Leseprobe

67 Nature nature through his mother tongue, German: the assonances between the words – he believes – guide us to understand the deep relationships between the concepts. Unlike any of the human languages spoken after Babel, the language of nature thus allows Böhme to grasp the original, true conception that lies beneath a word. The true meaning of quality, for Böhme, is signalled by the sound of the word, because a Qualität (also spelled Quallität ) performs the actions of quellen/quallen (springing), and, most importantly, the origin of its mobility is an internal friction, indicated by the presence of the word Qual (torment) within Qual-ität . The precise number and names of these quali- ties changes throughout Böhme’s work: he talks of qualities, wills ( Willen ), characteristics ( Eigenschaf­ ten ), Species , and spirits ( Geister ). In Aurora , Böhme describes a cycle of qualities, each at the same time generating and opposing the next one in the chain of constant life movement, from bitter (“bittere Qualität”), to sweet (“die süße Qualität”), to sour (“die sauere Qualität”), to stringent and salted (“die herbe oder gesalzene Qualität”). He also includes in this cycle some of the substances traditionally identified as “elements,” explaining for instance how air and water are generated thanks to the interplay of heat and cold (Fig. 3). Böhme suggests that the presence of the elements in all natural bodies can be best understood by looking at a burning candle: “in the candle everything is mixed, and no one characteristic is revealed separately from the others, until it is lit: then one sees fire, oil, light, air, and water from the air. All four elements, which had previously been hid in one united foundation, become revealed in it” ( Clavis 62). 13 Notably, Böhme also uses several terms that resonate with the vocabulary of the alchemical tradi- tion, especially through the legacy of the doctor and alchemist Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus (1493–1541). This is particularly evident in On the Three Principles , whose title is rem- iniscent of Paracelsus’ famous three substances, salt, sulphur andmercury (Fig. 4). For Paracelsus, alchemy was an important foundation to the practice of med- icine, because he believed that every natural body was made up of these three substances, and that the doctor must be trained to recognize their presence and balance in everything. In Paragranum , Paracelsus compares the alchemist to a winemaker, or a baker: this indicates the fact that for Paracelsus alchemy is a practical discipline that involves skilful manipulation 5 Alchemical Furnace, Nuremberg or Augsburg, c. 1575, Engraved, cast iron, fire clay, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Inv. no. 40919