Ambix

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The Visions Of Zosimos

F. Sherwood Taylor

To cite this article: F. Sherwood Taylor (1937) The Visions Of Zosimos, Ambix, 1:1, 88-92, DOI:
10.1179/amb.1937.1.1.88

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/amb.1937.1.1.88

Published online: 18 Jul 2013.

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 88 Translation of

THE VISIONS OF ZOSIMOS.

Translation and Prefatory Note by F. SHERWOOD TAYLOR.

THE Visions of Zosimos are contained in the texts 1 ZWCJ'tp,ou 'TOU B€lov rrr€p'
ap€Tijc;; rr paEtc; a, 1-5, rrrpaELc; {3' and rrrpaELC; "I'. A short indication of
their character has been given on pp. 42-44 of this journal.
Zosimos of Panopolis was perhaps the most important of the Grreco-Egyptian
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alchemists. He is not mentioned by any non-alchemical author earlier than

Suidas, who states that Zosimos and Theosebeia (his sister) wrote a work,
Cheirok1neta (or M an£p'ulations), a chemical encyclopredia in 28 books. Of this'
certain existing works. of Zosimos are fragments. Zosimos probably belongs
to the third century A.D. He cites Demokritos and most of the carly authors,
and also Africanus, who died A.D. 232. He is himself .cited by Olynlpiodoros
(early fifth century): he mentions the Serapeum, destroyed in A.D. 390, as
if still in being .. The general character of his allegorical writings is consistent
with a third century origin, and probably his period of work ce~tred round
A.D. 300. Zosimos of Panopolis is not, of course, identical with Zosinlos the
historian. '
He produced several works on Alchemy and a collection of some of the
alchemical works extant in his time; a part of this collection survives in a
fragmentary condition. It is difficult to tell how much of the work of Zosimos
was original. There is no doubt that he had practical laboratory experience;
but most of his extant writings are discussions of the experimental work of
Demokritos and Maria. The Visions stand quite apart frotn his other writings,
and indeed from all other Greek Alchemy, which contains nothing else of his
elaborately allegorical character. They have indeed much of the character
of actual dreams, which may indeed have afforded a basis, at least, for these
writings. .

ZOSIMOS. OF VIRTUE.

Lesson 1.
1. The composition of waters, the movement, growth, removal, and
restitution of corporeal nature, the separation of the spirit frpm the body,
and the fixation of the spirit on the body are not due to ·foreign natures, but
to one single nature reacting on itself, a single species, such as the hard bodies
of metals and the moist juices of plants.

1 Berthelot, Collection des Alchimistes G1'ecs.Texte, 107-112, 115-118.

 C The Visions of Zosinzos ' 89

And in this sys~em, single and of many colours, is comprised a research,

multiple and varied, subordinated to lunar influences and to the nleasure of
time, which rule the end and the increase according to \vhich the nature trans-
forms itself.
2. Saying these things I went to sleep, and I sa\\Ta sacrificing priest standing
before Ine at the top of an altar in the form· of a bowl. This altar had 15 steps
leading up to it. Then the priest stood up and I heard a voice from above
saying to me, 'I ha:ve accomplished the desceQt of the 15 steps of darkness
and the ascent of the steps of light and it is he who sacrifices, that rene,vs ll1e,
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casting a·way the coarseness of the body; and being consccrated priest by
necessity, I become a spirit'. And having heard the voice of hinl who stood.
on the bowl-shaped altar, I questioned hitn, wishing to find out ,vho he v;as_
He answered me in a weak voice, saying (I am Ion, the priest of the sanctuary,
and I have survived intolerable violence_ F or one came headlong in the
morning, dismenlberi~g me with a sword, and tearing ll1e asunder according
to the rigour of harmony_ And flaying 111y head \..,-iththe sword \vhich he held
fast, he mingled my bones with my flesh and burned thenl ill the fire of the
treatment, until I learnt by the transformation of the body to hecoine a spirit'_
And \vhile yet he spoke these \vords to me, and I forced hirn to speak of it I

his eyes became as blood and he vomited up all his flesh, And I Sr.1\V him as a
nlutilated little image of a man, tearit)g himself with his o\vn teeth and falling
away.
And being afraid I a",!oke and thought 'Is this 110t the' situation of the
waters?' I believed that I had understood it well, and I fell asleep ancw_
And I saw the same altar in the fornl of a bowl and at the top the ,vater bubbling,
and many people in it endlessly_ And there \\'as no one outside the altar ",-hom
I could ask. I then ,vent up towards the altar to view the spectacle. And I saw
a little man, a barber, whitened by years, \\'ho said to Ine' \Vhat are you looking
at ?' I answered him that I marvelled at the boiling of the \vater and the
men, burnt yet living, And he ans'wered me saying' It is the place of the
exercise called preserving (embalming). For those men \\-ho \vish to obtain
virtue come hither and become spirits, fleeing from the body'. Therefore I
said to him 'Are you a spirit?' And he ansv:ered and said 'A spirit and a
guardian of spirits'. And while he told us these things, and \vhile the boiling
increased and the people wailed, I saw a man of copper having in his l~and a
writing tablet of lead_ And he spoke aloud, looking at the tablet, ( I counsel
those under punishment to calm themselves, and each to take in his hand a
leaden writing tablet and to \vrite with their o\vn hands. I counsel theln to
keep their faces up",-ards and their nlouths open until your (sic) grapes be gro\vn '.
The act followed th~ word and the master of thc house said to n1e, , "r ou have
seen. You have stretched your neck on high and you have seen what is done'.
And I said that I saw, and I· said to n1yself, This Ulan o·f copper you ha"e
I

H
 90 Translation of

.seen is the sacrificing priest and the sacrifice, and he that vomited out his own
flesh. And authority over this water and the men under punishment was given
to him.'
And having had this vision I awoke again and I said to myself What is the
C

occasion of this vision? Is not this the white and yellow water, boiling, divine
(sulphurous) ?' And I found that I understood it well. And I said that it
was fair to speak and fair to listen, and fair to give and fair to receive, and fair
to be poor and fair to be rich. For.how does the nature learn to give and to
receive? The copper man gives and the watery stone receives; the metal
gives and the plant receives; the stars give and the flo\\Tersreceive; the sky
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gives and the earth receives; the thunderclaps give the fire that darts from them.
For all things are interwoven and separate afresh, and all things are mingled
and all things cOlnbine, all things are mixed and all unmixed, all things are'
moistened and all things dried and all things flower and blossom in the· altar
shaped like a bowl. For each, it is by method, by measure and weight of the
4 elements, that the interlacing and dissociation of all ~s accomplished. No
bond can be made without method. I t is a natura! method, breathing in and
breathing out, keeping the arrangements of the method, increasing or decreasing
them. When all things, in a word, come to harmony by dhision and union,
without the methods being neglected in any way, the nature is transformed.
For the nature being turned upon itself is transformed; and it is the nature
and the bond of the virtue of the whole world.
And that I may not write many things to you, my friend, build a temple
of one stone, like ceruse in appearance, like alabaster, like marble of Procon-
nesus, having neither beginning nor end in its construction. Let it have within
it a spring of pure water glittering like the sun. Notice on which side is the
entry of the temple and, taking your sword in hand, so seek for the entry.
For narrow is the place at which the temple opens. A serpent lies before the
·entry guarding the temple; seize him and sacrifice him. Skin him. and, taking
his flesh and bones, separate his parts; then reuniting the members with the
bones at the entry of the temple, make of them a stepping stone, mount thereon,
.and enter. You will find there what you seek. For the priest, the man of
copper, whom you see seated in the spring and gathering his colour, do not
regard him as a man of copper; for he has changed the colour of his nature and
become a man of silver. If you wish, after a little time you will have him as
a man of gold.
Lesson 2.
1. Again I wi~hed to ascend the seven steps and to look upon the seven
.punishments, and, as it happened, on only one of the days did I effect an ascent.
Retracing my· steps I then went up many times. And then on returning I
could not :find the way and fell into deep discouragement, not seeing how to
get out, and fell asleep.
 I The Visions of Zosimos' 91

And I saw in my sleep a little· man, a barber, clad in a red robe and royal
dress, standing outside the place .ofthe punishInents, and he said to me Man,
I

,vhat are you doing?' And I said to him ' I stand here because, having
missed every road, I find myself at a loss'. And he said to me ' Follow me '.
And I went out and followed him. And being near to the place of the punish-
ments, I saw the little barber who was leading me cast into the place of punish-
ment, and all his body was consumed by fire.
2. On seeing this I fled and trembled with fear, ~nd awoke and said to myself
, \Vhat is it that I have seen?' And again I reasoned, and perceiving that the
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little barber is the man of copper clothed in red raiment, I said' I have under-
stood well; this is the man of copper; one must first cast him into the place
of punishment'. Again my soul desired to ascend the third step also. And
again I went along the road, and as I came near to the punishment again I
lost nlY way, losing sight of the path, wandering in despair. And again in the
same way I saw a white-haired old man of such whiteness as to dazzle the eyes.
His name was Agathodremon, and the white old man turned and looked on
me for a full hour. And I asked of him Show me the right way'. But he
It

did not turn towards me, but hastened to follo\v the right route. And going
and coming thence, he quickly gained the altar. As I went up to the altar,
I saw the whitened old man and he was cast into the punishment. 0 gods of
heavenly natures! Immediately he was embraced entirely by the flames. \\tnat
a terrible story, my brother! For from the great strength of the punishment
his eyes became full of blood. And I asked him, saying, "Vhy do 'you lie there ?'
r

But he opened his mouth and said to me I am the man of lead and I am
I

undergoing intolerable violence '. And so I awoke in great fear and I sought
in me the reason of this fact. I reflected and said I clearly understand that
I

thus one must cast out the lead, and indeed the vision is one of the combination
of liquids'. .

WORK OF THE SAME ZOSIMOS.

Lesson 3.
1. And again I saw the same divine .and sacred bowl-shaped altar, and I saw
a priest clothed in white celebrating those fearful mysteries, and I said W1}o
It

is this?' And, answering, he·said to me This is the priest of the Sanctuary.

I

He wishes to put blood into the bodies, to make clear the eyes, and to raise
up the dead '.
And so, falling again, I fell asleep another little while, and while I mounted
the fourth step I saw, coming from the East, one who had in his hand a sword.
And I saw another behind him, bearing a round white shining object beautiful
to behold, of which the name was the meridian of the Sun 2, and as I drew near

I or of Cinnabar.
 92 Translation of C The Visions of ZOSi11tOS J

to the place of punishments, he that bore the s\vord told me Cut off his head
C

and sacrifice his meat and his muscles by parts, to the end that his flesh may
first be boiled according to nlethod and that he may then undergo the punish-
ment'. And so, awaking again, I said 'Vell do I understand that these things
t

concern the liquids of the art of the metals'. And again he that bore the
s\vord said You have fulfilled the seven steps beneath'.
C And the other said
at the same time as the casting out of the lead by all liquids, The work is f

completed '.
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