Page 15 - A critical exposition of Jung's theory of alchemy

nobility (though this could clearly correspond to maturity). As an author
pretending to be the British Franciscan Roger Bacon wrote “Alchemy...
is the science which teaches how to make and to generate a certain
medicine, which is called elixir, which when it is projected onto metal or
imperfect substances, perfects them completely at the moment of
projection” (Davis 1931: 1945-6). Alchemy was thus a medicine for the
world. In a work which actually was written by him, Bacon also draws
an implicit distinction between speculative and practical alchemy. It
appears that speculative alchemy used the theory of alchemy to
demonstrate the logical truth of alchemy (scientia) and to apply it to
questions of the role of and function of the divine, while practical
alchemy investigates, through action, the workings of the world and
hence allows one to speculate upon the mind, or intentions of God.

We may also note in writin gs of this period, frequent use of what we
might call over concrete analogies. Thus John Dastin argues that gold is
like the sun, and therefore as the sun behaves in one way gold will
behave similarly. Again he argues that because the prima material
behaves like Mercury it is Philosophic Mercury, and given form by
Sulphur (see Josten 1949).

Alchemists in this period tended to work alone. They may
occasionally have been given some words of instruction, but on the
whole there is no good evidence of any organisation of, or long lasting
schools of, alchemists.

This was to change after the work of Paracelsus, who, in some ways,
Jung considered the founder of depth psychology. Paracelsus was an
alchemical medical reformer of the time
of Luther. Luther burnt the Papal Bull
in 1520 and Paracelsus burnt the Canon
of Medicine in 1526. Paracelsus
attacked the isolation of physicians
from the sick, and argued that they must
not only know the theory of medicine
but observe the course of sickness
directly and know how to make
medicines and perform surgery. At that
time medicines were made by
apothecaries who were supposed to be
servants to physicians and not to
prescribe themselves. Likewise physicians were distinct from surgeons
who were supposed to operate, or bleed, according to their instructions.

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