of those is identical w i t h the alchemy of John Dee, or of Michael Sendivogius, or of Elias Ashmole, or of J. J. Becher.» — y su formulación más citable, que la alquimia de Newton no es la de Boyle, ni ninguna de las dos la de Dee, Sendivogio, Ashmole o Becher

«In Boyle's case, I have examined in particular his chrysopoeia and his participation in what I have (tentatively) identified as a uniquely English school of supernatural alchemy.» — lo que dice haber examinado en el caso de Boyle, su crisopeya y su participación en lo que identifica con reserva como escuela inglesa de alquimia sobrenatural

«I have not delved at all into the Helmontian notions that informed Boyle's early thought, even though theories regarding seminal principles, the archeus, and so forth, which might be broadly classed as alchemical, are important to Boyle, particularly in his early years.» — y su abstención declarada: no entró en las nociones helmoncianas que informaron el pensamiento temprano de Boyle, aunque le importan

«Even before that date he made an unsuccessful attempt to begin chymical studies and even then mentioned an interest in the Stone.» — el dato temprano que Principe aduce: antes de 1649 Boyle ya había intentado empezar estudios químicos y ya mencionaba interés en la piedra

«Starkey's pursuit of the Stone and the alkahest is recorded not only in the famous Philalethes tracts but also in laboratory notebooks, several of which, miraculously, have survived.» — y la fuente que anuncia para ese trabajo futuro: los cuadernos de laboratorio de Starkey, varios de los cuales sobrevivieron

«Boyle's certainty about the reality of the Stone and other chief alchemical arcana solidified outside of the 1660s.» — la cronología de la certeza: la convicción de Boyle sobre la piedra y los arcana se consolidó fuera de la década de 1660

«Exactly when this development occurred remains u n k n o w n , but I have argued that this extension of alchemy into spiritual territory parallels his increasing concerns later in life w i t h the threat of atheism and his increasing recognition of the limits of the mechanical philosophy.» — y la abstención sobre la fecha de su extensión a lo espiritual, que declara desconocida aunque la vincula al temor tardío al ateísmo

«Boyle never left England after 1648, but his wide net of correspondents and visitors kept h i m constantly connected to developments across Europe.» — el dato de red: Boyle no salió de Inglaterra después de 1648 y sus corresponsales lo mantuvieron conectado con Europa

«We have seen h o w much of Boyle's correspondence on chrysopoeia was w i t h Continental sources, especially in France.» — con buena parte de su correspondencia crisopoética en fuentes continentales, sobre todo francesas

«We w i l l probably never k n o w precisely.» — la abstención sobre el fondo del asunto, que probablemente nunca se sepa con precisión

«First, having stressed that the topics which i n modern times have been segregated under the differing rubrics of alchemy and chemistry were in the seventeenth century equally encompassed under chymistry, I believe that much of the apparent conflict between Boyle as a seeker of the Stone and Boyle as an architect of early modern chemistry vanishes as an artifact of a historiographie category mistake.» — la tesis que ofrece como disolución: buena parte del conflicto entre el Boyle buscador de la piedra y el Boyle arquitecto de la química moderna se desvanece como artefacto de un error de categoría historiográfica

«There is no conflict; Boyle was simply a seventeenth-century chymist—some of his chymical activities have potential counterparts in modern chemistry, while others continue the traditions of chrysopoeia and spagyria.» — porque Boyle era sencillamente un quimista del siglo XVII, con actividades que tienen contraparte moderna y otras que continúan la crisopeya y la espagiria

«O n the one side, recent studies by N e w m a n have shown the corpuscularian and mechanical traditions alive w i t h i n transmutational alchemy.» — el apoyo que toma de Newman, con las tradiciones corpuscular y mecánica vivas dentro de la alquimia transmutatoria

«Indeed, it n o w seems quite likely that one source of Boyle's o w n corpuscularianism is to be found in the writings of chrysopoeians and iatrochemists like the pseudo-Geber and Daniel Sennert.» — de donde propone como bastante probable que una fuente del corpuscularismo de Boyle esté en crisopeyos e iatroquímicos como el pseudo Geber y Sennert

«Both van Helmont and Philalethes embraced a mechanistic, corpuscularian understanding of transmutation.» — y el dato que lo acompaña: van Helmont y Philalethes abrazaron una comprensión mecánica y corpuscular de la transmutación

«O n the other side, we n o w see that Boyle himself in no way rejected transmutational alchemy but rather pursued it avidly and appropriated several of its theoretical principles.» — el otro lado del acercamiento: Boyle no rechazó la alquimia transmutatoria sino que la buscó con avidez y se apropió de varios de sus principios teóricos

«Boyle was not as "modern" as we thought, nor alchemy as "ancient.» — con la fórmula que resume el desplazamiento, Boyle menos moderno y la alquimia menos antigua de lo que se pensaba

«He did not see his belief i n the transmuting powers of the Stone as fatal to, or even detracting from, his commitment to a mechanical view of physical phenomena.» — el dato de coherencia interna que le adjudica: no vio su creencia en la piedra como algo fatal para su compromiso mecánico

«Boyle, from his favorable vantage point, does not seem to have seen a disjunction between the hidden arcana of the adepts and his o w n mechanical system; Boyle's chrysopoeia argues strongly for continuity in the history of chemistry.» — de donde su tesis de continuidad para la historia de la química

«N o real understanding of Boyle is possible w i t h o u t an understanding and acknowledgment of his sincere religious disposition and concerns.» — el primer punto que reivindica: no hay comprensión real de Boyle sin reconocer su disposición religiosa sincera

«Sociological, political, philosophical, and intellectual analyses of Boyle miss the mark whenever they fail to give preeminence to his devotion to orthodox biblical Christianity.» — y su reproche a los análisis sociológicos, políticos, filosóficos e intelectuales que no le dan preeminencia a esa devoción

«Boyle's views of natural philosophy and of theology form a seamless garment.» — con la imagen que usa para la consistencia de Boyle, una túnica sin costuras entre filosofía natural y teología

«G o d is a wholly Free Agent i n Boyle's voluntarist theology; He could act as He wished in both theological and natural realms.» — y el principio que la sostiene, el Dios agente libérrimo de su teología voluntarista

«For Boyle, the Book of Nature and Book of Scripture are more than images or mere rhetoric; they are the real productions of a single A u t h o r w h o is supremely self-consistent.» — los dos Libros como producciones reales de un único Autor supremamente consecuente consigo mismo

«The "imputation of credul i t y " w i t h which Boyle was taxed was, in effect, a consequence of his epistemologica! consistency—the impugning of witnesses of strange natural phenomena implicitly impugns witnesses of miracles.» — y la relectura que Principe hace de la imputación de credulidad, como consecuencia de esa consistencia epistemológica

«I f even Robert Boyle is susceptible to the k i n d of radical réévaluation that this study represents, then h o w much must remain to be done in the history of early modern science?» — la pregunta con que cierra, si hasta Robert Boyle admite una reevaluación así, cuánto quedará por hacer

«I n these future historical studies it w o u l d be worthwhile to recall the phrase that provides the Royal Society's motto, one that Boyle surely played a role in choosing: Nullius addictus iurare in verba magistri (dedicated to swear allegiance to the words of no master).» — y el lema de la Royal Society que propone recordar, jurar por las palabras de ningún maestro

«It is likely that the writing of the Dialogue on Transmutation occurred in t w o distinct periods.» — Principe propone dos periodos distintos de escritura para el diálogo, marcándolo como probable

«This manuscript contains corrections in the hand of Thomas Smith, w h o began w o r k i n g for Boyle ca. 1674.» — y ancla la datación en la mano de Thomas Smith, que empezó a trabajar para Boyle hacia 1674

«it is clear that Boyle did not need to defend alchemy to N e w t o n .» — el dato que da por claro sobre el trato con Newton, que Boyle no necesitaba defenderle la alquimia

«I suggested previously that Boyle received the anti-Elixir from Georges Pierre during the latter's visit to London i n the summer of 1677.» — su sugerencia previa de que Boyle recibió el antielixir de Georges Pierre en el verano de 1677

«These drafts are all in the same hand and on the same paper; this consistency among the dispersed fragments (unusual for a Boylean composition) suggests that they were part of the same entire draft and were written w i t h i n a very short time of one another;» — el argumento codicológico: los borradores en la misma mano y el mismo papel sugieren un mismo borrador escrito en poco tiempo

«This shows that the fair copy from these drafts was published without subsequent revision, implying that little time intervened before publication.» — de donde infiere que la copia en limpio se publicó sin revisión posterior

«I conjecture that Boyle deployed this impressive experiment as crucial evidence for the concluding episode of his Dialogue, but shortly thereafter,» — la conjetura que declara como suya: Boyle desplegó ese experimento como evidencia decisiva del episodio final del diálogo

«The publication of Anti-Elixir in 1678 provides a terminus ad quern, which is the firmest date available for the dialogue's composition.» — y el término ante quem que fija con la publicación del Anti-Elixir en 1678, la fecha más firme disponible

«While no firm evidence for a 1689 edition exists, one might speculate that a reissue might have been undertaken by Boyle in connection w i t h his efforts to repeal the Act against Multipliers in 1689.» — una especulación que marca dos veces como tal, la de una reedición de 1689 ligada a la derogación del Acta contra los multiplicadores

«The hand of fragments 17b and 17c had been identified as Boyle's own (Hunter, Guide); however, after discussions between Prof. Hunter and me, the identification of the hand as Boyle's has been rejected, and it will now be known as "Hand C," displacing the very rare "old" Hand C» — la corrección paleográfica que Principe consigna con su procedencia: la mano de dos fragmentos se había identificado como la de Boyle, y tras discutirlo con Hunter esa identificación queda rechazada

«It is therefore possible that fragments 1 2 - 1 6 do not belong to the Dialogue on Transmutation at all but to one of these other works.» — la posibilidad que deja abierta, que los fragmentos 12 a 16 no pertenezcan al diálogo sino a otra de las obras

«Boyle had considered such a work for many years; an essay entitled " O f the Writings of the Chymists" is listed in a catalog dating from the mid-1650s (BP, 36:70).» — y el dato de que Boyle había considerado una obra así desde mediados de los años cincuenta

«It is likely that the Dialogue was finished at least into a form suitable for private circulation.» — el juicio de Principe sobre el estado del diálogo, probablemente terminado al menos en forma apta para circulación privada

«It is rather unlikely that Boyle w o u l d have sent off an unfinished w o r k to be translated, so the existence of this translation suggests that the Dialogue was finished by the latter 1680s.» — con el argumento que lo apoya: Boyle no habría mandado traducir una obra inconclusa

«Their absence implies either that Boyle substituted a completely new ending, or that they had been renamed.» — y el problema que la ausencia de personajes le plantea, o final nuevo o renombramiento

«Ramsay's translations survive in the Boyle Papers, some preserving the text of otherwise lost English originals.» — las traducciones de Ramsay conservadas en los Boyle Papers, algunas de las cuales preservan originales ingleses perdidos

«Although appearance on such a list does not automatically imply completion, many other items on this inventory are candidly described as "loose papers," "collections," "notes," or "imperfect," whereas the dialogue is not.» — el argumento por contraste dentro del inventario: otros ítems se describen candidamente como papeles sueltos o imperfectos y el diálogo no

«Boyle kept a special collection entitled Paralipomena, described as "a Bundle of loos[e] Papers, which I had laid together, as they came to hand w i t h a prospect that they might serve as Paralipomena or Supplements to Entire Tracts, whether publishd or n o t .» — la colección Paralipomena de Boyle, descrita por él como papeles sueltos reunidos como suplementos de tratados enteros

«The existence of clearly subsidiary notes implies that the Dialogue on Transmutation had attained a state of sufficient completeness that further pertinent information could not be readily incorporated into it, as w o u l d still have been possible were it never more than only partially coherent sheets.» — de cuya existencia infiere que el diálogo había alcanzado una completud suficiente

«Its absence suggests that the Dialogue was lost prior to the 1740s.» — y su lectura de la ausencia en el inventario, que el diálogo se perdió antes de la década de 1740

«John Locke, Edmund Dickinson, or Daniel Coxe, all of w h o m had strong alchemical interests and w h o were designated inspectors of Boyle's chemical papers, may have kept it.» — los sospechosos que enumera sin decidir: Locke, Dickinson o Coxe, los tres de fuertes intereses alquímicos

«A t present, however, the Dialogue on the Transmutation and Melioration of Metals can be accessed only in the reconstructed form presented here.» — la declaración sobre el estado del acceso, solo en la forma reconstruida que presenta

«I have therefore purposefully placed all deletions and interlineations in endnotes, where they are accessible to those interested in the development of the text, but out of the way of other readers.» — la decisión editorial que toma con ella, mandar supresiones e interlineados a notas finales

«I n this edited text I have tried to balance the sometimes conflicting forces of truthfulness to the originals and service to the readers.» — y el criterio que declara para su edición, equilibrar la fidelidad a los originales con el servicio al lector

«These designations have been made in concert with Prof. Hunter, who will be producing a revised edition of his valuable Guide in due course.» — Principe declara que las designaciones de manos se hicieron de acuerdo con Hunter, que revisará su guía

«The hand labeled here as C was originally confused with Boyle's autograph (introduction to this appendix, n. 16) and is not the C of Hunter's list;» — y consigna la confusión que corrige, una mano tomada antes por el autógrafo de Boyle

«The hand labeled here as Z is a previously unlabeled hand.» — junto con una mano nunca antes etiquetada

«I have preserved both the spelling and the capitalization of the originals.» — el criterio de transcripción que declara, preservar ortografía y mayúsculas de los originales

«The Heads of the Arguments against the possibility of transmutation whereof the t w o chief are these: first that the wayes of probation are incompetent, and secondly that the truth of it, is made incredible by weighty Objections & scarce difficulties superable.» — la cabeza de los argumentos de Erasto contra la transmutación, con las vías de prueba incompetentes y las objeciones de peso

«first that the Authorities alleag'd to prove Transmutation are either dark or suspicious or some other way insufficient.» — primero, que las autoridades alegadas son oscuras, sospechosas o insuficientes

«(II) N e x t that the Philosophical grounds pretended for it, are either dubious (or precarious) or false, such as are, (1) The Tendency of all Mettais to Gold.» — segundo, que los fundamentos filosóficos son dudosos o falsos, entre ellos la tendencia de todos los metales al oro

«(III) Lastly that the pretended Chymical Philosophers have not given so much as an intelligible account of the Generation of Mettais.» — y tercero, que los pretendidos filósofos químicos no han dado siquiera cuenta inteligible de la generación de los metales

«I . O n the other side the Respondent answers, that the affirmative may be made out, as to the possibility of the thing by removing the Objections & difficulties propos'd by the Adversary.» — la respuesta del respondiente, que lo afirmativo puede establecerse quitando las objeciones

«A n d the reality of the thing may be prov'd, by particular Histories and other testimonies.» — que la realidad de la cosa puede probarse por historias particulares y otros testimonios

«the whole may be countenanced by things Analogicall i n nature or A r t .» — y que el todo puede avalarse por cosas analógicas en la naturaleza o el arte

«After which Pyrophilus being related, to come i n , the company pauses a while, to give h i m time to inform himself, of what had passed, and to consider what he w o u l d say» — con la pausa que la compañía hace para que Pirófilo se informe de lo que ha pasado

«Although I may well be unable to satisfy fully your curiosity wherewith you desire to k n o w what took place in our meeting today (where you were as greatly besought as desired) since I was absent at the beginning; still I did arrive soon enough thereafter to hear whatever today's discussion contained of importance, and nearly everything that it desired which exceeded the set time.» — la apertura del diálogo, con el narrador que se disculpa por haber llegado tarde a la reunión

«Scarcely had the president and those few seated next to h i m finished looking at the piece of gold, when Erastus arose, moved closer to the Chair, and said: " I f Philetas can indicate to us a sure way whereby we might have the power to distinguish between gold made by projection and other gold, I w o u l d perhaps give in and suffer that his gift be distinguished w i t h the title of a rarity, and it w o u l d then be much more esteemed (since it w o u l d be evidence of the Art) than it is now, when I look upon it only as a most excellent metal produced by nature.» — el desafío de Erasto a Filetas, que indique un modo seguro de distinguir el oro hecho por proyección de cualquier otro

«Indeed, since we lack such a touchstone whereby the difference between Philosophical gold (as they call it) and natural gold could be examined, whosoever maintains that a piece of gold (which someone else declared to have been made by projection) has the force of an argument on behalf of the possibility of transmuting other metals into gold w i l l indeed be thought to suppose those w i t h w h o m he is dealing to be too credulous, since w i t h no other k i n d of person could anything so weak take the place of an argument.» — con el argumento de que a falta de esa piedra de toque quien lo aduzca supondrá demasiado crédulos a sus interlocutores

«N o w i f I found that he w h o gives the report were distinguished by no little probity and experience, and knew what he said w i t h sound knowledge, I confess that I w o u l d then easily credit his words, even without ever seeing his gold; likewise I w o u l d credit Philetas if he had asserted himself to be an eyewitness to this transmutation.» — y la concesión que Erasto sí hace, que creería sin ver el oro a un relator de probidad y experiencia probadas

«Yet were I to call into question either his fidelity or his skillfulness, the sight of the gold he brought forward w o u l d not diminish one iota of my diffidence, since it w o u l d be just as easy for an impostor to pretend that any bit of gold was made by art, because at the same time he w o u l d k n o w that the gold is good, natural, and ordinary, and consequently (being genuine) fit to w i t h stand» — junto con la razón por la que ver el oro no le quitaría un ápice de desconfianza si dudara de la fidelidad o la pericia

«Since this M o s t Noble Society has indeed maintained a laudable custom that they should spur men on t o w a r d whatever curious sight be brought before them rather than deter them from such obligation, in my opinion, the piece of gold brought forward by Philetas (which he has quite probably been told was made by projection) should be accepted w i t h a benevolent mind.» — la resolución de Heliodoro, que la costumbre laudable de la sociedad es estimular a los hombres y no disuadirlos, y que el trozo de oro se reciba con ánimo benévolo

«For although I may freely concede that the first part of Simplicius's discourse presents an objection acceptable enough to reason, still this I concede only insofar as it rests upon a supposition (or at least contains such) whose truth no one could justly call into question.» — con la concesión que hace a la primera parte del discurso de Erasto y su reserva sobre la suposición que la sostiene

«Yet it is to be considered, on the other hand, that it is not an impossibility that philosophical gold is possessed of all those qualities which the generality of common people judge requisite and sufficient for any portion of metal to be invested w i t h the name of gold, or that the gold be able to withstand both a goldsmith's and a mint-master's examen;» — y la posibilidad que opone, que el oro filosófico tenga todas las cualidades requeridas y resista el examen del orfebre y del monedero

«nor can it be denied that it may have some further property (or perhaps more than one) whereby it may be distinguished from ordinary gold, as, for example, by softness or ductility, or by specific gravity, or by some medicinal virtue, or by an excess of tincture whereby it may fix some small part of the lead added to it i n cupellation.» — con las propiedades por las que sí podría distinguirse, blandura, ductilidad, gravedad específica, virtud medicinal o exceso de tintura

«I n short, it may differ from common gold either in these or in other qualities the individual testing of which seems to me no great art.» — y su juicio de que probarlas una a una no le parece gran arte

«it cannot be denied that his argument shall be quite sound enough i f no difference can in fact be found between factitious and natural gold.» — aunque concede que el argumento de Erasto sería bastante sólido si no pudiera hallarse diferencia alguna

«Therefore, for my part (proceeds Heliodorus) I am of the opinion that the offering of most noble Philetas be taken up w i t h a gracious m i n d and placed i n our Repository so that it may be ever available, i f anywhere such an occasion for examining it that may seem most opportune for uncovering its peculiarities (if it have any) may offer itself» — la resolución de Heliodoro, que el oro de Filetas se deposite en el Repositorio para poder examinarlo cuando se ofrezca ocasión

«Furthermore, because the question is altogether w o r t h y and of no trifling importance, especially in this age when the Spagyric A r t is not only cultivated but completed daily, and also because this controversy over the transmutation of the baser metals into the more noble ones, especially by projection, has not been (as far as I know) aired by authors versed in the principles of the modern philosophy, then in my judgment, seeing that we have moved n o w to this question, it shall be w o r t h the effort to weigh it in a fair balance.» — y su razón para abrir el debate, que la controversia no ha sido ventilada por autores versados en los principios de la filosofía moderna

«But because there is hardly enough time to exhaust such a difficult problem, w i t h your indulgence, most noble gentlemen, permit me to suggest t w o things to you, both for the orderly treatment of the subject and for the quicker discharge of it.» — las dos reglas que propone para el tratamiento ordenado y expedito del asunto

«The first of them is this: I n order to avoid disorderly and empty repetitions, let the question be aired on each side by one person, on whose behalf others of the same opinion can be sent in like relief troops i f by some chance there are things to be explained that seem to have been passed over by those w h o went before.» — la primera, que cada lado hable por una sola persona, con refuerzos si algo quedó por explicar

«Though I do not wish to compel either Eleutherius or others of the same disposition into making a sort of a third sect, yet i f perchance it seems as little appropriate on this occasion (as has been so on many others) for them to devote themselves steadily to one or the other party, then let them either act as substitutes or respond to the arguments that they accept or reject from whichever party the arguments were proposed.» — la segunda, sobre el papel de Eleuterio y los de su disposición, sin obligarlos a formar una tercera secta

«Here I should like each of you to remember that this Society is not one of Scholastics but of Physicists; thus it w i l l be unfitting for the disputators to spend time and hours in vulgar arguments supported by the authority of Aristotle or others little versed in metalline experiments, or of those w h o suppose the existence of substantial forms, or finally w i t h other vulgar doctrines of the Schools that this most noble Society has very often refuted as obscure, begging, or false.» — y la advertencia que Principe ya había citado en el cuerpo del libro, que esta sociedad no es de escolásticos sino de físicos

«I hope therefore that the parties w i l l restrict themselves to such arguments as are fitting for Virtuosi and Philosophers; in a w o r d , that they w i l l use proofs drawn from the nature of the thing under consideration.» — con el corolario, que se restrinjan a pruebas sacadas de la naturaleza de la cosa

«M o s t noble Gentlemen, had I not quite deeply considered h o w much we are naturally inclined readily to believe those things for which we avidly hope (like those t w o things besought w i t h the greatest prayers of a l l — namely wealth and health—which the boasters of this famous Quintessence promise) I w o u l d indeed marvel that so many men, not otherwise gullible, could have been so easily cajoled into having both faith and hope in so utterly improbable a thing as that which is pleased to be called the Philosophical Stone.» — el arranque de Erasto, que atribuye la credulidad a la inclinación natural a creer lo que se desea, riqueza y salud

«A n d we cannot grant such a Stone unless we likewise suppose that a grain of I k n o w not what sort of a powder is sufficient to convert (and that in a moment) a mass of fluid, white, crude, volatile quicksilver, which exceeds it a hundred, a thousand, indeed perhaps ten thousand times in weight, into solid, malleable, highly refined, and yellow gold.» — y la razón de su incredulidad, que habría que conceder que un grano de polvo convierte en un instante una masa mil veces mayor

«Against the existence of this so very improbable and (if I mistake not) impossible thing, I w o u l d be able to adduce the authority of many learned men of nearly every age and nation, w h o condemn i n writing (generally not w i t h o u t the applause of others) the empty pride of this alchemical pretension.» — la autoridad que dice poder aducir, muchos doctos de casi toda época que condenaron por escrito la pretensión alquímica

«I n spite of all that (proceeds Erastus), I w i l l not use this method; for I scarcely have the need to overwhelm my adversaries w i t h the authority of so many philosophers, Scholastics, or lawyers when reason more than suffices to supply me w i t h arguments.» — pero que declara no usar, porque la razón le basta para proveerle argumentos

«The first is this: That the means of proof used by the Lapidists are not competent; and the other: That the operations attributed to the Philosophical Stone are rendered unbelievable by the strength of solid objections as well as by insurmountable difficulties.» — y las dos cabezas a que reduce su caso, la incompetencia de las pruebas y la inverosimilitud de las operaciones

«Particularly, I must declare that notwithstanding the enormous din that the chymists stir up in their historical arguments for the transmutation of metals by projection, I am far from believing that these accounts are either true or verified by sufficient testimony.» — la declaración de Erasto sobre las historias de transmutación, que está lejos de creerlas verdaderas o verificadas por testimonio suficiente

«A n d furthermore, I do not see w h y I should believe anything to be true that is either entirely impossible or at least stupendous and scarcely credible just because it is asserted by one or another author w i t h some obscure name that might perhaps have had the felicity to conceal what he contrived in the Theatrum chymicum/» — y su razón para no creer por autoridad, que un autor de nombre oscuro pudo tener la fortuna de acabar impreso en el Theatrum chymicum

«The more certainty w i t h which anyone repeats to me that Basil Valentine, Roger Bacon, or the many other m o n k s k w h o are counted among Hermetic Philosophers were, in spite of their vows of poverty, possessors of riches greater than that of kings, or that Paracelsus had the Philosophical Stone, i n spite of which he nonetheless threatens (in I k n o w not h o w many pages of print) one of the German States that did not pay up his salary, the more seriously he is deluded.» — con el argumento por incoherencia biográfica, los monjes de voto de pobreza más ricos que reyes y el Paracelso que amenaza por un salario impago

«Indeed, had these men communicated to us in their writings some certain invention or experiment of greater value or of nontrivial use, then they could reasonably expect some belief from the reader, w i t h o u t so much presumption as they do when they declare that they have some secrets w h i c h they do not reveal.» — y su criterio alternativo, que si hubieran comunicado alguna invención cierta de valor podrían esperar crédito

«The very influential Basil Valentine corpus presents its author as a Benedictine monk of the early fifteenth century; they were written, however, after ca. 1600 and probably by several different authors, most notably Johann Thoelde.» — la nota de Principe sobre el corpus de Basilio Valentín, presentado como monje benedictino del siglo XV y escrito después de 1600, probablemente por varias manos y sobre todo por Johann Thoelde

«They suppose that there is in vulgar gold a certain part or portion that is far more noble than the rest, which being separated (although it is very little), the residual mass is deprived not only of its color but of its very nature, and ceases to be gold, by being degenerated into another substance, which is allowed to be silver, or some other white metal, or perhaps a mineral to which no appropriate name has yet been assigned.» — la hipótesis lapidista que Erasto expone, una porción noble del oro cuya separación deja el residuo degenerado en otra sustancia

«"Though this, among all the hypotheses of the Lapidists that occur to me, may seem the most plausible, I nonetheless fear that it is more specious than true.» — y su juicio sobre ella, la más plausible de las que ha visto y aun así más especiosa que verdadera

«It does not escape me that various chymists allege the analysis of gold into its three principles, but it is equally clear to me that is not u n k n o w n for such men to boast brazenly of things that they could never perform; and also that some more ingenious chymists of more secure judgment than the rest (like Angelo Sala, Billich, and others) adorn boasters of such arcana w i t h nothing» — con su objeción a los análisis alegados, que esos hombres suelen jactarse de lo que nunca pudieron hacer

«A n d I confess readily that all those attempts which I have either tried myself or seen others try t o w a r d permanently depriving gold of its nature have been ineffective i n reaching that desired end.» — y su confesión de resultados, que cuanto intentó o vio intentar para privar al oro de su naturaleza fue ineficaz

«Artephius claims to be 1,025 years of age at the time of its writing.» — la nota de Principe sobre Artefio, que en su texto se declara de mil veinticinco años de edad

«For I wish that they w o u l d teach us an intelligible experiment, or one reducible to practice, which when examined could convince us that there really exists in gold some portion both far nobler and more pure than the mass of metal itself;» — y la petición de Erasto, que le enseñen un experimento inteligible y reducible a práctica que muestre esa porción más noble

«Moreover, even i f that supposed analysis into three principles were possible, still it w o u l d not follow therefrom that by the same method such a tincture or soul like that of which we have just been speaking could be extracted from gold: since it is not alleged that a separation of the soul leaves the residual mass of metal i n the form of Quicksilver and Salt, or of Mercury and Sulphur, but rather that it leaves the gold in the form of some white metal of an anomalous nature, and in a greater proportion than could remain i f the extracted soul is referred to any of the three principles.» — el argumento de Erasto sobre el análisis en tres principios, que aunque fuera posible no seguiría de ahí que pueda extraerse el alma del oro

«Note n o w h o w it is freely assumed that the yellowness of gold arises from certain distinct, tiny particles that tinge the rest of the metallic matter; for it is quite obvious to us that the color in gold, as well as that in many other metals, does not proceed from any particular or separable portion, but actually from the texture of the whole body, which consists of particles whose concourse composes the body in such a way that it is fit to alter the light which it reflects to our eyes so that in the requisite way it can produce yellowness in them.» — su afirmación sobre el color, que no procede de partículas distintas sino de la textura del cuerpo entero que altera la luz reflejada

«But even granting that of which we have been speaking—that a tincture could be extracted from g o l d — I nevertheless still cannot see h o w the Lapidists can assert that this tincture can, when a baser metal is joined w i t h it, convert that metal into gold.» — y el paso siguiente que no concede, que esa tintura convierta en oro el metal más bajo al que se una

«As for the chymists' supposition that it is destined by nature that all metals should strive t o w a r d and terminate in gold, we have already shown this supposition to be groundless.» — con su rechazo de la suposición de que todos los metales tiendan por naturaleza al oro

«I f therefore, we attend to the qualities belonging to lead, namely, that it is a crude body of a dusky color, fusible before becoming red-hot, unable to withstand cupellation, less dense than gold, volatile, dissolvable in spirit of vinegar and aqua fortis, 0 etc., it seems utterly improbable that nature should have put forth lead so fit for receiving the tincture and constituting gold w i t h it, as i f that tincture which is prepared by industry had made a material by its o w n design to which the soul is fit to be united and to animate it;» — y el argumento por cualidades del plomo, cuerpo crudo y volátil, que le hace improbable que la naturaleza lo dispusiera para recibir la tintura

«Note that Boyle assails Sala's position in Producibleness,» — la nota de Principe que remite al ataque de Boyle a la posición de Sala en Producibleness

«Although lead is soluble in aqua fortis (nitric acid), it is not soluble in spirit of vinegar (acetic acid); presumably, Boyle was referring here to calcined lead (lead oxide), which is soluble in both acids.» — y su nota química propia, que el plomo no es soluble en espíritu de vinagre y que Boyle debía referirse al plomo calcinado

«For lead, for example, is in itself a complete metal possessed of all those qualities required to constitute that species of bodies of which nature designed lead to be.» — el argumento de Erasto de que el plomo es en sí un metal completo con las cualidades de su especie

«I have dispatched myself into this controversy though I confess that the ability of properly airing it exceeds me.» — la confesión de Zósimo al tomar la palabra, que la capacidad de ventilar bien el asunto lo excede

«I believe, however, that I can, w i t h o u t any violation of our rules, confess publicly that it must be suffered that the cause of such excellent philosophers w h o are adepti be committed to the patronage of such a Hyperaspes» — y su declaración de que la causa de los adeptos merece mejor patrocinio

«Heliodorus interrupted h i m , saying that in the same course of speaking wherein Zosimus had professed himself steadfast in observing the accustomed regulations for these discussions, he had also revealed himself a transgressor of them.» — la interrupción de Heliodoro, que Zósimo se declaró observante de las reglas y a la vez las transgredió

«Stirred up by this admonition, Zosimus unhesitatingly adopted it and began the order of his discourse as follows.» — y la reacción de Zósimo, que adopta la admonición sin titubear

«For howsoever much anyone might maintain that no trial from the hermetic authors has advanced a hypothesis capable of explaining transmutation (in which Erastus and perhaps even I myself might acquiesce), nonetheless, it still w o u l d not follow that just because no chymist steeped i n the narrow and lean principles of the Peripatetic Schoolmen has yet given an explanation, that one could not be given in the future» — el argumento de Zósimo contra el que no haya explicación, que de no haberla dado un quimista formado en principios peripatéticos no se sigue que no pueda darse en el futuro

«For I have never said that I accept the Philosophical Stone because I can clearly explain h o w its properties and operations can be performed, but rather because I have been convinced by sufficient testimony that such operations have actually been carried out.» — y su declaración de por qué acepta la piedra, no por poder explicarla sino por haber sido convencido por testimonio suficiente

«I n this way we see every day that brewers can make beer although they cannot explain» — con la analogía de los cerveceros, que hacen cerveza sin poder explicarla

«Briefly, i f indeed Erastus wishes to deny the existence of all those chymical products of whose nature and effects the artificers themselves cannot give a clear description, he w i l l have to diminish their catalog enormously that he might increase the number of chymical nonentities, and he shall have to repudiate as fully those w h o maintain that they can make a fulminating powder from gold as those w h o claim to draw a transmuting powder from that same metal.» — y el argumento por consecuencia, que negar todo producto químico cuya naturaleza no se explique reduciría el catálogo enormemente

«One, as you may remember, drawn from the smallnes of the quantity that i n Projection works upon a great deal of mettal, and the other from the celerity wherewith it performs its effects, seem by much the strongest that can be urg'd against Transmutation by the Elixir: yet I shall endeavour "to answer" them both» — los dos argumentos que Zósimo considera los más fuertes contra la transmutación, la pequeñez de la cantidad y la celeridad del efecto

«some Bodies may consist of Parts so minute so solid, so advantagiously shap'd, & endow'd w i t h so much vehemence of motion, t h a t 8 0 a small portion of a matter thus qualify'd, may operate more powerfully than a far greater quantity of ordinary matter can do;» — y su respuesta corpuscular, cuerpos de partes tan minúsculas, sólidas y bien conformadas que obran más que una cantidad mayor de materia ordinaria

«A n d this Energy w i l l be much the greater, i f the Body to be wrought upon be peculiarly qualify'd to receive its action; and especially i f it be so dispos'd, as not only to admit readily, but powerfully promote by its o w n Concourse, the action of the Agent.» — reforzada cuando el cuerpo a trabajar está dispuesto a recibir la acción y a promoverla con su propio concurso

«We see h o w little a Proportion of Runnet w i l l serve to coagulate a great quantity of M i l k .» — con el ejemplo del cuajo, poca proporción para coagular mucha leche

«H o w small a Portion of fire w i l l extent its Operation to a vast quantity of w o o d or other combustible matter,» — y el del fuego, que extiende su operación a una cantidad vasta de leña

«There are Poysons that in a lesser quantity than that of a Pins head, may Operate on a mass of Blood of a large Animal, as is related by [288] Authors very credible, and has been confirm'd to me by what I have k n o w n of the sad effects of the Teeth of angry vipers both in B r u t V s & men; thô the wounds their teeth made were sometimes so small, that I could very hardly perceive them.» — el ejemplo de los venenos, con los efectos tristes de los dientes de víboras airadas y heridas apenas perceptibles

«continues Zosimus, to give an Instance or t w o in Mineral Bodies; those that have not try'd it, (and there are very few that have,) w i l l be surpriz'd to see how small a proportion even of crude T i n , w i l l alter some mettais, and make Lead itself Aunfit A to w o r k as it should do, and is w o n t to do, upon the Cupel.» — el del estaño crudo, que altera algunos metales y vuelve inepto el plomo para la copela

«To perswade you Gentlemen that great changes may be made even in such stubborn Bodys as Mettais by a very small quantity of matter, I shall give you a short account of an Operation that may seem to many of you, as it did to me rather more than less difficult and strange, than that of the Elixir it self.» — y el anuncio de la operación propia que Zósimo relatará, tan extraña o más que la del elixir

«This done, we weigh'd it again in the same Scales, and found that instead of having lost any thing it had gain'd by the Operation of the Fire, and my O p i n i o n being that this Augment was made by a k i n d of Magnetism whereby many Parts of the Fire or Air, or both were detain'd by & imbody'd w i t h some Parts of the Powder or some Mettaline Ones by its action made as it were magnetical.» — el resultado del pesaje, que la materia ganó en vez de perder, y la explicación magnética que el narrador ofrece como opinión suya

«But it appear'd that whatever [it was,] it weigh'd between an hundred & fifty, and t w o hundred, not to say between t w o and three hundred times as much as did the Powder that we imploy'd at first, so that this wonderful Magnet did in a very short time obtain from the A i r & Fire (for we could not suspect the Augment to proceed from any thing else,[)] at least between an hundred &c fifty or t w o hundred times its o w n weight of a Substance fixt enough to indure the Cupel.» — con la medida del aumento, entre ciento cincuenta y doscientas veces el peso del polvo empleado

«This Experiment the Experienc'd Chymist has told as a great wonder to some of his nearest Friends, from w h o m I heard of it a long time after, and thô he were a Person that being an old man and an old Traveller was extreamly reserv'd, yet he was soe transported at the sight, that he confess'd to me, then what he repeated afterwards, that thô he had seen i more than once, yet he never saw any thing that he thought so unaccountable.» — y el testimonio del quimista experimentado, tan transportado que confesó no haber visto nunca nada tan inexplicable

«The Learned Olaus Borrichius 1 related to me that he being at Amsterdam met w i t h an Anabaptist w h o w i t h much Intreaty shewed h i m a certain Powder communicated to h i m as he said by one w h o was a while after» — el relato de Olaus Borrichius sobre el anabaptista de Amsterdam y su polvo

«I had a great m i n d to try whether this accruing substance w o u l d be fixt, and accordingly] having weig'd our M e t tal &c cupel'd it carefully we found that we had remaining upon the Test a dark colour'd Heterogeneous Substance, to w h i c h I cannot give a name, because neither I , nor my Experienc'd Assistant could reduce it to any thing near [293] any Body we knew.» — la sustancia oscura y heterogénea que queda sobre la copela, a la que el narrador declara no poder dar nombre

«Raymund Lully "and some philosophers of his school" speaking of gold made by projection do more than once tel the reader» — la referencia a Raimundo Lulio y a los filósofos de su escuela sobre el oro hecho por proyección

«I shall add that I have had [a metal] ( & 9 6 suppose that I "yet" 9 7 have a l i t t l e 9 8 fragment of it left) which is malleable[,] looks like g o l d , 9 9 both without & w i t h i n disolves like it in aqua regia, &c cupels like it, &c yet as a 1 0 0 stricter though less obvious tryal hath assured me is not true gold nor belongs to any other sort of mettal» — el metal que el narrador dice conservar, maleable, con aspecto de oro y que se comporta como oro y sin embargo no lo es

«I remember a singularity which I presume the company w i l l not be displeas'd to hear, and it is that I was once Possessor of a piece of Gold which was affirm'd by the Person it came from to me to have bin made by projection and given as a Present to that Person by the man that made it w h o yet was no Adeptus thô he was affirm'd to have some of the Powder.» — y la singularidad que ofrece a la compañía, un trozo de oro que le aseguraron hecho por proyección por quien no era adepto

«I received the presant from, & he then assured me that it was made by projection, & to satisfy me that it was no natural fine silver though it had all the marks required i n mints, he imparted to me an easy way of distinguishing it» — con el modo fácil de distinguirlo que le impartieron

«the less wonder at because the presant Emperours embasador at the English court a person of much candour & no way partial to the Chymists,P confessd to me, that at Vienna where the art of refineing is thought to flourish more than any where[,] i f any g o l d 9 0 made by projection» — y la confesión del embajador imperial, nada parcial a los quimistas, sobre lo que ocurre en Viena con el oro hecho por proyección

«contentment that which perhaps you w i l l not hear without som surprize namely that this Gold was i n d o w ' d w i t h a considerably greater specific gravity or as some call it, Ponderosity, then the gold that I have met w i t h either from Mints or among Refiners, for whereas Agood c o i n ' d» — el hallazgo que el narrador presenta con sorpresa, que ese oro tenía gravedad específica considerablemente mayor que el de las casas de moneda

«"its Quantity of the same Liquor", I found that this Gold amounted "to the weight of" 25 times its bulk of water, so that whether it were made by projection or no, 'tis plain that Gold may be artificially brought to be in one of the chief " & most radical" Propertys of "that M e t a l "» — con la cifra: veinticinco veces su volumen de agua, de donde concluye que el oro puede llevarse por arte más allá de una de sus propiedades más radicales

«which I was lately supply'd by a very eminent Person Embassador of his Imperial Majesty, i n the court of the King of great Brittain.» — la fuente de la instancia siguiente, el embajador de su majestad imperial en la corte del rey de Gran Bretaña

«that WenchTeslaus the Augustinian Fryar, w that makes now so great a nois in Austria and German [sic], told h i m once, that he had found a particular by which mettais were transmuted "in a trice"» — y lo que el fraile Wenceslao le dijo, que había hallado un particular que transmutaba metales en un santiamén

«Compare Boyle's denomination of this gold as "more perfect" than natural gold with the classical chrysopoetic claim attributed to pseudo-Lull in fragment 7. The density of gold is 19.3; no metal has a density as high as 25. Note also» — la nota de Principe que contrasta esa afirmación con la doctrina crisopoética y da el dato duro, que la densidad del oro es 19,3 y ningún metal llega a 25

«what the Fryar had s a i d 1 1 5 , this Person put into his hands a white Powder, which he told h i m , was a transmuting one» — el polvo blanco que el fraile le puso en las manos diciéndole que era transmutatorio

«1 1 8 surpriz'd to find this whole mass look like the purest gold, as indeed it was found to be, when curiously examin'd at the Emperors M i n t» — y la sorpresa del ensayo, la masa entera con aspecto de oro purísimo, confirmado en la Casa de Moneda del emperador

«But adds still prosecuting his Discours, the Embassador's Relation ended not here, for he subjoin'd that soon after the Fryar, meeting h i m at Court, ask'd h i m i f his Excellency had found his Experiment to succeed.» — el reencuentro en la corte, cuando el fraile le preguntó si el experimento había salido

«To which the Embassador making a Reply, that intimated his suspicion, that WenchTeslaus had made that powder by disguising gold, or by convaying [with] the white substance» — la sospecha que el embajador dejó ver, que el polvo fuera oro disfrazado

«the Fryar seem'd troubl'd & somwhat nettl'd at this Jealousy, & finding by Enquiry that this L o r d had not employ'd above one half of the Powder which was sufficient for at le[a]st t w o Experiments.» — y la reacción del fraile, molesto por esa desconfianza, al averiguar que quedaba polvo para otra prueba

«He desir'd his Excellency, to take the remaining part of i t , 1 2 3 which was yet i n his o w n keeping, and melt it d o w n w i t h an equal weight of fine Silver.» — su nueva propuesta, fundir el resto con igual peso de plata fina

«He so spoke of the Experiment He was about to M a k e that I rightly concluded the designe of it was to turne Lead into runing Mercury in a very short time» — y el diseño del experimento inicial que el narrador dedujo, convertir plomo en mercurio corriente en muy poco tiempo

«affirming to us that his master could easily make a Considerable quantity of that powder & that to his knowledge it had divers times in very few hours turn'd Lead into Mercury.» — el testimonio del criado, que su amo podía hacer cantidad considerable de ese polvo y que había convertido plomo en mercurio en pocas horas

«the Traveller opened a small peice of folded paper wherein there appear'd to be some grains but not very many of "a" powder that seemd "somewhat" transparent almost like exceeding small Rubies & was of a very fine &c beautifull red.» — la descripción del polvo, granos casi transparentes como rubíes diminutos y de un rojo muy fino

«the Forraigner to blow lustily which he did but so unluckily, that some of the Coales upon which the Crusiple had been unskillfully made to lean suddainly broke or gave way whereby the Crusiple was overth[r]owne & the contained matter fell out amongst the Coals & Ashes before the operation was near hälfe ended.» — y el accidente que arruina la primera prueba, los carbones que ceden y el crisol volcado antes de la mitad de la operación

«since Philopinus has shar'd in our misfortune tis fitt we should make another tryall for his sake.» — la decisión del viajero de hacer otra prueba por el testigo que compartió el infortunio

«I was surprizd to find a solid Body & my surprize was increasd» — la sorpresa del narrador al hallar un cuerpo sólido

«the powder first employd was of a Dusky C o l o u r 1 3 7 not at all like the latter of a shineing red.» — y el detalle que distingue las dos pruebas, el primer polvo oscuro y el segundo de un rojo brillante

«we dissolv'd in Aqua Fortis where it fell as Gold uses to doe» — la prueba con agua fuerte, donde el metal se comportó como suele el oro

«to my Curiosity I w o u l d accept of above hälfe of it "the greatest" part of which, for some of it I afterwards lost in making experiments w i t h it[,] I yett have by me & carry always about me "with that concerne for it t h a t " 1 4 9 such a rarity deserves.» — y la parte del producto que el narrador dice conservar y traer siempre consigo con el cuidado que tal rareza merece

«I cannot tell precisely h o w many parts of Lead were transmuted by it but I remember the Gold weigh'd much above hälfe an ounce» — con la medida de lo obtenido, más de media onza de oro

«I have not much scrupl'd to be very" particular, (perhaps even to tediousness) in setting downe the Circumstances of the foregoing account because of the importance of the subject it relates to» — la razón que da para no escatimar circunstancias hasta el fastidio, la importancia del asunto

«went away from London whence he made but to much hast he was so free w i t h me as to "take" out of his pockett a Letter "of instructions" from his Master wherein he lett me read a [162v] permission he had to show me the transmutation of Mettalls.» — y la carta de instrucciones que el criado le enseñó, con el permiso de mostrarle la transmutación de metales

«I w o u l d have acknowledge the favour w i t h a little present to the P e r s o n 1 5 0 I o w ' d it to, but "he" absolutely refus'd it only "he" was content to accept of a small new fashioned Microscope w i t h one Glass of which sort he had never seen» — junto al detalle del pago rechazado, aceptado solo como un microscopio de nueva hechura

«thus much I shall [163] venture to add[:] that after our Traveller went away the esteem I had for the rarities committed to his trust was not only confirm'd but hightened partly by a strange experiment which I must not n o w mention» — el experimento extraño que el narrador dice no poder mencionar todavía, y que elevó su estima por esas rarezas

«the Virtuoso was present when the A l chymist made another projection by which he Afairly A turn'd a Mass of Lead into good Gold but tho the quantity of the transmuted Mettall was extraordinary for the Crusiple being large & haveing been almost full of Lead the Gold amounted to above 15 lbs,» — la proyección presenciada por el Virtuoso, con el crisol grande y más de quince libras de oro

«he firmly concluded that he never made or knew h o w to make that powder» — y su conclusión firme sobre el proyector, que nunca hizo ni supo hacer ese polvo

«I found to be the very same & to be mentioned w i t h some of the same titles & other Circumstances w i t h the Philosopher that» — el cotejo por el que el narrador identifica al filósofo del relato con otro ya mencionado

«the same Philosopher had in his passage by such a t o w n in france bestowed upon a curious and eminent person that still lives there & is m y relators particular freind as much powder as being cast upon an imperfect mettali transmuted a mass of it w o r t h 400 Ducats which» — el episodio de Francia, con polvo bastante para transmutar una masa de metal imperfecto por valor de cuatrocientos ducados

«for my further satisfaction gave me an address & recommendation to this Gentleman to send me if I desired it a full account of the whole transaction.» — y la dirección y recomendación que le dieron para pedir el relato completo

«I desir'd leave, &C easily obtain'd it[,] t o 1 8 8 be an Auditor of their "Conference", which w a s 1 8 9 soon begun by Eugenius;» — el arranque de otra conferencia, abierta por Eugenio

«I may be inform'd upon what Grounds the Hermetical Philosophers, write [ 1 2 l r ] so invidiously» — con su pregunta sobre las razones por las que los filósofos herméticos escriben así

«I doubt ^Eugenius* you have ask'd Philetas a puzzling Question; for I much fear it w i l l not be easy, i f at all possible, for h i m to render you good Reasons of a Practise against w h i c h» — el temor de Simplicio, que a Filetas no le será fácil dar buenas razones de esa práctica

«I k n o w saith Erastus that one of the "grand" 1 9 5 proofs that is brought by the Lapidists for the real existance of the Philosophers stone is grounded on the Authority of those thy [sic] call the Adepti» — el reconocimiento de Erasto de que una de las pruebas mayores de los lapidistas se funda en la autoridad de los adeptos

«But I confess this argument is of no great weight w i t h me w h o am so far from being in this point of the Chymists mind» — y su declaración de que ese argumento no le pesa

«A n d first I do not perceive in their discourses any thing that argues that they were great masters, not Ato A say so much as forward Apprentices in divers» — la objeción del antilapidista, que en los discursos de los adeptos no percibe señas de maestría

«in their writtings no documents of any egrVgious skill either in Geometry, Cosmography, Anatomy, Michanicks, Botanicks, Staticks, or Opticks.» — ni documentos de pericia egregia en geometría, cosmografía, anatomía, mecánica, botánica, estática u óptica

«A n d when haveing observed h o w many Ausefull A parts o f 2 0 3 Philosophy our Adepti do not appear to be acqu Aai Anted w i t h , I come to consider what k i n d of philosophy 'tis that they do most c o m m o n l y 2 0 4 (not to say solely) employ» — y su paso siguiente, considerar qué clase de filosofía es la que emplean

«I cannot but think them to have either less learning or less judgement then their disciples ascribe to them, for the Philosophic notions they are w o n t almost at every turn to make use of, are taken from Athe A narrow[,] precarious & barren doctrine» — de donde los juzga con menos saber o menos juicio del que sus discípulos les atribuyen, por tomar sus nociones de una doctrina estrecha y estéril

«But I am so far from finding in their books either clear notions, or firm deductions, or those Coruscations of Philosophical light that the Titles w o u l d make one expect that I finde "there" for the most part a confused chaos of dark & indigested fancies, and som scraps of Philosophy, which as far as they are intelligible are but mean[,] narrow[,] superficial and in a word[,] PlebeTan.» — su descripción de lo que halla en esos libros, un caos confuso de fantasías oscuras e indigestas y retazos plebeyos de filosofía

«but I cannot think they argue any deep inspection into the dark Mysteries of Nature, n o r 2 1 5 any great Judgement "neither", unless they be very apposite to the thing to be declar'd by them;» — con la reserva de que esas comparaciones no arguyen inspección profunda de los misterios de la naturaleza

«But perhaps our Hermetic Sages are at [2Sv] lest good Logicians, A & A thô their Explications be but mean, are w o n t to make cogent Inferences.» — la pregunta siguiente, si al menos son buenos lógicos y hacen inferencias contundentes

«A n d I sometimes thought, that 'twas no less Difficult to understand the force of their Ratiocinations, than the Process of their Elixir.» — y su respuesta, que entender la fuerza de sus raciocinios no le resultó menos difícil que el proceso de su elixir

«he that uses an Argument is suppos'd to employ it to convince another, & therefore must propose it so as that he may discern the Consecution of it, 6c i f that be not discernable, he may safely conclude the Argument is [29v] to be judg'd either sophistical or vain and illusory.» — con el criterio que aplica, que quien usa un argumento debe proponerlo de modo que se discierna su consecución

«There is one thing perticularly (continues 2 2 0 ) that I can by no means tollerate in the way of wrighting affected by those that Apas f o r " 2 2 1 Adepti i n the Theatrum Chymicum and that is their gross hypocrisy.» — y lo que dice no poder tolerar de ninguna manera, la hipocresía grosera de quienes pasan por adeptos en el Theatrum Chymicum

«A man need not be a vulgar Philosopher, much less an Adeptus to be stor'd w i t h such slight Comparisons: to be a Plowman or a Gardner may abundantly serve the turn.» — el reproche de que para tales comparaciones basta ser labrador o jardinero

«they are not ashamed t o 2 2 6 [47r] to put h i m off w i t h riddles insteed of instructions, Sc delude h i m by sayings that are either so dark as not to be "at all" intelligible, or which is wors so deceitfully expressd as to make h i m think he unders t a n d s 2 2 7 a truth that they never meant to teach h i m , so that insted of the radient light they promisd h i m they put h i m off either w i t h shaddows that have much obscurity & no solidity, or deceitfull light that like» — y el cargo central, que despachan al lector con acertijos en vez de instrucciones y con una luz engañosa

«N a y adds the wrighters I speak of are so habitualy unsincere that they employ [47v] this delusory way of wrighting not onely when they treat of the most secret &c "essential" 2 2 8 poynts of their great Arcanum such as are their matter &c the first preparations of it but when they discource of things "of lesser moment" where they " m i g h t " 2 2 9 exercise their candour & benevolence w i t h out at all discovering the grand secrets of their w o r k .» — el cargo de insinceridad habitual, que usan el modo delusorio incluso al tratar cosas de menor momento donde podrían ser francos

«I can not[,] pursues [,] but think it unworthy of Christians or of Philosophers &c even of men to abuse ingenious or at least studious persons that never Injurd or [48r] p r o v o k d them, under a pretence of no less than paternal kindness.» — y su calificación moral, indigno de cristianos, de filósofos y de hombres abusar de estudiosos que nunca los agraviaron bajo pretexto de bondad paternal

«A n d this way of wrighting is so much affected by these hermetick hypocrits that it occurs almost in every "leaf of their b o o k s "» — con la medida de la frecuencia, que ocurre casi en cada hoja de sus libros

«I k n o w subjoyns that this is said in their defense that sometimes they declare they are not to be litteraly understood.» — la defensa que el antilapidista recoge, que a veces declaran no deber entenderse literalmente

«but after the universal experience of divers ages has made it but too manifestly apear that these pretended paternal instructions of the adepti have bin so little understood» — y su argumento por resultado, que la experiencia universal de varias edades muestra cuán poco se entendieron esas instrucciones paternas

«Methinks sais not without some fierceness in his looks & the tone of his voyce you make very bold w i t h the hermetick Philosophers, 2 4 8 & too much forget the veneration their "profound" knowledg chalenges & the gratitude due to these great instructors of the curious &c benefactors of mank i n d that h a v e 2 4 9 many times built hospitals for the poor & oftentimes made their disciples more rich then princes.» — la réplica airada del interlocutor, que se toma demasiada libertad con los filósofos herméticos y olvida la veneración y la gratitud que se les deben

«But beyond what those rules exact I confess I k n o w no obligation I have to treat them w i t h more respect & gratitude then other wrighters.» — y la respuesta que fija el límite del respeto, ninguna obligación de tratarlos con más deferencia que a otros escritores

«we are so far from being bound to treat these invidious & deceitfull Adepti w i t h a peculiar respect &C kindness that where tis well i f we forbear treating them w i t h indignation for "supposing themselves to have b i n "» — el cargo inverso, que apenas si cabe abstenerse de tratarlos con indignación

«they have bin solicitous not to deserve well, so from those in particular that cultivate the study of nature they scarce deserve common civility» — con la conclusión de que apenas merecen cortesía común de quienes cultivan el estudio de la naturaleza

«perhaps better naturalists then themselves, & 'tis certainly a great want not onely of civility but of common equity to insult over studious & industrious men for not haveing bin succesfull in very difficult atempts» — y su reproche de equidad, insultar a hombres estudiosos e industriosos por no haber tenido éxito en empresas dificilísimas

«so that we may safely say that the serch of their great medicins have m a d e 2 7 0 incomparably more sick men then the medicins themselves have curd, & they have fild far more hospitals than ever they have built.» — el balance con que remata, que la búsqueda de sus grandes medicinas ha hecho más enfermos de los que curaron y llenado más hospitales de los que construyeron

«besides that many more seekers have w h o l l y lost their " t i m e " 2 7 6 and costs & 2 7 7 hopes " & oftentimes" which is worse their healths & reputations too, in following those alluring but unfaithfull guides, what can these few & Casual hits amount to in comparison of that rich harvest "of Experimental knowledg" that might have been justly expected,» — y el costo de oportunidad que alega, tiempo, dinero, esperanza, salud y reputación perdidos siguiendo guías atractivos e infieles

«To proceed upon[,] but instead of pursuing the Interpretation of Nature, prosecute that of Ridles.» — el reproche final, que en vez de interpretar la naturaleza se dedican a interpretar acertijos

«yet I can Confirm much of what hath been Argued for the Possibility of such a sudden Change of a Metalline Body, by a Way, which, I presume, w i l l surprize you.» — el giro de Pirófilo, que anuncia poder confirmar por una vía que sorprenderá la posibilidad de un cambio súbito en un cuerpo metálico

«The Novelty of this Preamble having much surprised the Auditory, at length, Simplicius, w i t h a disdainful Smile, told Pyrophilus, "That the Company w o u l d have much thanked h i m , i f he could have assured them, That he has seen another Mettal Exalted into Gold; but, that to find a way of spoiling Gold, was not onely an Useless Discovery, but a Prejudicial Practice."» — la reacción desdeñosa de Simplicio, que hallar el modo de estropear oro no es solo un descubrimiento inútil sino una práctica perjudicial

«I w i l l Relate to you, that by the like way, Gold has been Degraded, or Imbased.» — y lo que Pirófilo relata en cambio, que por vía semejante el oro ha sido degradado

«A n d indeed, (continues he) if we w i l l consider things as Philosophers, and look upon them as Nature hath made them, not as Opinion hath disguised them; the Prerogatives and usefulness of Gold, in comparison of other Metals, is nothing near so great as Alchymists and Usurers imagine.» — la reflexión que se le opone, que miradas como filósofos las prerrogativas del oro no son ni de lejos tan grandes como imaginan alquimistas y usureros

«For, as it is true, that Gold is more ponderous, and more fix'd, and perhaps more difficult to be spoiled, than Iron; yet these qualities (whereof the first makes it burthensom, and the t w o others serve chiefly but to distinguish the true from the counterfeit) are so balanced by the hardness, stiffness, springiness, and other useful qualities of Iron; that if those t w o Metals I speak of (Gold and Iron) were equally plentiful in the W o r l d , it is scarce to be doubted, but that M e n w o u l d prefer the [4] more useful before the more splendid,» — con la comparación entre oro y hierro, que de ser igual de abundantes los hombres preferirían el más útil al más espléndido

«Wherefore, (concludes he) I think Pyrophilus ought to be both desired and incouraged to go on w i t h his intended Discourse, since whether Gold be or not be the Best of Metals; an assurance that it may be degraded, may prove a Novelty very Instructive, and perhaps more so than the Transmutation of a baser Metal into a Nobler.» — y la conclusión de que la degradación puede ser una novedad más instructiva que la transmutación de un metal bajo en uno noble

«For I remember it hath long pass'd for a M a x i m among Chymical Philosophers, That Facilius est aurum construere quam destruere:» — con el axioma químico que se recuerda ahí, facilius est aurum construere quam destruere

«It is easier to make gold than to destroy it.» — traducido en el mismo lugar, más fácil es hacer oro que destruirlo

«I have found no k n o w n quality of Gold, (as its colour, malleableness, fixity, or the like) so difficult, if not so impossible, to be introdue'd into any other Metalline M a t ter, as the great Specifick Gravity that is peculiar to Gold.» — y la propiedad que Pirófilo declara la más difícil de introducir en otra materia metálica, la gran gravedad específica peculiar del oro

«As I was one day abroad, saith Pyrophilus, to return visits to my Friends, I was by a happy Providence (for it was beside my first Intention) directed to make one to an Ingenious Foreigner, w i t h w h o m a few that I had received from h i m , had given me some little acquaintance.» — el arranque del relato, la visita al ingenioso extranjero a quien una providencia feliz lo llevó fuera de su intención primera

«enquiring whether in the Eastern parts he had travers'd, he had met w i t h any Chymists; he answered me that he had; and that though they were fewer, and more reserved than ours, yet he did not find them all less skilful.» — y lo que el extranjero le contó de los quimistas de Oriente, menos numerosos y más reservados y no menos hábiles

«Nevertheless, that I might comply w i t h the curiosity he himself had excited in me, and k n o w h o w much I was his Debtor, I resolved to see what it was he had given me, and try whether I could make it do what I thought he Intimated, by the help of those few hints rather than directions h o w to use it, which the parting haste he was in (or perhaps some other reason best k n o w n to himself) confin'd h i m to give me.» — el relator explica por qué probó el polvo, para saber cuánto le debía al donante, con los pocos indicios más que instrucciones que la prisa le permitió darle

«Though the Company (says Heliodorus) be so confident of your sincerity and wariness, that they w o u l d give credit even to unlikely Experiments, upon your single testimony; yet we cannot but approve your discretion in taking an Assistant and a Witness, because in nice and uncommon Experiments we can scarce use too much circumspection, especially when we have not the means of reiterating the tryal: for in such new, as well as difficult cases, 'tis easie even for a clear-sighted Experimenter to over-look some important circumstance, that a far less skilful by-stander may take notice of.» — la observación de Heliodoro, que aprueba haber tomado asistente y testigo porque en experimentos raros nunca sobra circunspección

«As I have ever judged, (saith Pyrophilus) that cautiousness is a very requisite qualification for h i m that w o u l d satisfactorily make curious Experiments; so I thought fit to imploy a more than ordinary measure of it, in making a tryal, whose event I imagined might prove odd enough.» — y la razón que da Pirófilo para extremarla, que preveía un resultado bastante extraño

«W h i c h change I perceiv'd he judged so considerable and unlikely to be effected, that he was greedy of seeing it severly try'd.» — con el interés del asistente por ver el cambio severamente probado

«For there was so very little Powder, that we could scarce see the colour of it, (save that as far as I could judge it was of a darkish Red) and we thought it not only dangerous, but useless to attempt to weigh it, i n regard we might easily lose it by putting it into, and out of the Balance; and the Weights we had were not small enough for so despicable a quantity of matter, which in words I estimated at an eighth part of a Grain:» — la cautela con la cantidad, tan poco polvo que no se atrevieron a pesarlo por miedo a perderlo

«Wherefore seeing the utmost we could reasonably hope to do w i t h so very little Powder, was to make one tryal w i t h it, we weighed out in differing Balances t w o Drams of Gold that had been formerly English Coyn,» — y la decisión consiguiente, una sola prueba con dos dracmas de oro que había sido moneda inglesa

«I put into the well-melted Metal w i t h my o w n hand the little parcel of Powder lately mentioned, and continuing the Vessel in the fire for about a quarter of an hour, that the Powder might have time to defuse it self every way into the Metal, we poured out the well-melted Gold into another Crucible that I had brought w i t h me,» — el procedimiento, el polvo puesto de su propia mano en el metal bien fundido y un cuarto de hora de fuego

«An assistant who is both amanuensis and skilled in chymical operations may be Frederic Slare, who was working for Boyle in the 1670s and was admitted F.R.S. in 1680.» — la conjetura de Principe sobre la identidad del asistente, marcada como posible, Frederic Slare, que trabajaba para Boyle en los años setenta

«Different metals and their alloys have different viscosities in the molten state, and a good operator can make judgments regarding the identity and purity of a metal on these grounds, i.e., how it "turns."» — y su nota técnica sobre por qué un buen operario juzga por el modo en que gira el metal fundido, por las viscosidades distintas de las aleaciones

«I shall not at all wonder, saith Cratippus, either at your Friends amazement, or at your surprize, i f your further tryals did in any measure confirm what the superficial change that appeared in your Metal could not but incline you to conjecture.» — la reacción de Cratipo, que no se asombrará ni del asombro del amigo ni del suyo si las pruebas confirmaron lo que el cambio superficial hacía conjeturar

«The gold's loss of malleability and color after fusion with a very small amount of material accords well with the action of antimony on gold.» — y la nota química de Principe, que la pérdida de maleabilidad y de color concuerda bien con la acción del antimonio sobre el oro

«our little lump w i t h a Hammer, it was, (according to my prediction) found brittle, and flew into several pieces.» — el resultado del martillo, el lingote quebradizo que salta en pedazos según lo predicho

«Thirdly, (which is more) even the insides of those pieces lookt of a base dirty colour, like that of Brass or worse, for the fragments had a far greater resemblance to Bell-Metal, than either to Gold or to Silver.» — y el color de las caras interiores, más parecidas al metal de campanas que al oro o a la plata

«Molten gold absorbs antimony extremely readily, even from the vapor state, thereby becoming brittle and white.» — la nota de Principe sobre el mecanismo, que el oro fundido absorbe antimonio con extrema facilidad incluso desde el vapor y se vuelve quebradizo y blanco

«One part of antimony in 1,920 of gold has been shown sufficient to render it brittle (Carl Hatchett,» — con la proporción medida que aduce, una parte de antimonio en 1 920 de oro basta para fragilizarlo

«the Cupel very smooth and intire, but ting'd w i t h a fine Purplish Red, (which did somewhat surprize us)» — el detalle que sorprendió a los operadores, la copela entera y tersa pero teñida de un rojo purpúreo

«we found it to weigh only about fifty three Grains, and consequently to have lost seven;» — y la pérdida de peso registrada, siete granos

«the Gold i f it were much predominant in quantity, may protect another Metal; (for instance Silver) from being dissolved by that Menstruum, though not from being at all invaded by it.» — la objeción química que se discute, que el oro predominante puede proteger a otro metal de ser disuelto por el menstruo

«Boyle's proportion of anti-Elixir to gold (1 to 1,000) is within the limits of action of antimony upon gold (1 in 1,920).» — la nota de Principe que sitúa la proporción de antielixir a oro dentro de los límites de acción del antimonio

«that in stead of weighing about nineteen times as much as a bulk of water, equal to it, its proportion to that liquor was but that of fifteen, and about two-thirds to one: so that its specifick gravity was less by about 3 v 3 ; than if it had been pure Gold it w o u l d have been.» — la medida de la gravedad específica del metal degradado, quince y dos tercios en vez de diecinueve

«though I freely grant that some old Copper Medals are of good use in History, to keep alive by their Inscriptions the memory of the taking of a Town, or the winning of a Battel; though these be but things that almost every day are some where or other done, yet I think Pyrophilus s imbas'd Metal is much to be preferr'd, as not only preserving the memory, but being an effect of such a Victory of A r t over N a ture, and the conquering of such generally believ'd insuperable difficulties, as no Story that I k n o w of gives us an example of.» — el juicio de valor que se le opone a las medallas de cobre, que el metal degradado es preferible por ser efecto de una victoria del arte sobre la naturaleza

«For without launching into difficult Speculations, or making use of disputable Hypotheses, it seems evident enough from the matter of Fact faithfully laid before you, that an Operation very near, i f not altogether as strange as that which is call'd Projection, and i n the difficultest points much of the same nature w i t h it, may safely be admitted.» — la inferencia que Pirófilo saca sin hipótesis disputables, que cabe admitir una operación muy cercana a la que llaman proyección

«For our Experiment plainly shews that Gold, though confessedly the most homogeneous, and the least mutable of Metals, may be in a very short time (perhaps not amounting to many minutes) exceedingly changed, both as to malleableness, colour, homogeniety, and (which is more) specifick gravity; and all this by so very inconsiderable a proportion of injected Powder, that since the Gold that was wrought on weighed t w o of our English drams, and consequently an hundred and twenty grains, an easie computation w i l l assure us that the Medicine did thus powerfully act, according to m y estimate, (which was the modestest) upon near a thousand times, (for 'twas above nine hun» — con el cómputo que la sostiene, un cambio grande en maleabilidad, color, homogeneidad y gravedad específica por una proporción cercana a la milésima

«what is said of the true Elixir by divers of the Chymical Philosophers, w h o w i l l have the virtue of their Stone increas'd in such a proportion, as that at first 'twill transmute but ten times its weight» — la comparación con lo que dicen del elixir verdadero los filósofos químicos, cuya virtud crecería por escalones

«The Computation, saith Arristander, is very obvious, but the change of so great a proportion of Metal is so wonderful and unexampled, that I hope we shall among other things [17] learn from it this lesson, That we ought not to be so forward as many men otherwise of great parts are w o n t to be, in prescribing narrow limits to the power of Nature and Art, and in condemning and deriding all those that pretend to, or believe, uncommon things in Chymistry, as either Cheats or Credulous.» — la lección que Aristandro extrae, no prescribir límites estrechos al poder de la naturaleza y del arte ni condenar por tramposos o crédulos a los que creen cosas poco comunes

«A n d I presume, subjoins Pyrophilus, that it w i l l not be the less l i k ' d , if I add, That I w i l l allow the Company to believe that as extraordinary, as I perceive most of you think the Phaenomena of the lately recited Experiment; yet I have not (because I must not do it) as yet acquainted you w i t h the Strangest effect of our Admirable Powder.» — y la reserva que Pirófilo se guarda, que todavía no les ha contado el efecto más extraño del polvo porque no debe hacerlo

«though it sufficiently appear'd, that the insuing Conference was but a Continuation of a larger Discourse; yet, considering, that this Part consists chiefly, not to say only, of a Narrative; which (if I may so speak) stands upon its o w n legs without any need of depending upon any thing that was deliver'd before; I thought it was no great Venture, nor Incongruity, to let it come abroad by it self.» — la nota del editor del Anti-Elixir sobre por qué lo publica solo, porque la narración se sostiene por sí misma

«the Honorable M r . Boyle s confesses himself to be Fully Satisfied of the Truth, of as much of the Matter of Fact, as delivers the Phoenomena of the Tryal; the Truth whereof was further Confirm'd to me, by the Testimony, and Particular Account, which that most Learned and Experienc'd Physitian, w h o was Assistant to Pyrophilus in making the Experiment, and w i t h w h o m I have the honor to be Acquainted (being n o w i n London) gave me w i t h his o w n M o u t h , of all the Circumstances of the Tryal.» — con su declaración de que Boyle se confiesa plenamente satisfecho de la verdad de los fenómenos de la prueba

«A n d , where the [iii] Truth of that shall be once Granted, there is little cause to doubt, that the Novelty of the thing w i l l sufficiently Indear the Relation: especially to those that are studious of the Higher Arcana of the Hermetick Philosophy.» — y su previsión de que la novedad recomendará el relato a los estudiosos de los arcanos superiores de la filosofía hermética

«most of the Phoenomena here mention'd, w i l l probably seem wholly new, not only to vulgar Chymists, but also to the greatest part of the more k n o w i n g Spagyrists, and Natural Philosophers themselves: none of the Orthodox Authors, as far as I can remember, having taken notice of such an Anti-Elixir.» — el alcance de la novedad que declara, que ni los espagiristas ni los filósofos naturales más doctos han tomado nota de semejante antielixir

«A n d , though Pyrophilus's Scrupulousness (which makes h i m very unwilling to speak the utmost of a thing) allowes it to be a Deterioration into an Imperfect Mettal onely; yet, to tell the truth, I think it was more Imbas'd than so; for the part left of it (and kept for some farther Discoveries) which I once got a sight of, looks more like a Mineral, or Marchasite, then like any Imperfect Mettal: and therefore this Degradation is not the same, but much greater, [iv] than that which Lullius doth intimate» — y su discrepancia con la escrupulosidad de Boyle, porque a su ver la muestra parecía más un mineral o marcasita que un metal imperfecto

«v These Considerations make me presume it w i l l easily be granted, That the Effects of this Anti-Philosophers Stone, as I think it may not unfitly be call'd, w i l l not only seem very strange to Hermetick, as well as other Philosophers, but may prove very Instructive to Speculative Wits; especially if Pyrophilus shall please to acquaint them w i t h that more odd Phoenomenon, which he Mentions darkly in the Close of this Discourse.» — el nombre que propone para el producto, la antipiedra filosofal

«Clearly, the translator has misread art as act.» — y la corrección textual de Principe sobre el traductor, que leyó act donde decía art

«The identities of the interviewee and projector in the second account are not so clear.» — la abstención de Principe sobre el segundo relato, que las identidades del entrevistado y del proyector no están claras

«It may be another account of Seyler, but i f so, it is strange that Boyle omits his notorious name.» — y su primera hipótesis, que pudiera ser otro relato de Seyler, con la objeción que él mismo le pone, que sería extraño que Boyle omitiera un nombre tan notorio

«The relator, an "Ingenious Gentleman. . . chosen to be one of the examiners of the Transmutation," may be Waldstein again (but it is odd Boyle w o u l d not be more specific as he was in the first account) for Waldstein was an inspector of Seyler's transmutations.» — la segunda, que el relator sea otra vez Waldstein, también con su reparo, que Boyle habría sido más específico

«Boyle's informant may instead be Johann Joachim Becher, another examiner of Seyler's projections.» — la tercera, que el informante fuera Becher, otro de los examinadores

«Alternatively, this transmutation of specifically tin (rather than lead) into gold may be the transmutation performed upon t i n at the imperial court described by Wilhelm Schröder, F.R.S., in a letter written from Prague on 7 October 1674 (N.S.).» — y una alternativa distinta, que se trate de la transmutación de estaño descrita por Wilhelm Schröder en una carta de Praga de 1674

«These t w o accounts were originally part of a much larger gathering of papers, presumably a collection of transmutation accounts.» — el dato codicológico que aporta, que los dos relatos formaban parte de una reunión mayor de papeles, presumiblemente una colección de historias de transmutación

«The interviews w i t h Lamberg and Waldstein bear original pagination of 2 1 - 2 4 , while the fair copy of the account from the "Ingenious Gentleman" is 2 7 - 2 8 .» — con la paginación original que lo prueba

«None of the remaining pages seems to have survived elsewhere in the archive.» — y la constatación negativa, que ninguna de las páginas restantes parece haber sobrevivido en el archivo

«To this request he answer'd, that he thought he could in some sort satisfy me, because Wenceslaus Ade Reinberg A was his very perticuler Acquaintance,» — el relato de la entrevista, con el conde que declara a Wenceslao de Reinberg conocido suyo muy particular

«he could make them upon any Mettali, but those he saw, were made upon Lead & upon Tinn;» — y lo que dijo de las proyecciones que vio, hechas sobre plomo y sobre estaño

«The Count also told me that being [276] once i n need of a considerable summ, the Adeptus had borrowed of the Relator's brother, (I suppose the Archbishop of Prague) a convenient place in his house to make a considerable projection; which he did upon 12. or 16. pound of matter at a time "which A he turn'd all into pure Gold.» — el préstamo de un lugar en casa del hermano del relator para una proyección considerable, sobre doce o dieciséis libras convertidas en oro puro

«Lastly he told me that the Adeptus once in the presence of the Emperour, the Count Wallestine being by; tooke a thin plate of silver, & having first cut off a Corner of it to shew that it was pure silver, he lightly rub'd upon some part of the rest a little of this Powder somewhat wetted to make it sticke, and which was in colour much like Cramosis then having w i t h a paire of Tonges or Flyers [sic] held of the Plate over kindled Coales, till it grew hot, but did not melt; the tincture penetrated the silver so far, as to turne great part of it into Gold.» — y el episodio ante el emperador, con la plancha de plata frotada con polvo humedecido y calentada sin fundir hasta que la tintura la penetró

«To which question he frankly told me that he had and that it was shewne h i m in such a place by such a Person w h o m he nam'd to me, & w h o m I had some Cause to thinke a possessor of extraordinary Arcana in re metallica.» — la respuesta franca del entrevistado, que sí vio la proyección y nombró el lugar y la persona

«1. That the projection he saw was made w i t h a red powder taken up on the point of a knife & cast 4 upon the melted metal.» — el primer punto del interrogatorio de Boyle, que la proyección se hizo con polvo rojo tomado en la punta de un cuchillo

«5. That there was some Commotion made in the melted Metall upon the ingress of the Powder into it, but noe fulmination, or flame, that he tooke notice of.» — el quinto, que hubo cierta conmoción al entrar el polvo pero ni fulminación ni llama

«6. That the transmutation was made in as little time as he had related the story to me, which I guess'd to be about hälfe a quarter of an hour or less, before I ask'd h i m the particular questions.» — el sexto, que la transmutación duró lo que el relato mismo, cosa de menos de medio cuarto de hora

«8. That by the projection mention'd all the while, there was so great a proportion of Metall transmuted w i t h a small quantity of powder, that the Tinn that was turn'd into a perfect Gold amounted to eight pound weight.» — y el octavo, que el estaño convertido en oro perfecto llegó a ocho libras de peso

«Boyle's real output of writings and processes relating to chrysopoeia must have been considerably greater than the present archive indicates.» — la inferencia de Principe sobre el archivo, que la producción real de Boyle sobre crisopeya debió ser considerablemente mayor de lo que hoy indica

«The following four documents are all preambles or explanatory notes to collections of chrysopoetic processes; while the texts published here do survive, there is no trace of the "annexed Paper," "following Process," or "foregoing parts," to which they make reference.» — el argumento con que la sostiene, que sobreviven los preámbulos y no los procesos a los que remiten

«Although one might conjecture that these items fell prey to the apologetic purges alluded to previously, it is more likely that they were taken early on by persons anxious to carry out the processes for personal financial gain.» — y su explicación preferida, marcada como más probable que la de las purgas apologéticas, que se los llevaron temprano quienes querían ejecutarlos por lucro

«A l l these manuscripts probably date from toward the end of Boyle's life and show Boyle's desire to leave behind a record of his transmutational pursuits; the "Hermetic Legacy" he alludes to is perhaps the clearest example.» — la datación que propone para esos manuscritos, probablemente del final de la vida de Boyle, con el Legado Hermético como ejemplo más claro

«I n spite of this communicativeness, Boyle is solicitous that the processes he reveals w i l l not "threaten the welfare of States."» — y el límite que Boyle se pone incluso ahí, que los procesos que revela no amenacen el bienestar de los Estados

«I must inform you then, that when among other studies, I apply'd m y self to the cultivating of Natural Philosophy, I soon perceiv'd that some insight into Chymical operations, was, thô not absolutely necessary, yet highly conducive to the true knowledg of nature, and especially the Indagation of several of her most abstruse Mysteries.» — la declaración de Boyle sobre por qué se aplicó a la química, no absolutamente necesaria y sí muy conducente al conocimiento de la naturaleza

«since I find myself n o w grown old, I think it time to comply w i t h my former Intentions to leave a kind of Hermetick Legacy to the studious Disciples of that A r t , and to deliver candidly i n the annexed Paper, some Processes Chymical & Medicinal, that are less simple and plain than those barely Luciferous ones I have been w o n t to affect,» — y el anuncio del legado, que ya viejo cumple su intención de dejar procesos menos simples que los meramente luciferos

«I judg'd them also useful for the increase of knowledg or the cure of Diseases, but afterwards thô late considering that "since" most particulars worke notable changes on the mettais or other Bodys that afford them, & therefore may probably be apply'd to the discovery of unobvious Truths, or the Preparation of good medicines, I set aside from time to time some "of the" Experiments communicated to me that were affirm'd by the Imparters to be capable of exalting[,] ripeningf,] or at least of separating from inferiour metalls & minerals some portions of one or both of the t w o noblest, nor did I take them all upon trust having h a d» — la razón que Boyle da para apartar experimentos comunicados, que obran cambios notables y pueden servir a verdades no obvias o a buenas medicinas

«But by misfortune they were for a very long t i m e 1 6 mislaid & which was worse I missd them whilst I had the opportunity of Time & Furnaces to "examine t h e m . "» — con la desgracia que confiesa, que los papeles estuvieron traspapelados mucho tiempo y le faltaron cuando tenía horno y tiempo para examinarlos

«I do not condemn the custom of Chymists when they pretend to teach Lucriferous Experiments thô in me I fear Ato pass» — y su abstención de condenar la costumbre de los quimistas de enseñar experimentos lucríferos

«That the thing is true, for the main, I am very prone to beleive.» — la fórmula con que gradúa su asentimiento, que en lo principal está muy inclinado a creerlo verdadero

«For some of the Powder made according to the Process, thô it were very unripe and fugitive, yet being presented me by a Virtuoso of quality, to w h o m it had been given, we found a real augmentation of gold.» — con el dato que lo sostiene, un polvo inmaduro y fugaz que aun así dio un aumento real de oro

«But these Powders, whereof I have yet a Dose by me that was part of the Powder that made the first Tryal, is very unripe, and we found that of (by m y guess) near 4. parts or 5. of it w o u l d presently fly away in a strong fire.» — y la reserva sobre ese polvo, muy inmaduro y del que cuatro o cinco partes se volarían al fuego fuerte

«The chief Lights I had were from the Authors Brother, w h o is look'd upon as Possessor of several of his Brothers Manuscripts, and from an ingenious and dexterous Chymist, w h o wrought part of the w o r k , w i t h the last nam'd Gentleman, and afterwards wrought it by himself and perhaps w i t h more skill.» — las fuentes de su información, el hermano del autor y un quimista diestro que ejecutó parte de la obra

«When I was perswaded by these Inducements as to look upon the following w o r k as Real for the maine, I committed the following Process to Paper, and then had the approbation of One, w h o had wrought it himself, that I understood it rightly.» — y el criterio de control que aplicó, poner el proceso por escrito y obtener la aprobación de quien lo había trabajado

«But 1st because it seems a very curious w o r k , being different from all those I have met w i t h among Chymists, and so may excite their Curiosity to w o r k by wayes and practise [unknown] for ought yet appears, even by the Adepti.» — la primera de sus razones para publicarlo, que la obra es curiosa y distinta de cuantas halló entre los quimistas

«2ly Because I take this Process to be a thing very improvable by a Sagacious Artist, w h o may carry it on much further than 'tis yet brought to, especially by diversifying & applying it.» — la segunda, que un artista sagaz puede llevarla más lejos diversificándola

«41y Because this w o r k is not of that benefit as may threaten the welfare of States, i f it should fall into unworthy hands.» — la cuarta, que su beneficio no es tal que amenace el bienestar de los Estados si cayera en manos indignas

«Lastly, That in the Progress of this w o r k , there is a certain stage, or nick of time, at which part of the Powder being taken away is by a very slight change turn'd into an Excellent Medicine which I have not w i t h out some wonder k n o w n to be a strong Sudorifick in the Dose of a single Grain, and yet the Patients being ask'd, complain'd of not being weaken'd by the Copious Evacuation.» — y la última, el punto del proceso en que parte del polvo se vuelve un sudorífico fuerte en dosis de un grano sin debilitar al paciente

«I think it very possible to pronounce safely t h a t 6 0 this or that "determinate matter" handled according to this or that method, w i l l never produce t h e 6 1 "Elixir, yet" when we speak of inanimate &C inorganical bodys, I think it v e r y 6 2 difficult (if at all possible) to prove an Universal Negative.» — la distinción de Boyle sobre lo que puede probarse, que negar una materia determinada es posible y probar un negativo universal en cuerpos inorgánicos es dificilísimo si no imposible

«I allow myself to distrust his authority, thô not his veracity[,] in what he teaches negatively» — y el modo en que gradúa la confianza en una autoridad, desconfiando de ella en lo que enseña negativamente sin dudar de su veracidad

«That the worshipping of good Angels a is forbidden as a peice of Idolatry» — el argumento del lado negativo del diálogo, que adorar ángeles buenos está prohibido como idolatría

«That there is no rationall account to be given of the pretended intercourse between good spirits and the Adepti and especially that tis unaccountable h o w a red powder should draw and procure such a familiarity.» — y el argumento de inexplicabilidad, que no hay cuenta racional del comercio entre espíritus buenos y adeptos ni de cómo un polvo rojo procuraría esa familiaridad

«That the matter of fact may be probably made out (wherein the stories of witchcraft may be helpfull» — la respuesta afirmativa por vía de hecho, que la materia puede establecerse probablemente con ayuda de las historias de brujería

«That tis granted Angels ought not to be worship'd nor do the Adepti worship them.» — la concesión que hace el lado afirmativo, que no deben adorarse los ángeles y que los adeptos no los adoran

«That tis not likely that aire and fluid parts of the w o r l d should be destitute of spirits.» — el argumento por plenitud, que no es verosímil que el aire y las partes fluidas del mundo estén desprovistos de espíritus

«That tis not likely that there should be so few spirits or so few orders of them as is commonly presumd.» — ni que haya tan pocos espíritus o tan pocos órdenes de ellos como se presume

«That there may be some spirits of a sociable nature w i t h men and that we k n o w very little of the nature, communities, laws, Politicks and government of spirits.» — la premisa de ignorancia, que puede haber espíritus de naturaleza sociable y que sabemos muy poco de sus leyes y gobierno

«That "therefore" there may be congruities or magnatisms capable of inviting them which we k n o w nothing of.» — de donde la posibilidad de congruencias o magnetismos capaces de invitarlos que desconocemos

«That such persons as the Adepti may well be supposd to be under a peculiar conduct and to have particular priviledges.» — y la suposición sobre los adeptos, que cabe pensarlos bajo conducta peculiar y con privilegios particulares

«TIMOTHEUS: This surprising answer Arnobius does indeed remove my first wonder but it onely changes the object of it and very much increases the degree.» — la reacción de Timoteo, que la respuesta remueve su primer asombro y solo cambia su objeto aumentándole el grado

«For having allways lookt uppon Parisinus both as a [139] rationail person and as a good christian I cannot but exceedingly admire that he should think it either possible or lawfull for h i m , by the help of a red powder which is but a corporeall and even an inanimate tiling to acquire communion w i t h incorporeall spirits[,] and since I perceive he has some what opend himself to you and Eleutherius give me leave to desire you to lay before h i m when you shall have opportunity, such dissuasives as are proper to w i t h d r a w h i m from prosecuting a study that may exceedingly both indanger his conscience and blemish his understanding.» — y su objeción de fondo, que un polvo rojo, cosa corpórea e inanimada, procure comunión con espíritus incorpóreos

«A n d first since an Apostle tells us that even the divell can transforme [140] himself into an Angel of light tis very dangerous to have, much less to procure the conversation of Angels for fear wee should by the deluding arts of spirits farr more k n o w i n g then men, be trapand into the fatali mistake of a divill for an Angel of light.» — el primer argumento que ofrece, que el diablo puede transformarse en ángel de luz y engañar con artes muy superiores a las humanas

«But i f it were granted to Parisinus that he could be sure that the spirits whose converse he aspires to, w i l l prove such as belong to Athe A Coelestiall court and not such as (though in disguise formes) assend out of the bottomeless pitt, yet h o w w i l l he acquit himself of an idolatricall commerce w i t h spirits which though nobler creatures then men are yet but creatures; and though good themselves may be the occasions of great mischiefe to us which saint Paul was well aware of when he carefully forewarnes the collosians to beware of the worshipping of Angels which though it seemd an act of great humility in them that exercisd it as it shewd» — el segundo, la advertencia de san Pablo a los colosenses sobre la adoración de ángeles

«But n o w I shall add another dissuasive which though it were single w o u l d deserve to be prevalent for I dare appeal to all judicious men whether they do not think it an ambition "fitter" for some whimsicall Enthusiast then for so learned a man as Parisinus to hope that i f he could turne silver into gold, he might make Angels themselves quit their heaven to court his company as i f those glorious and happy spirits were like covetious mortalls greedy of gold and sollicitous to attend men, that are their inferiors, onely because they are well stord w i t h that thick clay.» — y el tercero, que esperar que los ángeles dejen el cielo por quien convierte plata en oro es ambición propia de un entusiasta caprichoso

«ARNOBIUS: I shall not Timotheus deny your arguments to be very considerable, nor shall I refuse to press them upon Parisinus i f after this conference is over you shall persist to have them proposd unaltered and unaccompanied w i t h auxiliary ones.» — la respuesta de Arnobio, que no niega el peso de esos argumentos y pone una condición para llevarlos a Parisino

«ARNOBIUS: I do i t , 3 Eleutherius, because that h o w ever weighty these arguments may be, I k n o w they are not new to Parisinus w h o has sometimes taken notice of them to Cornelius and to me in the discourse we have had w i t h h i m about conversing w i t h spirits.» — y la razón de esa condición, que Parisino ya los conoce y los ha comentado en conversaciones previas

«I shall then w i t h h i m proceed by steps in m y discourse and begin w i t h representing that the matter of fact (namely that men may have converse w i t h good spirits) may be probably made out and though this seems to be the difficultest point of all and therefore fitt to be reserved for the latter end of our discourse yet I choose to mention it in the first place because i f it can be made out t w i l l much facilitate your assent to the subsequent part of my discourse and allow me to shorten it very much.» — el orden que Timoteo adopta, empezar por si los hombres pueden tratar con espíritus buenos, que declara el punto más difícil

«ARNOBIUS: I am glad Timotheus that you take notice that I imployed the w o r d probably because that assures me that you w i l l not expect that so rare and industriously conceald an intercourse as that between men and spirits should not be capable of Demonstrative proofs.» — la nota que Arnobio le hace sobre el adverbio, que al decir probablemente asegura que no se esperarán pruebas demostrativas

«A n d first that there are witches and magicians I presume Timotheus w i l l not deny for besides the almost universali consent of mankind the scripture its self e in divers places declares no less.» — el primer medio de prueba, que hay brujas y magos, por consenso casi universal y por la propia Escritura

«CORNELIUS: Lett me add that though the scripture were silent our o w n times afford us undeniable instances of the converse of evill men w i t h evill spirits and I my selfe k n o w severall persons divers of them Physitians and men of parts and not superstitious but rather the contrary w h o have had converse w i t h spirits even i n visible shapes and more then [147] One of them against his w i l l as themselves have complained to me.» — el testimonio de Cornelio, con médicos y hombres de entendimiento que trataron con espíritus en formas visibles y más de uno contra su voluntad

«There is in the Daemonology of the famous and learned Bodine among divers other remarkable passages a memorable story of a good spt. or Genius that for many years familiarly assisted a freind of his from whose o w n m o u t h he had the relation[,] doing h i m as occasion requird very many good offices as by diverting and instructing h i m by warning h i m of dangers and assisting h i m in them.» — y el segundo medio, la historia del genio bueno que refiere Bodin, oída de boca del propio asistido

«he told me that he had met w i t h an eminent person whose name & place of residence he told me w h o was able to performe by skill in naturall phylosophy much more than he himselfe could ever do» — el relato de Eleuterio sobre el converso, que conoció a una persona eminente capaz de hacer por filosofía natural mucho más que él

«and yet desspisd the w o r l d & the preferments and advantages he was possesd of in it because of the great impressions that were made on his minde by his converse w i t h spirits both good and bad» — y que despreciaba el mundo por las impresiones que le dejaba su trato con espíritus buenos y malos

«though the company of the latter was very unwellcome and uneasy to h i m and of his conversation w i t h good spirits which yet he kept very secret he gave divers externall proofs to this Gentleman» — con la reserva de que la compañía de los malos le era ingrata, y de que del trato con los buenos daba pruebas externas

«for w h o m he had a paternali love as "lookeing on h i m as" his spirituali sonne w h o m he had rescued 7 from Athesim [sic] and made a sincere convert.» — y el vínculo entre ambos, un amor paternal por el hijo espiritual rescatado del ateísmo

«this Prince was lately soe free w i t h h i m as to confess to h i m that when he first came to the government of his state he found it in soe odd a condition that (though he be k n o w n to be a Prince of great parts) he could not tell which way to turn himself to avoyd the dangers & inconveniences that on all sides seemd to threaten him[;]» — el caso del príncipe, que al llegar al gobierno halló su Estado en condición tan extraña que no sabía por dónde tomarlo

«but whilst he was one night walkeing alone very pensive in his bed chamber and musing on those things there suddenly appeard to h i m a venerable old man w h o told h i m that he came to advise h i m in the streights that perplext h i m» — con la aparición nocturna del anciano venerable que vino a aconsejarlo en sus estrecheces

«and thereupon haveing lay'd before h i m as it were a scheem of the state of his affairs he spent a great while in particularly counselling h i m h o w he should behave himself i n such and such conjunctures of circumstances assuring "Him" that i f he folloed his advice he should happily extricate himselfe out of the difficulties that besett h i m» — el esquema de sus asuntos que le puso delante y el consejo particular para cada coyuntura

«H i m which accordingly came to pass the Prince haveing attaind a very prosperous condition and appearing more confident then was expected for a man of his abilities[,] that some gathering clouds that afterwards threatned his state w i t h a storme w o u l d happily blow over[.]» — y el desenlace que se le atribuye, un Estado próspero y una confianza mayor de la esperada ante las nubes que luego lo amenazaron

Mercurio de los filósofos (Mercurius) — La escuela mercurialista sigue la via sicca y prepara el Mercurio filosófico a partir del mercurio común, «the water which does not wet the hands»; Principe adscribe a Boyle más a menudo a ese método que a la vía húmeda.