The Scales and the Bird
Source
Aurora Consurgens — attributed to Thomas Aquinas (c. 15th century, Zurich MS, f.12v)
The trail
Turba Philosophorum → Aurora Consurgens → the scales connected to the Chemical Wedding's golden scales and the Turba's sorting principle
The passage
Do you not see, that before the matter is weighed, the gold is hidden in the belly of the dark substance?
Two women, one pile. Sorting by appearance finds nothing. Weighing finds everything. The bird watches and says nothing because the bird already knows. The spirit follows the balance, not the eye.