Historical research on Renaissance alchemy (or ‘chymistry’) has brought to light plenty of evidence for the crucial role that theosophy, and more generally theological or Christological speculations, played in the rhetorical strategies deployed by early modern chymists in order to justify their claim to be treated as genuine philosophers, or at least practitioners of a ‘liberal art’, equally legitimate as the traditional parts of the liberal arts curriculum, and perhaps even more epistemically valuable itself than it could be proved of the latter. Alchemy was re-defined as an art reminiscent of the art of cosmopoiesis, that is to say, the art by means of which God created, and still always re-creates the universe.

Of particular importance, in this respect, is also the fact that the new conception of the relation between nature and God, developed especially in the works of Paracelsus and his disciples, necessitated a re-evaluation of labour, which from then on was associated with the human potential both for creativity and for acquiring objective knowledge through creativity.

Going back to the alchemical praxeis of Stephanus of Alexandria (7th century), who was the pioneer and by far the most influential representative of the Byzantine alchemical commentary tradition, we will examine how labour is signified, and how the relation between God and nature is defined, so as to ascertain resemblances and differences with the early modern chymical theories. Stephanus, indeed, draws an analogy between the creativity of human labour and the ability of the soul to determine itself, transcending the limits of the body, and imitating God, the creator-artist of the cosmos. Thus he may be seen to foreshadow early modern theories on the Anima Mundi and on “natural magic”, that were extensively utilized by chymists. He does not, however, develop, neither does he attempt to trace out, a conceptual constellation alternative to that of the Aristotelian natural philosophy, or distinct and divergent from that of the Neoplatonic metaphysics, which could enable him to link experimental labour with objective knowledge, the experience of doing something with the process of knowing what something really is.