“Two truths can never contradict each other.”
Two truths are supposed to be consistent with each other. If one truth falsified the other “truth,” then it would be awkward to call the falsified one a “truth.” On the other hand, if neither of both truths can be falsified, the inconsistency leads to a conclusion that either one or the other was not properly interpreted.300 When Galileo replied to the Grand Duchess who was worried that his physical system of nature was inconsistent with the one described in the book of Scripture, he wrote, “It is necessary for the Bible, in order to be accommodated to the understanding of every man, to speak many things which appear to differ from the absolute truth so far as the bare meaning of the words is concerned. But nature, on the other hand, is inexorable and immutable; she never transgresses the laws imposed upon her, or cares a whit whether her abstruse reasons and methods of operation are understandable to men.”
When we confront the truth and its analogy or metaphor, their multivalent spiritual functions may illuminate some new vision. The rhetorical device constitutes the imaginary connections intentionally built into the fabric of what they were, simultaneously conceals the old and reveals the new.301 Perhaps many alchemical findings could be attributed to the ubiquitous use of metaphors and analogies (for secrecy and hiding of names). Take one common metaphor as an example. The alchemical words reproduction and procreation refer to the generative and productive practice since the aim of finding new substances by combining existing ones is analogous to having new offspring for a couple.
Thus, when we have two truths relative to each other, regardless of whether they point to opposing ends or state the facts on different levels, they become critical sources for reviewing our understanding of the world and revealing novel facts. The idea of analyzing two related truths is called duality.
In reality, we can also find the duality in the representations of two complementary objects, systems or actions, such as different roles between matter (or body) and mind, different functions between the cabinet and the parliament, different purposes between creation and destruction, etc.302 Cover names (known as the German term - Decknamen) also serve a dual purpose in alchemy: they maintain secrecy, but they also allow for discreet communication among those with the knowledge or intelligence to decipher the system. In a more general sense, dualism, a doctrine or a belief that any fundamental has two parts, is widely accepted in some theological and philosophical views as the principle of dividing the world’s distinct foundations.
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