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Everything is composed of 3 principles, which are known by various names, amongst them are Salt, Sulfur and Mercury. This, perhaps originated in Plato's "Timaeus." The Alchemist is also known by different names, the most common one is Philosopher. Paracelsus rightly points out that alchemists "never even dream of making mention meanwhile of a third" principle and indeed if we agree, then everything in this light stands outside of binary logic. I would like to point out that according to Hazan, the base of Italian cookery, or the "buttuto," was originally made up of 3 ingredients: lard, onion and parsley. Today we substitute lard for oil or butter and forget about the parsley. The tendency to reduce everything to a dualism of some sort or another is lamentable. What is at stake are the fundamentals of our Art, which is known by many names, and these are as much omnipresent as they are ignored much like water, which is composed of 2 hydrogen atoms that have a covalent bond to 1 oxygen atom. To the few who find the Philosopher`s Mercury of interest, it is given here. Please enjoy it responsibly.

XXII