ALCHEMY - MUTUS LIBER, OR SILENT BOOK - PLATE 1. Plate 1 - the title-page, of the Mutus. This is one of the few plates with words: the title translates The Mute Book, in which, however, the whole hermetic Philosophy is is depicted in hieroglyphic figures, consecrated to the God of mercy, thrice blessed and greatest, and dedicated only to the sons of the art, by the author, whose name is Altus. The three figures below are in mirror script, and refer to Biblical passages in Genesis (Neg) and Deuteronomy (Tued). This is mirror script because, in the arcane tradition, the higher world (from which the Angels descend on the ladder) is a reversal of the lower world, in which the adept-to-be sleeps, on a rock which vaguely resembles a death's head. This is the ordinary sleep of life, in which the sleeper is unaware of the spiritual mysteries around, and in the spiritual world. In this sleeping world, the Moon is dominant (to right), and the Sun absent. The floral oval is made from a pair of rose branches, which contain many sharp spines. The alchemical masterpiece, Mutus Liber (or Silent Book) first appeared in print during 1677 - probably brought into the light of day by the French alchemist, Jacob Saulat, as a book with 13 plates, which was later increased to one of 15 plates (as in the series available here). The book is almost without words, and such words as appear are rarely what they seem to be, and are certainly susceptible to more than one level of interpretation. The alchemical importance of the images resides in the subtle graphic symbolism. A clear exposition of this symbolism may be found in Adam McLean, A Commentary on the Mutus Liber, 1982.