Bear said:I'm nearly done HOM and one thing stuck out when reading about Hericlitus and the Stoics is the description of 'divine fire' found on pg 336. This made me think of how Fulcanelli wrote about fire in relation to alchemy. I found an online PDF of Dwellings of the Philosophers and searched for 'fire' and found relating how divine fire is used in the quote in HOM as connected in some way to how Fulcanelli was using 'fire' and in Dwellings of the Philosophers an interesting exercise.
Thought about some of his remarks also while reading from C&tHoM and divine fire, this one, although in a slightly different manner, was interesting too:
Fulcanelli said:Without further multiplying examples, we see that it would be childish to maintain that fire, because we do cannot directly perceive it in matter, does not really exist there in a latent state. Ancient alchemists, who had, according to traditional sources, more knowledge than we are willing to grant them, assured us that the sun is a cold star and that its rays are dark (3). Nothing would seem more paradoxical nor more contrary to appearances, and yet nothing is truer. A few moments of reflection allow us to become convinced...
He then discusses altitude measurements etc.; which may lead one to thinking about this as cementing his true namesake perhaps, as was one reason surmised by Patrick Riviere i think.
This does seem so totally paradoxical to our sciences and yet, just what was it they were assuring, what hidden processes were taking place?