240 PARACELSUS 



is a chemist ; the weaver who manufactures a cloth, and 

 the tailor who makes a coat, may be called alchemists, 

 because neither clothes nor coats are grown by Nature. 

 The chemist imitates Nature, the artist surpasses her; 

 the labourer lends his hands to Nature, so that she may 

 accomplish something through him. The artist makes 

 use of the material with which Nature provides him, 

 and develops something that exists germinally in Nature. 

 The painter who daubs a wall is a chemist; his work 

 requires skill, but no genius. The artist who composes 

 a picture is an alchemist, because he embodies an idea, 

 and puts his own character into his work." To under- 

 stand correctly the meaning of the words alchemy and 

 astrology, it is necessary to understand the intimate 

 relationship and the identity of the Microcosm and Mac- 

 rocosm, and their mutual interaction. All the powers of 

 the universe are potentially contained in man, and man's 

 physical body and all his organs are nothing else but 

 products and representatives of the powers of Nature. 

 The Microcosm and Macrocosm may not only " be com- 

 pared together," but they are really and actually essen- 

 tially one in their power, and one in the constitution of 

 their elements.-^ " If I have * manna ' in my constitution, 

 I can attract * manna ' from heaven. ' Melissa ' is not 

 only in the garden, but also in the air and in heaven. 



* Saturn ' is not only in the sky, but also deep in the 

 earth and in the ocean. What is ' Venus ' but the 



* Artemisia ' that grows in your garden ? What is * iron * 

 but ' Mars ' ? That is to say, Venus and Artemisia are 

 both the products of the same essence, and Mars and 

 iron are both the manifestations of the same cause. 

 What is the human body but a constellation of the same 

 powers that formed the stars in the sky ? He who 

 knows what iron is, knows the attributes of Mars. He 

 who knows Mars, knows the qualities of iron. What 



^ " Man, being the son of the Microcosm, has in him also all the mineral 

 elements " (i>c Fate). 



