ambix, Vol. 56 No.

1, March, 2009, 522

Divine Water in the Alchemical

Writings of Pseudo-Democritus
Matteo Martelli

The name of the chemical solution qeon dwr (divine water) or qeou dwr
(sulfur water) is characterised by semantic ambiguity: the term theion means
both divine and sulfur, and Greek alchemists frequently play on this
polysemy. This article analyses the use of this and similar expressions in the
writings of pseudo-Democritus from both a technical and a philological
point of view. A fragment preserved by the alchemists Moses and Synesius
shows that pseudo-Democritus knows two different kinds of this water,
the second of which recalls a recipe found in the chemical Leiden Papyrus,
and that the composition of the substance determines the form of its
name.

Status quaestionis1
The significance of qeon dwr or qeou dwr, divine water or sulfur water, in
Greek alchemical writings has been highlighted by a number of scholars,2 who have
also illustrated the ambiguity of the terms: the term qeon, in fact, means both
divine and sulfur, and alchemists frequently play on this polysemy by resorting
to a complex and misleading nomenclature. Cristina Viano has recently dealt with
several aspects of this subject: on the one hand, the liquid substance seems to be a

1
The following abbreviations are used in this article: CAAG = Marcellin Berthelot and Charles mile Ruelle,
Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs, 3 vols. (Paris: Georges Steinheil, 18878); CMAG = Catalogue des
manuscrits alchimiques grecs, 8 vols., ed. Joseph Bidez, Franz Cumont, Armand Delatte, Johan Ludvig Heiberg,
Frederic Kenyon, Otto Lagercrantz, Henri Lebgue, Julius Ruska, Carlo Oreste Zuretti (Bruxelles: Union
Acadmique Internationale, 19241932); LSJ9 = Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones,
A GreekEnglish Lexicon, 9th ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996); PGL = Geoffrey William Hugo Lamp,
A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 19611968).
2
See, for example: Berthelot, in CAAG, vol. 1, 6869; Frank Sherwood Taylor, A Survey of Greek Alchemy,
Journal of the Hellenic Studies 50 (1930): 10939, on 131; C. Anne Wilson, Philosophers, Isis and Water of
Life, Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, Literary and Historical Section 19, no. 5
(1984): 103219, on 14852; Michle Mertens, Zosime de Panopolis, Mmoires authentiques. Les alchimistes
grecs, IV/1 (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1995), 16367; and Cristina Viano, Gli alchimisti greci e lacqua
divina, Rendiconti della Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL. Parte II: Memorie di Scienze Fisiche
e Naturali 21, no. 2 (1997): 6170, on 6163.

Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry 2009 DOI: 10.1179/174582309X405192
6 MATTEO MARTELLI

major philosophical principle that regulates the deep structure of matter;3 on the
other hand, it performs a technical function with regard to the processes of dyeing
base metals, which are transmuted into gold or silver by means of its special power.
Indeed, this term involves both major features typical of alchemical texts: theoretical
reflection on the qualities of matter, and experimental research on its transforma-
tions. Furthermore, Anne Wilson has analysed the religious background that the
name of this ingredient perhaps implicates: in fact, the use of sulfur in several rituals
of purification could emphasise its similar role in alchemical processes.4 It is possible
to summarise three aspects of the subject as follows.
(A) From a grammatical point of view, the ambiguity of the word qeon is more
evident when the whole syntagma is inflected in the genitive (qeou datoj or datoj
qeou): in this case, we are unsure whether qeou should be interpreted as an adjective
or a substantive, that is to say whether we should translate it as divine water or
sulfur water. Moreover, this double meaning is further complicated because several
signs are used in Greek manuscripts to abbreviate the name of this substance. Three
symbols in particular are employed by the copyists of the principal codices and linked
with the word dwr (which can itself be abbreviated to Z or [):
1) p corresponds to qeon, sulfur (CMAG, vol. 8, 2, line 55; 4, line 193);
2) o corresponds to qeon qikton, untouched sulfur (CMAG, vol. 8, 2, line 57; 4,
line 195);
3) X corresponds to qeon puron, unburnt sulfur (i.e. not processed by means of
heating) (CMAG, vol. 8, 2, line 54; 4, line 192).

When the article to precedes these signs (e.g. dwr to p or dwr to X), it
indicates clearly the case in which the shortened word must be inflected (dwr to
qeou or dwr to qeou prou). However, when the two elements are juxtaposed
without the article, nothing suggests how these abbreviations should be expanded: its
real meaning becomes ambiguous, and an expression such as dwr p can signify
both dwr qeon (divine water) and dwr qeou (sulfur water).
In addition, the real difference between these three kinds of sulfur is not very clear
in alchemical texts. Qeon puron probably corresponds to the first of four sulfurs

3
Viano, Gli alchimisti greci, 66: Un problema non indifferente per lidentificazione dellacqua divina nasce
dal fatto che essa viene assimilata alla materia prima, al substrato unico dei metalli che sta alla base di tutte le
trasformazioni. The alchemist Olympiodorus in his doxography of Presocratic philosophers affirms that the
principle (rc) in Melissuss opinion corresponds to sulfur: Man tonun knhton <ka> peiron rcn
pntwn tn ntwn dxazen Mlissoj t n, lgwn ti t n t qeon puron xanqn sti, Melissus thinks
that being is the only immobile and infinite principle of all beings and says that being is yellow unburnt
sulfur [Cristina Viano, Olympiodore lalchimiste et les prsocratiques: une doxographie de lunit, in
Alchimie: art, histoire et mythes. Actes du 1er colloque international de la Socit dtude de lHistoire de
lAlchimie (Textes et Travaux de Chrysopia, I), ed. Didier Kahn and Sylvain Matton (Paris: S..H.A.; Milan:
Arch, 1995), 95150, on 138 19 ( CAAG, vol. 2, 81, lines 35)]. In addition, several manuscripts gloss the
word qeon, using signs indicating the divine water (Viano, Olympiodore lalchimiste, 146ff.).
4
See, for example, Wilson, Philosophers, 15051: In view of the emphasis on sulphur in the recipes of
PM [i.e. Fusik ka mustik], it is likely that the earliest use of the still was to make theion hudr from
materials of proven fire content, principally sulphur, but also the quicklime already combined with sulphur
for torches for Bacchic processions. The resulting liquid was used to tint silvered base metal to gold. But in
ritual terms, the metal was envisaged as drinking the theion hudr, just as the soul in Orphic-Pythagorean
eschatological belief drank the water of remembrance.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 7

described by Pliny (NH 35.175): There are four kinds [of sulfur]: the first is free [lit.
live] sulphur the Greek name for which is puron [that is untouched by fire]: this
alone forms a solid mass. All other kinds are liquid and treated by boiling in oil. Free
sulphur is obtained by mining and is of a green, translucent colour; this is the only
kind used in medicine.5 It looks naturally pure and must not be treated by means of
heating. On the contrary, the other three kinds the first one called clod sulfur
(glaeba), the second one called egula, the third one without a specific name must
be purified by a process known as liquation. There is no evidence to suggest any
correspondence between the three liquated sulfurs listed by Pliny and the first
two kinds mentioned in alchemical texts. In particular, the expression qeon qikton
is peculiar to the Corpus alchemicum graecum, but its meaning is difficult to under-
stand: the adjective qiktoj perhaps specifies that the ingredient is not mixed with
or adulterated by other substances. Furthermore, the simple qeon can indicate in
alchemical texts several minerals (especially sulfides) with similar qualities (low
sublimation point and good friability); for example, the alchemist Olympiodorus
states (CAAG, vol. 2, 75, lines 68): Realgar is sulfur and it flees quickly: it cer-
tainly flees when it is burned; the ingredients, which are similar to realgar, are called
sulfurs (qea) and fleeing substances(feukt). Considering the polysemous nature
of the word qeon, the adjective qiktoj may indicate that the alchemist is using real
sulfur, not some other similar substance.
The same ambiguity concerning the three kinds of sulfur is also present in the cor-
responding signs used in the manuscripts. In particular, the meanings of the symbols
p (simply sulfur) and o (untouched sulfur) sometimes overlap in several texts.
For example, if we analyse the writings of Zosimus, the symbol o is more often
employed than p; furthermore, in several cases, it seems appropriate to expand o
simply to qeon. In fact, on comparing the manuscripts, it becomes clear that, where
one codex reports the sign o, another one has the word qeon, not qeon qikton.
In CAAG, vol. 2, 154, line 15,6 Berthelot and Ruelle write t dwr to qeou, but the
manuscripts report both Z to o (MV) and dwr to qeou (BA). A similar case
appears in CAAG, vol. 2, 170, line 17 (k to datoj to qeou): the codices MV, in
fact, attest Z to qeou, when BA have Z to o.7 In addition, scribes sometimes

5
Translation by John F. Healy, Pliny the Elder on Science and Technology (Oxford: University Press, 1999),
247: Genera IIII [sc. sulphuris]: vivum, quod Graeci apyron vocant, nascitur solidum cetera enim liquore
constant et conficiuntur oleo incocta; vivum effoditur tralucetque et viret. Solo ex omnibus generibus medici
utuntur. See also Dsc. 5.123.
6
The only existing edition of most of the Corpus alchemicum graecum is the CAAG. In spite of the importance
of this work, which introduced scholars to some important aspects of the culture of Late Antiquity previously
forgotten, Berthelots edition has been harshly criticised in many respects (see, for example, Mertens, Zosime
de Panopolis, CVICIX). Each one of the texts discussed hereafter is based on a new collation of the principal
manuscripts. The most important codices that I have analysed are Marcianus graecus 299 (= M; X/XI cent.),
Parisini graeci 2325 (= B; XIII cent.) and 2327 (= A; XV cent.), and Vaticanus graecus 1174 (= V; XIV cent.).
I do not take into account the readings of Laurentianus gr. 86, 16, used by Mertens in her recent edition of part
of Zosimuss works (see Mertens, Zosime de Panopolis, XXXVIIIXLIII), because they coincide with those of
A. In this paper, I indicate only the manuscript variants where my reading differs from that found in CAAG.
A full apparatus criticus can be found in my forthcoming edition of pseudo-Democritus and Synesius (Textes
et Travaux de Chrysopoeia).
7
It would be possible to list many more similar cases. Mertens also, in her recent edition of some of the writings
of Zosimus, sometimes expands the symbol o to qeon: for example, she writes dwr qeou (VII.43) where M
(the sole witness) attests Zo.
8 MATTEO MARTELLI

write the expression o qikton, where the adjective would be useless, if the symbol
itself means qeon qikton.8
(B) From a technical point of view, sulfur water seems to be a very reactive solution
made up of various ingredients, among which sulfur and lime play a very important
role. Several scholars have drawn attention to a recipe handed down by the chemical
Leiden Papyrus that describes the preparation of the following compound:
Udatoj qeou eresij: sbstou dracmn man, qeou t son proleleiwmnon sunqej
n ggeJ ce xoj drim orou fqrou. `Upkaie wj t grn t pipemfqn j
ama fan, per poseirsaj di tn trugan kaqarwj cr.
(P. Leid. X. 87)

The discovery of sulfur water: mix one drachma of lime and the same quantity of sulfur
that has been crumbled in a vessel containing strong vinegar or the urine of a virgin boy.
The liquid is then burnt by applying fire below so as to make it like blood; filter to remove
sediment and employ it neat.

The translation of the title is not straightforward, because the genitive case makes
possible both discovery of sulfur water and discovery of divine water. The tech-
nical background has, nevertheless, suggested the first interpretation to the majority
of scholars. In fact, there is a total absence of any mystical or philosophical aspects
in this text, and sulfur is included in the composition, which yields a solution of
polysulfides of calcium that can attack the surface of metals and change their natural
colour. The text does not specify, however, how the liquid must be employed: only
the following recipe (P. Leid. X. 88) describes a complex dyeing technique in which
silver (four parts) and gold (one part) are alloyed and processed by this liquid. In
addition, a similar solution (sulfur [qeon], lime [sbestoj] and alum [stupthra]
dissolved in vinegar) is used in the styij of crystal (P. Holm. 40 and 68), which is
the first step in the colouring processes of several stones:9 they are immersed in the
liquid in order to weaken their structure and favour the penetration of dyes.
(C) If we analyse the Corpus alchemicum graecum, it is clear that divine water is
very often used in several dyeing processes. The Lexicon of the Chrysopoea (CAAG,
vol. 2, 417) identifies it with the colouring principle called j (CAAG, vol. 2, 9,3):10
j sti xnqwsij ka dwr qeon qikton ktl. (the [dyeing] poison is the yellowing
process, namely the pure divine water). A fragment from Maria the Jewess (quoted
by Zos. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 146, lines 1017) hints of a metal leaf processed by dwr
qeou mixed with rubber. Zosimus,11 furthermore, attests that other ingredients are

8
See, for example, CAAG, vol. 2, 148, lines 12, plin fromen tn di datoj qeou qktou; the manuscripts
report Zo qktou (M), udt o qktou (B) and datoj o qktou (A); CAAG, vol. 2, 165, line 24, ka dwr
qeou qktou; the manuscripts have Zo qktou (MV) or oZ qktou (BA).
9
See Robert Halleux, Papyrus de Leyde, Papyrus de Stockholm, Recettes. Les alchimistes grecs, I (Paris: Les
Belles Lettres, 1981), 4748.
10
This word has also the double meaning of poison (e.g. of a serpent) and of rust or patina. The
first meaning relates to the image of the orobroj, a serpent devouring its tail [see H. J. Sheppard,
The Ouroboros and the Unity of Matter in Alchemy: A Study in Origins, Ambix 10 (1962): 8396], which
symbolises all alchemical works (Steph. Alch. II 208, lines 1325 Ideler; CAAG, vol. 2, 22, lines 13); the second
recalls the superficial manipulations of metals processed with a wide range of chemical substances (above all,
sulfides, salts, and several minerals).
11
Zos. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 157, lines 1012: see Viano, Gli alchimisti greci, 6667.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 9

added to this liquid in order to make it white, yellow or black; in fact, the colour of
ingredients is a clear indication of their dyeing power for ancient alchemists and,
for example, Zosimus himself employs different kinds of water in order to render a
copperlead alloy white or yellow.12 However, it is very difficult to understand
whether these waters correspond to the solution whose composition is described in
the above-quoted recipe. Greek alchemists very often state that all the liquids used in
the sacred art are called divine water. For example, Zosimus says in a section entitled
Per qeou qktou datoj:13
Prton dexai de ti snqeton t dwr to qeou qktou k pntwn tn grn con
tn sgkrasin, ka di pntwn tn grn nomzetai . . . Kaletai dwr qeou q
ktou di lmhj, di datoj qalassou, di orou fqrou, di xouj, di xlmhj, di
laou kiknou, afannou, balsmou, glaktoj gunaikj rrenotkou, ka glaktoj
boj melanhj, ka di orou damlewj, ka probtou qhleaj: tinj orou neou:
lloi ka datoj sbstou, ka marmrou, ka fklhj, ka qeou qktou, ka
rseniko, ka sandarchj, ka ntrou, ka stupthraj scistj, ka glaktoj plin
neou, ka ageou, ka kunnou, ka datoj spodokrmbhj, ka llwn dtwn p
spodo ginomnwn: lloi ka mlitoj, ka xumlitoj, ka xouj, ka ntrou, ka
datoj erou, ka Nelou, ka rktou, ka onou Aminaou, ka otou, ka mortou,
ka sikertou ka zqou: ka na m t pnta nagignskw, di pantj gro.

M 156r726; B 143r2143v3; V 112r1112v1; A 129v25130r18 = CAAG, vol. 2, 184, lines

117 (BeRu in the apparatus)

TEST. De Lapide philosophiae, A 138r24138v11 (LP in the apparatus)14

1 dwr BeRu: Z MBVA || qeou qktou scripsi: o MBVA: qktou om. BeRu || 2 dwr
qeou qktou scripsi: [o MBVA: dwr qeon BeRu || 4 afannou scripsi: e- MBVA:
efankou BeRu || 6 qeou qktou scripsi: o MBVA: om. LP: qktou om. BeRu || 10
minaou MV: om. BA: mh- BeRu

First of all, it is necessary to demonstrate that water of untouched sulfur is composed by

mixing together all fluid substances and is called by the names of all the fluid substances
. . . Water of untouched sulphur is called by the names of brine, sea water, urine of a
virgin boy, vinegar, acid brine, castor oil, radish oil, balsam oil, milk produced by a
woman bearing male children, black cows milk, heifers or ewes urine; some call
it also by the name of asss urine, others by the names of lime water, marble water,
dregs water, untouched sulphur water, orpiment water, realgar water, natron water,
alum water, and asss and ewes and dogs milk, and water of cabbage-ashes, and by the
names of other waters deriving from ashes; others also use the names: honey, a sauce
made from honey and vinegar, vinegar, natron, rainwater, Nile water, elder juice,15

12
Zos. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 147, line 23 to 148, line 4.
13
Manuscripts have: oZ MV; qeou qktou udt B; o q. udt A.
14
The work Per to lqou tj filosofaj is a small anthology of alchemical passages transmitted only by A
136v16140v12 (partially edited in CAAG, vol. 2, 198204).
15
Ps.-Dsc. 4.173 states that the tree called rktoj corresponds to kt (elder-tree [LSJ9 242 s.v. rktoj (IV);
see also Thphr., HP III 13.4]): kt: o d dndron rktou, o d meron, `Rwmaoi sambokoum. In addition,
Theophrastus attests that a black liquid (used especially as hair dye) is extracted from this plant (Sambucus
nigra L.).
10 MATTEO MARTELLI

Italian wine,16 pomegranate wine,17 mulberry wine,18 cider (date juice)19 and beer. In
conclusion not wishing to read all the names the name of every fluid substance.

The text raises the same questions that we have analysed in the previous pages. In
particular, the meaning of the symbol o (lines 1, 2 and 6) and the expansion of
the syntagma Zo (line 2) are not clear in the section. The title, where the codices
BA report qeou qktou dat(oj) (B) or o q(ktou) dat(oj) (A), suggests that the
sign o has the specific meaning of qeon qikton; in addition, at line 1, the presence
of the article to after t dwr confirms that the following word must be inflected in
the genitive case. In conclusion, the section seems to deal with t dwr to qeou
qktou, the water of untouched sulfur, which corresponds to all liquid substances
in Zosimuss opinion: different oils extracted from vegetable ingredients, several
wines and many liquids made with mineral substances are listed as specific names of
sulfur water. In particular, it is very interesting that the water of untouched sulfur
(line 6) also appears in other solutions such as realgar water and lime water. Although
the same expression dwr qeou qktou is employed at lines 12 and at line
6, it is clear that it does not have the same meaning: in the first case, it is used in a
more extensive sense, and the word qeon does not indicate the component of the
solution; in the second, on the contrary, sulfur seems to constitute the substance by
which the water is composed. A semantic sliding from particular to general involves
the expression dwr qeou qktou progressively losing its specific meaning.
This evolution makes it very difficult to deduce from the words qeon qikton any
information about the composition of the water so designated: as Zosimus said at
the beginning of the section, the water of untouched sulfur is made from all fluid
substances. It seems to mean the same kind of liquidity rather than a specific
substance. In this connection, Zosimus himself interprets several pseudo-Democritean
recipes by resorting to a generalised explanation of the expression:20 all of the liquid
substances quoted by pseudo-Democritus are simply sulfur water or divine water (at
this point they are one and the same thing).

The direct tradition: divine water in the writings of

pseudo-Democritus
In contrast to the discussions of sulfur water or divine water in Zosimuss treatises,
the writings ascribed by the codices to Democritus do not contain any section in
which the author turns his attention to this subject. In fact, if we analyse the two
works by pseudo-Democritus, Fusik ka mustik (Natural and Secret Things)

16
See Virgil, Georg. 2.97ff. and Pliny, NH 14.21. Regarding the other wines, see the list of vina ficticia given by
Pliny (NH 14.98ff.).
17
Dsc. 5.26 describes its preparation.
18
A hapax clearly related to mron (mulberry), called also sukminon. Thphr., HP I 12.1 deals with the wine
produced from it.
19
See, for example, Pliny, NH 14.102: primumque [vinum] e palmis, quo Parthi, Indi utuntur et Oriens totus,
mitiorum quas vocant chydeas modio in aquae congiis tribus macerato expressoque. Chydeae are a kind of
date much used by Jews (Pliny, NH 13.46; Dsc. 5.31).
20
See Zos. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 185, lines 613 and 186, lines 34.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 11

and Per smou poisewj (On the Making of Silver),21 we find only one recipe for
a chemical process in which divine water is employed (CAAG, vol. 2, 45, lines 1118).
Such a shortage of specific information concerning this important substance is
perhaps due to the fragmentary form in which the works of pseudo-Democritus
have reached us: the two writings are an epitome of four original books, as one can
infer by comparing the text preserved in Byzantine manuscripts with the indirect
tradition.22 Several authors,23 indeed, say that Democritus wrote four books
about gold, silver, precious stones, and purple (Per cruso, rgrou, lqwn ka
porfraj). However, these were summarised, and Fusik ka mustik combines
the fourth book with the first one, as codex M clearly shows by the fact that on fol.
2v, the table of contents gives the title as Dhmokrtou per porfraj ka cruso
poisewj: fusik ka mustik (Of Democritus Concerning the Making of Purple
and Gold: Natural and Secret Things).
In any case, despite this situation, sulfur is very often used in the pseudo-
Democritus recipes in order to process several minerals or metals. As Wilson recalls,
Hammer Jensen observed that sulphur appears in more than half the PM [i.e.
Fusik ka mustik] recipes, though is very rare in those of Leiden Papyrus X, and
she saw the strong emphasis on sulfur in PM as the source of its later importance in
alchemy.24 Two of the three kinds of sulfur are referred to by pseudo-Democritus:
simple sulfur (qeon)25 and unburnt sulfur (qeon puron).26 Furthermore, the manu-
scripts never present any ambiguity, and the names of the two sulfurs are only
abbreviated in one recipe by any of the signs analysed in the previous section: the
passage in this recipe, which reports the form aqo [expanded to qikton qeon by
Berthelot and Ruelle (CAAG, vol. 2, 51, line 12)], is preserved only in codices BA
and appears to be corrupt, as I will demonstrate in the following section. Moreover,
sulfur is very often mixed with certain liquid substances such as oil, vinegar, brine,
and urine, and, with regard to this, it is possible to highlight various matters of
interest in the recipes of Fusik ka mustik and Per smou poisewj:
(1) CAAG, vol. 2, 44, lines 1420: a process involving pyrite is described in which
the mineral is first treated with a liquid substance (brine, urine, sea-water, or
acidic honey) and then by adding a mineral ingredient like unburnt sulfur,
alum, or ochre.
(2) CAAG, vol. 2, 45, lines 15: a similar treatment of cinnabar in which the
mineral is first whitened by various liquids (oil, vinegar, honey, brine, or
alum) and then yellowed by certain minerals, among which unburnt sulfur is
listed.
21
Halleux, Papyrus de Leyde, 3538 dealt with the question of shmoj and its meaning.
22
See, for example, Jean Letrouit, Chronologie des alchimistes grecs, in Alchimie: art, histoire et mythes.
Actes du 1er colloque international de la Socit dtude de lHistoire de lAlchimie (Textes et Travaux de
Chrysopoeia, I), ed. Didier Kahn and Sylvain Matton (Paris: S..H.A.; Milan: Arch, 1995), 1193, on 7580.
23
Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 57, lines 11ff.; Olymp. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 102, lines 17ff.; Syncell. 297, lines 2428
Mosshammer.
24
Wilson, Philosophers, 110. The reference is to Ingeborg Hammer Jensen, Die lteste Alchymie (Copenhagen:
A. F. Hst & Son, 1921), 41.
25
See Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 44, line 24; 48, line 1; 50, line 5; 50, line 10; 50, line 18; 51, line 17; 51, line
20.
26
See Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 43, line 26; 44, line 17; 45, line 3; 45, line 16; 46, line 7; 46, line 20; 49, line
6; 52, line 12, 53, line 6.
12 MATTEO MARTELLI

(3) CAAG, vol. 2, 46, lines 1621: malachite is made yellow by a solution of
castor oil and alum or unburnt sulfur.
(4) CAAG, vol. 2, 49, lines 17: a very complex solution of saffron, Carthamus
tinctorius and other flowers dissolved in a very strong vinegar with a little
sulfur is described, and is used to transmute alchemical lead (mlubdon
tn mn, lit. our lead)27 into gold; pseudo-Democritus specifies let the
composition have a little unburnt sulphur.28
(5) CAAG, vol. 2, 53, lines 16: another fluid and thin mixture (zwmj, wash;
see LSJ9 759) is prepared by stirring various ingredients into honey: white
cadmia, magnesia and lime appear alongside sulfur, about which the author
says But let the composition have a little native [lit. unburnt] sulphur, that
the medicine may pervade and penetrate.29
In conclusion, pseudo-Democritus deals with several solutions in which sulfur very
often appears as a possible ingredient with other vegetable and mineral substances,
and these liquids are used both to treat ores and to dye base metals. The alchemist,
however, does not specify the name of these different waters; he highlights, instead,
the wide range of natural substances that offer similar qualities and produce the same
result in dyeing processes. Each recipe lists a choice of many equivalent ingredients;
these substances are normally separated by the conjunction (or), indicating that
they have the same function. The equivalence of the results produced shows that, in
pseudo-Democrituss opinion, the listed alternative ingredients have the same power
and that this makes it possible to order and catalogue them. In any case, among these
elements, sulfur seems to play a prominent role, and the author sometimes specifies
that it is necessary to add a little sulfur to the composition in order to obtain the best
results. For example, the following text deals with sulfur and its treatment:
Labn qeon t leukn, leuknVj d at orJ lein n lJ stupthrv ka lmV
t to lj: nqsei pnu leuktaton. Leou at sn sandarcV orJ damlewj
mraj x, wj gnhtai t frmakon marmrJ paremferj: ka n gnhtai, mga
st mustrion: tn gr calkn leukanei, malssei tn sdhron, triston poie
tn kassteron, tn mlubdon rreuston, rrktouj poie tj osaj, fektouj
tj bafj: t gr qeon qeJ mign qeaj poie tj osaj, polln conta tn prj
llhla suggneian. Trpontai gr a fseij taj fsesin.

M 71v1019; B 18r2018v12; V 8v418; A 30r1121 = CAAG, vol. 2, 51, lines 1119

1 at MBVA: om. BeRu || 2 nqsei scripsi: nqigh MV: qio B: qo A: qikton

qeon BeRu || 4 triston scripsi: trhston MV et BeRu: truton B: triton A || 6 conta
MVA et B ut vid. ([. . . . .]nta): cosaj prop. BeRu || 7 llhla MBA: lllaj V

27
The presence of the possessive pronoun mn suggests that the term mlubdoj is not employed in its usual
sense (see Mertens, Zosime de Panopolis, 153). Such a usage also appears in CAAG, vol. 2, 44, line 12, where
pseudo-Democritus explains that the word lead does not indicate the simple metal, but a secret alloy (prob-
ably made with antimony and litharge; see also CAAG, vol. 2, 11, line 9), whose composition is known only
to alchemists [see Matteo Martelli, Lopera alchemica dello Pseudo-Democrito: un riesame del testo, Eikas-
mos 14 (2003): 16184, on 17273].
28
Translation by Robert B. Steele, The Treatise of Democritus On Things Natural and Mystical, Chemical
News 61 (1890): 88125, on 102.
29
Steele, The Treatise of Democritus, 114.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 13

Take30 white sulfur; you shall whiten it, dissolving with urine in the sun or alum and salt
brine: it will shine31 having become totally white. Dissolve it with realgar or heifers urine
for six days, until the pharmakon [the medicine] nearly approaches the likeness of
marble; when it becomes so, great is the mystery for it whitens copper, softens iron, takes
away the creaking of tin,32 makes lead not fusible and makes substances unbreakable
and dyes permanent. For sulfur mixed with sulfur makes substances divine, since they
(sc. sulfurs) have a close kinship with each other. Natures rejoice with natures.

The recipe describes a preliminary treatment of sulfur in order to make it white:

urine, alum or brine is used in the first step of the process. Afterwards, white
sulfur is melted with realgar or urine and made similar to marble. The author does
not specify the consistency of the final compound, and it is difficult to determine
whether it is solid or liquid: the comparison with marble evidently a solid
substance would suggest that the alchemist prepares a stiff compound. However,
some passages in other alchemical texts adopt the same comparison with regard to
the water.33 Therefore, the word mrmaron (marble) may simply indicate the
colour rather than the consistency of the pharmakon a term that is sometimes
related to a liquid substance in the works of pseudo-Democritus.34 However, irrespec-
tive of the final state of the compound, it is evident that the first step in its preparation
involves a white solution composed of sulfur. Yet, the author does not specify the
name of the liquid compound in this case either.
Whatever the actual results of the method described by the author, the penultimate
sentence of the recipe (lines 67: t gr qeon qeJ mign qeaj poie tj osaj,
polln conta tn prj llhla suggneian) highlights a very interesting aspect of
his alchemical language. It is evident that pseudo-Democritus plays with the strong
similarity between the adjective qeoj (divine) and the substantive qeon (sulfur). In

30
I have followed the translation by Steele, The Treatise of Democritus, 113 with some corrections, since Steele
translated the text published by Berthelot and Ruelle, which is somewhat different from my edition.
31
The manuscripts report different readings at this point: Berthelot and Ruelle base their edition on BA and print
(CAAG, vol. 2, 51, lines 1213): qikton qeon, pnu leuktaton [le soufre natif est de beaucoup le plus
blanc (CAAG, vol. 3, 55)]. However, such a sentence seems isolated from its context, in which the alchemist
describes a colour change in sulfur. On the basis of manuscripts MV, a different solution can be suggested:
nqgh may be a corruption of some form derived from the verb nqw (such as the future nqsei), which
also means to be brilliant, to shine (LSJ9 139). The use of the verb is indeed confirmed by other alchemical
texts, where it indicates that some substances change colour; for example, Zosimus says (X.89 Mertens): ka
nqe pnta ka xanqe t pnta n t fialobwm; (see also Steph. Alch. II 239, lines 8 and 23 Ideler;
CAAG, vol. 2, 255, line 7; 372, line 6). Domenico Pizzimenti, Democritus Abderyta de arte magna sive de rebus
naturalibus nec non Synesii et Pelagii, et Stephani Alexandrini et Michaelis Pselli in eundem commentaria
(Patavii, 1573), 10r4, has already interpreted this passage in a similar manner by translating it: florebit quam
candidissimum.
32
Berthelot and Ruelle print trhstoj (reading of M) and translate compacte (CAAG, vol. 3, 55; in n. 1,
Berthelot suggests Sans cri). This form, however, is not attested elsewhere in the Corpus alchemicum
graecum, while both trhtoj [not perforated (LSJ9 273), from tetranw] and tristoj [not crackling (LSJ9
273), from trzw] appear instead. By comparing the indirect tradition of the recipe, in which tristoj is always
present (CAAG, vol. 2, 161, lines 68 and 162, lines 1217), it is possible to normalise the form transmitted by
M (the result of itacism): tristoj indicates that the tin, hardened by sulfur, no longer produces its peculiar
sound known as tin cry. In fact, when a bar of tin is bent, it emits a crackling sound caused by the shearing
of crystals in the metal.
33
See CAAG, vol. 2, 163, lines 812; 179, line 3.
34
See CAAG, vol. 2, 48, line 7; 48, line 9; 52, line 11; 52, line 22; Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 58, lines 12.
14 MATTEO MARTELLI

addition, the latter is used with a more extensive sense and does not indicate only the
specific chemical element, but many similar substances. The expression sulfur mixed
with sulfur suggests that many ingredients with equivalent qualities such as
the sulfides realgar and alum listed by the alchemist must be combined together,
and, as the aforementioned part of the recipe clearly shows, the joining together of
several sulfurs produces divine effects. In fact, the same compound can treat several
metals. The repetition of the word qeon (sulfur) intensifies its polysemy and assists
the semantic sliding from substantive to homophonic adjective. The second part
of the sentence explains the cause of these effects: the close kinship (suggneia)
between the different sulfurous substances and their similar natures enable complete
and powerful cooperation. From this perspective, it is difficult to accept the sugges-
tion put forward by Berthelot and Ruelle, who propose emending conta, the reading
preserved in all manuscripts, to cousaj in agreement with osaj.35 Although the
form conta does not agree with any previous words, its neuter gender is confirmed
by several indirect quotations of the recipe.36 It is thus necessary to understand the
term qea (sulfurs or sulfurous substances) as the subject of the participle
conta, and this is suggested by the expression qeon qeJ mign, in which different
sulfurs are clearly implied.
The recipes discussed above clearly show that pseudo-Democritus frequently uses
different kinds of sulfur, which are mixed with liquid substances. Furthermore, he
plays with the polysemy of the term used, highlighting the relationship between the
name of the natural substance and its divine effects. However, although these two
points are important in understanding the significance of the name divine water,
this expression appears very rarely in his writings. In fact, only one quotation is to
be found:
Tn ndrodmanta okonmei onJ asthr, qalssV, orJ, xlmV, toj
dunamnoij sbsai ato tn fsin. Leou met stmewj Calkhdonou. Okonmei d
plin qalassJ dati, lmV, xlmV: pplunon, wj n fgV to stmewj
melana. Frxon pthson, wj xanqsV, ka yei dati qeJ qktJ. Epballe d
rgrJ, <ka stai crusj>: ka tan qeon puron prosblVj, poiej crusozmion.
`H gr fsij tn fsin krate. [Otj stin lqoj legmenoj crusthj].

M 68v2569r4; B 12v313; V 2v417; A 26v2227r5 = CAAG, vol. 2, 45, lines 1118

3 fgh MBA: kfgh V: fug BeRu || 5 ka stai crusn addidi, coll. versione Syriaca
(p. 11, line 3, Berthelot and Duval): || poiej Zuretti: poei MBVA et BeRu || 6
Otoj crusthj ut glossema seclusi

Treat37 androdamas with bitter wine, or sea water, or urine, or acid brine, which things
can attack its nature. Melt with Chalcedonian antimony, and treat it again with sea
water, or brine, or acid brine; wash until the blackness of the antimony goes away; heat
or roast it until it begins to grow yellow, and you shall boil it with untouched divine

35
Furthermore, if we were to accept Berthelot and Ruelles suggestion, we would have to emend llhla to
lllaj (reading of V).
36
See CAAG, vol. 2, 199, lines 1718 and 399, lines 56.
37
Translation by Steele, The Treatise of Democritus, 89 with some corrections.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 15

water; lay it on silver, <and it will be gold>,38 and when you add unburnt sulfur, you
make39 ferment of gold. Nature conquers nature. [This is the stone called chrysites
(lit. like gold; gold-dust or ore; see LSJ9 2010].40

Steele41 interprets the recipe as a description of treatment of silver by superficial

sulphidation to render it gold coloured. The androdamas could be a particular
kind of arsenical pyrite, as an entry of Lexicon of the Chrysopoea implies (CAAG,
vol. 2, 5, line 12: ndrodmaj st purthj ka rsenikn).42 Its complex treatment
with sulfur, antimony and acid and corrosive substances changes its colour and
emphasises its dyeing power. The last step of this method is the heating of the
substance by boiling it in the untouched divine water (yei dati qeJ qktJ).
However, the exact form of expression is unclear, for if we compare this recipe with
quotations of it in the indirect tradition, we find that Zosimus preserves a slightly
different text:
(1) CAAG, vol. 2, 185, lines 911
Ep d to ndrodmantoj [scil. Dhmkritj fhsi] mowj: plin lmV xlmV.
Eta pifrei: yei dati qeou qktou.

M 156v1112; B 143v1719; V 112v1922; A 130v68.

2 dati qeou qktou scripsi: Zo qktou MBVA: dwr qeou qktou BeRu

Similarly in the recipe concerning the androdamas [Democritus says]: with brine or acid
brine again; indeed he adds: boil it with water of untouched sulphur.

(2) CAAG, vol. 2, 185, lines 1415

Usteron n t ndrodmanti khrxai qlwn [scil. Dhmkritj] legen: yei dati
qeou qktou.

M 156v1516; B 144r34; V 113r34; A 130v1012

12 dati qeou qktou scripsi: Zo qktou MBVA: dwr qeou qktou BeRu

38
Comparison between this recipe and its Syriac translation [see Marcellin Berthelot and Robert Duval, La
chimie au Moyen ge, vol. 2, Lalchimie syriaque (Paris: Georges Steinheil, 1893), 11] raises the suspicion of a
lacuna in the Greek text: after the indication of the metal to be treated by the compound whose preparation is
here described, the Syriac text adds and it will be gold. If we analyse the other pseudo-Democritus recipes,
silver is always processed by several ingredients in order to transmute it into gold (CAAG, vol. 2, 44, line 25,
ka n pballVj rgrJ, poiej crusn; CAAG, vol. 2, 45, lines 34, ka pballe rgrJ, ka crusj
stai; CAAG, vol. 2, 46, lines 1011, pballe calk rgrJ t x mn genomnJ: ka stai crusj).
This passage would be the only case in which silver is not subjected to the same transformation. Furthermore,
the sentence ka tan qeon puron prosblVj seems to be an additional note that specifies a particular
transformation of the metal, only possible after its transmutation into gold. A similar case also appears in
CAAG, vol. 2, 45, lines 910, where the gold itself is the base metal to be transmuted into ferment of gold.
A mere saut du mme au mme (ka stai crusj: ka tan ktl.) might be the cause of the lacuna in the
Greek text.
39
See Carlo Oreste Zuretti, Proposte di letture a luoghi della Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs publie
par M. Berthelot, ByzZ 30 (1929/1930): 67681, on 678.
40
The end of the recipe is probably an interpolation, perhaps a marginal annotation attempting to explain the
unusual word crusozmion. This is indicated both because it is missing in the Syriac tradition (see Berthelot
and Duval, La chimie au Moyen ge, 11) and because it distorts the normal ending of pseudo-Democritean
recipes, which usually conclude with the enigmatic formula concerning the relationship of natures.
41
Steele, The Treatise of Democritus, 89.
42
See: Steele, The Treatise of Democritus, 125; and Taylor, A Survey of Greek Alchemy, 123.
16 MATTEO MARTELLI

Lastly, in the recipe concerning the androdamas [Democritus], wanting to be clear, said:
boil it with water of untouched sulphur.

Both quotations attest the substantive qeon inflected in the genitive case; for,
although qeon is abbreviated by the symbol o in all manuscripts, the accompanying
adjective qktou, in all cases written in full, indicates the case in which we have to
decline the word. Furthermore, the form dati qeou qktou is confirmed by Syriac
tradition: () -. 0 23( boil it with water of sulfur).43 Indeed, the word () is a
transliteration of Greek qeon, and the preceding particle ( of) makes it equivalent
to the genitive qeou.
It would be hazardous, however, to attempt to correct the text of the recipe on the
strength of this evidence, for the expression is characterised by a constant hovering
between adjective and substantive, which makes the form in the indirect tradition less
conclusive. The author perhaps plays with the polysemy of the term qeon in order
to highlight the wonderful result produced by the liquid compound. The technical
context seems to suggest the presence of sulfur, and this is also recalled at the end
of the text (line 5). It is very probable that the water represents a corrosive solution
(similar to the dwr described by P. Leid. X. 87) that attacks and dyes the androda-
mas, which is first mixed with antimony. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to ascertain
its real composition without the benefit of further information given by pseudo-
Democritus himself. Although this information is missing in the extant works of
pseudo-Democritus, the situation can be partially remedied by analysing certain
quotations discoverable through a comparison of the text by Synesius (a later com-
mentator on the writings of pseudo-Democritus) with a book of recipes ascribed to
Moses.

The indirect tradition: Synesius the alchemist and Moses

alchemical handbook
Before dealing with divine water in the fragments of pseudo-Democritus preserved
by the alchemist Synesius, it is necessary to make some preliminary remarks
about this later authors work. The Corpus alchemicum graecum includes the treatise
(in dialogue form) titled Sunesou filosfou prj Diskoron ej tn Bblon
Dhmokrtou j n scoloij (Synesius the Philosopher for Dioscorus, Commentary
on Democritus Book).44 Its subtitle gives an indication of its date: DioskrJ ere
to meglou Sarpidoj to n Alexandrev qeo te suneudokontoj Sunsioj
filsofoj carein (Synesius the philosopher greets, with Gods approval, Dioscorus
the priest of great Serapeion at Alexandria). Because the Serapeion at Alexandria was
destroyed in AD 391, the text must have been written before this date. Furthermore,
the text is probably only partially handed down by the manuscripts. Synesius chiefly
annotates lists of solid and liquid substances ascribed to pseudo-Democritus (often
by resorting to a pseudo-etymological interpretation of names), but his work lacks

43
Berthelot and Duval, La chimie au Moyen ge, vol. 2, 11. I have dealt with some aspects of the Syriac tradition
of pseudo-Democritean treatises in Matteo Martelli, Chymica Graeco-Syriaca. Osservazioni sugli scritti
alchemici pseudo-democritei nelle tradizioni greca e siriaca, in Uyn al-Akhbr. Studi sul mondo islamico II.
Incontri con laltro e incroci di culture, ed. Daniele Cevenini and Svevo DOnofrio (Bologna: Il Ponte, 2008),
21949.
44
See M 72v978r4; B 20r1931v13; V 79r491r5; A 31r2337v15 = CAAG, vol. 2, 5669.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 17

any analysis or explanation of pseudo-Democrituss recipes. The commentator

seems to focus his attention on specific catalogues (katlogoi)45 compiled by pseudo-
Democritus, and only rarely does he annotate expressions found in pseudo-Democrituss
works as preserved by the manuscripts.46 This absence is probably due to the fact that
Synesiuss text is incomplete, as clearly indicated the final sentence of the work in its
present state: Qeo d bohqontoj rxomai pomnhmatzein (With Gods approval,
I will begin writing my interpretation).47 It is evident that the author composed a
longer commentary concerning, perhaps, the whole work by pseudo-Democritus, but
unfortunately only the first part has been preserved.48
The catalogues of pseudo-Democritus quoted by Synesius are not included in any
of the texts handed down by manuscripts under the name Democritus. Neither the
Fusik ka mustik nor the Per smou poisewj contain any lists of solid
or liquid ingredients, although similar substances do appear in the recipes, and the
author explains their function in alchemical processes. However, it is possible to find
similar catalogues by comparing Synesiuss commentary with an alchemical hand-
book ascribed to Moses, preserved only in manuscript A (268v15278v26).49 Among
the recipes that make up this handbook there are four recipes and three lists of solid
and liquid substances extracted from pseudo-Democrituss work:
(1) A 272v715 Moses Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 306, line 14, Per rguropoiaj
(Concerning the Making of Silver): the pseudo-Democritus recipe edited in
CAAG, vol. 2, 49, line 23 to 50, line 7.50
(2) A 272v1624 = CAAG, vol. 2, 306, lines 1522, Ulh crusopoiaj (Substanc-
es for the Making of Gold): a list of yellow ingredients used in the alchemical
processing of base metals in order to transmute them into gold.
(3) A 272v24273r10 = CAAG, vol. 2, 306, line 23 to 307, line 7, Ulh zwmn
(Substances for Washes): a list of liquid and vegetable ingredients.
(4) A 273r1119 = CAAG, vol. 2, 307, lines 814, Ulh rguropoiaj, (Sub-
stances for the Making of Silver): a list of white ingredients employed in the
transmutation of metals into silver.
(5) A 273r19273v4 CAAG, vol. 2, 307, lines 1517: an untitled list of colouring
substances used as purple dyes corresponding to Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG,
vol. 2, 42, lines 1320. Berthelot and Ruelle print only the final words of the
passage (A 273v14).
(6) A 273v411 CAAG, vol. 2, 307, line 18, Okonoma purtou (Processing
of Pyrite): the pseudo-Democritus recipe edited in CAAG, vol. 2, 44, lines
1420.51

45
See Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 57, lines 1621; 61, lines 59 and 1920.
46
Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 59, lines 1112 = Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 43, lines 2224; Syn. Alch., CAAG,
vol. 2, 63, lines 1819 = Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 46, lines 2224; Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 64, line 3 =
Ps.-Dem. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 43, line 25. See Paul Tannery, tudes sur les alchimistes grecs. Synsius Di-
oscore, REG 3 (1890): 28288, on 28587.
47
CAAG, vol. 2, 69, lines 1011.
48
The indirect tradition is also lacking in quotations from this work. A passage by the Anepigraph philosopher
(CAAG, vol. 2, 432, lines 1112) explaining how Synesius interpreted the expression lqoj tsioj provides
the sole, but very interesting, exception.
49
CAAG, vol. 2, 30015.
50
Berthelot and Ruelle (CAAG, vol. 2, 306) do not print the Greek text transmitted by A.
51
Berthelot and Ruelle (CAAG, vol. 2, 307) do not print the Greek text transmitted by A.
18 MATTEO MARTELLI

(7) A 273v1219 CAAG, vol. 2, 307, line 19, Okonoma purthj rgurtou
(Processing of Silver Pyrite): the pseudo-Democritus recipe edited in CAAG,
vol. 2, 44, lines 913.52
The attribution to pseudo-Democritus of the whole text edited at CAAG, vol. 2, 306,
line 14 to 307, line 19 is suggested by the four recipes (1, 5, 6 and 7 above) that
coincide with those ascribed to him by the manuscripts. Only the three catalogues
(2, 3 and 4) are not preserved by direct tradition. The precise quotations found in
Synesiuss commentary, however, confirm that they must be considered authentic
fragments of pseudo-Democrituss writings.
If we focus our attention on the first catalogue (lh crusopoiaj), the exact
correlation between it and Synesiuss commentary clearly shows that the list
corresponds to the pseudo-Democritus text annotated by Synesius (Table 1).
As can be seen, the two sections overlap perfectly. It is thus clear that we can
ascribe this passage in Moses work to pseudo-Democritus, which in turn brings to
light some very interesting pseudo-Democritean information about divine water (see
ingredients 1315 in table 1). The text of this catalogue is as follows:
Ulh crusopoiaj: lab drrguron tn p kinnabrewj, sma magnhsaj,
crusokllhn sti batrcion n toj clwroj lqoij ersketai klaudiann,
rsenikn t xanqn, kadman, ndrodmanta, stupthran scistn tapeinwqesan,
qeon puron sti kauston, purthn, cran Attikn, sinphn (sic) Pontikn, qeon
dwr qikton, n koshj to p mnou qeou: n d polelumnwj, t di sbstou:
qeou aqlhn, srin xanqn, clkanqon xanqn ka kinnbarin.

TABLE 1
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE WORKS OF MOSES AND SYNESIUS

Ingredients Handbook by Moses Commentary by Synesius

(CAAG, vol. 2, 306) (CAAG, vol. 2, 6465)

1. drrguroj p kinnabrewj 306, line 15 64, line 1953

2. sma magnhsaj 306, line 16 64, line 20
3. cruskolla 306, line 16 64, line 2054
4. klaudiann 306, line 17 64, line 21
5. rsenikn xanqn 306, line 17 64, lines 21 and 22
6. kadma 306, line 17 64, line 26
7. ndrormaj 306, line 18 64, line 26
8. stupthra 306, line 18 65, lines 1ff.
9. qeon puron 306, line 18 65, lines 4ff.
10. purthj 306, line 19 65, line 7
11. cra Attik 306, line 19
12. sinwpj Pontik 306, line 19 65, lines 9ff.
13. qeon dwr qikton 306, line 20 65, line 12
14. qeon dwr t di sbstou 306, line 21 65, line 15
15. qeou aqlh 306, line 21 65, line 19
16. sri xanqn 306, line 21 65, lines 21 and 23
17. clkanqoj xanq 306, line 21 65, lines 22 and 23
18. kinnbarij 306, line 22 65, line 22

52
Berthelot and Ruelle (CAAG, vol. 2, 307) do not print the Greek text transmitted by A. Another pseudo-
Democritus recipe (CAAG, vol. 2, 52, lines 919) is quoted by Moses Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 310, line 9.
53
See also Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 58, line 18; 61, lines 21ff.; 63, line 11; 68, lines 18ff.; Tannery, tudes sur
les alchimistes, 286.
54
See also Syn. Alch., CAAG, vol. 2, 64, lines 6ff.
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 19

A 272v1624 = CAAG, vol. 2, 306, lines 1522

1 lab prop. BeRu: -n A || 2 post batr. add. ka BeRu || 3 kadman scripsi: kaqman A
|| 5 polelumnwj, t scripsi, coll. Syn. Alch. (CAAG, vol. 2, 65, line 15): -oj t A || 6
qeou aqlhn scripsi : qeon: aqlhn A

Substances for the making of gold: take mercury produced from cinnabar, the body
of magnesia, malachite that is the batrachion55 it is found among green stones ,
claudianon, yellow orpiment, cadmia (zinc oxide), androdamas, processed alum, unburnt
sulfur that is incombustible sulfur,56 pyrite, Attic ochre, earth of Sinope from the Black
Sea, untouched divine water, if you understand the water produced only from sulfur; but
if you understand it in a general sense (lit. without qualification), water produced with
lime; sulfur vapour, yellow sori,57 yellow flower of copper and cinnabar.

In this section,58 pseudo-Democritus lists two different kinds of qeon dwr (lines
56): the first one is produced by sulfur alone and the second by adding lime.
However, the text of this passage is difficult, and its meaning remains unclear.
Pseudo-Democritus seems to explain two ways of understanding this expression:
on the one hand, its specific meaning emphasises (perhaps thanks to the adjective
qikton) the purity of the compound, which consists of sulfur alone, without the
contamination of other substances; on the other hand, it is also possible to under-
stand the expression in another way, polelumnwj. It is possible to make some
progress in interpreting this passage by comparing it with the quotation preserved by
Synesius:
Epibebaioumnoj d [scil. Dhmkritoj] pnegken dwr qeou qikton, t p mnou
qeou, qeon. Diskoroj. Kalj plusaj filsofe, ll prsece pj epen: n
polelumnwj, t di sbstou. Sunsioj. W Diskore, o prosceij tn non:
sbestoj leuk sti, ka t k tathj dwr t p atj leukn sti ka stufn:
ka t qeon qumimenon leukanei. Safhneaj on crin eqwj pgage qeou
aqlhn. Oc dla mn tata poie;

M 76r2376v2; B 28r1028v3; Va 87r1287v259; A 35v1936r1 = CAAG, vol. 2, 65, lines 1220

3 polelumnwj MBVa: -oj A || 6 poie prop. BeRu: poin MBVaA

(Synesius): Confirming it, he [Democritus] has added the untouched water of sulphur, the
(water) produced only from sulfur, the divine water.

55
Lit. little frog or tree frog (see. Dsc. 2.175).
56
Qeon kauston appears to be a specific alchemical substance, whose preparation is sometimes described in
alchemical texts (CAAG, vol. 2, 390, lines 1219; 218, lines 810).
57
The word sri (or sru) is normally neuter (LSJ9 1750 s.v. sru); however, the gender of substances is often
variable in alchemical texts.
58
The manuscript hands down a very difficult text that seems to be corrupt in many respects: the names of
several substances appear in anomalous forms, sometimes because of Byzantine pronunciation, and the ingre-
dients are listed in the nominative and the accusative case by turn. It is evident that scribes have not turned
their attention to the syntax of the catalogue: they have probably tried to preserve the exact order of
substances and the completeness of the catalogue, but they have ignored grammatical and syntactic coherence.
In the present paper, I have followed Berthelots edition with some corrections to the section concerning divine
water. However, it is my intention to analyse more closely this catalogue in a future work.
59
These pages of V were written by a later scribe (see CMAG, vol. 2, 64).
20 MATTEO MARTELLI

Dioscorus: Your explanation is clear, O philosopher, but back to what he said: if (we are
to understand it) in a general sense (lit. without qualification): (water) made with lime.
Synesius: O Dioscuros, you do not pay attention: the lime is white, and the water made
by it is the water made white and astringent by this very substance; sulfur, furthermore,
when it is vaporized, has a whitening power. So, clearly he immediately adds sulfur
vapour. He has made these questions plain, you know!

The text by Synesius suggests two important corrections in the previous catalogue:
(1) At line 5 of Moses text, it is possible to introduce the adverb polelumnwj
(see Synesius, line 3) instead of the participle polelumnoj handed down by A.
The normal meaning of the adverb is absolutely, in itself or without qualification
(LSJ9 206 and PGL 200 s.v. polelumnwj). Especially in exegetical contexts, the
adverb indicates that a word must be understood in itself, without any other elements
(adjective or possessive phrases) used to specify its sense. For example, in annotating
the Gospel of Matthew, Origen distinguishes between the Kings sons (tn basilwn
tj gj uo) and the sons who are not specified by any qualification (polelumnwj
uo).60 A similar sense, furthermore, is peculiar to the participle polelumnoj
also [PGL 201 s.v. polw (9)]: in particular, in LSJ9 208ff. [s.v. polw (C/V)], it
is translated with the meaning of general, deduced from an alchemical text. In
fact, the alchemist Olympiodorus distinguishes two different meanings of the word
plsij (washing) and says:
T d tj plsewj dittn, t mn mustikn, t d polelumnon. Plsin on erkasin
mustikn ka plsin polelumnhn.

M 164r1113; V 73r1720; A 198r1215 = CAAG, vol. 2, 72, lines 1315

There is a double meaning of plsij, the first one mystical and the other general; so they
(i.e. the alchemists) spoke about mystical washing and general washing.

A similar interpretation of the adverb polelumnwj seems to be very pertinent also

in pseudo-Democrituss catalogue. The catalogues author, in fact, explains two
meanings of the expression qeon dwr: in the first case, qeon dwr is specified by
the adjective qikton (untouched, virgin), and it indicates a solution made only
from qeon (sulfur), which perhaps involves the specific alchemical language (with
the double value of qeon); second, he adds a more extensive sense of the expression
qeon dwr, without the previous qualification. In this case, it indicates another solu-
tion made also with lime. This double sense of the expression is also confirmed
by the very interesting section entitled Per qeou datoj (Concerning the Divine
Water) among the writings of the alchemist Christianus (CAAG, vol. 2, 399, line 18
to 400, line 3) in which this commentator explains that the alchemists have inter-
preted qeon dwr in two different ways (dittj xhgomenoi) and have called it
either untouched or made with lime (pot mn qikton, pot d di sbstou

60
Or., Comm. in Mat 13, line 11 (209, line 5 Klostermann = MPG, vol. 13, 1121B) ka kat llon d trpon
lecqeh n: es tinj tn basilwn tj gj uo ka tinj oc uo atn, pln uo ka polelumnwj
uo ktl. See also Or., sel. in Ps. in MPG, vol. 12, 1212, line 41 and Bas., Eun. 2, line 9 (= MPG, vol. 29,
588C).
 DIVINE WATER IN THE ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PSEUDO-DEMOCRITUS 21

[sc. qeon dwr] kalontej).61 In addition, the alchemist Stephanus specifies how the
initiates of the Sacred Art process the simple water in order to make it divine
and untouched [Frank Sherwood Taylor, The Alchemical Works of Stephanos of
Alexandria. Part II, Ambix 2 (1938) 3849, on 44; lines 68 = vol. 2, 212, lines 1416
Ideler):
ptontej ka posbennontej t polelumnon dwr, sper fhn, ka spontej
poiosin t dwr toto t qeon qikton t p mnou qeou

Concocting and quenching the general (not qualified) water, as I said, and putrefying it,
they (i.e. the alchemists) make the water which is divine, virgin, from a single sulphur.

I have quoted Taylors translation62 with one difference: the scholar renders
polelumnon as released. If we accept this interpretation, the sense of passage
becomes unclear: the water is a liquid substance that cannot be dissolved or
released. Stephanus, on the contrary, seems to specify two different kinds of water:
general water, without any particular qualities, and untouched divine water, peculiar
to the alchemists.63
(2) Furthermore, after n d polelumnwj, the manuscript reads t di sbstou
qeon [sic]: aqlhn. If we accept the above correction and preserve the punctuation
of the manuscript, it is necessary to write t di sbstou qeon. If, however, we
accept the text given by Synesiuss quotation which has qeou aqlhn (lines 56)
qeon should be inflected in the genitive and linked to the word after it. Both
solutions seem to be possible, but the latter is preferable, in my opinion. Moreover,
the repetition of qeon after t di sbstou is not necessary, and can generate
ambiguity; we could translate sulfur made with lime. Furthermore, simply listing
vapour without any specification of the evaporated substance would be anomalous in
a list of specific chemical substances.
In conclusion, the pseudo-Democritus catalogue lists two meanings of the expres-
sion qeon dwr. On the one hand, the first semantic area is circumscribed by the
adjective qikton, which emphasises the purity of the solution: it is not tainted by
any other substances, because it consists only of sulfur. It cannot be denied that the
author also plays on the polysemy of the word qeon by overlapping chemical purity
and divine purity. On the other hand, it is also possible to understand qeon dwr in
a less specific sense: here, it represents a solution made with various substances, of
which pseudo-Democritus lists only the lime. This substance is one of the principal
ingredients making up the solution described by the Leiden Papyrus, and pseudo-
Democritus may, in fact, be referring to a similar liquid. A revealing technical
fragment in the Corpus alchemicum graecum states:
T d apolelumnon dwr qeon: t di sbstou mrh do ka qeou mroj n, t n
ctrv yhmnon ka poseiromenon ka plin yomenon ktl.

61
See also CAAG, vol. 2, 403, lines 710.
62
Taylor, The Alchemical Works of Stephanos, 45.
63
See CAAG, vol. 2, 8, lines 910 and 14, line 21 (dwr plon, t p tn trin qewn sunqtwn di sbstou:
the adjective plon seems to be synonymous with polelumnon).
22 MATTEO MARTELLI

M 137v28138r1; A 111v2023 = CAAG, vol. 2, 208, lines 1416

1 qeon BeRu: X MA

Divine water64 in a non-specific sense: this is the water made with two parts of lime and
one part of sulphur, boiled in a pot, filtered and boiled once again.

Its similarity with the recipe handed down by the Leiden Papyrus (see above, p. Leid.
X. 87) is evident, and the nomenclature clearly recalls pseudo-Democrituss catalo-
gue. The same name, however, is used in alchemical texts for different solutions, and
it is very difficult to reach firm conclusions about the ingredients and especially with
regard to the preparation of divine water. At this stage of research, the catalogue
confirms that pseudo-Democritus understood the solution in two different ways;
perhaps additional close analysis of other sections will lead to further details
concerning its production.

Notes on Contributor
Matteo Martelli holds a doctorate in Classical Philology from the University of
Bologna and is currently a PhD candidate in History of Science at the University of
Pisa. His research centres on Greek alchemy, in particular with regard to its begin-
nings. He is preparing a critical edition (with Italian translation and commentary) of
the alchemical writings by pseudo-Democritus and Synesius. Address: Via Roma 2,
47834 Montefiore Conca (RN), Italy; E-mail: martel75@libero.it.

64
The symbol X means unburnt sulfur according to the lists transmitted by the manuscripts. If we accept this
more specific sense, it is possible also to write both dwr qeon puron and dwr qeou prou.