ALCHEMY - MUTUS LIBER, OR SILENT BOOK - PLATE 4 Plate 4 in the series of 15 plates. This plate reveals the true nature of the secret Dew (the Ros, in Latin - a word which also means Rose, and perhaps explains the colour of the blankets, in this plate) which is the basis of the alchemical work of the Mutus Liber. The Dew is the product of a celestial activity, projected on to the earth. The alchemists collect this dew in five out-stretched cloths, and then wring these out to obtain the liquid in its most pure form. The presence of the Ram and Bull is usually taken as an indication that the Ros should be collected in April-May, when the Sun is in these two zodiac signs. However, it is more likely that the two animals represent the spirituality of the zodiac, in earthly form - just as the Dew itself is an earthly form of Divine Grace, or power. The curious shape of the green-coloured sward is probably intended to show that the Dew is much more than merely an influx from the skies - it is also a product of the whole of Nature (the green seems to be funnelled by the landscape, into the blanket that is being wrung dry. 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.