Editing Emerald Tablet (section)

=== ''Secret of Creation'' ===
[[File:Cropped_Text_of_Sirr_al_Khaliqe_Emerald_Tablet.png|left|thumb|272x272px|Arabic text of the ''Emerald Tablet'' from the younger recension B of ''[[Sirr al-khaliqa|Book of the Secret of Creation]]'' (man. Paris, ''Arabe  2300'').]]
The oldest version of the ''Emerald Tablet'' is found as an appendix in an encyclopaedic treatise on natural philosophy meant as a [[cosmogony]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Weisser|1979|pp=1-2}}.</ref> It is believed to have been compiled in Arabic in the late eighth or early ninth century.{{Efn|{{harvnb|Kraus|1943}} dates this text to {{circa|813–833}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1943|pp=274–275}}.</ref> {{harvnb|Weisser|1980}} dates it to {{circa|750–800}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=54}}.</ref> An earlier dating attempt by {{harvnb|Ruska|1926}} placed it between the sixth and eighth centuries CE.<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=166}}.</ref>}} The treatise bears the title ''[[Sirr al-khaliqa|Book of the Secret of Creation and the Craft of Nature]]''.{{Efn|{{langx|ar|كتاب سر الخليقة وصنعة الطبيعة|Kitāb Sirr al-Khalīqa wa-Ṣanʿat al-Ṭabīʿa|link=no}} also known as the {{langx|ar|كتاب العلل|Kitāb al-ʿilal|lit=Book of Causes|label=none}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=XII|pp=}}; {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=|pp=10-21, 46}}.</ref> Some scholars consider it plausible that this work is a translation of a much older [[Greek language|Greek]] or [[Syriac language|Syriac]] original, although no such manuscript is known.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1943|pp=270–303}}; {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|pp=52–53}}.</ref> At the same time others think it is more likely that it was an original Arabic composition based on older materials.<ref>{{harvnb|van Bladel|2009|pp=170-171}}; {{harvnb|Rudolph|1995|pp=134-135}}; {{harvnb|Ullmann|1980|pp=91, 93-94}}; {{harvnb|Ullmann|1981|pp=122}}.</ref> The Arabic text presents itself as a translation of a work by [[Apollonius of Tyana]].{{Efn|Arabised name {{langx|ar|بلينوس|Balīnūs}} or {{langx|ar|بليناس| Balīnās}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=22}}.</ref>}} [[Pseudepigrapha|Pseudepigraphal]] attributions to Apollonius were common in medieval Arabic texts on magic, astrology, and alchemy.{{Efn|A list of other Arabic texts attributed to Apollonius with brief discussions may be found in {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|pp=28–39}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=|pp=XII-XV}}; {{harvnb|Raggetti|2019|pp=156-157}}.</ref> If the ''Tablet'' originally hailed from a pseudo-Apollonian context, it could be considered a text of [[late antiquity]], like other such works.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=XIII}}; {{Harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=|pp=10, 21}}; {{Harvnb|Kraus|1943|p=|pp=275-278}}.</ref> 

This earliest known version reads as follows: 

<blockquote>{{Verse translation|{{lang|ar| حقٌّ لا شكَّ فيه صَحيح،}}
{{lang|ar| إنّ الأعلى من الأسفل والأسفل من الأعلى،}}
{{lang|ar|عمل العجائب من واحد كما كانت الأشياء كلّها من واحد بتدبير واحد،}}
{{lang|ar|أبوه الشمس، أُمّه القمر،}}
{{lang|ar|حملته الريح في بطنها، غذته الأرض،}}
{{lang|ar|أبو الطِّلسمات، خازن العجائب، كامل القوى،}}
{{lang|ar|نار صارت أرضاً ٱعزِل الأرض من النار،}}
{{lang|ar|اللطيف أكرم من الغليظ،}}
{{lang|ar| برِفق وحُكم يصعد من الأرض إلى السماء وينزل إلى الأرض من السماء،}}
{{lang|ar|وفيه قُوّة الأعلى والأسفل،}}
{{lang|ar|لأنّ معه نور الأنوار فلذلك تهرب منه الظُّلمة،}}
{{lang|ar|قُوّة القوى}}
{{lang|ar|يغلب كلّ شيء لطيف، يدخل في كلّ شيء غليظ،}}
{{lang|ar|على تكوين العالَم الأكبر تكوّن العمل،}}
{{lang|ar|فهذا فَخْرِي ولذلك سُمّيتُ هرمس المثلَّث بالحكمة.}}|(a) truth; no doubt [it] is true
indeed, the uppermost is from the lowermost and the lowermost is from the uppermost,
[it] worked the wonders from one, (just) as all things come from one ''by means of one plan/with one considered act'',
[its] father is the sun, [its] mother is the moon,
the wind carried [it] in her womb, the earth fed [it],
father of talismans, keeper of wonders, perfect in power,
fire became earth, separate{{Efn|[[Arabic verbs#Mood|Imperative]] directed at a male recipient.}} the earth from the fire,
the ''soft/delicate/gentle/subtle'' is more noble than the ''crude/rough/unintelligent/gross'',
with gentle-being and wisdom [it] ascends from the earth to the heaven and descends to the earth from the heaven,
and in [it] is the power of the uppermost and the lowermost,
since with [it] is the light of lights therefore the darkness escapes (away) from [it],
power of powers
it prevails over everything ''soft/delicate/gentle/subtle'', enters into everything ''crude/rough/unintelligent/gross'',
against the creation of the macrocosm the work was created,
this is my renown and therefore I am named Hermes the threefold with the wisdom.|italicsoff=n|rtl1=y|attr1={{harvnb|Weisser|1979|pp=524–525}}.|attr2=literal translation; multiple possible meanings have been given in italics; since [[Arabic nouns and adjectives#Gender|Arabic only has two grammatical genders]] and the translated pronoun is grammatically male, [it/its] can also be translated as [he/his/him].{{Efn|This translation was prepared by Wikipedia editors. A translation based on the superseded edition of {{harvnb|Ruska|1926|pp=158–159}} may also be found in {{harvnb|Rosenthal|1975}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Rosenthal|1975|pp=247–248}}.</ref>}}}}</blockquote><!-- This translation was originally discussed by editors at https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Emerald_Tablet&oldid=1196101399#Serrol_Khaleeqe_translation_and_such -->
[[File:Emerald_Tablet_Majles_Library_MS_14456;IR1526.jpg|thumb|245x245px|Nineteenth-century Arabic text of the ''Emerald Tablet'' and part of its frame story in the ''Book of the Secret of Creation.'' (man. Tehran, Majles Library, ''14456/IR1526'').]]
The introduction to the ''Book of the Secret of Creation'' presents a narrative that outlines key philosophical and alchemical ideas. It explains that all things are composed of four elemental qualities—heat, cold, moisture, and dryness—drawn from [[Classical element#Aristotle|Aristotelian theory]]. These elements and their combinations are said to determine the sympathetic or antagonistic relationships between beings. In the [[frame story]], Balīnūs, a legendary figure known as the ''Master of Talismans'',{{Efn|{{langx|ar|صاحب الطلسمات|translit=sāḥib al-ṭilasmāt}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Raggetti|2019|p=156}}.</ref>}} discovers a crypt beneath a statue of Hermes Trismegistus. Inside, he finds a tablet made of [[emerald]], held by an old man seated with a book.{{Efn|"The Lineage and Cause of the Wisdom of Balīnūs<br>
<br>
Now I shall inform you of my origin and the cause of my wisdom. I was an orphan from among the people of Ṭuwāna ({{langx|ar|طوانة}}), possessing nothing. In my city stood a statue of Hermes, erected upon a column of glass. Upon it was inscribed in the primordial tongue:
“I am Hermes Trismegistus ({{langx|ar|هرمس المثلث بالحكمة|Hirmis al-Muthallath bi-'l-Ḥikma}}). I manifested this sign openly, and veiled it through my wisdom, so that none may reach it except a sage like myself.”
And upon the front of the column was written:
“Whosoever desires to know the Secret of Creation ({{langx|ar|سر الخليقة|sirr al-khalīqa}}) and the Craft of Nature ({{langx|ar|صنعة الطبيعة|ṣanʿa al-ṭabīʿa}}), let him look beneath my feet.”<br>
<br>
The people paid no attention to these words and merely gazed beneath the statue’s feet, yet they saw nothing.
As for me, I was weak in nature, but when I grew and my nature matured, and I read the inscription on the column, I grasped its meaning. I went and stood beneath the column, and behold—I discovered a dark subterranean passage, a lair ({{langx|ar|سرب|sarab}}), into which no sunlight penetrated.<br>
<br>
When I attempted to enter it, turbulent winds arose within, unceasing, so that I could not enter due to the darkness, and my flame would not remain lit because of the force of the wind.<br>
<br>
This troubled me deeply, and sorrow filled my heart. Overcome by fatigue and reflection upon my hardship, I fell asleep, burdened and distressed.
Then, in my dream, I saw an old man resembling me in form and appearance. He said to me:<br>
“O Balīnūs, arise and enter this lair, that you may reach the knowledge of the Secret of Creation and perceive the Craft of Nature.”
I said: “I cannot see in its darkness, and my fire does not remain lit because of the wind.”<br>
He replied:<br>
“O Balīnūs, place your light in a clear vessel ({{langx|ar|إناء صاف|ināʾ ṣāfin}}), so that the wind may not reach it. Thus, you will see by it in the darkness.”<br>
<br>
This delighted me, and I realised that I had attained my goal.
I asked him: “Who are you, that you have bestowed this grace upon me?”
He said: “I am your Perfect Nature ({{langx|ar|طبيعتك التامة|ṭabīʿatuka al-tāmma}}).”<br>
<br>
I awoke full of joy, placed my flame in a clear vessel as instructed, and entered the passage. There I saw an old man seated upon a throne of gold. In his hand was a tablet of green emerald ({{langx|ar|زبرجد أخضر|zabarjad akhḍar}} or {{langx|ar|زمرذ أخضر|zumurrudh akhḍar}}), upon which was written:<br>
“This is the Craft of Nature.”<br>
And in front of him lay a book bearing the inscription:<br>
“This is the Secret of Creation ({{langx|ar|سر الخليقة|sirr al-khalīqa}}) and the Knowledge of the Causes of Things ({{langx|ar|علم علل الأشياء|ʿilm ʿilal al-ashyāʾ}}).”<br>
<br>
I took the book and the tablet with a tranquil heart and departed from the passage.
From the book, I learned the Secret of Creation, and from the tablet, I comprehended the Craft of Nature. I acquired the Science of the Causes of Things ({{langx|ar|علم علل الأشياء|ʿilm ʿilal al-ashyāʾ}}), and my name rose to prominence through wisdom. I created talismans and marvels, and came to understand the temperaments of the four natures ({{langx|ar|الطبائع الأربع|al-ṭabāʾiʿ al-arbaʿ}}), their compositions, their oppositions, and their harmonies."<ref>{{harvnb|Weisser|1979|pp=5-7}}; {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|pp=74-75}}; {{harvnb|Kahn|1994|pp=XVI-XVII}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ebeling|2007|pp=46–47, 96}}.</ref> The central part of the text is an alchemical treatise, notable for introducing—for the first time—the theory that all metals are formed from two basic substances: [[sulfur|sulphur]] and [[Mercury (element)|mercury]]. This concept later became a foundational idea in medieval alchemy.<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=|pp=XIII-XIV}}.</ref> [[Emerald]] was the stone traditionally associated with Hermes, while [[Mercury (element)|quicksilver]] was his metal and [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] his planet. [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] was associated with red stones and [[iron]], and [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] with black stones and [[lead]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=115}}.</ref> People in antiquity thought of various green-coloured minerals—such as green [[jasper]] and even green [[granite]]—as emerald.<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=|pp=488/44}}; {{harvnb|Arié|1990|p=159}}; {{harvnb|Lindsay|1986|p=202}}.</ref>

The text of the ''Emerald Tablet'' appears in the ''Book of the Secret of Creation'' as an appendix. It has long been debated whether it is an extraneous piece, solely cosmogonic in nature, or whether it is an integral part of the rest of the work, in which case it could have had an alchemical significance from the outset.<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=|pp=XVI-XVII}}.</ref> It has been suggested that the ''Emerald Tablet'' was originally a text of [[talismanic magic]] that was only later understood as being alchemical in nature.<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp=682–683, 686}}; {{harvnb|Kahn|2016|pp=22–23}}.</ref> This may have been due to it having been divorced from its original context in the ''Book of the Secret of Creation''; and instead having been commonly transmitted through the alchemical treatise containing the ''vulgate''.<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|2016|pp=22–23}}.</ref>
[[File:1620 Woodprint Guǎn Zǐ Vol 4 Scroll 16 Chapter 49 Nèi Yè Fol 2.jpg|left|thumb|217x217px|1620 [[Woodblock printing|woodblock print]] of the beginning of the [[Guanzi (text)|''Guanzi'']] section Tzu-Kung hypothesised to be the origin of the ''Emerald Tablet''.]]
[[Julius Ruska]] observed that the ''Tablet''<nowiki/>'s cosmogony in the ''Book of the Secret of Creation'' seemed neither Islamic, [[Zoroastrianism|Iranian]], nor Christian. He speculated that it might reflect [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion|Chaldean]], [[Sabians|Harranian]], or [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] ideas from the regions northeast of Iran, along the [[Silk Road]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=167}}.</ref>{{Efn|Along similar lines, {{ill|Wilhelm Ganzenmüller|de}} had argued that all of Arab alchemy was built on a mix of pre-Islamic traditions from north-eastern Iran and the land route to India, with other influences from gnostic Christians and ancient Egypt.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganzenmüller|1938|p=32}}.</ref>}} Chang Tzu-Kung proposed an origin further east<ref>{{Harvnb|Tzu-Kung|1972}}; {{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=|p=370}}.</ref>—as he believed Hermes Trismegistus to have been [[Chinese people|Chinese]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=412}}.</ref> He noted that Chinese [[Aphorism#Philosophy|aphorisms]] commonly hailed from legendary slabs and steles in caves and temples.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=|p=372}}.</ref> Tzu-Kung produced a speculative Chinese rendition of the ''Tablet'',{{Efn|The crux of which is reproduced by {{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980}} using Ruska's translation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=371}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=|p=370}}.</ref> which he based on [[John Read (chemist)|John Read]]'s ''vulgate'' translation.''<ref>{{Harvnb|Read|1937|p=54}}; {{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=|p=370}}.</ref>'' He then claimed the ''Tablet'''s origin to be a [[Han dynasty]] (202 BCE – 220 CE) [[Taoist]] text known as the [[Guanzi (text)|''Guanzi'']].{{Efn|{{Langx|zh|管子|Guǎn Zǐ}} More specifically, Tzu-Kung believed to have found the origin of the ''Tablet'' in chapter 49, called 'Inward Training' ({{Langx|zh|[[wikisource:zh:管子/第49篇內業|內業]]|Nèiyè|label=none}}). This section is a text of rhymed prose on [[Ataraxia|ataraxy]], cosmic harmony, and breathing aspects of [[Neidan|internal alchemy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=372}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=|p=372}}.</ref> There are, however, no direct parallelisms between this text and the ''Tablet''.}} [[Joseph Needham]] rejected this theory as not yet having been sufficiently proved.{{Efn|However, he fundamentally agreed with the idea that the ''Tablet'' could have some relation to Chinese thought.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|p=370}}.</ref> Additionally, he suggested that other parts of the ''Secret of Creation'' might have Chinese origins, but he lacked access to the Arabic text to explore this further.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|pp=373-374}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|Ping-yü|Gwei-djen|Sivin|1980|p=373}}.</ref>