{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_68687/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_68687","id":"gutenberg_68687","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68687","summary":null,"tags":["Alchemists -- Biography","Alchemy -- Bibliography","Alchemy -- History","Category: Biographies","Category: History - Other","Category: Philosophy & Ethics"],"text":"LIVES OF ALCHEMYSTICAL PHILOSOPHERS.\n\n\n\n\n LIVES\n\n OF\n\n ALCHEMYSTICAL PHILOSOPHERS\n\n _BASED ON MATERIALS COLLECTED IN 1815_\n\n _AND_\n\n _SUPPLEMENTED BY RECENT RESEARCHES_\n\n WITH A PHILOSOPHICAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE TRUE\n PRINCIPLES OF THE MAGNUM OPUS, OR GREAT WORK\n OF ALCHEMICAL RE-CONSTRUCTION, AND SOME\n ACCOUNT OF THE SPIRITUAL CHEMISTRY\n\n BY\n\n ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE\n\n AUTHOR OF\n\n \u201cTHE REAL HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS;\u201d \u201cTHE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC:\n A DIGEST OF THE WRITINGS OF \u00c9LIPHAS L\u00c9VI,\u201d ETC.\n\n TO WHICH IS ADDED\n\n _A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALCHEMY AND\n HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY_\n\n LONDON\n GEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN\n 1888\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe foundation of this work will be found in \u201cThe Lives of\nAlchemystical Philosophers; with a Critical Catalogue of Books in\nOccult Chemistry, and a Selection of the most celebrated Treatises on\nthe Theory and Practice of the Hermetic Art,\u201d which was published in\nthe year 1815 by Lackington, Allen, & Company, of Finsbury Square,\nLondon. This anonymous book has been attributed by certain collectors\nto Francis Barrett, author of the notorious treatise entitled \u201cThe\nMagus, or Celestial Intelligencer;\u201d but it may be safely affirmed\nthat, alike in matter and treatment, it far transcends the extremely\nmeagre capacities of that credulous amateur in occultism. It is indeed\na work of much sense and unpretentious discrimination, and is now a\nbibliographical rarity which is highly prized by its possessors.\n\nThe independent researches which have supplemented the biographical\nmaterials of the original compilation have produced in the present\nvolume what is practically a new work under an old title; those lives\nwhich have been left substantially untouched as to facts have been more\nor less rewritten with a view to the compression of prolixities and the\nelimination of archaic forms, which would be incongruous in a work so\nextensively modified by the addition of new details. The \u201cAlphabetical\nCatalogue of Works on Hermetic Philosophy\u201d has been considerably\nenlarged from such sources as Langlet du Fresnoy\u2019s _Histoire de la\nPhilosophie Herm\u00e9tique_. The preliminary account of the \u201cPhysical\nTheory and Practice of the Magnum Opus\u201d is a slight original sketch\nwhich, to readers unacquainted with alchemy, will afford some notion\nof the processes of accredited adepts. The introductory essay on the\nobject of alchemical philosophy advocates new and important views\nconcerning the great question of psychal chemistry, and appreciates\nat their true worth the conflicting theories advanced by the various\nschools of Hermetic interpretation.\n\n\nIMPORTANT NOTE.\n\n I am forced to append to this Preface a correction of one or two\n errors of absolutely vital importance, which were unfortunately\n overlooked in the text. On page 188, line 18, the date was intended\n to read 1643; on page 189, line 5, read _anno trigesimo tertio_ for\n _trigesimo anno_; and on line 6, _anno vigesimo tertio_ instead of\n _vigesimo anno_. But if these emendations restore the passage to its\n original integrity, a discovery which I have made while this work was\n passing through the press has entirely cancelled its value. I have\n been gratified with a sight of the original edition of Philalethes\u2019\n _Introitus Apertus_--a small octavo pamphlet in the original paper\n cover as it was published at Amsterdam in the year 1667. It definitely\n establishes that its mysterious author was born in or about the\n year 1623, or two years later than the Welsh adept, Thomas Vaughan,\n with whom he has so long been identified. This original edition\n is excessively scarce; I believe I am the only English mystic who\n has seen it during the present generation. The reader must please\n understand that the calculation in the pages referred to was based on\n the date 1643; this date, in the light of the original edition, has\n proved erroneous, and by a curious chance, that which was accidentally\n printed, turns out to be correct at the expense of the calculation.\n\n\n\n\nANALYSIS OF CONTENTS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n PREFACE 5\n\n INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE TRUE PRINCIPLES AND\n NATURE OF THE MAGNUM OPUS, AND ON ITS RELATION\n TO SPIRITUAL CHEMISTRY 9\n\n ON THE PHYSICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE MAGNUM\n OPUS 38\n\n\n LIVES OF THE ALCHEMISTS.\n\n GEBER 44\n\n RHASIS 46\n\n ALFARABI 48\n\n AVICENNA 51\n\n MORIEN 53\n\n ALBERTUS MAGNUS 57\n\n THOMAS AQUINAS 61\n\n ROGER BACON 63\n\n ALAIN OF LISLE 67\n\n RAYMOND LULLY 68\n\n ARNOLD DE VILLANOVA 88\n\n JEAN DE MEUNG 90\n\n THE MONK FERARIUS 92\n\n POPE JOHN XXII. 93\n\n NICHOLAS FLAMEL 95\n\n PETER BONO 118\n\n JOHANNES DE RUPECISSA 119\n\n BASIL VALENTINE 120\n\n ISAAC OF HOLLAND 123\n\n BERNARD TR\u00c9VISAN 124\n\n JOHN FONTAINE 129\n\n THOMAS NORTON 130\n\n THOMAS DALTON 133\n\n SIR GEORGE RIPLEY 134\n\n PICUS DE MIRANDOLA 136\n\n PARACELSUS 137\n\n DENIS ZACHAIRE 140\n\n BERIGARD OF PISA 148\n\n THOMAS CHARNOCK 148\n\n GIOVANNI BRACCESCO 151\n\n LEONARDI FIORAVANTI 153\n\n JOHN DEE 153\n\n HENRY KHUNRATH 159\n\n MICHAEL MAIER 160\n\n JACOB B\u00d6HME 161\n\n J. B. VAN HELMONT 166\n\n BUTLER 168\n\n JEAN D\u2019ESPAGNET 170\n\n ALEXANDER SETHON 171\n\n MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS 175\n\n GUSTENHOVER 181\n\n BUSARDIER 182\n\n ANONYMOUS ADEPT 184\n\n ALBERT BELIN 186\n\n EIREN\u00c6US PHILALETHES 187\n\n PIERRE JEAN FABRE 200\n\n JOHN FREDERICK HELVETIUS 201\n\n GUISEPPE FRANCESCO BORRI 208\n\n JOHN HEYDON 210\n\n LASCARIS 211\n\n DELISLE 216\n\n JOHN HERMANN OBEREIT 219\n\n TRAVELS, ADVENTURES, AND IMPRISONMENTS OF JOSEPH\n BALSAMO 220\n\n\n AN ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE OF WORKS ON HERMETIC\n PHILOSOPHY AND ALCHEMY 274\n\n APPENDIX 307\n\n INDEX 313\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY ESSAY\n\nON THE TRUE PRINCIPLES AND NATURE OF THE MAGNUM OPUS, AND ON ITS\nRELATION TO SPIRITUAL CHEMISTRY.\n\n\nThose unfamiliar with modern alchemical criticism, even if they\nhave some acquaintance with the mystical labyrinth of the _turba\nphilosophorum_, will probably learn with astonishment that the opinions\nof competent judges are divided not only upon the methods of the\nmysterious Hermetic science, but upon the object of alchemy itself.\nThat it is concerned with transmutation is granted, but with the\ntransmutation of metals, or of any physical substance, into material\ngold, is strenuously denied by a select section of reputable students\nof occultism. The transcendental theory of alchemy which they expound\nis steadily gaining favour, though the two text-books which at present\nrepresent it are both out of print and both exceedingly scarce.\n\nIn the year 1850 \u201cA Suggestive Inquiry concerning the Hermetic Mystery\nand Alchemy, being an attempt to recover the Ancient Experiment\nof Nature,\u201d was published anonymously in London by a lady of high\nintellectual gifts, but was almost immediately withdrawn for reasons\nunknown, and which have given occasion, in consequence, to several idle\nspeculations. This curious and meritorious volume, quaintly written\nin the manner of the last century, originated the views which are in\nquestion and opened the controversy.\n\nFifteen years after the appearance of the \u201cSuggestive Inquiry,\u201d\nan American writer, named Hitchcock, after apparently independent\nresearches arriving at parallel conclusions, made public, also\nanonymously, in the year 1865, some \u201cRemarks on Alchemy and the\nAlchemists,\u201d in a small octavo volume of very considerable interest.\nA psychic interpretation was placed by the previous author on the\narcana of Hermetic typology, and Mr Hitchcock, by adopting a moral\none, brought the general subject within the reach of the most ordinary\nreaders, and attracted considerable attention in consequence.\n\nThe views thus enunciated have filtered slowly through, and, combined\nwith the Paracelsian theory of the psychic manufacture of material\ngold by the instrumentality of the interior magnes, have considerably\ninfluenced the revived occultism of the present day. The question in\nitself, taken at its lowest standpoint, is one of the most curious\nto be found within the whole circle of esoteric arch\u00e6ology; and\nfor students whose interest in the great alchemical mystery is of\nanother than antiquarian kind, it is truly of palmary interest,\nand of supreme importance. In an account of the lives and labours\nof the Hermetic adepts, it calls for adequate consideration; and,\nafter careful researches, I believe myself to have discovered a true\nalchemical theory which will be equally acceptable to all schools of\ninterpretation.\n\nThe supreme and avowed object of every hierophant, as well as of every\npostulant and pretender, in the _ars magna_ discovered by Hermes\nTrismegistus, has been commonly supposed to be the chemical manufacture\nof material gold from commercially inferior substances. On the other\nhand, Hitchcock, marshalling an impressive series of verbatim\ncitations from writers of all ages and all nationalities, undertakes\nto demonstrate that the concealed subject of every veritable adept is\none only--namely, MAN, the triune, and that \u201cthe object also is one,\nto wit, his improvement, while the method itself is no less one, to\nwit, nature directed by art in the school of nature, and acting in\nconformity therewith; for the art is nothing but \u2018nature acting through\nman.\u2019\u201d Again, \u201cthe genuine alchemists were not in pursuit of worldly\nwealth or honours. Their real object was the perfection, or, at least,\nthe improvement of man. According to this theory, such perfection lies\nin a certain unity, a living sense of the unity of the human with the\ndivine nature, the attainment of which I can liken to nothing so well\nas to the experience known in religion as the NEW BIRTH. The desired\nperfection, or unity, is a state of the soul, _a condition of Being_,\nand not a mere condition of KNOWING. This condition of Being is a\ndevelopment of the nature of man from within, the result of a process\nby which whatever is evil in our nature is cast out or suppressed,\nunder the name of superfluities, and the good thereby allowed\nopportunities for free activity. As this result is scarcely accessible\nto the unassisted natural man, and requires the concurrence of divine\npower, it is called _Donum Dei_.\u201d\n\nWhen the individual man, by a natural and appropriate process, devoid\nof haste or violence, is brought into unity with himself by the\nharmonious action of intelligence and will, he is on the threshold of\ncomprehending that transcendent Unity which is the perfection of the\ntotality of Nature, \u201cfor what is called the \u2018absolute,\u2019 the \u2018absolute\nperfection,\u2019 and the perfection of Nature, are one and the same.\u201d\n\nIn the symbolism of the alchemists this writer tells us that _sulphur_\nsignifies Nature, and _mercury_ the supernatural. The inseparable\nconnection of the two in man is called _Sol_, but \u201cas these three are\nseen to be indissolubly one, the terms may be used interchangeably.\u201d\nAccording to Hitchcock, the mystical and mysterious instrument of\npreparation in the work of alchemy is the conscience, which is called\nby a thousand misleading and confessedly incongruous names. By means\nof this instrument, quickened into vital activity under a sense of the\npresence of God, the matter of the stone, namely, Man, is, in the first\nplace, purged and purified, to make possible the internal realisation\nof Truth. \u201cBy a metonymy, the conscience itself is said to be purified,\nthough, in fact, the conscience needs no purification, but only the\nman, to the end that the conscience may operate freely.\u201d[A]\n\nOne of the names given by the alchemists to the conscience, on this\ntheory, is that of a middle substance which partakes of an azurine\nsulphur--that is, of a celestial spirit--the Spirit of God. \u201cThe still\nsmall voice is in alchemy, as in Scripture, compared to a _fire_, which\nprepares the way for what many of the writers speak of as a _Light_.\u201d\n\nHitchcock elsewhere more emphatically asserts that there is but one\nsubject within the wide circle of human interests that can furnish an\ninterpretation of the citations which he gives, and it is that which\nis known under the theological name of spiritual Regeneration. This\ngift of God the alchemists investigated as a work of Nature within\nNature. \u201cThe repentance which in religion is said to begin conversion,\nis the \u2018philosophical contrition\u2019 of Hermetic allegory. It is the\nfirst step of man towards the discovery of his whole being. They also\ncalled it the black state of the matter, in which was carried on the\nwork of dissolution, calcination, separation, &c., after which results\npurification, the white state, which contains the red, as the black\ncontained the white.\u201d The evolution of the glorious and radiant red\nstate resulted in the fixation or perfection of the matter, and then\nthe soul was supposed to have entered into its true rest in God.\n\nAs this interpretation is concerned chiefly with the conscience, I\nhave called it the moral theory of alchemy; but Hitchcock, as a man\nof spiritual insight, could not fail to perceive that his explanatory\nmethod treated of the way only, and the formless light of an \u201cEnd,\u201d\nwhich he could not or would not treat of, is, upon his own admission,\ncontinually glimmering before him.\n\nFor the rest, when the alchemists speak of a long life as one of the\nendowments of the Stone, he considers that they mean immortality; when\nthey attribute to it the miraculous properties of a universal medicine,\nit is their intention to deny any positive qualities to evil, and, by\ninference, any perpetuity. When they assert that the possession of the\nStone is the annihilation of covetousness and of every illicit desire,\nthey mean that all evil affections disappear before the light of the\nunveiled Truth. By the transmutation of metals they signified the\nconversion of man from a lower to a higher order of existence, from\nlife natural to life spiritual, albeit these expressions are inadequate\nto convey the real meaning of the adepts. The powers of an ever active\nnature must be understood by such expressions as \u201cfires,\u201d \u201cmenstruums,\u201d\n&c., which work in unison because they work in Nature, the alchemists\nunanimously denying the existence of any disorder in the creation of\nGod.\n\nIn conclusion, Hitchcock states once more that his object is to\npoint out the _subject_ of alchemy. He does not attempt to make its\npractical treatment plain to the _end_ of the sublime operation. It\nis, therefore, evident that he, at any rate, suspected the existence of\nmore transcendent secrets which he distrusted his ability to discuss,\nand declined to speak of inadequately.\n\nThe author of the \u201cSuggestive Inquiry\u201d had already taken the higher\nstandpoint of psychic interpretation, and developed her remarkable\nprinciples, which I must endeavour to reproduce as briefly as possible.\n\nAccording to this work, the modern art of chemistry has no connection\nwith alchemy except in its terminology, which was made use of by\nthe adepts to veil their divine mysteries. The process of the whole\nHermetic work is described with at least comparative plainness in\nthe writings of the philosophers, with the exception of the _vessel_\nwhich is a holy arcanum, but without the knowledge of it no one can\nattain to the magistery. Now, the publication of the writings of Jacob\nB\u00f6hme caused the alchemists who were his contemporaries to fear that\ntheir art could not much longer remain a secret, and that the mystic\nvase in particular would be shortly revealed to all. This vase is the\n_vas insigne electionis_, namely, MAN, who is the only all-containing\nsubject, and who alone has need to be investigated for the eventual\ndiscovery of all. The modern adepts describe the life of man as a pure,\nnaked, and unmingled fire of illimitable capability. Man, therefore, is\nthe true laboratory of the Hermetic art; his life is the subject, the\ngrand distillery, the thing distilling, and the thing distilled; and\nself-knowledge is at the root of all alchemical tradition.\n\n\u201cModern discoveries are now tending to the identification of light,\nthe common vital sustenant, as in motive accord throughout the\nhuman circulatory system with the planetary spheres, and harmonious\ndispositions of the occult medium in space; and as human physiology\nadvances with the other sciences, the notion of our natural\ncorrespondency enlarges, till at length the conscious relationship\nwould seem to be only wanting to confirm the ancient tradition.\u201d\n\nIn addition to the faculties which he commonly exerts to communicate\nwith the material universe, man possesses within him the germ of a\nhigher faculty, the revelation and evolution of which give intuitive\nknowledge of the hidden springs of nature. This Wisdom-faculty operates\nin a magical manner, and constitutes an alliance with the Omniscient\nNature, so that the illuminated understanding of its possessor\nperceives the structure of the universe, and enjoys free perspicacity\nof thought in universal consciousness.\n\nIn support of this statement it is argued that the evidence of natural\nreason, even in the affairs of common life, is intuition, that\nintuitive faith has a certainty above and independent of reason, that\nthe subsistence of universals in the human mind includes a promise far\nbeyond itself, and is stable proof of another subsistence, however\nconsciously unknown.\n\nThe true methods and conditions of self-knowledge are to be learned\nfrom the ancient writers. The discovery of the veritable Light of\nalchemy is the reward of an adequate scrutiny of true psychical\nexperience. Alchemy proposes \u201csuch a reducation of nature as shall\ndiscover this latex without destroying her vehicle, but only the modal\nlife; and professes that this has not alone been proved possible, but\nthat man by rationally conditionating has succeeded in developing into\naction the Recreative Force.\u201d\n\nThe One Thing needful, the sole act which must be perfectly\naccomplished that man may know himself, is the exaltation, by the\nadequately purified spirit, of the cognising faculty into intellectual\nreminiscence. The transcendental philosophy of the mysteries entirely\nhinges on the purification of the whole understanding, without which\nthey promise nothing.\n\nThe end in view is identical with Hermetists, Theurgists, and with\nthe ancient Greek mysteries alike. It is the conscious and hypostatic\nunion of the intellectual soul with Deity, and its participation in the\nlife of God; but the conception included in this divine name is one\ninfinitely transcendental, and in Hermetic operations, above all, it\nmust ever be remembered that God is within us. \u201cThe initiated person\nsees the Divine Light itself, without any form or figure--that light\nwhich is the true _astrum solis_, the mineral spiritual sun, which\nis the Perpetual Motion of the Wise, and that Saturnian Salt, which\ndeveloped to intellect and made erect, subdues all nature to His will.\nIt is the Midnight Sun of Apuleius, the Ignited Stone of Anaxagoras,\nthe Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, the Armed Magnet of Helvetius, the\nFiery Chariot of Mercaba, and the Stone with the new name written on it\nwhich is promised to him that overcometh, by the initiating Saviour of\nmankind.\u201d\n\nThis method of interpreting the Hermetic allegories is calculated to\nexalt the alchemists indefinitely in the estimation of all thinking\nminds. From possibly avaricious investigators of a by-way of physical\nscience, they are transfigured into dreamers of the sublimest\nimaginable dream, while if that which they conceived was accomplished,\nthey are divine and illuminated monarchs who are throned on the\npinnacles of eternity, having dominion over their infinite souls.\n\nA theory so attractive, devised in the interests of men whom romance\nhas already magnified in the auriferous cloud of mystery which\nenvelopes both their claims and their persons, is eminently liable\nto be accepted on insufficient grounds, because of its poetical\nsplendour, so it will be well to ascertain the facts and arguments on\nwhich it is actually based.\n\nBoth Hitchcock and the unparalleled woman to whom we are indebted for\nthe \u201cSuggestive Inquiry\u201d appeal to alchemical writings in support of\ntheir statements. A few of their quotations and commentaries must\ntherefore be submitted to the reader.\n\nThe first point which strikes the alchemical student is the unanimous\nconviction of all the philosophers that certain initiatory exercises\nof a moral and spiritual kind are an indispensable preliminary to\noperations which are commonly supposed to be physical. Here the\nincongruity is evident, and it is therefore urged that the process\nitself is spiritual, and that it was materialised in the writings of\nthe adepts to confuse and mislead the profane, as well as for the\nprotection of esoteric psychologists in the days of the Inquisition and\nthe stake.\n\nThe following preparation for the study of Antimony is recommended by\nBasil Valentin. \u201cFirst, Invocation to God, with a certain heavenly\nintention, drawn from the bottom of a sincere heart and conscience,\npure from all ambition, hypocrisy, and all other vices which have any\naffinity with these; as arrogance, boldness, pride, luxury, petulancy,\noppression of the poor, and other similar evils, all of which are to\nbe eradicated from the heart; that when a man desires to prostrate\nhimself before the throne of grace, for obtaining health, he may do\nso with a conscience free from unprofitable weeds, that his body\nmay be transmuted into a holy temple of God, and be purged from all\nuncleanness. For God will not be mocked (of which I would earnestly\nadmonish all), as worldly men, pleasing and flattering themselves\nwith their own wisdom, think. God, I say, will not be mocked, but the\nCreator of all things will be invoked with reverential fear, and\nacknowledged with due obedience.... Which is so very true that I am\ncertainly assured no impious man shall ever be partaker of the true\nmedicine, much less of the eternal, heavenly bread. Therefore place\nyour whole intention and trust in God; call upon him, and pray that he\nmay impart his blessing to you. Let this be the beginning of your work,\nthat by the same you may obtain your desired end, and at length effect\nwhat you intended. For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.\u201d\n\nThe second qualification is contemplation, by which, says Basil, \u201cI\nunderstand an accurate attention to the business itself, under which\nwill fall these considerations first to be noted. As, what are the\ncircumstances of anything; what the matter; what the form; whence its\noperations proceed; whence it is infused and implanted; how generated\n... also how the body of everything may be ... resolved into its\nfirst matter or essence. This contemplation is celestial, and to be\nunderstood with spiritual reason; for the circumstances and depths\nof things cannot be conceived in any other way than by the spiritual\ncogitation of man: and this contemplation is two-fold. One is called\npossible, the other impossible. The latter consists in copious\ncogitations which never proceed to effects, nor exhibit any form of\nmatter which falls under the touch, as if any should endeavour to\ncomprehend the Eternity of the Most High, which is vain and impossible;\nyea, it is a sin against the Holy Ghost, so arrogantly to pry into\nthe Divinity itself, which is immense, infinite, and eternal; and to\nsubject the incomprehensible counsel of the secrets of God to human\ninquisition. The other part of contemplation which is possible is\ncalled theory. This contemplates that which is perceived by touch and\nsight, and hath a nature formed in time; this considers how that\nnature may be helped and perfected by resolution of itself; how every\nbody may give forth from itself the good or evil, venom or medicine,\nlatent in it; how destruction and confection are to be handled,\nwhereby, under a right proceeding, without sophistical deceits, the\npure may be severed and separated from the impure. This separation is\nmade and instituted by divers manual operations ... some of which are\nvulgarly known by experience, others remote from vulgar experience.\nThese are calcination, sublimation, reverberation, circulation,\nputrefaction, digestion, distillation, cohobation, fixation, and\nthe like of these; all the degrees of which are found in operating,\nlearned, and perceived, and manifested by the same. Whence will clearly\nappear what is movable, what is fixed, what is white, what red, black,\nblue, green, namely, when the operation is rightly instituted by the\nartificer; for possibly the operation may err, and turn aside from\nthe right way; but that Nature should err, when rightly handled,\nis not possible. Therefore if you shall err, so that nature cannot\nbe altogether free, and released from the body in which it is held\ncaptive, return again unto your way; learn the theory more perfectly,\nand inquire more practically into the method of your operating, that\nyou may discover the foundation and certainty in the separation of all\nthings; which is a matter of great concern. And this is the second\nfoundation of philosophy which follows prayer; for in that the sum\nof the matter lies, and is contained in these words:--Seek first the\nkingdom of God and his righteousness by prayer, and all other things\nshall be added unto you.\u201d\n\nPerhaps it will be thought, even at this preliminary stage of citation,\nthat there is much to be said for the physical theory of alchemy.\nA particular appeal is, however, made to the celebrated \u201cCanons of\nEspagnet,\u201d and to the following passage:--\u201cThe light of this knowledge\nis the gift of God, which by his freeness he bestoweth upon whom he\npleaseth. Let none, therefore, set himself to the study hereof, until,\nhaving cleared and purified his heart, he devote himself wholly unto\nGod, and be emptied of all affection to things impure. Those that\nare in public honours and offices, or be always busied with private\nand necessary occupations, let them not strive to attain to the top\nof this philosophy; for it requireth the whole man; and being found,\npossesseth him, and being possessed, challengeth him from all long and\nserious employments, esteeming all other things as strange unto him,\nand of no value. Let him that is desirous of this knowledge clear his\nmind from all evil motions, especially pride, which is abomination\nto heaven, and the gate of hell. Let him be frequent at prayers and\ncharitable; have little to do with the world; abstain from too much\ncompany-keeping, and enjoy constant tranquillity, that the mind may be\nable to reason more freely in private, and be more highly lifted up;\nfor unless it be kindled with a beam of divine light, it will hardly\nbe able to penetrate the hidden mysteries of truth.... A studious Tyro\nof a quick wit, constant mind, inflamed with the love of philosophy,\nvery quick in natural philosophy, of a pure heart, perfect in manner,\nmightily devoted to God, even though ignorant of chemistry, may enter\nwith confidence the highway of Nature, and peruse the books of the best\nphilosophers. Let him seek out an ingenious companion for himself, and\nnot despair of accomplishing his desire.\u201d\n\nHere Hitchcock points out that the operation is obviously not chemical,\nfor the chief instrument is determined and concentrated thinking on\nthe loftiest intellectual planes. The inference that skill in natural\nphilosophy is indispensable, is contradicted by the counter-statement\nthat ignorance of chemistry is not necessarily a source of failure.\nIn this connection, it must be remembered that the distinction between\nalchemy and chemistry can scarcely be said to have existed at the\nperiod of Espagnet, and the statement would at first sight seem almost\nequivalent to asserting that it was unnecessary to be versed in the\nproperties of metals to accomplish the _magnum opus_.\n\n\u201cLet a lover of truth,\u201d continues the author of the Canons, \u201cmake use\nof but a few philosophers, but of best note and experienced truth; let\nhim suspect things that are quickly understood, especially in mystical\nnames and secret operations, for truth lies hid in obscurity; nor do\nphilosophers ever write more deceitfully than when plainly, nor ever\nmore truly than when obscurely.\u201d\n\nIn the same manner, \u201cThe New Light of Alchemy,\u201d falsely ascribed to\nSendivogius, and which is in high appreciation among Hermetic students,\ndeclares that \u201cthe most commendable art of alchemy is the gift of God,\nand truly it is not to be attained but by the alone favour of God\nenlightening the understanding, together with a patient and devout\nhumility, or by an ocular demonstration from some experienced master.\u201d\n\nIn _Anima Magica Abscondita_, Eugenius Philalethes gives the following\nadvice to the student, whether of magic or alchemy:--\u201cAttempt not\nanything rashly. Prepare thyself till thou art conformable to Him whom\nthou wouldst entertain. Thou hast Three that are to receive, and there\nare three that give. Fit thy house to thy God in what thou canst, and\nin what thou canst not, He will help thee. When thou hast set thy house\nin order, do not think thy guest will come without invitation. Thou\nmust tyre Him out with pious importunities. This is the way in which\nthou must walk, in which thou shalt perceive a sudden illustration,\n_eritque in te cum Lumine Ignis, cum Igne Ventus, cum Vento Potestas,\ncum Potestate Scientia, cum Scienti\u00e2 san\u00e6 mentis integritas_. This\nis the chain that qualifies a magician. This is the place (viz., the\nabode of the Archetype) where if thou canst but once ascend, and then\ndescend--\n\n \u201c_Tunc ire ad Mundum Archetypum s\u00e6pe atque redire,\n Cunctarumque Patrem rerum spectare licebit_\u2019--\n\nthou hast got that spirit _Qui quicquid portentosi Mathematici,\nquicquid prodigiosi Magi, quicquid invidentes Natur\u00e6 persecutores\nAlchymist\u00e6, quicquid D\u00e6monibus deteriores malefici Necromantes\npromittere audent. Ipse novit discernere et efficere idque sine omni\ncrimine, sine Dei offens\u00e2, sine Religionis injuria._ Such is the power\nhe shall receive, who from the clamorous tumults of this world ascends\nto the supernaturall still voice, from this base earth and mind whereto\nhis body is allyed, to the spirituall, invisible elements of his Soul.\u201d\n\nAfter the same fashion, the still greater Eiren\u00e6us Philalethes\ndeclares that God alone communicates the whole secret of the _aqua\nphilosophorum_, that all untaught by Him must wander in mists and\nerror, but that it is revealed to those who labour in study and prayer.\n\nQuotation might be continued indefinitely. The _Centrum Natur\u00e6\nConcentratum_, ascribed to Alipili, and a treatise of some reputation,\ndeclares that \u201cThe highest wisdom consists in this, for man to know\nhimself, because in him God has placed his eternal word, by which all\nthings were made and upheld, to be his Light and Life, by which he is\ncapable of knowing all things in time and eternity.... Therefore let\nthe high inquirers and searchers into the deep mysteries of nature,\nlearn first what they have in themselves, before they seek in foreign\nmatters without them; and by the divine power within them, let them\nfirst heal themselves and transmute their own souls; then they may go\non prosperously and seek with good success the mysteries and wonders of\nGod in all natural things.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThese quotations, some of which are unknown to, or, at any rate,\nuncited by Hitchcock, do not by any means establish the points which\nare debated in his book. If the philosophers from whom they are\nselected were in possession of the whole secret of wealth, they saw fit\nto conceal it from the profane, and their works, full of practically\ninsoluble enigmas, are proclamations of the fact of their success,\nrather than lights for those who sought to follow in their steps. Under\nthese circumstances, they saw that in the blind guess-work which their\nsymbols created of necessity, no student would ever attain to the true\nlight of alchemy except by pure chance--in other words, by the favour\nof Heaven, which, accordingly, they counselled him to supplicate. None\nof the passages in question are inconsistent with the physical object\nof alchemy, and in the citation from Alipili, it is evident that the\nmysteries and wonders referred to include metallic transmutation in the\nmind of the writer. The investigator of natural secrets was advised to\ntake counsel with the Author of natural secrets after the only possible\nmanner.\n\n\u201cWhoever attempteth the search of our glorious stone, he ought,\nin the first place, to implore the assistance of the all-powerful\nJehova, at the throne of his mercy, who is the true and sole author\nof all mysteries of nature; the monarch of heaven and earth, the King\nof kings, omnipotent, most true and most wise; who not only maketh\nmanifest in the microcosm, the truth of every science to worthy\nphilosophers, and liberally bestoweth both natural and divine knowledge\non the deserving and faithful; but also layeth open his treasures\nof wealth and riches which are locked up in the abyss of nature to\nthose who devoutly worship him. And forasmuch as none are permitted to\ntouch the mysteries of nature with foul fingers, therefore it behoveth\nall who attempt such matters, to lay aside their natural blindness\nfrom which, by the light of the holy Scripture and a stedfast faith,\nthey may be freed, that being the means by which the Holy Spirit doth\nclearly make manifest the most profoundly hidden light of nature, which\nlight alone lays open the way to the wisdom of nature, and to unlock\nthe most abstruse mysteries thereof.\u201d\n\nEven the subdued imagination which is claimed by the author of\n\u201cRemarks on Alchemy and the Alchemists,\u201d is likely to go astray in the\nlabyrinth of alchemical symbolism, and some of the interpretations\nof Hitchcock are exceedingly forced and unnatural. His citations\nare indiscriminately gathered from the most transcendental writers,\nand from those who, like George Starkey, have exhausted language in\nemphatic declarations that their subject and their object are actual\nmetallic gold.\n\n\u201cZoroaster\u2019s Cave, or the philosopher\u2019s intellectual echo to one\nanother from their caves,\u201d is the title of a small work quoted by\nHitchcock. It opens thus:--\u201cDry water from the Philosophers\u2019 Clouds!\nLook for it and be sure to have it, for it is the key to inaccessibles\nand to those locks that would otherwise keep thee out. It is a middle\nnature between fixed and not fixed, and partakes of a sulphureous\nazurine. It is a raw, cool, feminine fire, and expects its impregnation\nfrom a masculine solar sulphur.\u201d Hitchcock\u2019s interpretation is this:--a\npure conscience! Look for it and be sure that you have it, &c. It is\nof a middle nature between soul and body, and partakes of a heavenly\nspirit. It expects its life from God.\n\nIt is needless to say that with this method any meaning could be\nextracted from any allegorical writings. The author of the \u201cSuggestive\nInquiry\u201d is far more profound and evinces a far keener insight. It\nis evident, however, that the truth (or the fallacy) of both methods\nof interpretation depends on the connection of the alchemists with\npractical chemistry. On this vital question, the uniocular condition of\nboth writers is utterly astounding.\n\n\u201cNo modern art or chemistry has anything to do with alchemy, beyond the\nborrowed terms which were made use of in continuance chiefly to veil\nthe latter.\u201d That is to say, the alchemists did not lay the foundations\nof the science, the beginnings of which are attributed to them, and\nin this matter we are not by any means indebted to them. This extreme\nstatement is qualified by the later commentator, who gives a more\ndetailed expression to his views.\n\n\u201cThat chemistry is indebted for its introduction among the sciences\nindirectly to the alchemists is certainly true; at least I have\nno disposition to question it; but not to the immediate labours\nof the alchemists themselves, whose peculiar work was one of\ncontemplation and not of the hands. Their alembic, furnace, cucurbit,\nretort, philosophical egg, &c., in which the work of fermentation,\ndistillation, extraction of essence and spirits, and the preparation of\nsalts is said to have taken place, was man--yourself, friendly reader;\nand if you will take yourself into your own study, and be candid and\nhonest, acknowledging no other guide or authority but Truth, you\nmay easily discover something of Hermetic philosophy; and if at the\nbeginning there should be \u2018fear and trembling,\u2019 the end may be a more\nthan compensating peace.\n\n\u201cIt is a plain case, that, for the most part, the experiments which\nled the way to chemistry were made by men who were misled by the\nalchemists, and sought gold instead of truth; but this class of men\nwrote no books upon alchemy. Many of them no doubt died over their\nfurnaces, \u2018_uttering no voice_,\u2019 and none of them wrote books upon the\nphilosopher\u2019s stone, for the simple reason that they never discovered\nanything to write about. I know that some impostors purposely wrote of\nmysteries to play upon the credulity of the ignorant, but their works\nhave nothing alchemical about them. It is true also that many books\nwere written by men who really imagined that they had discovered the\nsecret, and were nevertheless mistaken. But this imaginary success\ncould never have had place when gold was the object, because in the\n_bald fact_ no man was ever deceived: no man ever believed that he had\ndiscovered a method of making gold out of inferior metals. The thing\nspeaks for itself. It is impossible that any man can ever be deluded\nupon this bare fact; but it is quite otherwise with the real object\nof alchemy, in which men have been deceived in all ages ... for the\n_subject_ is always in the world, and hence the antiquity claimed for\nthe art by the alchemists.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThis passage is a long series of simply incredible misstatements. The\nhistory of chemistry and the lives of the adepts alike bear witness\nagainst it. My object in publishing this book is to establish the true\nnature of the Hermetic experiment by an account of those men who have\nundertaken it, and who are shewn by the plain facts of their histories\nto have been in search of the transmutation of metals. There is no need\nfor argument; the facts speak sufficiently. It is not to the blind\nfollowers of the alchemists that we owe the foundation of chemistry; it\nis to the adepts themselves, to the illustrious Geber, to that grand\nmaster Basilius Valentinus, to Raymond Lully, the supreme hierophant.\nWhat they discovered will be found in the following pages; here it\nwill be sufficient for my purpose to quote the views of a French\nscientist who has made a speciality of alchemy, and who is also a high\nauthority on the subject of modern chemistry.\n\n\u201cIt is impossible to disown that alchemy has most directly contributed\nto the creation and the progress of modern physical sciences. The\nalchemists were the first to put the experimental method in practice,\nthat is, the faculty of observation and induction in its application to\nscientific researches; moreover, by uniting a considerable number of\nfacts and discoveries in the order of the molecular actions of bodies,\nthey have introduced the creation of chemistry. This fact ... is beyond\nevery doubt. Before the eighth century, Geber put in practice the rules\nof that experimental school, the practical code and general principles\nof which were merely developed later on by Galileo and Francis Bacon.\nThe works of Geber, the \u2018Sum of all Perfection,\u2019 and the \u2018Treatise\non Furnaces,\u2019 contain an account of processes and operations wholly\nconformed to the methods made use of to-day in chemical investigations;\nwhile Roger Bacon, in the thirteenth century, applying the same order\nof ideas to the study of physics, was led to discoveries which, for his\ntime, were astounding. It is impossible, therefore, to contest that\nthe alchemists were the first to inaugurate the art of experience.\nThey prepared the arrival of the positive sciences by basing the\ninterpretation of phenomena on the observation of facts, and openly\nbreaking with the barren metaphysical traditions which had so long\nchecked the progress of the human mind.\u201d[B]\n\nWith all their mystery, their subterfuges, and their symbolism, the\ntestimony of the alchemists themselves to the physical nature of their\nobject is quite unequivocal and conclusive. One of the most celebrated\nexperimental treatises in the English language is that entitled\n\u201cThe Marrow of Alchemy.\u201d It professes to discover the secrets and\nmost hidden mystery of the philosopher\u2019s elixir, both in theory and\npractice. It was published by Eiren\u00e6us Philoponos Philalethes, that\nis George Starkey, and is generally supposed to be the work of the\ntrue Philalethes; at any rate it develops his principles, and derives\nits inspiration from the author of the _Introitus Apertus._ Now,\nthis little book testifies over and over again, and that in the most\nemphatic manner, to the physical object of the alchemists, and to the\nfact that they operated on common gold.\n\n\u201cThe first matter which we take for our work is gold, and with it\nmercury, which we decoct till neither will forsake the other, in which\nwork both die, rot by putrefaction, and after that are regenerate in\nglory. _It is actual gold and nothing else._ What does not equal a\nmetal in weight will never enter it in flux. Nothing but the metalline\nwill dwell with metals.\u201d A severe criticism is passed on the blind\nfolly of those who endeavour to reap the secret stone from strange\nmaterial subjects. \u201cGold is the subject of our art alone, since by it\nwe seek gold.\u201d Those who, like the noble son of art, Morien, advise\nstudents to descend into themselves to find the true matter, only\nintended to point out how kind begets kind:--\n\n \u201cAs then himself his likeness did beget,\n So gold must gold, this law\u2019s to Nature set.\u201d\n\nMorien adds that the secret stone must be sought in the dunghill, which\nsignifies, says the \u201cMarrow of Alchemy,\u201d that the metal must be brought\nto putrefaction. \u201cThose who assert that common gold is not the matter\nare in error. Gold is one. No other substance under Heaven can compare\nwith it. Gold is the noble seed of our art. Yet it is dead. It needs\nto be unloosed, and must go to water. It must be tempered with its\nown humidity; it must be blent with our true water, disposed in a due\nvessel, closed with all caution, settled in a due nest, and with due\nfire inclined to motion.\u201d It becomes the true gold of the philosophers\nwhen by a retrograde motion it tends to resolution. \u201cThen it is our\nSun, our Marchasite, and, joined with our Moon, it becomes our bright\ncrystal Fountain.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nBut if the lives and the writings of the alchemists so clearly\nestablish the physical nature of the Hermetic aim and _opus_, it may\nwell be demanded how a psychical or moral interpretation could be\nreasonably set upon the symbols and the ambition of all the adepts.\nSuch interpretations can never be wholly exonerated from the charge\nof extravagance, and of a purblind indifference to the most plain\nand notorious facts, but they may be to some extent justified by a\nconsideration of the allegorical methods of the alchemists and by the\nnature of the Hermetic theory.\n\nThe profound subtleties of thought seldom find adequate expression\neven when the whole strength of a truly intellectual nature is brought\nto bear upon the resources of language, and where the force of direct\nappeal is unwillingly acknowledged to be insufficient, the vague\ngeneralities of allegory can scarcely be expected to succeed. It is\nthe province of symbolism to suggest thought, and the interpretation\nof any sequence of typology inevitably varies in direct proportion\nwith the various types of mind. Each individual symbol embodies a\ndefinite conception existing in the mind of its inventor, and in\nthat symbol more or less perfectly expressed, but every student of\nallegory out of every individual symbol extracts his own meaning, so\nthat the significance of typology is as infinite as the varieties of\ninterpreting intelligence. For this reason, the best and truest adepts\nhave always insisted on the necessity of an initiated teacher, or of\na special intellectual illumination which they term the grace of God,\nfor the discovery of the actual secret of the Hermetic art. Without\nthis light or guidance the unelected student is likely to be adrift for\never on a chaotic sea of symbols, and the _prima materia_, concealed\nby innumerable names and contradictory or illusory descriptions, will\nfor ever escape him. It is in this way that a thousand unassisted\ninvestigators have operated upon ten thousand material substances,\nand have never remotely approached the manufacture of the Grand\nMagisterium, and, after the same manner, outwearied by perpetual\nfailures in the physical process, that others have rejected the common\nopinion concerning the object of alchemy, and with imaginations at\nwork upon the loftier aspirations expressed by Hermetic adepts, have\naccredited them with an exclusively spiritual aim, and with the\npossession of exclusively spiritual secrets.\n\nIf the authors of the \u201cSuggestive Inquiry\u201d and of \u201cRemarks on Alchemy\nand the Alchemists\u201d had considered the lives of the symbolists,\nas well as the nature of the symbols, their views would have been\nvery much modified; they would have found that the true method of\nHermetic interpretation lies in a middle course; but the errors which\noriginated with merely typological investigations were intensified\nby a consideration of the great alchemical theorem, which, _par\nexcellence_, is one of universal development, which acknowledges that\nevery substance contains undeveloped resources and potentialities, and\ncan be brought outward and forward into perfection. They applied their\ntheory only to the development of metallic substances from a lower to a\nhigher order, but we see by their writings that the grand hierophants\nof Oriental and Western alchemy alike were continually haunted by\nbrief and imperfect glimpses of glorious possibilities for man, if\nthe evolution of his nature were accomplished along the lines of their\ntheory.\n\nEugenius Philalethes enlarges on the infinite capacity of our spiritual\nnature and on the power of our soul\u2019s imagination. \u201cShe has an\nabsolute power in miraculous and more than natural transmutations,\u201d\nand he clothes his doctrine of human evolution in the terminology of\nalchemical adepts.\n\nIn one of the twelve treatises attributed to Sendivogius, there are the\nfollowing remarkable passages:--\u201cWe know the composition of man in all\nrespects, yet we cannot infuse the soul, which is out of the course\nof nature. Nature does not work before there be material given unto\nher....\u201d The problem that all composites are subject to dissolution,\nand that man is composed of the four elements, and how, therefore, he\ncould have been immortal in Paradise, is considered thus. \u201cParadise\nwas and is a place created of the most pure elements, and of these\nman also was formed, and thus was consecrated to perpetuity of life.\nAfter his fall, he was driven into the corruptible elementated world,\nand nourished by corruptible elementated elements, which infected his\npast nature and generated disease and death. To the original creation\nof man in state immortal the ancient philosophers have likened their\nstone, and this immortality caused them to seek the stone, desiring\nto find the incorruptible elements which entered into the Adamic\nconstitution. To them the Most High God revealed that a composition of\nsuch elements was in gold, for in animals it could not be had, seeing\nthey must preserve their lives by corrupt elements; in vegetables also\nit is not, because in them is an inequality of the elements. And seeing\nall created things are inclined to multiplication, the philosophers\npropounded to themselves that they would make tryal of the possibility\nof nature in this mineral kingdom, which being discovered, they saw\nthat THERE WERE INNUMERABLE OTHER SECRETS IN NATURE, OF WHICH, AS OF\nDIVINE SECRETS, THEY WROTE SPARINGLY.\u201d\n\nHere the reference probably intended is to the possibilities which\ntheir theory revealed for other than the mineral kingdoms, a theory\nthe truth of which they believed themselves to have demonstrated by\naccomplishing metallic transmutation. In this connection, it should\nbe noticed that the philosophical stone was generally considered a\nuniversal medicine--a medicine for metals and man, the latter, of\ncourse, by inference.\n\nThe occasional presence of these possibilities in the minds of adepts,\nand the comprehensive nature of the Hermetic theory, fully explain\nthe aberrations of mystical commentators, who have mistaken the side\nissues for the end in view, not altogether inexcusably, because the\nend in view sinks into complete unimportance when compared with the\nside issues, and all that is of value in alchemy for the modern\nstudent of occultism is comprised in these same possibilities, in the\napplication of the Hermetic theory to the supreme subject, Man. It is\nimpossible within the limits of a brief introduction to do justice\nto an illimitable subject, to the art of psychic transmutation, to\nthe spiritual alchemistry, the principles of which are contained in\nthe arcane theory of the adepts, and which principles are by no means\ndependent for their truth on the actuality of metallic transmutation,\nso I must confine myself to a few general observations.\n\nThe admirable lesson which we may learn of the alchemists is the\nexaltation of things in virtue beyond the unassisted ability of Nature.\nSuch exaltation is possible, according to the adepts, both within and\nwithout the metallic kingdom. Man and the animals are alike included\nby this comprehensive theory of development, and it is therefore\nconceivable that a few of the Hermetic symbolists taught in their\nsecret and allegorical fashion the method of alchemical procedure when\nman was the subject, and revealed the miraculous results of this labour\nin the typewritten books which they bequeathed to posterity. That Henry\nKhunrath was in search of the transmutation of metals up to a certain\npoint and period is, I think, very clearly indicated by his visit to\nDr Dee. That the _Amphitheatrum Sapienti\u00e6 \u00c6tern\u00e6_, which was published\nin 1609, treats of a spiritual alchemy, is, however, evidenced by\nthe nature of its symbols and by the general tenor of the strange\nesoteric commentary on some of the Hebrew psalms. Those who worked\nin metals may, or may not, have failed; it is by no means a point of\nimportance to the discriminating student of occultism; but they have\nleft behind them a theory which is wholly true in its application to\nthat one substance in Nature which we know to be capable of indefinite\nperfectibility, and the splendour and glory of the accomplished _Magnum\nOpus_, when the young King issues from the Everlasting East, from the\nland of the Morning and of Paradise,\n\n \u201cBearing the crescent moon upon his crest,\u201d\n\nthough it be a dream--say even, which no one can actually\naffirm--though it be an impossibility for the metal, is true for the\nman; and all that is beautiful and sublime in alchemical symbolism may\nbe rigorously applied to the divine flower of the future, the young\nKing of Humanity, the perfect youth to come, when he issues from the\nSpiritual East, in the dawn of the genuine truth, bearing the Crescent\nMoon, the woman of the future, upon his bright and imperial crest.\n\nI am of opinion, from the evidence in hand, that metallic\ntransmutations did occur in the past. They were phenomena as rare as a\ngenuine \u201cmaterialisation\u201d of so-called spirits is generally considered\nat the present day among those believers in physical mediumship who\nhave not been besotted by credulity and the glamour of a world of\nwonders. Like modern spiritualism, the isolated facts of veritable\nalchemy are enveloped in a crowd of discreditable trickery, and the\ntrade of an adept in the past was as profitable, and as patronised by\nprinces, as that of modern dealers with familiar spirits.\n\nBut the fact of an occasional transmutation gives little reason to\nsuppose that the _praxis alchemi\u00e6_ in metallic subjects is ever\nlikely to succeed with modern students of the _turba philosophorum_.\nThe enigmas of the alchemists admit, as I have said, of manifold\ninterpretations. Their recipes are too vague and confused to be\nfollowed. They insist themselves that their art can only be learned\nby a direct revelation from God, or by the tuition of a master.\nTheir fundamental secrets have not only been never revealed in their\nmultitudinous treatises, but they scarcely pretend to reveal them,\ndespite the magnificent assurances which are sometimes contained in\ntheir titles. The practical side of alchemy must be surrendered to\nspecialists in chemistry, working quite independently of the books\nor the methods of the philosophers. Only the theory is of value to\nneophytes, or initiates, or to any student of the higher occultism; and\nit is of value, as I have said, because it can be applied outside the\nkingdom of metals, as the alchemists themselves acknowledge, and as\nsome of them seem to have attempted.\n\nThe psychic method of interpretation as propounded in the \u201cSuggestive\nInquiry\u201d exalted the seekers for the philosophical stone into\nhierophants of the mystery of God; it endowed them with the _altitudo\ndivitiarum sapienti\u00e6 et scienti\u00e6 Dei_. They had crossed the threshold\nof eternity; they had solved the absolute; they had seen Diana\nunveiled; they had raised the cincture of Isis, and had devoured\nher supernatural beauties--that is, they had accomplished the\nmanifestation of the incarnate spirit of man, and had invested it with\ndeific glory. They did not grope after physical secrets; they did\nnot investigate, with Paracelsus, the properties of ordure and other\nmatter in putrefaction; they did not work with mercury and sulphur;\nthey did not distil wine; they did not decoct egg-shells. They were\nsoul seekers, and they had found the soul; they were artificers, and\nthey had adorned the soul; they were alchemists, and had transmuted\nit. Sublime and romantic hypothesis! But we know that they worked in\nmetals; we know that they manipulated minerals; we know that they\nransacked every kingdom of nature for substances which, by a bare\npossibility, through some happy guess, might really transform the baser\nmetals into gold. They were often extravagant in their views, they were\ngenerally absurd in their methods; they seldom found their end, but,\njudged as they actually were, stripped of all glamour and romance,\nself-educated seekers into Nature at the dawn of a physical science,\nthey are eminently entitled to our respect, because, in the first\nplace, unenlightened and unequipped, with their bare hands, they laid\nthe foundations of a providential and life-saving knowledge, and in the\nsecond, because their furnaces were erected, intellectually, \u201con a peak\nin Darien\u201d--that is, they worked in accordance with a theory which had\nan unknown field of application, and through the smoke of their coals\nand their chemicals they beheld illimitable vistas where the groaning\ntotality of Nature developed its internal resources, and advanced\nby degrees to perfection, upon lines which were quite in accordance\nwith their vision of mineral culture. \u201cA depth beyond the depth, and\na height beyond the height,\u201d were thus revealed to them, and their\nglimpses of these glorious possibilities transfigured their strange\nterminology, and illuminated their barbarous symbolism.\n\nEliminating obviously worthless works, the speculations of needy\nimpostors and disreputable publishers, it is from those who have\nleast contributed to the advancement of chemical science that we must\nseek information concerning the spiritual chemistry--those who have\nelaborated the theory rather than those who exclusively expound the\npractice. In all cases, we shall do well to reflect that the object\nin view was metals, except in such rare instances as are presented by\nHenry Khunrath and the anonymous author of the treatise concerning Mary\nof Alexandria, with a few Rosicrucian philosophers. We must read them\nfor what they suggest, and not for what they had in view.\n\nThe dream of the psycho-chemistry is a grand and sublime scheme\nof absolute reconstruction by means of the Paracelsian _Orizon\n\u00c6ternitatis_, or supercelestial virtue of things, the divinisation, or\ndeification, in the narrower sense, of man the triune by an influx from\nabove. It supposes that the transmutation or transfiguration of man\ncan be accomplished while he is on this earth and in this body, which\nthen would be magically draped _in splendoribus sanctorum_. The Morning\nStar is the inheritance of every man, and the woman of the future will\nbe clothed with the sun, and Luna shall be set beneath her feet. The\nblue mantle typifies the mystical sea, her heritage of illimitable\nvastness. These marvels may be really accomplished by the cleansing\nof the two-fold human tabernacle, the holy house of life, and by the\nprogressive evolution into outward and visible manifestation of the\ninfinite potencies within it.\n\nIn the facts and possibilities of mesmerism and in the phenomena of\necstatic clairvoyance, in ancient magic and modern spiritualism, in\nthe doctrines and experiences of religious regeneration, we must seek\nthe _raison d\u2019\u00eatre_ of the sublime dream of psycho-chemistry--that,\nnamely, there is a change, a transmutation, or a new birth, possible\nto embodied man which shall manifestly develop the esotoric potencies\nof his spiritual being, so that the flesh itself shall be purged,\nclarified, glorified, and clothed upon by the essential light of the\ndivine pneuma. Those of my readers who are interested in this absorbing\nsubject I must refer to a work entitled, \u201cAZOTH, OR THE STAR IN THE\nEAST,\u201d which, I trust, will be ready for publication early in 1889,\nand which will treat of the First Matter of the _Magnum Opus_, of the\nevolution of Aphrodite Urania, of the supernatural generation of the\nSon of the Sun, and of the alchemical transfiguration of humanity.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] There is no need to suppose a metonymy. The conscience is a guide\nwhich education easily perverts. Therefore, supposing it to be really\nthe _instrument_ of the alchemists, it may eminently stand in need of\npurification, and, except in the most general matters, is at best an\nuncertain guide.\n\n[B] \u201cL\u2019Alchimie et les Alchimistes,\u201d p. 93.\n\n\n\n\nON THE PHYSICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE MAGNUM OPUS.\n\n\nThe physical theory of transmutation is based on the composite\ncharacter of metals, on their generation in the bowels of the earth,\nand on the existence in nature of a pure and penetrating matter which\napplied to any substance exalts and perfects it after its own kind.\nThis matter is called THE LIGHT by Eugenius Philalethes and by numerous\nother writers. In its application to animals, it exalts animals; in\nits application to vegetables, it exalts vegetables, while metals and\nminerals, after the same manner, are refined and translated from the\nworst to the best condition.\n\nAll the elements which enter into the composition of metals are\nidentical, but they differ in proportion and in purity. In the metallic\nkingdom, the object of nature is invariably to create gold. The\nproduction of the baser metals is an accident of the process, or the\nresult of an unfavourable environment.\n\nThe generation of metals in the earth is a point of great importance,\nand must be well studied by the amateur, for without this, and\nthe faithful imitation of Nature, he will never achieve anything\nsuccessful. It is by means of the seed of metals that their\ngeneration takes place. Their composite character indicates their\ntransmutable quality. Such transmutation is accomplished by means of\nthe philosophical stone, and this stone is, in fact, the combination\nof the male and female seeds which beget gold and silver. Now the\nmatters or elements of this stone, and the _prima materia_ above\nall, are concealed by a multitude of symbols, false and allegorical\ndescriptions, and evasive or deceptive names.\n\nAccording to Baron Tschoudy, all who have written on the art have\nconcealed the true name of the _prima materia_ because it is the chief\nkey of chemistry. Its discovery is generally declared to be impossible\nwithout a special illumination from God, but the sages who receive\nthis divine favour and distinction have occasionally perpetuated its\nknowledge by the instruction of suitable pupils under the pledge of\ninviolable secresy. The author of _L\u2019\u00c9toile Flamboyante_ supplies an\nimmense list of the names which have been applied to this mysterious\nsubstance under one or other of its phases. \u201cAs those that sail between\nScylla and Charybdis are in danger on both sides,\u201d says D\u2019Espagnet,\n\u201cunto no less hazard are they subject, who, pursuing the prey of\nthe golden fleece, are carried between the uncertain rocks of the\nphilosophers\u2019 sulphur and mercury. The more acute, by their constant\nreading of grave and credible authors, and by the irradiant sun, have\nattained unto the knowledge of sulphur, but are at a stand in the\nentrance of the philosophers\u2019 mercury, for writers have twisted it with\nso many windings and meanders, and involved it with so many equivocal\nnames, that it may be sooner met with by the force of the seeker\u2019s\nintellect than be found by reason or toil.\u201d\n\nThe _prima materia_ has been defined as a fifth element, or\nquintessence, the material alpha and omega, the soul of the elements,\nliving mercury, regenerated mercury, a metallic soul, &c. It is\ndesignated by such allegorical names as the Bird of Hermes, the\nVirgin\u2019s Son, the Son of the Sun and Moon, the Virgin\u2019s Head, Azoth, &c.\n\nWhere it appears to be seriously described the adepts are in continual\ncontradiction, but it is generally allowed to be a substance found\neverywhere and continually seen and possessed by those who are ignorant\nof its virtues. \u201cAlthough some persons,\u201d says Urbiger, \u201cpossessed with\nfoolish notions, dream that the first matter is to be found only in\nsome particular places, at such and such times of the year, and by the\nvirtue of a magical magnet, yet we are most certain, according to our\ndivine master, Hermes, that all these suppositions being false, it is\nto be found everywhere, at all times, and only by our science.\u201d[C]\n\nIn similar terms, we are told by the \u201cCommentary on the Ancient War of\nthe Knights,\u201d that the matter of the art, so precious by the excellent\ngifts wherewith Nature has enriched it, is truly mean with regard to\nthe substances from which it derives its original. \u201cIts price is not\nabove the ability of the poor. Tenpence is more than sufficient to\npurchase the Matter of the Stone.... The matter is mean, considering\nthe foundation of the art, because it costs very little; it is no\nless mean if one considers exteriorly that which gives it perfection,\nsince in that regard it costs nothing at all, in as much as _all the\nworld has it in its power_, says Cosmopolite, so that it is a constant\ntruth that the stone is a thing mean in one sense but most precious in\nanother, and that there are none but fools that despise it, by a just\njudgment of God.\u201d\n\nThe same authority assures us, with regard to the actual nature of the\n_prima materia_, that it is one only and self-same thing, although it\nis a natural compound of certain substances from one root and of one\nkind, forming together one whole complete homogeneity. The substances\nthat make up the philosophical compound differ less among themselves\nthan sorrel water differs from lettuce water. Urbiger asserts that the\ntrue and real matter is only \u201ca vapour impregnated with the metallic\nseed, yet undetermined, created by God Almighty, generated by the\nconcurrence and influence of the astrums, contained in the bowels of\nthe earth, as the matrix of all created things.\u201d In conformity with\nthis, one earlier writer, Sir George Ripley, describes the stone as\nthe potential vapour of metals. It is normally invisible, but may be\nmade to manifest as a clear water. So also Philalethes cries in his\ninspired way:--\u201cHear me, and I shall disclose the secret, which like\na rose has been guarded by thorns, so that few in past times could\npull the flower. There is a substance of a metalline species, which\nlooks so cloudy that the universe will have nothing to do with it.\nIts visible form is vile; it defiles metalline bodies, and no one can\nreadily imagine that the pearly drink of bright Ph\u0153bus should spring\nfrom thence. Its components are a most pure and tender mercury, a dry\nincarcerate sulphur, which binds it and restrains fluxation.... Know\nthis subject, it is the sure basis of all our secrets.... To deal\nplainly, it is the child of Saturn, of mean price and great venom....\nIt is not malleable, though metalline. Its colour is sable with, with\nintermixed argent, which mark the sable field with veins of glittering\nargent.\u201d[D]\n\nThe poisonous nature of the stone is much insisted on by numerous\nphilosophers. \u201cIts substance and its vapour are indeed a poison\nwhich the philosophers should know how to change into an antidote by\npreparation and direction.\u201d[E]\n\nNo descriptions, supplied _ad infinitum_ by the numberless adepts who\nwere moved by unselfish generosity to expound the arcana of alchemy,\nfor the spiritual, intellectual, and physical enrichment of those who\ndeserved initiation, expose the true nature of the _prima materia_,\nwhile the _vas philosophorum_ in which it is contained and digested is\ndescribed in contradictory terms, and is by some writers declared a\ndivine secret.\n\nGiven the matter of the stone and also the necessary vessel, the\nprocesses which must be then undertaken to accomplish the _magnum opus_\nare described with moderate perspicuity. There is the Calcination or\npurgation of the stone, in which kind is worked with kind for the space\nof a philosophical year. There is Dissolution which prepares the way\nfor congelation, and which is performed during the black state of the\nmysterious matter. It is accomplished by water which does not wet the\nhand. There is the Separation of the subtle and the gross, which is to\nbe performed by means of heat. In the Conjunction which follows, the\nelements are duly and scrupulously combined. Putrefaction afterwards\ntakes place,\n\n \u201cWithout which pole no seed may multiply.\u201d\n\nThen in the subsequent Congelation the white colour appears, which is\none of the signs of success. It becomes more pronounced in Cibation. In\nSublimation the body is spiritualised, the spirit made corporeal, and\nagain a more glittering whiteness is apparent. Fermentation afterwards\nfixes together the alchemical earth and water, and causes the mystic\nmedicine to flow like wax. The matter is then augmented with the\nalchemical spirit of life, and the Exaltation of the philosophic earth\nis accomplished by the natural rectification of its elements. When\nthese processes have been successfully completed, the mystic stone\nwill have passed through three chief stages characterised by different\ncolours, black, white, and red, after which it is capable of infinite\nmultiplication, and when projected on mercury, it will absolutely\ntransmute it, the resulting gold bearing every test. The base metals\nmade use of must be purified to insure the success of the operation.\nThe process for the manufacture of silver is essentially similar, but\nthe resources of the matter are not carried to so high a degree.\n\nAccording to the \u201cCommentary on the Ancient War of the Knights,\u201d the\ntransmutations performed by the perfect stone are so absolute that no\ntrace remains of the original metal. It cannot, however, destroy gold,\nnor exalt it into a more perfect metallic substance; it, therefore,\ntransmutes it into a medicine a thousand times superior to any virtues\nwhich can be extracted from it in its vulgar state. This medicine\nbecomes a most potent agent in the exaltation of base metals.\n\nAmong the incidental properties of the perfect mineral agent is\nthe conversion of flints into precious stones, but the manufacture\nof gold and of jewels is generally declared to be the least of the\nphilosophical secrets, for the spirit which informs the mysterious\n_prima materia_ of the great and sublime work can be variously used and\nadapted to the attainment of absolute perfection in all the \u201cliberal\nsciences,\u201d the possession of the \u201cwhole wisdom of nature, and of things\nmore secret and extraordinary than is the gift of prophecy which Rhasis\nand Bono assert to be contained in the red stone.\u201d\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[C] Baro Urbigerus--\u201cOne Hundred Aphorisms demonstrating the\npreparation of the Grand Elixir.\u201d\n\n[D] Aphorismi Urbigerani.\n\n[E] Commentary on the \u201cAncient War of the Knights.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nLIVES OF THE ALCHEMISTS.\n\n\n\n\nGEBER.\n\n\nThe first, and, according to the general concensus of Hermetic\nauthorities, the prince of those alchemical adepts who have appeared\nduring the Christian era, was the famous Geber, Giaber, or Yeber, whose\ntrue name was Abou Moussah Djafar al Sofi, and who was a native of\nHaman, in Mesopotamia, according to the more probable opinion. He is\nalso said to have been a Greek, a Spanish Arabian born at Seville, and\na Persian of Thus. Romance represents him as an illuminated monarch\nof India. According to Aboulfeda, he flourished during the eighth\ncentury, but later and earlier periods have been also suggested. His\nlife is involved in hopeless obscurity; but his experiments upon\nmetals, undertaken with a view to the discovery of their constituent\nelements and the degrees of their fusibility, led him to numerous\ndiscoveries both in chemistry and in medicine, including suroxydised\nmuriate of mercury, red oxyde of mercury, and nitric acid. \u201cIt is\nthus that Hermetic philosophy gave rise to chemistry,\u201d says a writer\nin the _Biographie Universelle_, \u201cand that the reputation of Geber is\npermanently established, not upon his search for an impossible chimera,\nbut for his discovery of truths founded on actual experience.\u201d\n\nWith the characteristic prodigality of the Middle Ages, no less\nthan five hundred treatises have been attributed to the Arabian\nadept. They are supposed to have embraced the whole circle of the\nphysical sciences, including astronomy and medicine. A few fragments,\ncomparatively, alone remain of all these colossal achievements. Cardan\nincluded their author among the twelve most penetrating minds of the\nwhole world, and Boerhave spoke of him with consideration and respect\nin his celebrated _Institutiones Chemic\u00e6_. According to M. Hoefer,\nhe deserves to be ranked first among the chemists and alchemists\nwho flourished prior to Van Helmont. \u201cHe is the oracle of medi\u00e6val\nchemists, who frequently did nothing in their writings but literally\nreproduce their master. Geber for the history of chemistry is what\nHippocrates is for the history of medicine.\u201d\n\nThe name of Geber has been borne or assumed by several writers\nsubsequent to the Hermetic adept; in this way the few extant facts\nconcerning his life have been variously distorted, and books of later\ndate and less value falsely ascribed to him. An astronomical commentary\non the _Syntaxis Magna_ of Ptolemy, in nine books, must be included in\nthis number. It is a work of the twelfth century, as may be proved by\ninternal evidence.\n\nThe extant works of Geber are, for the most part, in Latin, and are all\nopen to more or less legitimate suspicion. In the library at Leyden\nthere are said to be several Arabic manuscripts which have never been\ntranslated, and there is one in the Imperial Library at Paris, together\nwith a _Fragmentum de Triangulis Sph\u00e6ricis_ which is still unprinted.\nThe most complete edition of Geber is that of Dantzich, published\nin 1682, and reproduced in the Collection of Mangetus.[F] First in\nimportance among the works of the Arabian adept must be ranked his \u201cSum\nof Perfection\u201d--_Summ\u00e6 Perfectionis magisterii in su\u00e2 natur\u00e2 Libri\nIV._ The next in value is the treatise entitled _De Investigatione\nperfectionis Metallorum_, with his Testament, and a tract on the\nconstruction of furnaces.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe \u201cSum of Perfection, or the Perfect Magistery,\u201d claims to be a\ncompilation from the works of the ancients, but with the doubtful\nexception of pseudo-Hermes, we are acquainted with no alchemical\nauthors previous to the supposed period of Geber. A knowledge of\nnatural principles is declared to be necessary to success in the art.\nThe natural principles in the work of nature are a potent spirit, and\na living or dry water. The disposition of the philosophical furnace\nand of the _vas philosophorum_ is clearly described; the latter is a\nround glass vessel with a flat round bottom, and has several elaborate\narrangements. A marginal note, however, declares that the account of it\nis hard to be understood. Among all the obscurities of the treatise,\nit is absolutely plain that it is concerned with metals and minerals.\nThe properties of sulphur, mercury, arsenick, gold, silver, lead, tin,\ncopper, iron, magnesia, lut, marchasite, are discussed in such a manner\nthat it is impossible to establish an allegory, or to interpret the\nwords of the writer in other than a physical sense.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[F] J. J. Mangeti, \u201cBib. Chem. Curiosa,\u201d 2 v. fol. 1702.\n\n\n\n\nRHASIS.\n\n\nRhazes, or Rasi, whose true name was Mohammed-Ebn-Secharjah Aboubekr\nArrasi, was a celebrated Arabian physician and chemist, who was born\nabout the year 850 at Ray in Ir\u00e2k, upon the frontiers of Khorassan.\nIn his youth he was passionately devoted to music and to frivolous\namusements; he did not begin the study of medicine till he was thirty\nyears of age, but he soon surpassed, both in skill and in knowledge,\nall the physicians of his time. He devoted himself with equal zeal\nto philosophy, is said to have journeyed into Syria, Egypt, and\neven into Spain, and successively took charge of the famous hospital\nat Bagdad, and of another in his native town. He was naturally good\nand generous, and he devoted himself to the service of the poor. His\noriental panegyrists call him the Imam among the scholars of his time,\nand western writers describe him as the Galen of the Arabians. By\nhis assiduous attention to the multitudinous varieties of disease he\nobtained the appellation of the experimenter, or the experienced. No\nless than two hundred and twenty-six treatises are said to have been\ncomposed by him. To some of these Avicenna was largely indebted, and\neven in Europe he exercised considerable influence, for his writings on\nmedicine were the basis of university teaching up to the seventeenth\ncentury.\n\nOf the twelve books of chemistry which have been attributed to Rhasis\nseveral are probably spurious, and few have been printed. He was an\navowed believer in the transmutation of metals, and, having composed a\ntreatise on the subject, he presented it in person to Emir Almansour,\nPrince of Khorassan, who was highly delighted, and ordered one thousand\npieces of gold to be paid to the author as a recompense. However,\nhe desired to witness the marvellous experiments and the prolific\nauriferous results with which the work abounded. Rhasis replied that he\nmight certainly be gratified in his sublime curiosity if he provided\nthe necessary instruments and materials for the accomplishment of the\n_magnum opus_. The Emir consented; neither pains nor expenses were\nspared over the preliminary preparations, but when the time came the\nadept failed miserably in his performance, and was severely belaboured\nabout the head by the enraged potentate with the unprofitable\nalchemical treatise. Rhasis was old at the time, and this violence is\nby some declared to have been the cause of his subsequent blindness.\nHe died in poverty and obscurity, a point which is not supposed to\ndisprove his possession of the powerful metallic medicine. The date of\nhis death is uncertain, but it was probably in the year 932.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe writings of Rhasis, like those of Geber, enlarge on the planetary\ncorrespondences, or on the influence exerted by the stars in the\nformation of metallic substances beneath the surface of the earth. The\nexplicit nature of the recipes which he gives may be judged by such\ndirections as _Recipe aliquid ignotum, quantum volueris_. It is to\nhim, nevertheless, that we owe the preparation of brandy and several\npharmaceutic applications of alcohol. He was the first to mention\norpiment, realgar, borax, certain combinations of sulphur, iron,\nand copper, certain salts of mercury indirectly obtained, and some\ncompounds of arsenic.[G] He was also a zealous promoter of experimental\nmethods.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[G] Figuier, _L\u2019Alchimie et les Alchimistes_, pp. 95, 96.\n\n\n\n\nALFARABI.\n\n\nThe middle of the tenth century was made illustrious by one of those\ncelebrated men who do honour to the sciences in which they engage.\nThis was Abou-Nasr-Mohammed-Ibn-Tarkan, commonly called Farabi and\nAlfarabi--a man of universal genius, who penetrated all subjects with\nequal facility, fathoming the most useful and interesting sciences, and\npassing for the greatest philosopher of his time.\n\nHe was born at Farab, now known as Othrar, in Asia Minor. He was of\nTurkish origin, but repaired to Bagdad to acquire a more perfect\nknowledge of Arabic; there he devoted himself with zeal and enthusiasm\nto the study of the Greek philosophers under Abou Bachar Maltey, an\nexpounder of Aristotle. From Bagdad he proceeded to Harran, where John,\na Christian physician, was teaching logic. In a short time Alfarabi\nsurpassed all his other scholars, but he left Harran and visited Damas,\nthence penetrating into Egypt. Early attracted towards the secrets of\nnature, he spent a great portion of his life in incessant wanderings,\ncollecting the opinions of all the philosophers he could meet with\non these and on kindred subjects. He despised the world, and took no\npains to acquire wealth, though he wrote upon alchemy, that is, if the\nHermetic works which are attributed to him be genuine. His erudition\nand indefatigable activity are attested by his other writings,\nwhich variously treat of philosophy, logic, physics, astronomy, and\nmathematics. His chief reputation is based on a sort of encyclop\u00e6dia,\nwhere he gives a description, with an exact definition, of all the\narts and sciences; and on a celebrated musical treatise, wherein he\nridicules the pythagorean speculations upon the music of the spheres,\nand proves the connection of sound with atmospheric vibrations.\n\nAccording to several authorities, he was protected and supported in\nhis later years by the cultured and enlightened Se\u00eff Eddoula, who is\nrepresented as Prince of Damas, but who seems to have been Sultan\nof Syria, and to have made the acquaintance of the scholar in the\nfollowing curious manner.\n\nAlfarabi was returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, when, passing\nthrough Syria, he stopped at the Court of the Sultan, and entered his\npresence while he was surrounded by numerous sage persons, who were\ndiscoursing with the monarch on the sciences.\n\nAlfarabi, ignorant of, or else wholly ignoring, the usages of society,\npresented himself in his travelling attire; and when the Sultan desired\nthat he should be seated, with astonishing philosophical freedom, he\nplanted himself at the end of the royal sofa. The prince, aghast at his\nboldness, called one of his officers, and in a tongue generally unknown\ncommanded him to eject the intruder. The philosopher, however, promptly\nmade answer in the same tongue: \u201cOh, Lord, he who acts hastily is\nliable to hasty repentance!\u201d The prince was equally astounded to find\nhimself understood by the stranger as by the manner in which the reply\nwas given. Anxious to know more of his guest, he began to question him,\nand soon discovered that he was acquainted with seventy languages.\nProblems for discussion were then propounded to the philosophers who\nhad witnessed the discourteous intrusion with considerable indignation\nand disgust, but Alfarabi disputed with so much eloquence and vivacity\nthat he reduced all the doctors to silence, and they began writing\ndown his discourse. The Sultan then ordered his musicians to perform\nfor the diversion of the company. When they struck up, the philosopher\naccompanied them on a lute with such infinite grace and tenderness,\nthat he elicited the unmeasured admiration of the whole distinguished\nassembly. At the request of the Sultan he produced a piece of his own\ncomposing, sung it, and accompanied it with great force and spirit to\nthe delight of all his hearers. The air was so sprightly that even the\ngravest philosopher could not resist dancing, but by another tune he as\neasily melted them to tears, and then by a soft unobtrusive melody he\nlulled the whole company to sleep.\n\nGreat was the anxiety of the Sultan to retain so accomplished a person\nabout him, and some say that he succeeded, others that the philosopher\ndeclined the most brilliant offers, declaring that he should never\nrest till he had discovered the whole secret of the philosopher\u2019s\nstone of which he had been in search for years, and to which, from\nhis discourse, he appeared to be on the point of attaining. According\nto these biographers, he set out, but it was to perish miserably. He\nwas attacked by robbers in the woods of Syria, and, in spite of his\ncourage, was overpowered by numbers and killed. This occurred in the\nyear 954. Others say that he died at Damas, enjoying the munificence of\nthe Sultan to the last.\n\n\n\n\nAVICENNA.\n\n\nKhorassan produced another celebrated adept at the end of the tenth,\nor, according to an alternative opinion, about the middle of the\neleventh century. This was the illustrious Ebn Sina, commonly called\nAvicenna, who was born at Bacara, the principal city of that province\nof Persia. The exact date of his birth has been fixed, but in the\nabsence of sufficient authority, at the year 980. He is equally\ncelebrated for the multiplicity of his literary works and for his\nadventurous life. At an early age he had made unusual progress in\nmathematics, and his gifted mind soon penetrated the mysteries of\ntranscendental philosophy. He was only sixteen when he passed from\nthe preparatory sciences to that of medicine, in which he succeeded\nwith the same celerity; and great is the sagacity attributed to\nhim in the knowledge of diseases. He is praised in particular for\nhaving discovered that the illness of the King of Gordia\u2019s nephew was\noccasioned by an amorous passion which he had carefully concealed, and\nfor the stratagem by which he discovered the object of the young man\u2019s\naffections.\n\nHis credit as a physician and philosopher became so great that the\nSultan Magdal Doulet determined to place him at the head of his\naffairs, and appointed him to the distinguished position of Grand\nVizier; but, notwithstanding the religion of Mohammed, which Avicenna\nprofessed, he drank so freely, and his intemperance led to so much\nimmorality and disorder, that he was deprived of his dignities in the\nState, and died in comparative obscurity at the age of fifty-six. He\nwas buried at Hamadan, a city of Persia, which was the ancient Ecbatana.\n\nThough his history gave rise to the saying that he was a philosopher\ndevoid of wisdom, and a physician without health, the Arabs long\nbelieved that he commanded spirits, and was served by the Jinn. As he\nsought the philosophic stone, several oriental peoples affirm him to\nbe still alive, dwelling in splendid state, invested with spiritual\npowers, and enjoying in an unknown retreat the sublime nectar of\nperpetual life and the rejuvenating qualities of the _aurum potabile_.\n\nSix or seven treatises on Hermetic philosophy are ascribed to Avicenna;\nsome of them are undoubtedly spurious. There is a treatise on the\n\u201cCongelation of the Stone\u201d and a _Tractatulus de Alchimia_, which may\nbe found in the first volumes of the _Ars Aurifera_, Basle, 1610.\nIn 1572 the _Ars Chimica_ was printed at Berne. Two Hermetic tracts\nare also attributed to Avicenna by the compilers of the _Theatrum\nChimicum_, and an octavo volume _Porta Elementorum_, appeared under his\nname at Basle during the third quarter of the sixteenth century.\n\nThe grimoires and magical rituals frequently appeal to Avicenna as the\nauthority for their supernatural secrets.\n\nThe _Tractatulus Alchimi\u00e6_ treats of the nature of the sophic mercury,\nwhich contains the sophic sulphur, and wherefrom every mineral\nsubstance was originally created by God. This mercury is the universal\nvivific spirit; there is nothing in the world to compare with it; it\npenetrates, exalts, and develops everything; it is a ferment to every\nbody with which it is united chemically; it is the grand metallic\nelixir, both to the white, or silver, and red, or gold producing,\ndegrees. Its potencies develop under the action of fire. Though found\nin all minerals, it is a thing of the earth. It possesses lucidity,\nfluidity, and a silverine colour. The perfection and the praise of gold\nare elaborately celebrated in succeeding pages. The _prima materia_\nis declared to be of a duplex nature, and the duplex elixir, which\nis the result of successful operation, has powers that are beyond\nnature, because it is eminently spiritual. The strength of the perfect\nmagisterium is one upon a thousand.\n\nThe chemical knowledge of Avicenna is derived from Geber, as his\nmedical erudition was borrowed from Galen, Aristotle, and other\nanterior writers. He describes several varieties of saltpetre, and\ntreats of the properties of common salt, vitriol, sulphur, orpiment,\nsal ammoniac, &c.\n\n\n\n\nMORIEN,\n\n\nor Morienus, was a recluse born at Rome in the twelfth century, and who\ntook up his habitation in Egypt, where he became profoundly versed in\nthe chemistry and physics of the period. While his education was still\nprogressing in his native city, and under the eyes of a father and\nmother who tenderly cherished him, he heard of the reputation of Adfar,\nthe Arabian philosopher of Alexandria, and contrived to get a sight of\nhis writings, when he was immediately seized with a desperate desire to\nunderstand their meaning. The first impressions of youth carried him\naway; he abandoned his home, and set out for Alexandria, where, after\nsome difficulty, he discovered the abode of the philosopher. He made\nknown to him his name, his country, and his religion, and both appeared\nwell contented with each other--Adfar at having found a young man\nwhose docility he could depend on, and Morien that he was under the\ndiscipline of a master who promised to unveil to him the source of all\ntreasures.\n\nThey studied together; the amiability of the pupil encouraged his\ninstructor to make known to him all his secrets, after which, according\nto one account, Morien went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and then\nturned hermit. It seems more probable that he tarried with Adfar till\nhis death, which in spite of his immense treasures, his illumination,\nand his acquirements in arcane philosophy, eventually occurred,\nand that then Morien, having paid the last duties to his deceased\ninitiator, quitted Alexandria, and proceeded on his pilgrimage. He\npurchased a retreat near the city of Jerusalem, where he settled in the\ncompany of a pupil, whom he doubtless intended to form for science.\n\nIn the meantime, the papers of the adept Adfar appear to have fallen\ninto the hands of Kalid, the Soldan of Egypt, a wise and curious\nprince. On the title-page of these manuscripts it was stated that\nthey contained the priceless secret of the philosophical stone. The\nSoldan studied them with avidity, but made no progress towards their\ncomprehension, and not being able to accomplish the _magnum opus_ in\nhis own person, he instituted a careful search for some one who was\nqualified to interpret the unintelligible mysteries of the manuscripts.\nHe convened all the philosophers to Cairo, promised to maintain them,\nand to provide them with all the materials and machinery required for\nthe success of alchemical processes, and guaranteed a magnificent\nreward to any person who succeeded. As it might happen even at this\nday, many persons presented themselves who had their minds fixed upon\nthe profits to be derived from such transactions.\n\nMorien, hearing with pain how much Kalid was deceived by worthless\npretenders, quitted his retreat and repaired in all haste to Egypt,\nwith the ultimate conversion of the Soldan quite as much at heart\nas the communication of the mysteries of Adfar. The labours of the\npretended alchemists had produced nothing, as the initiated hermit\nhad expected, but something in the manner of Morien impressed the\nprince, who appointed him a house in which he might remain until he\nhad finished the process. The work in due course was brought to its\nabsolute perfection; the philosopher inscribed these words on the vase\nin which he placed the elixir:--\u201cHe who possesses all has no need of\nothers,\u201d and, immediately quitting Alexandria, he returned to his\nhermitage.\n\nPossessed though he now was of the great and supreme elixir, Kalid\nhad no notion how to make use of it for the transmutations he desired\nto accomplish. He was equally penetrated with regret at the loss of a\nveritable artist, and filled with indignation at the false alchemists\nwho had promised him all things, but had accomplished nothing, he\nordained by an edict the capital punishment of every exposed pretender.\nSome years passed away, during which the Soldan vainly sought the\npossessor of the potent secret. At length one day, being at the chase,\nand accompanied by a favourite slave, an incident occurred which led\nto the eventual fulfilment of his ambition. The slave, whose name was\nGalip, riding a little apart, discovered an aged man at prayer in\na solitary place. He questioned him, and learned that he came from\nJerusalem, where he had been abiding in the hermitage of a holy man. He\nhad heard of the anxiety of Kalid to accomplish the mystery of Hermes,\nand knowing that the hermit in question was a man of unparalleled skill\nin the sacred, supernal science, he had quitted Palestine to inform the\nprince thereof.\n\n\u201cOh! my brother, what do you say?\u201d exclaimed Galip. \u201cNo more! I do not\nwish you to die like those impostors who have vaunted themselves to my\nmaster.\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear nothing,\u201d returned the hermit. \u201cIf you be able to present me to\nthe prince, I will at once go before him with confidence.\u201d\n\nGalip accordingly presented him, and the old man informed Kalid that\nhe could enable him to accomplish the Hermetic work, that he was\nacquainted with an adept hermit of the solitudes of Jerusalem, who, by\nillumination from the Deity, had received supernatural wisdom, and by\nhis own admission was in possession of the precious gift. The quantity\nof gold and silver which he brought each year to Jerusalem was a\nconclusive proof of the fact.\n\nThe Soldan represented the danger of false promises to the venerable\nman, and warned him how many deceptive and boasting adventurers\nhad already met their death. The hermit, however, persisted in his\nconfident assertions, and Kalid, hearing the description of Morien,\ncommanded Galip, his slave, to accompany the old man with a sufficient\nescort to Jerusalem, where they eventually arrived after many\nlabours, and were rejoiced by the discovery of Morien, who beneath\nhis hair-cloth shirt is declared to have preserved a perpetually\nyouthful frame. Galip recognised him at once, saluted him on the\npart of his master, and persuaded him to return to the prince, who\nreceived him with unbounded satisfaction, and would have engaged him\nin a worldly situation at his court. Morien, however, was intent\nonly on the conversion of Kalid; he made known to him the mysteries\nof Christianity, but in spite of his wisdom was unable to effect the\ndesired end. He appears, notwithstanding, to have discovered to him the\nsecret of the transcendent science, and the conversation of Morien and\nKalid has been written in Arabic, and translated into Latin and French.\n\nThe subsequent history of Morien is not recorded. In the collections of\nHermetic philosophy there are some small tracts attributed to Kalid,\nand also to Galip, who appears to have participated in the secret.\nMorien himself is cited as the author of three works, said to have\nbeen translated from the Arabic, but their authenticity is, of course,\nvery doubtful. The first is entitled _Liber de Distinctione Mecurii\nAquarum_, of which a manuscript copy existed in the library of Robert\nBoyle. The second is the _Liber de Compositione Alchemi\u00e6_, printed\nin the first volume of the _Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa_. Finally,\nseveral editions have appeared of a treatise entitled _De Re Metallica,\nmetallorum Transmutatione, et occulta summaque antiquorum medicina\nlibellus_. It was first printed at Paris in the year 1559.\n\nBacon and Arnold, who appeared one at the beginning, and the other at\nthe end of the thirteenth century, have cited Morien as an authority\namong the Hermetic philosophers, and Robertus Castrensis assures us\nthat he translated Morien\u2019s book from the Arabic language in the year\n1182.\n\nThe _Liber de Compositione Alchemi\u00e6_ contains a Hermetic conversation\nbetween Morien, Kalid, and Galip. It appeals to the authority of\nHermes, whom it states to have been the first who discovered the grand\nmagisterium, the secret of which he transmitted to his disciples. It\ndeclares the _prima materia_ to be one, quoting the testimony of the\nwise king and philosopher Hercules and the adept Arsicanus, with other\npseudo authorities, which discredit the date of the dialogue far more\nthan they support the alchemical theory in question.\n\n\n\n\nALBERTUS MAGNUS.\n\n\nThe universal genius of Albert, joined to a laudable curiosity in\nso great a philosopher, say the original \u201cLives of Alchemysticall\nPhilosophers,\u201d did not allow him to pass by the Hermetic science\nwithout giving it due attention.\n\nCounter authorities, while admitting that in things scientific he\nmust be counted the most curious and investigating of the children\nof men, emphatically assert that he has been erroneously included\nby demonographers among the number of magicians, and that in the\ntwenty-one goodly folio volumes which comprise his _opera omnia_,\nthere is no trace of sorcery. In one place he declares formally that\n\u201call those stories of demons prowling in the regions of the air, and\nfrom whom the secrets of futurity may be ascertained, are absurdities\nwhich can never be admitted by sober reason.\u201d The works on incredible\nsecrets, so numerously attributed to him, are, therefore, condemned\nas spurious, Albertus Magnus having no more hand in their production\nthan in the invention of the cannon and the pistol, which has been\nattributed to him by Matthias de Luna.\n\nSo early, however, as the year 1480 the Great Chronicle of Belgium\nrecords him _magnus in magia, major in philosophia, maximus in\ntheologia_. It is futile for the historians of his order to argue that\nAlbert never applied himself to the Hermetic art, says an anonymous\nwriter. His books alone--those which are his incontestably--bear\nwitness to his alchemical erudition, and as a physician he carefully\nexamined what regards Natural History, and above all the minerals\nand metals. His singular experiments are recorded in the _Secretum\nSecretorum_, which first appeared at Venice in 1508.\n\nMichael Maier declares that he received from the disciples of St\nDominic the secret of the philosophical stone, and that he communicated\nit in turn to St Thomas Aquinas; that he was in possession of a stone\nnaturally marked with a serpent, and endowed with so admirable a virtue\nthat on being set down in a place infested with such reptiles, it would\nattract them from their hiding places; that for the space of thirty\nyears he employed all his knowledge as a magician and astrologer to\nconstruct, out of metals carefully chosen under appropriate planetary\ninfluences, an automaton endowed with the power of speech, and\nwhich served him as an infallible oracle, replying plainly to every\nkind of question which could possibly be proposed to it. This was\nthe celebrated Andro\u00efd, which was destroyed by St Thomas under the\nimpression that it was a diabolical contrivance.\n\nThe most marvellous story of his magical abilities is extant in the\nhistory of the University of Paris. He invited William II., Count of\nHolland and King of the Romans, to a supper in his monastic house at\nCologne. Although it was midwinter Albertus had tables prepared in\nthe garden of the convent; the earth was covered with snow, and the\ncourtiers who accompanied William murmured at the imprudence and folly\nof the philosopher in exposing the prince to the severity of such\nweather. As they sat down, however, the snow suddenly disappeared, and\nthey felt not only the softness of spring, but the garden was filled\nwith odoriferous flowers; the birds flew about as in summer, singing\ntheir most delightful notes, and the trees appeared in blossom. Their\nsurprise at this metamorphosis of nature was considerably heightened\nwhen, at the end of the repast, these wonders disappeared in a moment,\nand the cold wind began to blow with its accustomed rigour.\n\nThe life of Albertus belongs to the history of theology. He was born\nin Suabia, at Larvigen, on the Danube, in 1205. He is accredited with\nexcessive stupidity in his youth, but his devotion to the Virgin\nwas rewarded by a vision, which was accompanied by an intellectual\nillumination, and he became one of the greatest doctors of his time.\nHe was made provincial of the Dominicans, and was appointed to the\nbishopric of Ratisbon, which he subsequently resigned to pursue his\nscientific and philosophic studies in a delightful conventual retreat\nat Cologne. In his old age he relapsed into the mediocrity of his\nearlier years, which gave rise to the saying that from an ass he was\ntransformed into a philosopher, and from a philosopher he returned into\nan ass.\n\nThe term Magnus, which has been applied to him, is not the consequence\nof his reputation. It is the Latin equivalent of his family name,\nAlbert de Groot.\n\nAmong the spurious works attributed to him is that entitled _Les\nAdmirables Secrets d\u2019Albert le Grand_, which is concerned with the\nvirtues of herbs, precious stones, and animals, with an abridgment of\nphysiognomy, methods for preservation against the plague, malignant\nfevers, poisons, &c. The first book treats of the planetary influences\nin their relation to nativities, of the magical properties possessed by\nthe hair of women, of the infallible means of ascertaining whether a\nchild still in the womb is male or female, &c. In the others there is a\ncurious chaos of remarkable superstitions concerning urine, vermin, old\nshoes, putrefaction, the manipulation of metals, &c.\n\nA magical grimoire entitled _Alberti Parvi Lucii Liber de Mirabilibus\nNatur\u00e6 Arcanis_, adorned with figures and talismans, appeared at Lyons,\nbearing the Kabbalistic date 6516. The composition of philtres, the\ninterpretation of dreams, the discovery of treasures, the composition\nof the hand of glory, the ring of invisibility, the sympathetic\npowder, the sophistication of gold, and other marvels, are familiarly\nexplained; but this work is another forgery, and an insult to the\nmemory of a really illustrious man.\n\nIn the treatise which he wrote upon minerals, Albert informs us that he\npersonally tested some gold and silver which had been manufactured by\nan alchemist, and which resisted six or seven exceptionally searching\nfusions, but the pretended metal was reduced into actual scori\u00e6 by\nan eighth. He recognises, however, the possibility of transmutation\nwhen performed upon the principles of Nature. He considers that all\nmetals are composed of an unctuous and subtle humidity, intimately\nincorporated with a subtle and perfect matter.\n\nIf the purely alchemical works which are ascribed to Albertus have\nany claim to authenticity, he must be ranked as a skilful practical\nchemist for the period in which he flourished. He employed alembics for\ndistillation, and aludels for sublimation; he also made use of various\nlutes, the composition of which he describes. He mentions alum and\ncaustic alkali, and seems to have been aware of the alkaline basis of\ncream of tartar. He knew the method of purifying the precious metals\nby means of lead and of gold, by cementation, likewise the method of\ntesting the purity of gold. He mentions red lead, metallic arsenic,\nand liver of sulphur. He was acquainted with green vitriol and iron\npyrites. He knew that arsenic renders copper white, and that sulphur\nattacks all the metals except gold.[H]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[H] Thomson, \u201cHist. of Chemistry,\u201d vol. i., pp. 32, 33.\n\n\n\n\nTHOMAS AQUINAS.\n\n\nIf Albertus Magnus must be considered an adept in possession of the\nphilosophic stone, there is little doubt that he discovered it to\nhis favourite pupil, St Thomas, the most illustrious of the kings\nof intelligence who glorified the scholastic period of Christian\nphilosophy. There are some alchemical treatises ascribed to the angel\nof the schools which he certainly did not write. \u201cThat of the \u2018Nature\nof Minerals\u2019 is unworthy of so great a philosopher,\u201d says a certain\nanonymous authority, \u201cand so is the \u2018Comment on the _Turba_.\u2019 But his\n_Thesaurus Alchemi\u00e6_, addressed to Brother Regnauld, his companion\nand friend, is genuine. He cites Albert in this as his master in all\nthings, especially in Hermetic philosophy. He addressed other books\nto Regnauld on the curious sciences, amongst which is a treatise on\nJudicial Astrology.\u201d\n\nThis opinion deserves due consideration, yet in all his theological\nworks St Thomas carefully avoided every suspicion of alchemy,\npersuaded, says the same writer, that it would bring dishonour to his\nname as the height of human folly. Moreover, in one of his treatises\nhe distinctly states that \u201cit is not lawful to sell as good gold that\nwhich is made by Alchemy,\u201d proof positive that he considered the\ntransmutatory art to be simply the sophistication of the precious metal.\n\nOn the other hand, the _Thesaurus Alchemi\u00e6_, generally attributed\nto him by adepts, testifies that \u201cthe aim of the alchemist is to\nchange imperfect metal into that which is perfect,\u201d and asserts\nthe possibility of the thing. These contradictions scarcely afford\nconvincing proof of a common authorship; but spurious or otherwise,\nthe works on the Hermetic science which are attributed to the angelic\ndoctor are of importance in the history of alchemy. Their leading\ncharacter is secrecy, and they insist on the preservation of the\nsublime operation from unworthy men, only the children of light, who\nlive as in the presence of God, being fit for the knowledge or custody\nof so supernal a mystery.\n\nThe _Thesaurus Alchemi\u00e6_ has the brevity which characterised St Thomas,\nfor it is comprised in a very few leaves. The other works attributed\nto him are _Secreta Alchymi\u00e6 Magnalia_ and _De Esse et Essentia\nMineralium_, together with the comment on the _Turba_. Some of the\nterms still employed by modern chemists occur for the first time in\nthese supposititious writings of Thomas Aquinas--_e.g._, the word\namalgam, which is used to denote a compound of mercury and some other\nmetal.\n\nIn the tractates addressed to Brother Regnauld, we learn that the\nstudents of alchemy are in search of a single substance which\nabsolutely resists the fierce action of fire, which itself penetrates\neverything, and tinges mercury. The work is a work of the hands, and\ngreat patience is required in it. Instruments are necessary, but in the\ntrue Hermetic operation there is but one vase, one substance, one way,\nand one only operation.\n\n\n\n\nROGER BACON.\n\n\nRoger Bacon was the first Englishman who is known to have cultivated\nalchemical philosophy. This learned man was born in 1214, near\nIlcester, in Somerset. He made extraordinary progress in the\npreliminary studies of boyhood; when his age permitted he entered the\norder of St Francis, and passed from Oxford to Paris, where he learned\nmathematics and medicine. On his return he applied himself to languages\nand philosophy, and made such progress that he wrote grammars of the\nLatin, Greek, and Hebrew tongues.\n\nPronouncing the panegyric of Bacon, Figuier calls him the greatest\nintellect which has arisen in England, a student of nature who was more\nphysician than chemist, and a scientist to whom the world owes many\nextraordinary discoveries. He was almost the only astronomer of his\ntime, and to him we are indebted for the rectification of the Julian\nCalendar, in regard to the solar year, which in 1267 he submitted to\nClement IV., but which was not put in practice till the pontificate\nof Gregory. The physical analysis of the properties of lenses and\nconvex glasses, the invention of spectacles and achromatic lenses, the\ntheory, and possibly the first construction, of the telescope, are all\ndue to the superior and penetrating genius of Bacon.\n\nAn adequate notion of his schemes in mechanical science may be gathered\nfrom one of his own letters--_Epistola Fratris Rogerii Baconis de\nSecretis Operibus Artis et Natur\u00e6 et de nullitate Magi\u00e6_, Hambourg,\n1618. Having undertaken to demonstrate that by the help of natural\nscience it is possible to actually perform the pretended prodigies\nof magic, he further assures us that machines may be constructed for\nnavigation without the aid of rowers, in such a manner that vessels\nwill be borne through the water with extraordinary velocity, under the\ndirection of a single man. \u201cIt is equally possible to construct cars\nwhich may be set in motion with marvellous rapidity, independently of\nhorses or other animals. Flying machines may also be made, the man\nseated in the centre, and by means of certain contrivances beating\nthe air with artificial wings.\u201d In the same way Bacon anticipated the\ninvention of the crane, diving apparatus, suspension bridges, &c. These\nthings, he declares, were known to the ancients, and may still be\nrecovered.\n\n\u201cShould we be surprised,\u201d demands one of his biographers, \u201cif all\nthese prodigies obtained for him the name of magician in an age of\nsuperstition and ignorance? the friars of his own order refused to\nlet his works into their library, as if he were a man who ought to be\nproscribed by society. His persecution increased till, in 1278, he\nwas imprisoned and forced to confess his repentance of his pains in\nthe arts and sciences. He was constrained to abandon the house of his\norder, and to form a retreat where he might work in quiet.\u201d\n\nThe reputation of Bacon as a magician spread over Western Europe. He\nwas supposed to be indebted for his wisdom to incessant communication\nwith demons. Wierus accuses him of go\u00ebtic magic, and erudite persons\naffirm that Antichrist will make use of his enchanted mirrors for\nthe performance of lying miracles. He really believed in judicial\nastrology and in the philosophical stone. \u201cBy neglecting the lights of\nexperience,\u201d he says, \u201calchemy can seldom produce gold of twenty-four\ncarats. Few persons have carried the science to so high a point. But\nwith the help of Aristotle\u2019s \u2018Secret of Secrets,\u2019 experimental science\nhas manufactured not only gold of twenty-four degrees, but of thirty,\nforty, and onward according to pleasure.\u201d\n\nThe application of alchemy to the extension of life was another subject\nof study with Roger Bacon. The grand secret, he assures us, does not\nonly ensure the welfare of the commonwealth and of the individual, but\nit may be used to prolong life, for that operation by which the most\ninferior metals is purged from the corrupt elements which they contain\ntill they are exalted into the purest gold and silver, is considered by\nevery adept to be eminently calculated to eliminate so completely the\ncorrupt particles of the human body, that the life of mortality may be\nextended to several centuries.\n\nA citation by Franciscus Picus from Bacon\u2019s \u201cBook of the Six Sciences\u201d\nrecounts how a man may become a prophet and predict the future by means\nof a mirror which Bacon calls _Almuchefi_, composed in accordance with\nthe laws of perspective under the influence of a benign constellation,\n_and after the body of the individual has been modified by alchemy_.\n\nOn the word of a man who enjoyed his full confidence, he tells us how\na celebrated Parisian savant, after cutting a serpent into fragments,\ntaking care to preserve intact the skin of its belly, subsequently let\nloose the animal, which began immediately to roll upon certain herbs,\nand their virtues speedily healed him. The experimenter examined these\nherbs, and found them of a remarkably green colour. On the authority\nof Artephius, he relates how a certain magician, named Tantalus, and\nwho was attached to the person of the King of India, had discovered\nby his proficiency in planetary lore, a method of preserving life\nover several centuries. He enlarges on the potency of theriac in the\nexcessive prolongation of life. He lauds the flesh of winged serpents\nas a specific against senility in mankind. By the hygiene of Artephius\nhe informs us that that adept lived over a thousand years. If Plato and\nAristotle failed to prolong their existence it is not surprising, for\nthey were ignorant even of the quadrature of the circle, which Bacon\ndeclares to have been well known at his time, and which is indefinitely\ninferior to the grand medical doctrine of Artephius.[I]\n\nThe chemical investigations of the great English Franciscan have\nproved valuable to the science which he loved. He studied carefully\nthe properties of saltpetre, and if he did not discover gunpowder, he\ncontributed to its perfection by teaching the purification of saltpetre\nby its dissolution in water and by crystallisation. He also called\nattention to the chemical r\u00f4le played by the air in combustion.[J]\n\nMany of Bacon\u2019s works still remain in manuscript, but his _Speculum\nAlchimi\u00e6_ was done into French by Girard de Tourmes, and published at\nLyons in duodecimo and octavo in 1557. _De Potestate Mirabili Artis et\nNatur\u00e6_, which is merely a chapter of the Epistle already cited, was\ntranslated by the same hand.\n\nIn another work, entitled _Radix Mundi_, the supreme secret of Hermetic\nphilosophy is said to be hidden in the four elements. This treatise,\nwhich quotes Paracelsus, is, however, an impudent forgery.\n\nThe \u201cMirror of Alchemy,\u201d like other works of the philosophers, appeals\nto Hermes as to a master-initiate, whose authority is not only\nsufficient but final. The natural principles of all metals are argent\nvive, that is, sophic mercury, and sulphur. The various proportions in\nwhich these principles are combined, together with their degrees of\npurity, constitute the sole difference between the best and the basest\nmetal.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[I] Nam quadraturam circuli se ignorasse confitetur, quod his diebus\nscitur veraciter.\n\n[J] Figuier, _L\u2019Alchimie et les Alchimistes_, p. 97.\n\n\n\n\nALAIN OF LISLE.\n\n\nAn alchemical treatise, entitled _Dicta de Lapide Philosophico_,\nappeared in octavo at Leyden during the year 1600. It was attributed\nto Alanus Insulensis, and was reprinted in the _Theatrum Chimicum_,\nArgentorati, 1662. It is denied that this work is the production of\nthat Alain de Lisle who was called the universal doctor, and who,\nafter a brilliant period passed in the University of Paris, retired to\na cloister as a lay brother, in order to be master of his time, and\nto devote himself entirely to philosophy. Migne\u2019s _Dictionnaire des\nSciences Occultes_ asserts that another Alanus flourished at the same\nperiod, but the existence of the alchemical volume is the sole ground\nfor this statement. It cannot be shown, on the other hand, that Alain\npractised the Hermetic Science, but he was the author of a \u201cCommentary\non the Prophecies of Merlin.\u201d He was made bishop of Auxerre, and died\nin 1278. The publishers of alchemical treatises were accustomed to\ntrade upon brilliant reputations of the past by attributing worthless\nworks to great authorities. The name of Alanus Insulensis appearing on\nthe title-page of the _Dicta de Lapide Philosophico_ may perhaps be\naccounted for in this manner.\n\nThe treatise itself is short and not of abnormal value. It represents\nthe Hermetic art as the gift of God, and counsels the neophyte to\nlove Him with all his heart and soul. It describes the mysteries of\nsublimation, and follows preceding authorities on the problem of the\n_prima materia_. Its generally indefinite and unprofitable character\nfrom any practical standpoint should make it an exceptional field for\nevery species of fanciful interpretation.\n\n\n\n\nRAYMOND LULLY.\n\n\nThe comparison of a brilliant but ephemeral reputation to \u201cthe comet\nof a season\u201d has been transferred from the region of poetry into that\nof proverb, and is certainly applicable to no figure in the history\nof literature or science more completely than to the subject of this\nmemoir. The name of Raymond Lully has indeed passed so completely\ninto oblivion that it awakes no recollections whatever except in\nthe minds of certain specialists in history and philosophy. Yet he\nexercised no small influence on his generation, while for a century\nafter his death all intellectual Europe was acquainted with his method\nfor the acquisition of the sciences and his voluminous literary and\nevangelistic labours. Raymond Lully united the saint and the man\nof science, the philosopher and the preacher, the apostle and the\nitinerant lecturer, the dialectician and the martyr; in his youth he\nwas a courtier and a man of pleasure; in mature age he was an ascetic\nwho had discovered the universal science through a special revelation\nfrom God; after his death he was denounced as a heretic, and then\nnarrowly escaped beatification as a saint. While his relics worked\nmiracles in Majorca, colleges were founded in various parts of Europe\nfor teaching the _Ars Lulliana_, which was to replace the scholastic\nmethod; but the miracles ceased, the universal science fell into\nneglect, and, as the last scene in this eventful history, Raymond Lully\nappears in popular legends as an adept in alchemy, whose age was\nprolonged through centuries by the discovery of the elixir of life.\n\nHaving succeeded in rescuing from oblivion and misrepresentation this\nsingular man, whose sanctity was as eminent as his attainments were\nunique, I shall here present the first true history of his life and\nworks to the reading public of England; the romantic narrative will be\nas interesting to the general student as to the occultist and the man\nof letters.\n\nThe father of Raymond Lully was a gentleman of Barcelona, who, having\nserved under the banner of John I., King of Arragon, at the conquest\nof the Balearic Isles from the Mohammedans, was gifted with lands in\nMajorca, and there settled. He was of an old and noble Catalonian\nfamily, and was wedded to a lady whose name is not known. Though\npossessed of considerable wealth, his happiness was marred by the\nsterility of his wife; but, addressing themselves to the goodness of\nGod, the lady was eventually delivered of a son, who was named, like\nhis father, Raymond Lully. He was born, according to S\u00e9gui, in 1229,\nbut according to Jean Marie de Vernon, and other authorities, in 1235,\nwhich, on the whole, is the more probable date. When the young Raymond\nhad attained the use of reason, his parents endeavoured to imbue\nhim with love for the liberal arts, but his mercurial and impetuous\ndisposition was unsuited to serious study, and he was permitted to\nfollow his father\u2019s profession of arms. He was made page to the King,\nwith whom he acquired such high favour that he was installed as Grand\nPrev\u00f4t, or Master of the Palace, and subsequently as Seneschal of the\nIsles; but he employed the advantages of these distinguished positions\nin the dissipations of a youth without curb or restraint. The flower of\nhis manhood was wasted in the gaieties of court life, in winning the\nfavours of ladies, and in composing amorous verses in their honour. He\nspared no pains to make himself pleasing to those who were beautiful,\nand his excesses were so glaring that his parents, and King James II.\nhimself, were forced to make great complaints to him. As a remedy for\nthe irregularities of his life, it was proposed that he should marry,\nand a wife at once beautiful, virtuous, and wealthy was selected by\nhis advisers and friends. She was named Catherine de Sabots. Though he\nbecame much attached to this lady, the bond of marriage did not prove\nstrong enough to confine his errant inclinations, and there was one\nperson in particular for whom he conceived a great passion, though he\nwas already the father of two male children and of one girl. This was\nthe Signora Ambrosia Eleonora de Castello de G\u00eanes, whose virtue was\nsuperior to her personal attractions, though she eclipsed in loveliness\nall the beauties of the Court. She was married to a man whom she loved,\nbut such was the infatuation of Raymond Lully that he paid her the\nmost marked attentions, and on one occasion, lost to all around him\nexcept the object of his admiration, he is said to have followed her on\nhorseback into the church of Palma, a town in Majorca, where she had\ngone one morning to mass. So outrageous an act could not fail to cause\ngreat scandal, more particularly on account of the high rank of both\nparties concerned. The lady, thus suddenly raised to such undesirable\nnotoriety, took counsel with her husband as to the course which she\nshould pursue to put an end to the persecutions of her admirer. In the\nmeantime, Raymond Lully, conscious no doubt that he had exceeded all\nbounds of moderation, wrote an incoherent apology, accompanied with\na sonnet, in which he particularly described the beauty of her neck.\nTo this the lady replied by a letter, written in the presence of her\nhusband, and which is here copied _verbatim_ from the old French writer\nwho relates this portion of the story.\n\n LETTER from the SIGNORA DI CASTELLO DE G\u00caNES to\n RAYMOND LULLY, which is a civil reply to a lover to\n dissuade him from profaning love.\n\n \u201cSIR,--The sonnet which you have sent me is evidence of the\n superiority of your genius and the imperfection, or, rather, the\n perversity of your judgment. With what vivacity would you depict true\n beauty since by your verses you even embellish ugliness! But how can\n you employ such exalted talents in the laudation of a little clay\n briefly tinged with vermilion? Your industry should be employed in\n eradicating and not in publishing your passion.\n\n \u201c\u2019Tis not that you are unworthy of the affection of the noblest woman\n in the world, but you become unworthy of it by devoting yourself to\n the service of one who is the least of all. Is it possible that an\n intelligence created for God alone, and illuminated as it is, can be\n so blind on this point?\n\n \u201cAbandon then a passion which deprives you of your native nobility. Do\n not tarnish your reputation by the pursuit of an object which you can\n never possess. I could terribly disillusion you by showing you that\n what you so much admire should rather be held in aversion. Yet rest\n well assured that I love you all the more truly because I appear to\n have no regard for you.\u201d\n\nThis letter served only to feed the flame in the breast of Raymond\nLully, till, other means having failed, the lady, still acting under\nthe advice of her husband, called her lover into her presence, and\nexposed to him her breast which was almost eaten away by a cancer,\nwhence an offensive odour issued.\n\n\u201cLook on what thou lovest, Raymond Lully,\u201d she cried, with tears in her\neyes, \u201cConsider the condition of this wretched body in which thy spirit\ncentres all its hopes and pleasures, and then repent of thy useless\nattempts; mourn for the time which thou hast wasted in persecuting a\nbeing whom thou didst fondly deem perfect, but who has so dreadful\na blemish! Change this useless and criminal passion into holy love,\ndirect thine affections to the Creator, not to the creature, and in the\nacquisition of eternal bliss take now the same pains which thou hast\nhitherto vainly spent to engage me in thy foolish passion!\u201d\n\nThe sight had already melted the heart of Raymond Lully and restored\nhim to reason. After expressing to the noble-hearted lady how deeply\nhe felt for her misfortune, he withdrew from the house, ashamed of\nthe passion he had conceived, and reaching home, overwhelmed with\nconfusion, he cast himself at the feet of a crucifix, and vowed to\nconsecrate himself henceforth to the service of God alone. He passed\na more than usually tranquil night, being filled with this zealous\nresolution, and the vision of Christ is said to have appeared to him,\nsaying, \u201cRaymond Lully, from henceforth do thou follow me!\u201d This vision\nwas repeated several times, and he judged it to be an indication\nof the Divine Will. Raymond was at this period about thirty years\nold; he filled one of the most noble situations at court, and might\nhave aspired to any honour for himself or his family. He resolved,\nnevertheless, to renounce the world, and soon arranged his affairs,\ndividing so much of his estate among his family as would enable\nthem to live honourably, retaining a small portion for his personal\nnecessities, and distributing the rest among the poor. His plans in the\nmatter were so punctually fulfilled, that he was accused of plunging\nfrom one folly to another.\n\nAt this period he is said to have made a pilgrimage to St John in\nGalicia, and a retreat thereat. He returned in due course to Majorca,\nand took the habit of religion, but did not, however, embrace the\nreligious life. He retired to a small dwelling on the mountain of\nRanda, a possession which had not been included in the general sale of\nhis estate. Here he fell ill, and was consoled by two visions of the\nSaviour.\n\nAfter his change of life, the first boon which he asked of God was\nso to illuminate his mind that he might compose a book capable of\ncompletely annihilating the errors of Mahomet, and of forcing the\ninfidels, by good and solid reasoning, to embrace the faith of Jesus\nChrist. In answer to this prayer, he was conscious, it is asserted, of\na perfect spiritual illumination, and became instantaneously capable\nof reasoning powerfully on all subjects, so that he passed henceforth\nfor a great and subtle doctor both in human and divine sciences. A\nmore sober account informs us that \u201che prepared himself to labour\nfor the conversion of the Mahometans, by studying their books in the\nArabic language,\u201d and that his preparation continued for the space\nof six years. According to another authority, this missionary zeal\ndid not date from an earlier period than 1268--three years after his\nreformation--when in another of his visions he beheld upon the leaves\nof a myrtle or a mastic tree, certain marks which resembled Turkish\nor Arabic characters. On awaking, he regarded himself as called to a\nmission among the heathen.\n\nConvinced, says one of his biographers, that the Spirit of God had not\ninspired him with the Celestial Science to let it rest idle, and that\nhe would be betraying his vocation if his light were hidden under a\nbushel, he resolved to journey to Paris and there publish the eternal\ntruths which had been revealed to him. Others have supposed that in\nundertaking this journey he was simply seeking instruction in the Latin\ntongue at one of the centres of learning. Several of his treatises on\nPhilosophy, Theology, Medicine, and Astronomy are, however, referred\nto this period, as well as some works on alchemy, but this point will\nreceive adequate consideration hereafter.\n\nStill imbued with his evangelistic and missionary zeal, he engaged a\nyoung Arab as his valet, that he might perfect himself in colloquial\nArabic; but he, discovering that his master intended to demolish the\ndivine principles of the Koran, and preach against the holy law of\nMahomet, piously resolved to assassinate him, and one day plunged a\ndagger into his breast. He sought to repeat the blow, but Raymond\nLully, wounded and bleeding as he was, contrived to disarm him, perhaps\nwith the assistance of a holy and opportune anchorite, who is advanced\nat this critical moment by one of the biographers. The young Arab was\nimprisoned with the reluctant consent of his over magnanimous master,\nwho does not appear to have proceeded further against him; but the\nunhappy Mohammedan enthusiast was so overwhelmed with vexation at the\nfailure of his heroic design to destroy, at all costs, the implacable\nfoe of the prophet, that he strangled himself in his dungeon in a\nparoxysm of impotent fury.\n\nIt was after this episode, and after the recovery of Raymond Lully\nfrom the violence of his valet, that, according to another historian,\nhe retired to Mount Randa, and that then, and then only, he received\nfrom the Father of Lights that new illumination with which others have\naccredited him at a much earlier period. This was probably a second\nvisit paid to his Balearic solitude; he tarried there seven months,\n\u201calways absorbed in prayer, and conversing, as it seemed to him,\ncontinually with angels, whose consolations he received--consolations,\u201d\nsays the pious writer, \u201cwhich the soul can indeed realise, but which\nthe lips cannot worthily describe.\u201d\n\nHaving left his retreat, he determined to travel to Rome, to exhort\nhis Holiness to establish in Europe several monasteries, where monks\nshould be occupied in acquiring and teaching languages, in order to\nspread everywhere the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to labour for the\nconversion of the infidels. But Honorius IV., from whose piety he\nhad everything to hope, died as soon as Lully reached Rome, and he\ntherefore returned to Paris, where he explained publicly his General\nor Universal Art for the acquisition of all sciences. From Paris he\nwent to Mont Pelin, where he also taught and wrote; thence to Genoa,\nwhere he translated his _Art Inventif_ into Arabic. From Genoa he\nagain proceeded to Rome, but seeing that it was impossible to attain\nhis ends on account of the obstacles which presented themselves in the\nSacred Court, he returned to Genoa, intending to start for Africa, and\npersonally labour in the conversion of the infidels. He made terms\nwith the owner of a vessel, shipped his books on board, with the other\nnecessities of his journey, but, when he was himself on the point\nof embarking, a vision of all the dangers he was about to encounter\nso worked upon his mind, that he was deprived even of the power of\nwalking, and was obliged to renounce his intention. His effects were\nconsequently returned to him, and with these he re-entered Genoa in\nthe midst of a crowd of vagabonds, who derided his weakness. Whether\nconsequent on this raillery, or through shame at his cowardice, he\nbecame dangerously ill.[K] On the Vigil of Pentecost, 1291, he was\ncarried to the Convent of Friars Preachers, and received the care which\nhis condition required. He received the last sacraments, and dictated\nhis last will and testament; nevertheless, he was destined to recover,\nand had scarcely regained his strength when, to repair his previous\nfault, he embarked upon the first vessel bound for Tunis. During the\nvoyage he composed his \u201cGeneral Tabulation of the Sciences.\u201d\n\nImmediately on his arrival at Tunis, he held conferences with those who\nwere most erudite in the law of Mahomet. He proved, at least to his own\nsatisfaction, that they were in error and darkness, and that truth was\non the side of Jesus Christ. He was accused before the King of Tunis\nof seducing the people, was arrested, cast into prison, and ultimately\ncondemned to death. But a learned Arabian priest, overcome by his\narguments, obtained his pardon on condition of his instant departure.\nHe left the town amidst the insults and opprobrium of the populace,\nprohibited to return, on pain of certain death.\n\nIn 1293 he arrived at Genoa from this disastrous mission, and he\nappears to have proceeded immediately to Naples, where he remained till\nthe pontificate of Celestin V., teaching publicly his _Ars Magna_ and\n_Arbor Scientiarum_. In December 1294, he repaired to Rome to persuade\nthe Pope to send missionaries to the infidels, and he appears to\nhave obtained the establishment of several colleges for the study of\noriental languages. Moreover, the University of Paris, by an authentic\nact, adopted and recommended the use of his short method of acquiring\nknowledge, and some of his more important philosophical doctrines.\nStill, his missionary efforts were not generally successful, and he\nagain wandered from place to place, confuting heretics. He travelled\nto Montpellier, where he was received with distinction by Raymond\nGauffredy, General of the Order of St Francis. He obtained letters of\nassociation, as a benefactor to the order, the superiors of which were\nput under his direction, and he taught his method in their houses. He\npreached in Cyprus against the Nestorians and Georgians, striving to\nbring them back to the bosom of the Church. He addressed himself for\nassistance in his manifold enterprises to the Kings of France, Sicily,\nMajorca, and Cyprus, but generally in vain.\n\nIn 1308 he returned to Paris, where he conversed with the celebrated\nJohannes Scotus, who is known as the subtle doctor. He had the\nsatisfaction to find that King Philip le Bel had directed the oriental\nlanguages to be taught in the University of Paris. This induced Raymond\nto proceed in the following year to Ferdinand IV., King of Castile,\nto engage him to unite with the King of France for the recovery of\nthe Holy Land, but this oft-repeated and invariably disastrous and\nfutile enterprise was fortunately not undertaken. He ventured again to\nAfrica, landed at Bona, that ancient Hippo which was the diocese of St\nAugustine, and despite the opposition of its Mohammedan inhabitants he\nsucceeded in converting seventy followers of the philosopher Averro\u00ebs.\nThence he travelled to Algiers and converted many, which brought down\non him the persecution of the authorities. A bridle was put into his\nmouth, as if he were a horse, and he was deprived by this means of the\nfree use of speech for the space of forty days; he was then publicly\nbeaten, and expelled from the kingdom. He had no other road open to\nhim but to return to Tunis, where sentence of death awaited him, but\nhe remained concealed, and shortly after proceeded to Bugia. There\nhe confounded the doctrines of the Mohammedan priests, successfully\navoiding innumerable deadly snares prepared by the people against him\nat the suggestion of their religious teachers. He was at length cast\ninto a miserable dungeon, where he might well have perished, but the\nsolicitations of certain Genoese merchants obtained him a better\nprison, in which he was confined for six months. Here the Mohammedan\ndoctors came to him in troops, to persuade him to embrace their law,\npromising him the most alluring recompences--slaves, palaces, wealth,\nbeautiful women, and the King\u2019s friendship. \u201cThe result,\u201d says one of\nLully\u2019s biographers, \u201cwas that they were almost persuaded to embrace\n_His_ law, Who alone could promise them eternal beatitude.\u201d\n\nThe gates of Raymond\u2019s prison were at length thrown open, and, as a\ndisturber of the public peace, he was enjoined to quit those parts at\nonce. The illustrious wanderer embarked in a Genoese vessel with his\nbooks and papers, but he was wrecked ten miles from the town of Pisa,\nescaping hardly with the loss of all his effects. At Pisa he fell\nsick, and was carefully attended by the Dominicans. On his recovery\nhe resumed his public teaching. The conversion of the Mohammedans and\nthe conquest of the Holy Land were still his chief ends, and he so\neloquently solicited the inhabitants of Pisa to institute an order of\nChristian Knights for the deliverance of Judea, that they sent him with\nletters to the Holy Father; he was entrusted by the inhabitants of\nGenoa with similar documents, and bore also the voluntary offer of the\nladies in that town to contribute towards such a pious and praiseworthy\npurpose a considerable sum of money. With these assurances he sought\nthe Pope at Avignon, presented his letters, and added the most powerful\nreasons of his own to persuade him to proclaim another crusade.\nNaturally, he obtained nothing from the Papal Court, and he retired to\nParis, sorrowful at his failure and at the coldness of the prelates of\nthe Church. He continued writing and teaching, and in October 1311,\nhearing that a general council would be held at Vienna, he considered\nthis a favourable opportunity and presented himself before it to demand\nthree things:--1. The establishment of several monasteries composed\nof learned and courageous men, who, willing to expose their lives in\nthe quarrel of Christ, would take pleasure in acquiring languages in\norder to publish the Gospel more effectually. 2. The reduction of all\nthe Military Orders in the Christian world into a single order, so that\nliving under one religious rule, and inspired with the same desires,\nthey might all do battle with the Saracens, and, suppressing all seeds\nof jealousy, all selfish interests, by a laudable emulation, with\ntrue Christian piety, seek to deliver the Holy Place from the hands\nof the miscreants. 3. The condemnation, by authority of the Pope and\nthe Council, of all the works of Averro\u00ebs used in Christian colleges\nand schools, because they were distinctly and directly opposed to\nthe doctrines of true religion. In order to throw more light on this\nlast point he composed a treatise entitled _De Natale Pueri_. He was\nagain unsuccessful, and returned to Paris without having accomplished\nanything. With unconquerable perseverance he again set himself more\ndiligently than ever to the composition of books in Latin, Spanish, and\nArabic, for the edification of the Faithful and the instruction of the\nSaracens. He became indeed one of the most voluminous authors in the\nworld, and when weary of the repose of letters he returned to Majorca,\nfar advanced in years, he embarked, despite the peril, for Tunis,\nhoping to work secretly in the conversion of its inhabitants.\n\nAccording to another account, he publicly proclaimed his return,\ncrying, \u201cDo you not remember that I am the man whom your princes\nformerly hunted from this country and from Tunis in dread that I\nshould illuminate your souls with the truths of our holy religion,\ntowards which you already had some disposition? The single hope of your\nsalvation, and the resolution I have taken to suffer all the torments\nof the world for the love of my God, lead me back among you, to do with\nme as you please.\u201d\n\nIn either case his return was discovered; as one man the people rose\nin tumult against him, and having covered him with opprobrium and\natrocious injuries, they chased him with stones from the town to the\nport, where he fell miserably overwhelmed.\n\nAccording to numerous biographers, certain merchants, either of\nMajorca or Genoa, passing Tunis, saw a great light, in the shape of\na pyramid, near to the port, on the night of this catastrophe. This\nlight seemed to issue from a heap of stones, and, curious to discover\nits cause, they put ashore in a boat, and thus came upon the precious\nbody of Raymond Lully, whom, in spite of his disfigured condition, they\nimmediately recognised.\n\nBut M. E. J. Del\u00e9cleuze, writing in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, gives\nus the same narrative unadorned by the veneer of the miraculous. \u201cThe\nnight fell, and the body of Raymond Lully remained on the sea-shore.\nDuring the whole of this terrible scene none of the converts, and still\nless the European Christians then sojourning in the town, had dared\nto defend the missionary, or even to intercede in his favour. Certain\nGenoese merchants, however, desiring to pay the last honours to his\ncorpse, came in a boat, under cover of the darkness, to bear it away.\nIn the accomplishment of this pious duty they perceived that Raymond\nLully was still breathing. They carried him in haste to their ship, and\nimmediately set sail for Majorca, in sight of which island that holy\nand learned man expired on the 29th of June 1315, at the age of eighty\nyears.\u201d[L]\n\nIt has already been stated that Raymond Lully was one of the most\nprolific writers of his own or of any age. The following list of his\nworks is given by Alfonso de Proaza in 1515, and is reproduced by A.\nPerroquet:--\n\n Names of Subjects. No. of Treatises.\n On the _Ars Veritatis Demonstrativus_, 60\n Grammar and Rhetoric, 7\n Logic, 22\n On the Understanding, 7\n On Memory, 4\n On Will, 8\n On Moral and Political Philosophy, 12\n On Law, 8\n Philosophy and Physics, 32\n Metaphysics, 26\n Mathematics, 19\n Medicine and Anatomy, 20\n Chemistry, 49\n Theology, 212\n ---\n Total number of treatises, 486\n\nThis list is accepted without suspicion or criticism by M. Del\u00e9cleuze,\nbut as Raymond Lully did not begin writing till 1270, and as he died\nin 1318 at latest, this calculation requires us to suppose that he\nproduced ten treatise every year without intermission for the space\nof eight and forty years, which would have been perfectly impossible\nfor the most cloistered, book-devoted student, and Raymond Lully was a\nman of indefatigable activity, as the facts of his itinerant existence\nabundantly reveal. A writer in the _Biographie Universelle_, Paris,\n1820, has the following pertinent remarks on this subject:--\u201cSome of\nhis biographers have extended the number of his treatises to several\nthousand.[M] The more moderate have reduced them from five hundred to\nthree hundred, which lie scattered among the libraries of Majorca,\nRome, Barcelona, the Sorbonne, St Victor, and the Chatreux at Paris;\nbut scarcely two hundred can be found distinguished by their titles\nand the first words of the work; and this number must be still further\ndiminished as the difference between some of them is very slight, as\nchapters have been given for the titles of separate works, and as the\nexplanations of professors or disciples have often been mistaken by\nuncritical writers for the lessons of the master.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nNow, the great problem in the chequered life of the illuminated\ntheosophist and possessor of the universal science who died thus\nviolently at Tunis, or Bugia, in the cause of his Master, is\nthis--whether or not he is to be identified with that Raymond Lully\nwhom \u00c9liphas L\u00e9vi terms \u201ca grand and sublime adept of Hermetic\nscience,\u201d who is said to have made gold and Rose nobles for one\nEdward, King of England, and who left behind him, as monuments of his\nunparalleled alchemical proficiency, those world-famous treatises,\ntestaments, and codicils which, rightly or wrongly, are attributed,\nunder the title \u201cchemistry, 49 treatises,\u201d to the heroic martyr of\nMajorca. On this important point, the writer, already quoted, in the\n_Biblioth\u00e8que Universelle_, testifies that \u201cthe works on alchemy must\nbe referred to another Raymond, of Ferrago, a Jewish neophyte, who\nlived after 1315, and with whom Abraham Bzovius confounded the first\nin attributing to him some propositions condemned by Gregory XI.\u201d And\nagain:--\u201cThe works on alchemy attributed to him are too opposed to\nthe evangelical poverty of a man who had renounced everything in his\nzeal for the religion of Jesus Christ, and who protests in many places\nagainst the chimera of the philosopher\u2019s stone, sought in his time\nby Arnaud de Villeneuve, whose disciple he was supposed to be. The\ncircumstances and the dates even in several of these books--of which\nthat on natural wisdom is addressed to Edward III.--prove, moreover,\nthat they must be referred to a later epoch.\u201d\n\nThe problem is eminently difficult of solution, and must be considered\nat some length.\n\nRaymond Lully repaired to Vienna to be present at a general council of\nthe Church in the year 1311. While in this city it is alleged that he\nreceived letters from Edward, King of England, who had ascended the\nthrone in 1307, and from Robert, King of Scotland, who both invited\nhim with much persuasion to visit their realms. Hoping to encourage\nthese princes to assist him in his plans against the infidels, he soon\narrived in London in the company of John Cremer, Abbot of Westminster.\n\nThis ecclesiastic is said to have been one of the most celebrated\nHermetic artists of his age. He worked thirty years to attain the end\nof alchemy, but the obscurities of the Hermetic writers, which he\ncould not clear up, cast him into a labyrinth of errors. The more he\nread, the more he wondered; at last, tired of the loss of his money,\nand much more of his precious time, he set out to travel, and had the\ngood fortune to meet with Raymond Lully in Italy. With him he formed\na strict friendship, remaining some time in his company, edified by\nhis penitent life, and illuminated by his philosophical conversations.\nThe adept, though he spoke upon alchemy, would not, however, entirely\ndiscover the essential points of the operation. Cremer was insinuating\nand affectionate; he perceived that Lully\u2019s zeal for the conversion\nof the infidels extended to the false enthusiasm of exciting open war\nagainst the Mohammedans, and easily persuaded him to visit England, in\nthe hope of King Edward\u2019s assistance. The adept lodged with his friend\nin the Abbey of Westminster, where he worked, and perfected the stone\nwhich Cremer had so long unsuccessfully sought. He was duly presented\nto the King, who, previously informed of the talents of the illustrious\nstranger, received him with regard and attention.\n\nWhen he \u201ccommunicated his treasures,\u201d the single condition which he\nmade was that they should not be expended in the luxuries of a court or\nin war with a Christian prince, but that the King should go in person\nwith an army against the infidels.\n\nEdward, under pretence of doing honour to Raymond, gave him an\napartment in the Tower of London, where the adept repeated his process.\nHe transmuted base metal into gold, which was coined at the mint into\nsix millions of nobles, each worth three pounds sterling at the present\nday. These coins are well known to antiquarians by the name of Rose\nNobles. They prove in the assay of the test to be a purer gold than the\nJacobus, or any other gold coin made in those times. Lully in his last\ntestament declares that in a short time, while in London, he converted\ntwenty-two tons weight of quicksilver, lead, and tin into the precious\nmetal.\n\nHis lodging in the Tower proved only an honourable prison, and when\nRaymond had satisfied the desires of the King, the latter disregarded\nthe object which the adept was so eager to see executed, and to regain\nhis own liberty Lully was obliged to escape surreptitiously, when he\nquickly departed from England.\n\nCremer, whose intentions were sincere, was not less grieved than\nRaymond at this issue of the event, but he was subject to his\nsovereign, and could only groan in silence. He declares his extreme\naffliction in his testament, and his monastery daily offered up prayers\nto God for the success of Raymond\u2019s cause. The Abbot lived long after\nthis, and saw part of the reign of King Edward III. The course of\noperations which he proposes in his testament, with apparent sincerity,\nis not less veiled than are those in the most obscure authors.[N]\n\nNow, in the first place, this story is not in harmony with itself. If\nRaymond Lully were at Vienna in 1311, how did John Cremer contrive\nto meet him in Italy at or about the same time? In the second place,\nthe whole story concerning the manufacture of Rose Nobles is a series\nof blunders. The King who ascended the throne of England in 1307\nwas Edward II., and the Rose Nobles first appear in the history of\nnumismatics during the reign of Edward IV., and in the year 1465.\n\n\u201cIn the King\u2019s fifth year, by another indenture with Lord Hastings,\nthe gold coins were again altered, and it was ordered that forty-five\nnobles only, instead of fifty, as in the last two reigns, should be\nmade of a pound of gold. This brought back the weight of the noble to\none hundred and fifty grains, as it had been from 1351 to 1412, but its\nvalue was raised to 10s. At the same time, new coins impressed with\nangels were ordered to be made, sixty-seven and a half to be struck\nfrom one pound of gold, and each to be of the value of 6s. 8d.--that is\nto say, the new angel which weighed eighty grains was to be of the same\nvalue as the noble had been which weighed one hundred and eight grains.\n_The new nobles to distinguish them from the old ones were called Rose\nNobles_, from the rose which is stamped on both sides of them, or\nryals, or royals, a name borrowed from the French, who had given it to\na coin which bore the figure of the King in his royal robes, which the\nEnglish ryals did not. Notwithstanding its inappropriateness, however,\nthe name of royal was given to these 10s. pieces, not only by the\npeople, but also in several statutes of the realm.\u201d[O]\n\nIn the third place, the testament ascribed to John Cremer, Abbot of\nWestminster, and to which we are indebted for the chief account of\nLully\u2019s visit to England, is altogether spurious. No person bearing\nthat name ever filled the position of Abbot at any period of the\nhistory of the Abbey.\n\nThe only coinage of nobles which has been attributed to alchemy was\nthat made by Edward III. in 1344. The gold used in this coinage is\nsupposed to have been manufactured in the Tower; the adept in question\nwas not Raymond Lully, but the English Ripley.\n\nWhether the saint of Majorca was proficient in the Hermetic art or not,\nit is quite certain that he did not visit the British Isles. It is also\ncertain that in the _Ars Magna Sciendi_, part 9, chapter on Elements,\nhe states that one species of metal cannot be changed into another, and\nthat the gold of alchemy has only the semblance of that metal; that is,\nit is simply a sophistication.\n\nAs all the treatises ascribed to Raymond Lully cannot possibly be his,\nand as his errant and turbulent life could have afforded him few\nopportunities for the long course of experiments which are generally\ninvolved in the search for the _magnum opus_, it is reasonable to\nsuppose that his alchemical writings are spurious, or that two authors,\nbearing the same name, have been ignorantly confused. With regard to\n\u201cthe Jewish neophyte,\u201d referred to by the _Biographie Universelle_,\nno particulars of his life are forthcoming. The whole question is\nnecessarily involved in uncertainty, but it is a point of no small\nimportance to have established for the first time the fabulous nature\nof the Cremer Testament. This production was first published by Michael\nMaier, in his _Tripus Aureus_, about the year 1614. The two treatises\nwhich accompany it appear to be genuine relics of Hermetic antiquity.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe \u201cClavicula, or Little Key\u201d of Raymond Lully is generally considered\nto contain the arch secrets of alchemical adeptship; it elucidates the\nother treatises of its author, and undertakes to declare the whole art\nwithout any fiction. The transmutation of metals depends upon their\nprevious reduction into volatile sophic argent vive, and the only\nmetals worth reducing, for the attainment of this _prima materia_, are\nsilver and gold. This argent vive is said to be dryer, hotter, and more\ndigested than the common substance, but its extraction is enveloped in\nmystery and symbolism, and the recipes are impossible to follow for\nwant of the materials so evasively and deceptively described. At the\nsame time, it is clear that the operations are physical, and that the\nmaterials and objects are also physical, which points are sufficient\nfor our purpose, and may be easily verified by research.\n\nMoreover, the alchemist who calls himself Raymond Lully was acquainted\nwith nitric acid and with its uses as a dissolvent of metals. He could\nform _aqua regia_ by adding sal ammoniac, or common salt, to nitric\nacid, and he was aware of its property of dissolving gold. Spirit of\nwine was well known to him, says Gruelin; he strengthened it with dry\ncarbonate of potash, and prepared vegetable tinctures by its means.\nHe mentions alum from Rocca, marcasite, white and red mercurial\nprecipitate. He knew the volatile alkali and its coagulations by\nmeans of alcohol. He was acquainted with cupellated silver, and first\nobtained rosemary oil by distilling the plant with water.[P]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[K] This illness is referred to by another writer, with details of a\nmiraculous kind. \u201cAbout 1275 (the chronology of all the biographers is\na chaos of confusion) he fell ill a second time, and was reduced to\nsuch an extremity that he could take neither rest nor nourishment. On\nthe feast of the Conversion of St Paul, the crucified Saviour again\nappeared to him, glorified, and surrounded by a most exquisite odour,\nwhich surpassed musk, amber, and all other scents. In remembrance of\nthis miracle, on the same day, in the same bed and place where he lived\nand slept, the same supernal odour is diffused.\u201d\n\n[L] The following variation is also related:--\u201cFinding him still alive\nwhen they bore him to the ship, the merchants put back towards Genoa\nto get help, but they were carried miraculously to Majorca, where the\nmartyr expired in sight of his native island. The merchants resolved to\nsay nothing of their precious burden, which they embalmed and preserved\nreligiously, being determined to transport it to Genoa. Three times\nthey put to sea with a wind that seemed favourable, but as often they\nwere forced to return into port, which proved plainly the will of God,\nand obliged them to make known the martyrdom of the man whom they\nrevered, who was stoned for the glory of God in the town of Bugia (?)\nin the year of grace 1318.\u201d From this account it will be seen that\nthe place of Lully\u2019s violent death, as well as the date on which it\noccurred, are both involved in doubt. He was born under the pontificate\nof Honorius IV., and died, according to Genebrand, about 1304; but\nthe author of the preface to the meditations of the Hermit Blaquerne\npositively fixes his decease on the feast of the martyrdom of SS. Peter\nand Paul, June 29, 1315, and declares that he was eighty-six years old.\n\n[M] _E.g._, Jean-Marie de Vernon, who extends the lists to about three\nthousand, and, following the P\u00e8re Pacifique de Provence, prolongs his\nlife by the discovery of the universal medicine.\n\n[N] \u201cLives of Alchemystical Philosophers,\u201d ed. 1815.\n\n[O] Kenyon, \u201cGold Coins of England,\u201d pp. 57, 58.\n\n[P] Gruelin, _Geschichte der Chemie_, i. 74.\n\n\n\n\nARNOLD DE VILLANOVA.\n\n\nThe date and the birthplace of this celebrated adept are alike\nuncertain. Catalonia, Milan, and Montpellier have been severally named\nfor the locality, and 1245 is, on the whole, the probable period.\n\nArnold studied medicine at Paris for twenty years, after which for ten\nmore he perambulated Italy, visiting the different universities. He\nsubsequently penetrated into Spain, but hearing that Peter d\u2019Apono, his\nfriend, was in the hands of the Inquisition, he prudently withdrew,\nand abode under the patronage of Frederick, King of Naples and Sicily,\nwriting his tracts on medicine and his \u201cComment on the School of\nSalerno.\u201d He is said to have perished in a storm during the year 1314,\nbut a circular letter written by Pope Clement V. in 1311 conjures\nthose living under his authority to discover, if possible, and send to\nhim, the \u201cTreatise on Medicine,\u201d written by Arnold, his physician, who\npromised it to the Holy Father, but died before he could present it. In\nthis case the date of his decease may be more accurately fixed at 1310.\n\nArnold was, according to the custom of the period, charged with\nmagical practices. Fran\u00e7ois Pegna declares that all his erudition in\nalchemy was derived from the demon. Mariana accuses him of attempting\nto create a man by means of certain drugs deposited in a pumpkin. But\nhe is justified by Delrio from these imputations, and the orthodox\n_Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes_ considers that Clement V. would\nnot have chosen an initiate of magical arts as his physician. In 1317\nthe Inquisition of Tarragona condemned his books to be burned, but\nthis was for the heretical sentiments which they contained. He wrote\nstrictures on the monastic state and the service of religion, and\nmaintained that works of divine faith and charity were more agreeable\nto God than the Sacrifice of the Mass.\n\nHis skill in Hermetic philosophy has been generally recognised.\nHis contemporary, the celebrated Jurisconsult, John Andre, says of\nhim:--\u201cIn this time appeared Arnold de Villeneuve, a great theologian,\na skilful physician, and wise alchymist, who made gold, which he\nsubmitted to all proofs.\u201d Arnold has also the character of writing with\nmore light and clearness than the other philosophers. His alchemical\nworks were published in 1509, in one folio volume. His _Libellus de\nSomniorum Interpretatione et Somnia Danielis_ is excessively rare in\nits original quarto edition. Several alchemical and magical works\nare gratuitously ascribed to him. Among these must be classed the\nbook called _De Physicis Ligaturis_, supposed to be translated from\nthe Arabic--_De Sigillis duodecim Signorum_, which is concerned with\nthe zodiacal signs--and the book of the \u201cThree Impostors,\u201d which the\n_Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes_ denominates \u201cstupid and infamous.\u201d\n\nThe _Thesaurus Thesaurorum_ and the _Rosarium Philosophorum_, the\n_Speculum Alchemi\u00e6_ and the _Perfectum Magisterium_, are the most\nnotable of all his alchemical treatises. To these the student should\nadd his _Scientia Scienti\u00e6_ and brief _Testamentum_. The editions\nare various, but the tracts will be found in collected form in the\n_Bibliotheca Chemic\u00e6 Curiosa_ of J. J. Mangetus.\n\nArnold asserts that argent vive is the medicine of all the metals, that\nvulgar sulphur is the cause of all their imperfections, that the stone\nof the philosophers is one, and that it is to be extracted from that in\nwhich it exists. It exists in all bodies, including common argent vive.\nThe first physical work is the dissolution of the stone in its own\nmercury to reduce it to its _prima materia_. All the operations of the\n_magnum opus_ are successively described, including the composition of\nthe white and the red elixirs, and the multiplication of the metallic\nmedicine.\n\nThe marcasite frequently mentioned by Arnold is thought to be identical\nwith bismuth. He was acquainted with the preparation of oil of\nturpentine, oil of rosemary, and performed distillations in a glazed\nearthen vessel with a glass top and helm.\n\n\n\n\nJEAN DE MEUNG.\n\n\nPoet, alchemist, and astrologer, a man of some fortune, and issued\nfrom an ancient family, Jean de Meung was one of the chief figures\nat the Court of King Philippe le Bel. He was born, according to the\nlatest authorities, about the middle of the thirteenth century, and\nhis continuation of the _Roman de la Rose_, which Guillaume de Lorris\nhad begun some time before the year 1260, was undertaken not in his\nnineteenth year, as generally stated, but about or a little before the\nage of thirty, and at the instance of the French King.\n\nThe Romance of the Rose, \u201cthat epic of ancient France,\u201d as \u00c9liphas\nL\u00e9vi calls it, has been generally considered by alchemists a poetic\nand allegorical presentation of the secrets of the _magnum opus_.\nIt professes, at any rate, the principles of Hermetic Philosophy,\nand Jean de Meung was also the author of \u201cNature\u2019s Remonstrances\nto the Alchemist\u201d and \u201cThe Alchemist\u2019s Answer to Nature.\u201d Hermetic\ncommentaries have been written upon the romance-poem, and tradition\nhas ascribed to the author the accomplishment of great transmutations.\nThe sermon of Genius, chaplain and confessor to Dame Nature, in the\nRomance, is an exhibition of the principles of chemistry, as well as\na satire on the bombastic and unintelligible preaching which was in\nvogue at that period. From verse 16,914 to verse 16,997 there is much\nchemical information.\n\nThe year 1216 is the probable period of the poet\u2019s death. The story\ntold of his testament has only a foundation in legend, but it is\nworth repeating as evidence of the general belief in his skill as an\nalchemist.\n\nHe chose by his will, says the story, to be buried in the Church of the\nJacobins, and, as an acknowledgment, left them a coffer that appeared,\nat least by its weight, to be filled with things precious, probably\nwith the best gold which could be manufactured by the skill of the\nHermetists. He ordered, however, that this coffer should not be opened\ntill after his funeral, when, touched with the piety of the deceased,\nthe monks assembled in great numbers to be present at its opening, and\nto offer up thanks to God. They found to their great disappointment\nthat the coffer was filled with large pieces of slates beautifully\nengraved with figures of geometry and arithmetic. The indignation of\nthe fathers was excited by the posthumous imposture, and they proposed\nto eject the body of Jean de Meung from their consecrated precincts;\nbut the Parliament being informed of this inhumanity, obliged the\nJacobins, by a decree, to leave the deceased undisturbed in the\nhonourable sepulchre of their conventual cloisters.\n\nIn \u201cNature\u2019s Remonstrance to the Alchemist,\u201d who is described as a\nfoolish and sophistical souffleur, making use of nothing but mechanical\narts, the complainant bitterly abuses the fanatical student who\ndiffuses over her beautiful domain the rank odours of sulphur, which\nhe tortures in vain over his furnaces, for by such a method he will\nassuredly attain nothing. The alchemist in his \u201cReply\u201d figures as a\nrepentant being, convinced of his errors, which he ascribes to the\nbarbarous allegories, parabolic sentences, and delusive precepts\ncontained in the writings of the adepts.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MONK FERARIUS.\n\n\nAbout the beginning of the fourteenth century, this Italian artist gave\nto the world two treatises--_De Lapide Philosophorum_ and _Thesaurus\nPhilosophi\u00e6_, which are printed in the _Theatrum Chimicum_.\n\nThe \u201cadmirable spectacle\u201d of the palingenesis of plants is described by\nthis Jesuit. \u201cImmediately consequent on exposing to the rays of the sun\nthe phial, filled with quintessence of the rose, there is discovered\nwithin the narrow compass of the vase a perfect world of miracles. The\nplant which lay buried in its ashes awakes, uprises, and unfolds. In\nthe space of half-an-hour the vegetable ph\u0153nix is resuscitated from\nits own dust. The rose issues from its sepulchre and assumes a new\nlife. It is the floral symbol of that resurrection by which mortals\nlying in darkness and in the shadow of death will pass into beautiful\nimmortality.\u201d\n\nThe treatise on the philosophical stone very pertinently remarks\nthat in alchemy the first thing to be ascertained is what is really\nsignified by the myrionimous _argentum vivum sapientum_, a point\non which the author gracefully declines information. Both works\nare exceedingly obscure and vexatious. The _Thesaurus Philosophi\u00e6_\ntestifies that the plain speaking of the philosophers is completely\nillusory, and that it is only in their incomprehensible profundities\nthat we must seek the light of Hermes.\n\nAlchemy is the science of the four elements, which are to be found\nin all created substances, but are not of the vulgar kind. The whole\npractice of the art is simply the conversion of these elements into\none another. The seed and matter of every metal is mercury, as it\nis decocted and otherwise prepared in the bowels of the earth, and\neach of them can be reduced into this _prima materia_, by the help\nof which they are also, one and all, susceptible of augmentation and\nmultiplication, even to infinity.\n\n\n\n\nPOPE JOHN XXII.\n\n\nThis pontiff is claimed as an adept by the alchemists, a fact which\nis denied, but not disproved, by his orthodox biographers. That he\nbelieved in the power of magic is shown by the accusation which he\ndirected against G\u00e9raud, Bishop of Cahors, whom he accredited with\nthe design of poisoning him, together with the entire college of\ncardinals, and with having in particular contrived sorceries and\ndiabolical enchantments against all of them. He was the contemporary\nof Raymond Lully and Arnold de Villanova, and is said to have been the\npupil and friend of the latter. Nevertheless, the mischief occasioned\nat that period by the impostures of pretended alchemists led him to\nissue a bull condemning the traders in this science as charlatans who\npromised what they were unable to perform. Hermetic writers assert\nthat this bull was not directed against veritable adepts, and his\ndevotion to his laboratory at Avignon seems a fairly established fact.\nFranciscus Pagi, in his _Breviarum de Gestis Romanorum Pontificum_,\nhas the following passage:--_Joannes scripsit quoque latino sermone\nartem metallorum transmutorium; quod opus prodiit Gallici incerto\ntranslatore Lugduni, anno 1557 in 8vo_. It is allowed that he was a\nwriter on medicine. His _Thesaurus Pauperum_, a collection of recipes,\nwas printed at Lyons in 1525, and he was the author of a treatise on\ndiseases of the eye, and of another on the formation of the f\u0153tus.\nHe was born at Cahors, according to the general opinion, of poor but\nreputable parents; he showed at an early period his skill in law and\nin the sciences. The circumstances of his life are exceedingly obscure\nuntil his consecration as Bishop of Fr\u00e9jus in 1300. Subsequently\nhe was promoted to the see of Avignon, and Clement V. created him\ncardinal-bishop of Porto. He was raised to the pontificate at Lyons,\nand reigned at Avignon till his death in 1334. He left behind him in\nhis coffers the sum of eighteen million florins in gold and seven\nmillions in jewels, besides valuable consecrated vessels. Alchemists\nattribute these vast treasures to his skill in their science, and\nassert in addition that he manufactured two hundred ingots, apparently\non a single occasion. By a calculation of one of his biographers, this\nquantity of the precious metal was equivalent to \u00a3660,000, British\nsterling. A treatise entitled \u201cThe Elixir of the Philosophers, or the\nTransmutatory Art of Metals,\u201d is attributed to him. It was translated\nfrom the Latin into French, and published in duodecimo at Lyons in\n1557. It is written _ad clerum_, and for this reason is probably the\nmore misleading. It represents the constituents of the perfect medicine\nto be vinegar, salt, urine, and sal ammoniac, with the addition of an\nundescribed substance called sulphur vive.\n\n\n\n\nNICHOLAS FLAMEL.\n\n\nThe name of this alchemical adept has been profoundly venerated not\nonly in the memory of the Hermetists but in the hearts of the French\npeople, among whom he is the central figure of many marvellous legends\nand traditions. \u201cWhilst in all ages and nations the majority of\nhierophants have derived little but deception, ruination, and despair\nas the result of their devotion to alchemy, Nicholas Flamel enjoyed\npermanent good fortune and serenity. Far from expending his resources\nin the practice of the _magnum opus_, he added with singular suddenness\na vast treasure to a moderate fortune. These he employed in charitable\nendowments and in pious foundations that long survived him and long\nsanctified his memory. He built churches and chapels which were adorned\nwith statues of himself, accompanied by symbolical characters and\nmysterious crosses, which subsequent adepts long strove to decipher,\nthat they might discover his secret history, and the kabbalistic\ndescription of the process by which he was conducted to the realisation\nof the Grand Magisterium.\u201d\n\nWhether Flamel was born at Paris or Pontoise is not more uncertain\nthan the precise date of his nativity. This occurred some time during\nthe reign of Philippe le Bel, the spoliator of the grand order of\nthe Temple, and, on the whole, the most probable year is 1330. His\nparents were poor, and left him little more than the humble house\nin Paris which he continued to possess till his death, and which he\neventually bequeathed to the Church. It stood in Notary Street, at the\ncorner of Marivaux Street, opposite the Marivaux door of the Church of\nSaint-Jacques-la-Boucherie.\n\nAuthorities disagree as to the amount of education that Flamel\nobtained in his youth, but it was sufficient to qualify him for\nthe business of a scrivener, which, in spite of his wealth and his\naccredited wisdom, he continued to follow through life. He was\nproficient in painting and poetry, and had a taste for architecture and\nthe mathematical sciences; yet he applied himself steadily to business,\nand contracted a prudent marriage, his choice falling on a widow, named\nPernelle, who, though handsome, was over forty years, but who brought a\nconsiderable dowry to her second husband.\n\nIn his capacity as a copyist before the age of printing, books of all\nclasses fell into the hands of Flamel, and among them were many of\nthose illuminated alchemical treatises which are reckoned among the\nrarest treasures of medi\u00e6val manuscripts. Acquainted with the Latin\nlanguage, he insensibly accumulated an exoteric knowledge of the aims\nand theories of the adepts. His interest and curiosity were awakened,\nand he began studying them in his leisure moments. Now tradition\ninforms us that, whether his application was great, his desire intense,\nor whether he was super-eminently fitted to be included by divine\nelection among the illuminated Sons of the Doctrine, or for whatever\nother reason, the mystical Bath-K\u00f4l appeared to him under the figure\nof an angel, bearing a remarkable book bound in well-wrought copper,\nthe leaves of thin bark, graven right carefully with a pen of iron. An\ninscription in characters of gold contained a dedication addressed to\nthe Jewish nation by Abraham the Jew, prince, priest, astrologer, and\nphilosopher.\n\n\u201cFlamel,\u201d cried the radiant apparition, \u201cbehold this book of which thou\nunderstandest nothing; to many others but thyself it would remain for\never unintelligible, but one day thou shalt discern in its pages what\nnone but thyself will see!\u201d\n\nAt these words Flamel eagerly stretched out his hands to take\npossession of the priceless gift, but book and angel disappeared in an\nauriferous tide of light. The scrivener awoke to be ravished henceforth\nby the divine dream of alchemy; but so long a time passed without any\nfulfilment of the angelic promise, that the ardour of his imagination\ncooled, the great hope dwindled gradually away, and he was settling\nonce more into the commonplace existence of a plodding scribe, when,\non a certain day of election in the year 1357, an event occurred which\nbore evidence of the veracity of his visionary promise-maker, and\nexalted his ambition and aspirations to a furnace heat. This event,\nwith the consequences it entailed, are narrated in the last testament\nof Nicholas Flamel, which begins in the following impressive manner,\nbut omits all reference to the legendary vision:--\n\n\u201cThe Lord God of my life, who exalts the humble in spirit out of the\nmost abject dust, and makes the hearts of such as hope in Him to\nrejoice, be eternally praised.\n\n\u201cWho, of His own grace, reveals to the believing souls the springs of\nHis bounty, and subjugates beneath their feet the crowns of all earthly\nfelicities and glories.\n\n\u201cIn Him let us always put our confidence, in His fear let us place our\nhappiness, and in His mercy the hope and glory of restoration from our\nfallen state.\n\n\u201cAnd in our supplications to Him let us demonstrate or show forth a\nfaith unfeigned and stable, an assurance that shall not for ever be\nshaken.\n\n\u201cAnd Thou, O Lord God Almighty, as Thou, out of Thy infinite and most\ndesirable goodness, hast condescended to open the earth and unlock Thy\ntreasures unto me, Thy poor and unworthy servant, and hast given into\nmy possession the fountains and well-springs of all the treasures and\nriches of this world.\n\n\u201cSo, O Lord God, out of Thine abundant kindness, extend Thy mercies\nunto me, that when I shall cease to be any longer in the land of the\nliving, Thou mayst open unto me the celestial riches, the divine\ntreasures, and give me a part or portion in the heavenly inheritance\nfor ever.\n\n\u201cWhere I may behold Thy divine glory and the fulness of Thy Heavenly\nMajesty, a pleasure, so ineffable, and a joy, so ravishing, which no\nmortal can express or conceive.\n\n\u201cThis I entreat of Thee, O Lord, for our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy\nwell-beloved Son\u2019s sake, who in the unity of the Holy Spirit liveth\nwith Thee, world without end. Amen.\n\n\u201cI, _Nicholas Flamel_, Scrivener, living at _Paris_, anno 1399, in the\n_Notary Street_, near _St James_, of the _Bouchery_, though I learned\nnot much Latin, because of the poorness and meanness of my parents, who\nwere notwithstanding (by them that envy me most) accounted honest and\ngood people.\n\n\u201cYet, by the blessing of God, I have not wanted an understanding of the\nbooks of the philosophers, but learned them and attained to a certain\nkind of knowledge, even of their hidden secrets.\n\n\u201cFor which cause sake there shall not any moment of my life pass,\nwherein remembering this so vast a good, I will not on my bare knees,\nif the place will permit of it, or otherwise in my heart, with all the\nentireness of my affections, render thanks to this my most good and\nprecious God.\n\n\u201cWho never forsakes the righteous generation, or suffers the children\nof the just to beg their bread, nor deceives their expectations, but\nsupports them with blessings who put their trust in Him.\n\n\u201cAfter the death of my parents, I, _Nicholas Flamel_, got my living by\nthe art of writing, engrossing inventories, making up accounts, keeping\nof books, and the like.\n\n\u201cIn this course of living there fell by chance into my hands a gilded\nbook, very old and large, which cost me only two _florins_.\n\n\u201cIt was not made of paper or parchment, as other books are, but of\nadmirable rinds (as it seemed to me) of young trees. The cover of it\nwas of _brass_; it was well bound, and graven all over with a strange\nkind of letters, which I take to be Greek characters, or some such like.\n\n\u201cThis I know that I could not read them, nor were they either Latin or\nFrench letters, of which I understand something.\n\n\u201cBut as to the matter which was written within, it was engraven (as\nI suppose) with an iron pencil or graver upon the said bark leaves,\ndone admirably well, and in fair and neat Latin letters, and curiously\ncoloured.\n\n\u201cIt contained thrice seven leaves, for so they were numbered in the top\nof each folio, and every seventh leaf was without any writing, but in\nplace thereof there were several images or figures painted.\n\n\u201cUpon the first seventh leaf was depicted--1. A Virgin. 2. Serpents\nswallowing her up. On the second seventh, a serpent crucified; and on\nthe last seventh, a desert or wilderness, in midst whereof were seen\nmany fair fountains, whence issued out a number of serpents here and\nthere.\n\n\u201cUpon the first of the leaves was written in capital letters of gold,\nAbraham the Jew, Priest, Prince, Levite, Astrologer, and Philosopher,\nto the nation of the Jews dispersed by the wrath of God in France,\nwisheth health.\n\n\u201cAfter which words, it was filled with many execrations and curses,\nwith this word MARANATHA, which was oft repeated against any one that\nshould look in to unfold it, except he were either Priest or Scribe.\n\n\u201cThe person that sold me this book was ignorant of its worth as well\nas I who bought it. I judge it might have been stolen from some of the\nJewish nation, or else found in some place where they anciently abode.\n\n\u201cIn the second leaf of the book he consoled his nation, and gave them\npious counsel to turn from their wickedness and evil ways, but above\nall to flee from idolatry, and to wait in patience for the coming of\nthe Messiah, who, conquering all the kings and potentates of the earth,\nshould reign in glory with his people to eternity. Without doubt, this\nwas a very pious, wise, and understanding man.\n\n\u201cIn the third leaf, and in all the writings that followed, he taught\nthem, in plain words, the transmutation of metals, to the end that he\nmight help and assist his dispersed people to pay their tribute to the\nRoman Emperors, and some other things not needful here to be repeated.\n\n\u201cHe painted the vessels by the side or margin of the leaves, and\ndiscovered all the colours as they should arise or appear, with all the\nrest of the work.\n\n\u201cBut of the _prima materia_ or first matter, or agent, he spake not\nso much as one word; but only he told them that in the fourth and\nfifth leaves he had entirely painted or decyphered it, and depicted or\nfigured it, with a desirable dexterity and workmanship.\n\n\u201cNow though it was singularly well and materially or intelligibly\nfigured and painted, yet by that could no man ever have been able to\nunderstand it without having been well skilled in their Cabala, which\nis a series of old traditions, and also to have been well studied in\ntheir books.\n\n\u201cThe fourth and fifth leaf thereof was without any writing, but full of\nfair figures, bright and shining, or, as it were, enlightened, and very\nexquisitely depicted.\n\n\u201cFirst, there was a young man painted, with wings at his ankles, having\nin his hand a caducean rod, writhen about with two serpents, wherewith\nhe stroke upon an helmet covering his head.\n\n\u201cThis seemed in my mean apprehension to be one of the heathen gods,\nnamely, Mercury. Against him there came running and flying with open\nwings, a great old man with an hour-glass fixed upon his head, and a\nscythe in his hands, like Death, with which he would (as it were in\nindignation) have cut off the feet of Mercury.\n\n\u201cOn the other side of the fourth leaf he painted a fair flower, on the\ntop of a very high mountain, which was very much shaken by the north\nwind. Its footstalk was blue, its flowers white and red, and its leaves\nshining like fine gold, and round about it the dragons and griffins of\nthe north made their nests and habitations.\n\n\u201cOn the fifth leaf was a fair rose-tree, flowered, in the midst of a\ngarden, growing up against a hollow oak, at the foot whereof bubbled\nforth a fountain of pure white water, which ran headlong down into the\ndepths below.\n\n\u201cYet it passed through the hands of a great number of people who digged\nin the earth, seeking after it, but, by reason of their blindness, none\nof them knew it, except a very few, who considered its weight.\n\n\u201cOn the last side of the leaf was depicted a king, with a faulchion,\nwho caused his soldiers to slay before him many infants, the mothers\nstanding by, and weeping at the feet of their murderers.\n\n\u201cThese infants\u2019 blood being gathered up by other soldiers, was put into\na great vessel wherein Sol and Luna came to bathe themselves.\n\n\u201cAnd because this history seemed to represent the destruction of the\nInnocents by Herod, and that I learned the chiefest part of the art in\nthis book, therefore I placed in their churchyard these hieroglyphic\nfigures of this learning. Thus have you that which was contained in the\nfirst five leaves.\n\n\u201cAs for what was in all the rest of the written leaves, which was wrote\nin good and intelligible Latin, I must conceal, lest God being offended\nwith me should send His plague and judgments upon me. It would be a\nwickedness much greater than he who wished that all men in the world\nhad but one head, that he might cut it off at a blow.\n\n\u201cHaving thus obtained this delicate and precious book, I did nothing\nelse day and night but study it; conceiving very well all the\noperations it pointed forth, but wholly ignorant of the _prima materia_\nwith which I should begin, which made me very sad and discontented.\n\n\u201cMy wife, whose name was Perrenelle, whom I loved equally with myself,\nand whom I had but lately married, was mightily concerned for me, and,\nwith many comforting words, earnestly desired to know how she might\ndeliver me from this trouble.\n\n\u201cI could no longer keep counsel, but told her all, shewing her the\nvery book, which, when she saw, she became as well pleased with it\nas myself, and with great delight beheld the admirable cover, the\nengraving, the images, and exquisite figures thereof, but understood\nthem as little as I.\n\n\u201cYet it was matter of consolation to me to discourse and entertain\nmyself with her, and to think what we should do to find out the\ninterpretation and meaning thereof.\n\n\u201cAt length I caused to be painted within my chamber, as much to the\nlife or original as I could, all the images and figures of the said\nfourth and fifth leaves.\n\n\u201cThese I showed to the greatest scholars and most learned men in Paris,\nwho understood thereof no more than myself: I told them they were found\nin a book which taught the philosophers\u2019 stone.\n\n\u201cBut the greatest part of them made a mock both of me and that most\nexcellent secret, except one whose name was Anselm, a practiser of\nphysic and a deep student in this art.\n\n\u201cHe much desired to see my book, which he valued more than anything\nelse in the world, but I always refused him, only making him a large\ndemonstration of the method.\n\n\u201cHe told me that the first figure represented Time, which devours all\nthings, and that, according to the number of the six written leaves,\nthere was required a space of six years to perfect the stone; and then,\nsaid he, we must turn the glass and see it no more.\n\n\u201cI told him this was not painted, but only to show the teacher the\n_prima materia_, or first agent, as was written in the book. He\nanswered me that this digestion for six years was, as it were, a second\nagent, and that certainly the first agent was there painted, which was\na white and heavy water.\n\n\u201cThis, without doubt, was _argent vive_, which they could not fix; that\nis, cut off his feet, or take away his volubility, save by that long\ndigestion in the pure blood of young infants.\n\n\u201cFor in that this _argent vive_ being joined with Sol and Luna was\nfirst turned with them into a plant, like that there painted, and\nafterwards by corruption into serpents, which serpents, being perfectly\ndried and digested, were made a fine powder of gold, which is the stone.\n\n\u201cThis strange or foreign discourse to the matter was the cause of my\nerring, and that made me wander for the space of one and twenty years\nin a perfect meander from the verity; in which space of time I went\nthrough a thousand labyrinths or processes, but all in vain; yet never\nwith the blood of infants, for that I accounted wicked and villainous.\n\n\u201cFor I found in my book that the philosophers called blood the mineral\nspirit which is in the metals, chiefly in Sol, Luna, and Mercury,\nto which sense I always, in my own judgment, assented. Yet these\ninterpretations were, for the most part, not more subtle than true.\n\n\u201cNot finding, therefore, in my operation or course of the process, the\nsigns, at the time written in my book, I was ever to begin again.\n\n\u201cIn the end, having lost all hope of ever understanding those symbols\nor figures, I made a vow to God to demand their interpretation of some\nJewish priest belonging to some synagogue in Spain.\n\n\u201cWhereupon, with the consent of my wife Perrenelle, carrying with me\nthe extract or copy of the figures or pictures, I took up a pilgrim\u2019s\nhabit and staff, in the same manner as you see me figured without the\nsaid arch, in the said churchyard in which I put these Hieroglyphic\nFigures.\n\n\u201cWhereupon also I have set on the wall, on both hands, the process,\nrepresenting in order all the colours of the stone, as they rise and go\naway again.\n\n\u201cThis is, as it were, the very beginning of Hercules his book, entitled\n\u2018Iris, or the Rainbow,\u2019 which treats of the stone in these words:--_The\nprocess of the work is very pleasing unto nature_.\n\n\u201cAnd these words I also put there expressly, for the sake of great\nscholars and learned men, who may understand to what they allude.\n\n\u201cIn this same manner, I say, I put myself upon my journey to Spain,\nand so much I did that I, in a short time, arrived at Mountjoy, and, a\nwhile after, at St James, where, with much devotion, I accomplished my\nvow.\n\n\u201cThis done, in Leon, I, at my return, met with a merchant of Boulogne,\nwho brought me acquainted with a physician, M. Canches, a Jew by\nnation, but now a Christian, dwelling at Leon aforesaid.\n\n\u201cI showed him the extract or copy of my figures, by which he was, as it\nwere, ravished with great astonishment and joy. He desired immediately\nif I could tell him any news of the book whence they were drawn.\n\n\u201cI answered him in Latin (in which language he asked me the question)\nthat I doubted not of obtaining the sight of the book, if I could meet\nwith any one who could unfold the enigmas. Hearing this, and being\ntransported with great earnestness and joy, he began to decypher unto\nme the beginning. To be short, he was much pleased that he was in hopes\nto hear tidings of the book, and I as much pleased to hear him speak\nand interpret it. And, doubtless, he had heard much talk of the book,\nbut it was, as he said, of a thing which was believed to be utterly\nlost. Upon this, we resolved for our voyage, and from Leon we passed to\nOviedo, and thence to Sareson, where we took shipping, and went to sea\nin order to go into France.\n\n\u201cOur voyage was prosperous and happy, and, being arrived in the kingdom\nof France, he most truly interpreted unto me the greatest part of my\nfigures, in which, even to the points and pricks, he could decypher\ngreat mysteries, which were admirable to me. Having attained Orleans,\nthis learned man fell sick, even to death, being afflicted with extreme\nvomitings, which still continued with him, as being first caused by\nsea-sickness. Notwithstanding which, he was in continual fear lest I\nshould leave or forsake him, which was a great trouble to him. And\nalthough I was continually by his side, yet he would be almost always\ncalling for me. At the end of the seventh day of his sickness he\ndied, which was no small grief to me, and I buried him, as well as my\ncondition would permit me, in a church at Orleans.\n\n\u201cHe that would see the manner of my arrival and the joy of Perrenelle,\nlet him look upon us two in the city of Paris, upon the door of the\nchapel of James of the Boucherie, close by the one side of my house,\nwhere we are both painted, kneeling and giving thanks to God. For\nthrough the grace of God it was that I attained the perfect knowledge\nof all I desired.\n\n\u201cWell, I had now the _prima materia_, the first principles, yet not\ntheir first preparation, which is a thing most difficult above all\nother things in the world; but in the end I had that also, after a\nlong aberration, and wandering in a labyrinth of errors for the space\nof three years, or thereabouts, during which time I did nothing but\nstudy and search and labour, so as you see me depicted without this\narch where I have placed my process; praying also continually unto\nGod, and reading attentively in my book, pondering the words of the\nphilosophers, and then trying and proving the various operations, which\nI thought to myself they might mean by their words. At length I found\nthat which I desired, which I also soon knew by the scent and odour\nthereof. Having this, I easily accomplished the magistery. For knowing\nthe preparations of the prime agents, and then literally following the\ndirections in my book, I could not then miss the work if I would.\n\n\u201cHaving attained this, I come now to projection; the first time I\nmade projection was upon mercury, a pound and a half whereof, or\nthereabouts, I turned into pure silver, better than that of the mine,\nas I proved by assaying of it myself, and also causing others to assay\nit for me several times. This was done in the year of our Lord 1382,\nJanuary 17, about noon, being Monday, in my own house, Perrenelle only\npresent.\n\n\u201cAgain, following exactly the directions in my book, literally and word\nby word, I made projection of the red stone, on the like quantity,\nPerrenelle only being present, and in the same house, which was done\nin the same year of our Lord, namely, 1382, April 25, at five in the\nafternoon. This mercury I truly transmuted into almost as much gold,\nmuch better, indeed, than common gold, more soft also, and more pliable.\n\n\u201cI speak it in all truth: I have made it three times, with the help\nof Perrenelle, who understood it as well as myself, because she\nassisted me in my operations. And without doubt, if she would have\ndone it alone, she would have brought it to the same, or full as\ngreat, perfection as I had done. I had truly enough when I had once\ndone it; but I found exceeding great pleasure and delight in seeing\nand contemplating _the admirable works of Nature within the vessels_,\nand to show to you that I had thus done it three times, I caused to be\ndepicted under the same arch, three furnaces, like to those which serve\nfor the operations of this work.\n\n\u201cI was much concerned for a long time lest Perrenelle, by reason of\nextreme joy, should not hide her felicity, which I measured by my own,\nand lest she should let fall some words among her relations concerning\nthe great treasure we possessed. For an extremity of joy takes away\nthe understanding as well as an extremity of grief and sorrow. But the\ngoodness of the most great God had not only given and filled me with\nthis blessing, to give me a chaste and sober wife, but she was also\na wise and prudent woman, not only capable of reason but also to do\nwhat was reasonable, and was more discreet and secret than ordinarily\nother women are. Above all, she was exceedingly religious and devout:\nand therefore seeing herself without hope of children, and now well\nstricken in years, she made it her business, as I did, to think of God,\nand to give ourselves to the works of charity and mercy.\n\n\u201cBefore the time wherein I wrote this discourse, which was at the\nlatter end of the year of our Lord 1413, after the death of my faithful\ncompanion, whose loss I cannot but lament all the days of my life,\nshe and I had already founded, and endowed with revenues, fourteen\nhospitals, three chapels, and seven churches, in the city of Paris, all\nwhich we had new built from the ground, and enriched with great gifts\nand revenues, with many reparations in their churchyards. We also have\ndone at Boulogne about as much as we have done at Paris, not to speak\nof the charitable acts which we both did to particular poor people,\nprincipally to widows and orphans, whose names should I divulge, with\nthe largeness of the charity, and the way and manner of doing it, as\nmy reward would then be only in this world, so neither could it be\npleasing to the persons to whom we did it.\n\n\u201cBuilding, therefore, these hospitals, chapels, churches, and\nchurchyards in the city, I caused to be depicted under the said\nfourth arch the most true and essential marks or signs of this art,\nyet under veils, types, and hieroglyphic covertures, in imitation of\nthose things which are contained in the gilded book of Abraham the\nJew; demonstrating to the wise, and men of understanding, the direct\nand perfect way of operation, and lineary work of the philosophers\u2019\nstone. Which being perfected by any one, takes away from him the\nroot of all sin and evil, which is covetousness, changing his evil\ninto good, and making him liberal, courteous, religious, devout, and\nfearing God, however wicked he was before. For from thenceforward he\nis continually ravished with the goodness of God, and with His grace\nand mercy, which he has obtained from the fountain of Eternal Goodness,\nwith the profoundness of His divine and adorable power, and with the\nconsideration of His admirable works.\u201d\n\nAccording to Langlet du Fresnoy, the evidence of these things remained\nin the year 1742. In the cemetery of the Holy Innocents stood the\narch built by Flamel with the hieroglpyhic figures upon it. In two\nniches, without the arch and on the cemetery side, were statues of\nSt James and St John. Below that of St John was the figure of Flamel\nhimself, reading in a book, with a Gothic N. F. to mark his name. The\nprogression of the colours in the order of the process, originally\nrepresented on the wall, was, however, effaced.\n\nIn the same cemetery was a charnel house, or receptacle for the\nskulls and bones disinterred in the digging of new graves. Upon one\nof the pillars of this charnel there was a Gothic N. F., with this\ninscription:--\n\n _Ce charnier fut fait & donn\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019Eglise,\n Pour l\u2019amour de Dieu, l\u2019an 1399._\n\nThe second of these evidences was upon the Marivaux door of the Church\nof Saint Jacques-la-Boucherie, where on the left side at entering was\nthe figure of Flamel, kneeling at the feet of St James, with a Gothic\nN. upon the pedestal. The figure of Perrenelle was represented on the\nopposite side, kneeling at the feet of St John, the pedestal bearing a\nGothic P.\n\nThe third evidence was in the street of Notre Dame, at the portal of\nGenevieve of Arden. There Flamel\u2019s statue was to be seen in a niche,\nkneeling with a desk at his side, looking towards St James. There was a\nGothic N. F. below and the inscription, \u201cThis portal was built in 1402,\nby the alms of many.\u201d Flamel is supposed to have concealed in this\nmanner that he was the principal donor, but the figure may have been\nerected to his memory.\n\nThe fourth and final evidence was in the street of the cemetery of\nSt Nicholas of the Fields, where there was the wall of an unfinished\nhospital with figures engraven on the stone and the initials of Flamel.\n\nAfter the death of Perrenelle the bereaved adept is supposed to have\nprepared for posterity several works on the supreme science which had\nenriched him:--_Le Livre des Figures Hieroglyphiques_; _Le Sommaire\nPhilosophique_, written in verse after the manner of the _Roman de\nla Rose_; _Trois Trait\u00e9s de la Transformation Metallique_, also in\nrhymed verse; _Le Desir D\u00e9sir\u00e9, ou Tr\u00e9sor de Philosophie_; _Le Grand\nEclaircissement de la Pierre Philosophale pour la Transmutation de tous\nM\u00e9taux_; _La Musique Chimique_; _Annotationes in D. Zacharmin_, &c.\n\nApproaching near the end of his life, and having no children, he chose\nhis burial place in the parish church of St Jacques-la-Boucherie,\nbefore the crucifix. To this end he made a contract with the wardens of\nthe church, which is mentioned in his testament. He then disposed of\nhis property and goods to the church and to the poor, as may be seen in\nhis will, which is lodged in the archives of St Jacques. It is dated\nthe 22nd November 1416, and begins thus:--\u201cTo all those to whom these\npresent letters shall come, I, Annegny du Castel, chevalier, counsellor\nchambellan of the King, our Sire, Keeper of the Prevot of Paris,\ngreeting: Know ye, that before Hugues de la Barre and Jean de la Noe,\nnotary clerks of the King, at the Chatelet, was established personally,\nNicholas Flamel, scrivener, sound in body and mind, speaking clearly,\nwith good and true understanding,\u201d &c. It fills four sheets of\nparchment, which are sewed one to the end of the other, like the rolls\nof ancient writing. It contains thirty-four articles; in the twentieth\nhe bequeaths to his relations the sum of forty livres. He lived three\nyears after making this will, dying about 1419.\n\n * * * * *\n\nHostile criticism has endeavoured to destroy the testimony which\nthe history of Flamel affords to the reality of transmutation, and\nhas adopted various means. It has attempted to disprove his wealth\nby reducing his munificence, representing him simply as an honest\nbourgeois, who, thanks to his economy and his assiduity, acquired a\ncomfortable competence, which a childless condition enabled him to\ndevote to works of benevolence, and to the erection of public buildings\non a moderate scale. The alchemical testaments and treatises attributed\nto him are condemned one and all as absolutely spurious. The chief\nexpositor of this view is the Abb\u00e9 L. Vilain in his _Essai sur une\nHistoire de Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie_, published in duodecimo at\nParis, in 1758, and again in a _Histoire Critique de Nicolas Flamel et\nde Pernel sa Femme_, Paris, 1782, &c.\n\nIt must be granted out of hand that all the alchemical compositions\nwhich have passed under the name of Flamel are open to more or less\nsuspicion, and some are undoubtedly forgeries. The work on metallic\ntransmutation, which is the earliest traceable treatise, was unheard of\ntill a hundred and forty-three years after the death of its accredited\nauthor. It was published in the year 1561 by Jacques Goharry. _Le Grand\nEclaircissement_ first saw the light in 1628, when the editor, who\napparently abounded in Flamel manuscripts, promised the publication in\naddition of _La Joie Parfaite de Moi, Nicolas Flamel, et de Pernelle,\nma Femme_, which has not, however, appeared.\n\nOn the other hand, there are strong arguments for the genuineness of\nthe _Tr\u00e9sor de Philosophie_. \u201cThere exists in the _Biblioth\u00e8que du\nRoi_\u201d says M. Auguste Vallet, \u201ca small manuscript book, _grossement\nreli\u00e9_, according to all appearance belonging to the end of the\nfourteenth century, and which treats of alchemical operations. It\ncommences with these words:--\n\n\u201c\u2018Excipit the True Practice of the Noble Science of Alchemy, the\ndesired desire, and the prize unappraisable, compiled from all the\nphilosophers, and drawn out of ancient works.\u2019\n\n\u201cIt teaches the manner of accomplishing the _Magnum Opus_ by the\naid of successive operations, which are termed _Lavures_ in this\ntreatise. On the last leaf of the manuscript is the following\ninscription written by the same hand as the rest of the text:--\u2018The\npresent book is of and belonging to Nicolas Flamel, of the Parish\nSaint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, who has written and illuminated it with\nhis own hand.\u2019\u201d\n\nWith regard to the extent of the scrivener\u2019s resources, the genuine\ntestament of Pernelle, dated 1399, and the endowments of hospitals and\nchurches which undoubtedly took place on a scale of great munificence,\nare a sufficient evidence that he was an exceedingly wealthy man.\n\nOther critics, including Louis Figuier, admit the fact of his riches,\nbut enlarge upon the remunerative nature of a scrivener\u2019s occupation\nprevious to the invention of printing, and upon the careful frugality\nof the supposed alchemist; but in the teeth of their own theory they\nare obliged to admit that Flamel did become a student of alchemy,\nthat the hieroglyphics, figures, and emblems in the Cemetery of the\nHoly Innocents are evidence of this fact; that, unlike most followers\nof Hermes, he was not impoverished by his experiments; and that he\nfostered the report that his wealth was in the main a result of his\npossession of the mysterious book of Abraham, by which he had been able\nto compose the philosophical stone.\n\nGabriel Naud\u00e9, who detested magic, and seems to have despised alchemy,\nvilifying the possessors of both of these sciences alike, accounts\nfor the riches of Flamel by asserting that he managed affairs for the\nJews, and upon their banishment from the kingdom of France, and the\nconfiscation of their property for the king, \u201che, knowing the sums due\nby several individuals, compromised, by receiving a part, which they\npaid him to prevent his giving information which would oblige them to\nsurrender it entirely.\u201d\n\nThis explanation of the source of Flamel\u2019s riches is a purely unfounded\nassertion. If we carefully examine history, there were three expulsions\nof the Jews from France between 1300 and 1420. They were banished in\n1308, were soon after allowed to return, and were again banished in\n1320. These persecutions occurred before the birth of Flamel. The Jews\nwere re-established by Charles V. in 1364, and they remained in quiet\nuntil the riots which occurred in Paris in 1380, at the beginning of\nthe reign of Charles VI., when the people rose up against the Jews,\ncommitting great outrages and demanding their expulsion. The sedition,\nhowever, was quelled, and the Jews protected until 1393, when, upon\nseveral charges preferred against them, they were enjoined to quit\nFrance, or else become Christians. The historian Mezeray says that\nsome of them chose rather to quit their religion than the kingdom,\nbut others sold their goods and retired. Thus it appears that the\nonly expulsion of the Jews which could agree with Naud\u00e9\u2019s surmise was\nwithout the confiscation of their property, and, therefore, could not\ngive Flamel the opportunity alleged, if, indeed, it were reasonable to\nsuppose that all the Parisian Israelites entrusted their affairs to a\nsingle person, when it does not appear that necessity required such\nan agency. There is, therefore, no reason to suppose that Flamel was\nenriched by the property of the Jews, or that those who owed them money\ncompounded with Flamel, lest he should denounce them to the king.[Q]\n\nThus the theories of hostile criticism break down before impartial\nexamination, and to whatever source we may choose to ascribe the wealth\nof Nicholas Flamel, we have no reason to question his integrity, nor\nto deny the explanation of the alchemists, except upon the _\u00e0 priori_\nground of the impossibility of transmutation.\n\nThe divine gift which was so fortunate a possession to Flamel is\nsupposed to have been a curse to his descendants. He is reported to\nhave given some of the transmuting powder to M. Perrier, a nephew of\nPerrenelle. From him it descended to Dr Perrier, and was found among\nhis effects at his death by his grandson, Dubois. The prudence and\nmoderation that accompanied the gift to the Perriers was not found in\nDubois. He exhibited the sacred miracle to improper persons, says an\nanonymous writer on alchemy, and was brought before Louis XIII., in\nwhose presence he made gold of base metal, and this gold augmented its\nweight in the cupel. The consequence of this generosity was an infamous\ndeath. The vanity of Dubois was in proportion to his imprudence. He\nfancied that he could make or augment the powder, and promised to do\nso, but without success. It seems that he was, consequently, suspected\nof withholding the art from the king, a circumstance sufficient in\npolitics to justify strong measures, lest the possessor of the sinews\nof war should go over to the enemy.\n\nWhatever were the charges against Dubois, he was hanged, and his fate\nshould be a proof, says the writer already quoted, that a science\nproducing unbounded riches is the greatest misfortune to those who are\nunfitted and unprepared to manage the dangerous trust with discretion.\n\nAfter the death of Flamel, many persons supposed that there must be\ndoubtless some buried treasures in the house which he had inhabited\nduring so many years, and in which all his Hermetical triumphs had\nbeen performed. This opinion existed in all its strength, at least in\nthe mind of one individual, so late as the year 1576, when a stranger\napplied to the Pr\u00e9v\u00f4t of Paris, and stated that he had been entrusted\nby a deceased friend with certain sums for the restoration of Flamel\u2019s\nhouse. As the building was exceedingly dilapidated, the magistrates\navailed themselves of the opportunity, and repairs were begun under the\ndirection of delegates of the works of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie.\nThe true object of the stranger soon became evident by the\ndetermination with which he sought to lay bare the whole foundations\nof the house, which was ransacked from top to bottom in search of the\ntreasures it was supposed to conceal. No discoveries rewarded the zeal\nof the investigation, which ended in the sudden disappearance of the\nstranger, without paying for the operations which he had caused to be\nset on foot.\n\nAs a completion to the history of Flamel, it may be entertaining to\nquote an extraordinary account which is seriously narrated by Paul\nLucas in his \u201cJourney through Asia Minor.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was at Bronosa, in Natolia, and going to take the air with a person\nof distinction, came to a little mosque, which was adorned with\ngardens and fountains for a public walk; we were quickly introduced\ninto a cloister, where we found four dervishes, who received us with\nall imaginable civility, and desired us to partake of what they were\neating. We were told, what we soon found to be true, that they were\nall persons of the greatest worth and learning; one of them, who said\nhe was of Usbec Tartary, appeared to be more accomplished than the\nrest, and I believe verily he spoke all the principal languages of the\nworld. After we had conversed in Turkish, he asked me if I could speak\nLatin, Spanish, or Italian. I told him, if he pleased, to speak to\nme in Italian; but he soon discovered by my accent that it was not my\nmother-tongue, and asked me frankly what country I came from? As soon\nas he knew that I was a native of France, he spoke to me in as good\nFrench as if he had been brought up at Paris. \u2018How long, sir,\u2019 said I,\n\u2018did you stay in France?\u2019 He replied he had never been there, but that\nhe had a great inclination to undertake the journey.\n\n\u201cI did all in my power to strengthen that resolution, and to convince\nhim that France was the nursery of the learned, and its king a patron\nof the sciences, who defrayed the expense of my travels for collecting\nnotices of antiquities, drawings of monuments, correcting maps, and\nmaking a collection of ancient coins, manuscripts, &c., all of which he\nseemed to approve civilly. Our conversation being ended, the dervishes\nbrought us to their house, at the foot of the mountain, where, having\ndrank coffee, I took my leave, but with a promise, however, that I\nwould shortly come and see them again.\n\n\u201cOn the 10th, the dervish whom I took for an Usbec came to pay me a\nvisit. I shewed him all the manuscripts I had bought, and he assured\nme they were very valuable, and written by great authors. He was a\nman every way extraordinary in learning; and in external appearance\nhe seemed to be about thirty years old, but from his discourse I was\npersuaded he had lived a century.\n\n\u201cHe told me he was one of seven friends, who travelled to perfect their\nstudies, and, every twenty years, met in a place previously appointed.\nI perceived that Bronosa was the place of their present meeting, and\nthat four of them had arrived. Religion and natural philosophy took up\nour thoughts by turns; and at last we fell upon chemistry, alchemy,\nand the Cabala. I told him all these, and especially the philosophers\u2019\nstone, were regarded by most men of sense as mere fictions.\n\n\u201c\u2018That,\u2019 replied he, \u2018should not surprise you; the sage hears the\nignorant without being shocked, but does not for that reason sink his\nunderstanding to the same level. When I speak of a sage, I mean one\nwho sees all things die and revive without concern: he has more riches\nin his power than the greatest king, but lives temperately, above the\npower of events.\u2019\n\n\u201cHere I stopped him:--\u2018With all these fine maxims, the sage dies\nas well as other people.\u2019 \u2018Alas!\u2019 said he, \u2018I perceive you are\nunacquainted with sublime science. Such a one as I describe dies\nindeed, for death is inevitable, but he does not die before the utmost\nlimits of his mortal existence. Hereditary disease and weakness reduce\nthe life of man, but the sage, by the use of the true medicine, can\nward off whatever may hinder or impair the animal functions for a\nthousand years.\u2019\n\n\u201cSurprised at all I heard, \u2018And would you persuade me,\u2019 said I, \u2018that\nall who possessed the philosophers\u2019 stone have lived a thousand years?\u2019\nHe replied gravely:--\u2018Without doubt every one might; it depends\nentirely on themselves.\u2019 At last I took the liberty of naming the\ncelebrated Flamel, who, it was said, possessed the philosophers\u2019 stone,\nyet was certainly dead. He smiled at my simplicity, and asked with an\nair of mirth:--\u2018Do you really believe this? No, no, my friend, Flamel\nis still living; neither he nor his wife are dead. It is not above\nthree years since I left both the one and the other in the Indies; he\nis one of my best friends.\u2019 Whereupon he told me the history of Flamel,\nas he heard it from himself, the same as I had read in his book,\nuntil at last when Charles VI., who was then upon the throne, sent M.\nCramoisi, a magistrate, and his master of requests, to enquire from\nFlamel the origin of his riches, when the latter at once saw the danger\nhe was in. Having sent her into Switzerland to await his coming, he\nspread a report of his wife\u2019s death, had her funeral celebrated, and in\na few years ordered his own coffin to be interred. Since that time they\nhave both lived a philosophic life, sometimes in one country, sometimes\nin another. This is the true history, and not that which is believed at\nParis, where there are very few who ever had the least glimpse of true\nwisdom.\u2019\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nAccording to the \u201cTreasure of Philosophy,\u201d alchemy as a science\nconsists in the knowledge of the four elements of philosophers, which\nare not to be identified with the vulgar so-called elements, and which\nare convertible one into another. The true _prima materia_ is mercury,\nprepared and congealed in the bowels of the earth by the mediation of\nthe heat of sulphur. This is the sperm and semen of all metals, which,\nlike other created things, are capable of a growth and multiplication\nthat may be continued even to infinity. The first step in transmutation\nis the reduction of the metals worked upon into their first mercurial\nmatter, and this reduction is the subject of the whole treatise.\n\nIt does not appear that the alchemical works attributed to Nicholas\nFlamel have added anything to our knowledge of chemistry. On the other\nhand, it is perfectly clear from his history that the physical object\nof Alchemy was the end which he kept in view, and that also which he is\nsupposed to have attained.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Q] According to Louis Figuier, there were two minor persecutions of\nthe Jews, one in 1346, when Flamel was merely a boy, and the other in\n1354, when he was scarcely established in business.\n\n\n\n\nPETER BONO.\n\n\nThis adept, born in Lombardy, was an inhabitant of Pola, a seaport of\nIstria, where he affirms that he made the much desired transmuting\nmetal of the sages, in the year 1330. He wrote and published a\ncomplete treatise on the art under the title _Margarita Pretiosa_.\nLacinius, a monk of Calabria, has printed a faithful abridgment of it,\nwhich appeared at Venice in 1546. An _Introductio in Artem Divinam\nAlchimi\u00e6_, 1602, and _De Secreto Omnium Secretorum_, Venet. 1546, are\nascribed to this adept.\n\nThe first of these works is an exceedingly comprehensive, conscientious\ntreatise on the history, the theory, and the practice of alchemy,\nwritten after the manner of the scholastics, and naturally containing\nmuch irrelevant matter, but for all this very useful and even\ninteresting. The difficulties of the art are manfully faced, the\nsophistications, deceptions, and contradictions of its professors are\nreproved, and the author attempts to show that alchemy is in reality a\nshort art and a slight practice, though full of truth and nobility. His\nother opinions are also of a revolutionary character.\n\n\n\n\nJOHANNES DE RUPECISSA.\n\n\nThis writer is considered one of the most remarkable of the Hermetic\nphilosophers. He abounds with prophetic passages, and denounces\nthe fate of nations, but in his alchemical explanation of things\nphysical is obscure even for an adept. Nothing is known of his\nlife,[R] beyond the nobility of his origin and his imprisonment in\n1357, by Pope Innocent VI., whom he had reprehended. The illustrious\nMontfau\u00e7on was one of his descendants, and he poses as an initiate of\nthe secret chemistry in the following works:--\u201cThe Book of Light,\u201d\n\u201cThe Five Essences,\u201d _C\u0153lum Philosophorum_, and his most celebrated\ntreatise _De Confectione Lapidis_. There he declares that the matter\nof the philosophical stone is a viscous water which is to be found\neverywhere, but if the stone itself should be openly named, the whole\nworld would be revolutionised. The divine science possessed by the wise\nis somewhat poetically celebrated as an incomparable treasure. Its\ninitiates are enriched with an infinite wealth beyond all the kings of\nthe earth; they are just before God and men, and in enjoyment of the\nspecial favour of Heaven.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[R] He is said to have been a French monk of the order of St Francis.\n\n\n\n\nBASIL VALENTINE.\n\n\nOne of the most illustrious of the adept philosophers is unquestionably\nBasilius Valentinus, born at Mayence, and made prior of St Peter\u2019s at\nErfurt in 1414. His name was supposed to be fictitious and adopted for\nthe purpose of concealing some accomplished artist, but the history\nof the city of Erfurt, published by J. M. Gudemus assures us of the\nexistence and name of the philosopher, on the authority of the public\nrecords, and shows us that in 1413 he was an inmate of the monastic\nhouse already mentioned, and that he distinguished himself by a\nprofound knowledge of nature.[S] As the work of Gudemus was printed\nin 1675, the veracity of the _Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes_,\nwritten in the interests of religion and for the blackening of the\nsecret sciences, may be judged by the following passage:--\u201cHis life is\nso mixed up with fables that some have disbelieved in his existence. He\nis represented flourishing in the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and\nfifteenth centuries; it is even added, _without the smallest proof_,\nthat he was a benedictine at Erfurt.\u201d\n\nAccording to Olaus Borrichius, he enclosed his writings in one of\nthe pillars of the abbey church; they remained for many years in\nthis hiding-place, but were at length discovered by the fortunate\nviolence of a thunderbolt. He was the first who introduced antimony\ninto medicine, and it is said that he originally tried the effects of\nantimonial medicines upon the monks of his convent, upon whom they\nacted with such undue violence \u201cthat he was induced to distinguish the\nmineral from which these medicines had been extracted by the name of\n_antimoine_--hostile to monks.\u201d But Thomson, who relates this anecdote\nin his \u201cHistory of Chemistry,\u201d shows the improbability of it, for the\nworks of Basil Valentine, and in particular his _Currus Triumphalis\nAntimonii_, were written in the German language. Now the German name\nfor antimony is _speissglas_ and not antimoine, which is French.\n\nBasil Valentine denounces the physicians of his time with the fury\nof Paracelsus. The most ancient systems of chemical philosophy are\npreserved in his experiments. He exalts antimony as an excellent\nmedicine for those who are acquainted with alchemical secrets. To\nothers it is a poison of the most powerful nature.\n\nNo further particulars of the life of Basil Valentine have descended\nto posterity. Numerous works have been printed in his name, and the\nauthenticity of several is questionable. He wrote in high Dutch,\nand comparatively few of his treatises have been translated into\nother languages. The best are as follows:--1. _De Microcosmo deque\nMagno Mundi Mysterio et Medecina Hominis_, Marpurg, 1609, 8vo;\n2. _Azoth, sive Aurelia Philosophorum_, Francfurt, 1613, 4to; 3.\n_Practica, un\u00e0 cum duodecim Clavibus et Appendice_, Francfurt, 1611,\n4to; 4. _Apocalypsis Chymica_, Erfurt, 1624, 8vo; 5. _Manifestatio\nArtificiorum_, Erfurt, 1624, 8vo; 6. _Currus Triumphalis Antimonii_,\nLipsi\u00e6, 1624, 8vo; 7. _Tractatus Chimico-Philosophicus de Rebus\nNaturalibus et Pr\u0153ternaturalibus metallorum et mineralium_, Francfurt,\n1676, 8vo; 8. _Haliographia, de pr\u00e6paratione, usu, ac virtutibus\nomnium Salium Mineralium, Animalium, ac Vegetabilium, ex manuscriptis\nBasilii Valentini collecta ab Ant. Salmincio_, Bologna, 1644, 8vo.\n\nEvery letter and syllable of the \u201cTriumphal Chariot of Antimony\u201d\nis declared to have its special significance. \u201cEven to the pointes\nand prickes\u201d it bristles with divine meanings and mysteries. The\nmetrical treatise on the first matter of the philosophers declares\nthat this stone is composed of white and red, that it is a stone,\nand yet scarcely a stone; one nature operates therein. Those who\ndesire to attain it, Basil elsewhere informs us, must labour in\nmuch prayer, confess their sins, and do good. Many are called, but\nfew chosen to this supreme knowledge. The study of the works of the\nphilosophers and practical experiment are both recommended. There\nis much in the writings of Basil, in his suggestive if impenetrable\nallegories, in his curious Kabbalistical symbols, and in his earnest\nspirituality, to suggest a psychic interpretation of his aims and his\nprinciples. This is particularly noticeable in the \u201cTriumphal Chariot\nof Antimony,\u201d and yet it is clear from this remarkable work, which is\nthe masterpiece of its author, that Basil Valentine was one of the\nmost illustrious physical chemists of his age. He was the first to\ndescribe the extraction of antimony from the sulphuret, though it does\nnot appear that he was the inventor of this process. Previous to his\ninvestigations the properties of antimony were almost unknown. He was\nalso acquainted with the method of obtaining chlorohydric acid from\nsea-salt and sulphuric acid, with the method of obtaining brandy by the\ndistillation of beer and wine, and the rectification of the result by\nmeans of carbonate of potassium, and with many other operations which\neminently assisted the progress of chemistry.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[S] Eadem \u00e6tate (scilicet anno 1413) Basilius Valentinus in divi Patri\nmonasteris vixit arte medica _et naturale indagatione admirabilis_.\n\n\n\n\nISAAC OF HOLLAND.\n\n\nContemporary with Basilius Valentinus were Isaac the Hollander and his\nson, who are supposed to have worked with success. They were the first\nalchemists of Holland, and their operations were highly esteemed by\nParacelsus, Boyle, and Kunckel. In practical chemistry they followed\nthe traditions of Geber, and their alchemical experiments are the most\nplain and explicit in the whole range of Hermetic literature. They\nworked principally in metals, describing minutely the particulars of\nevery process. Their lives are almost unknown. \u201cBuried in the obscurity\nnecessary to adepts, they were occupied in the practice of the Hermetic\nscience, and their study or laboratory was the daily scene of their\nindustrious existence.\u201d[T]\n\nThey are placed in the fifteenth century by conjecture, from the fact\nthat they do not cite any philosophers subsequent to that period. They\nspeak of Geber, Dastin, Morien, and Arnold, but not of more modern\nauthorities, while, on the other hand, their references to aquafortis\nand aqua-regi\u00e6, which were discovered in the fourteenth century,\nprevent us from assigning their labours to an anterior epoch.\n\nThe two Isaacs were particularly skilful in the manufacture of enamels\nand of artificial gem-stones. They taught that the Grand Magisterium\ncould convert a million times its own weight into gold, and declared\nthat any person taking weekly a small portion of the philosophical\nstone will be ever preserved in perfect health, and his life will be\nprolonged to the very last hour which God has assigned to him.\n\nThe _Opera Mineralia Joannis Isaaci Hollandi, sive de Lapide\nPhilosophico_ is a long and elaborate treatise on the one method of\nexalting the dead and impure metals into true _Sol_ and _Luna_. The\nfirst matter is said to be Saturn, or lead, and the vessels in which it\nis to be calcined and otherwise adapted to the purposes of aurific art,\nare plainly figured in illustrations introduced into the text.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[T] \u201cLives of Alchemysticall Philosophers.\u201d Ed. of 1815.\n\n\n\n\nBERNARD TR\u00c9VISAN.\n\n\nBernard Compte de la Marche Tr\u00e9visane is accredited by the popular\nlegends of France with the powers of a sorcerer in possession of a\ndevil\u2019s bird or familiar spirit; nevertheless, he is called \u201cthe good,\u201d\nand enjoyed a particular reputation for benevolence.\n\nDescendant of a distinguished Paduan family, Bernard Tr\u00e9visan began to\nstudy the time-honoured science of alchemy about the time that Basil in\nGermany, and the two Isaacs in Holland were prosecuting their labours\nwith supposed success. His father was a physician of Padua, where he\nhimself was born in the year 1406. The account of his alchemical errors\nmust rank among the most curious anecdotes in the annals of occult\nchemistry.\n\nAt the age of fourteen years, under the auspices of a grandfather,\nand with the full consent of his family, he devoted his attention to\nalchemy, which henceforth was the absorbing occupation of his life.\nSeeking initiation into the first principles of the art, he began by\nthe study of Geber and Rhasis, believing they would supply him with a\nmethod of multiplying his patrimony a hundred fold. The experiments\nwhich he undertook during his costly tuition by these oracular masters\nresulted in the futile dissipation of eight hundred, or, according\nto another account, of three thousand crowns. He was surrounded by\npretended philosophers, who, finding him wealthy and eager in the\npenetration of tantalising mysteries, proffered the secrets which they\nneither possessed nor understood, obtaining a fraudulent subsistence at\nthe expense of the boy alchemist.\n\nDisappointed, but not discouraged, he dismissed these impostors\nat length, and devoted his concentrated attention to the works of\nRupecissa and Archelaus Sacrobosco, whom he literally followed for a\ntime in all his practical operations. Hoping to profit by the help of\na prudent companion, he associated himself with a good monk with whom\nhe experimented in concert for the space of three years. They rectified\nspirits of wine more than thirty times \u201ctill they could not find\nglasses strong enough to hold it.\u201d These operations cost nearly three\nhundred crowns.\n\nFor fifteen years he continued his preliminary experiences, and at\nthe end of that time he had purchased a perfect knowledge of all\nthe highways and byways of alchemical rogueries, and was intimately\nacquainted with an enormous variety of substances, mineral, metallic,\nand otherwise, which did not apparently enter into the composition of\nthe stone philosophical. He calculates the cost of these experiences\nto have been roughly six thousand crowns. He had laboured in vain\nto congeal, dissolve, and sublime common salt, sal ammoniac, every\nvariety of alum, and copperas. He even proceeded upon ordure, both of\nman and beasts, by distillation, circulation, and sublimation. These\nexperiments, based on the literal interpretation of the allegories\nof the _turba philosophorum_, again resulted in failure, and at last\ndiscouraged beyond words at the loss of his time and his fortune, he\nbetook himself to prayer, hoping to discover the aim of the alchemists\nby the grace and favour of God. In conjunction with a magistrate of his\ncountry, he subsequently endeavoured to compose the philosophical stone\nwith sea salt as the chief ingredient. He rectified it fifteen times\nduring the space of a year and a half without finding any alteration\nin its nature, whereupon he abandoned the process for another proposed\nby the magistrate, namely, the dissolution of silver and mercury by\nmeans of aquafortis. These dissolutions, undertaken separately, were\nleft to themselves for a year, and then combined and concentrated over\nhot ashes to reduce their original volume to two-thirds. The residuum\nof this operation, placed in a narrow crucible, was exposed to the\naction of the solar rays, and afterwards to the air, in the hopes that\nit would crystallize. Twenty-two phials were filled with the mixture,\nand five years were devoted to the whole operation, but at the end\nof that period no crystallization had taken place, and thus was this\noperation abandoned, like the rest, as a failure.\n\nBernard Tr\u00e9visan was now forty-six years old, and at the end of his\nexperimental resources he determined to travel in search of true\nalchemists. In this manner he met with a monk of Citeaux, Ma\u00eetre\nGeofroi de Lemorier, who was in possession of a hitherto unheard of\nprocess. They purchased two thousand hens\u2019 eggs, hardened them in\nboiling water, and removed the shells, which they calcined in a fire.\nThey separated the whites from the yolks, which they putrified in\nhorse manure. The result was distilled thirty several times for the\nextraction of a white and red water. These operations were continually\nrepeated with many variations, and vainly occupied eight years more of\nthe toil-worn seeker\u2019s life.\n\nDisappointed, disheartened, but still pertinaciously adhering to\nhis search after the Grand Secret, Tr\u00e9visan now set to work with a\nprotonotary of Bruges, whom he describes as a great theologian, and\nwho pretended to extract the stone from sulphate of iron (copperas) by\ndistillation with vinegar. They began by calcining the sulphate for\nthree months, when it was soaked in the vinegar, which had been eight\ntimes distilled. The mixture was placed in an alembic, and distilled\nfifteen times daily for a year, at the end of which the seeker was\nrewarded by a quartan fever which consumed him for fourteen months, and\nwhich almost cost him his life.\n\nHe was scarcely restored to health when he heard from a clerk that\nMa\u00eetre Henry, the confessor of the German Emperor, Frederick III.,\nwas in possession of the philosophical stone. He immediately set out\nfor Germany, accompanied by some baffled sons of Hermes like himself.\nThey contrived, _par grands moyens et grands amis_, to be introduced\nto the confessor, and began to work in conjunction with him. Bernard\ncontributed ten marks of silver, and the others thirty-two, for\nthe indispensable expenses of the process, which consisted in the\ncombination of mercury, silver, oil of olives, and sulphur. The whole\nwas dissolved over a moderate fire, and continually stirred. In two\nmonths it was placed in a glass phial, which they covered with clay,\nand afterwards with hot ashes. Lead, dissolved in a crucible, was\nadded after three weeks, and the product of this fusion was subjected\nto refinement. At the end of these operations the imperial confessor\nexpected that the silver which had entered into the combination would\nbe augmented at least by a third, but, on the contrary, it was reduced\nto a fourth.\n\nBernard Tr\u00e9visan in utter despair determined to abandon all further\nexperiments. The resolution was applauded by his family, but in two\nmonths the Circean power of the secret chemistry had asserted its\nformer dominion over the whole being of its martyr, who, in a fever of\neagerness, recommenced his travels, and visited Spain, Italy, England,\nScotland, Holland, Germany, and France. Then, anxious to drink at\nthe oriental fountains of alchemy, he spent several years in Egypt,\nPersia, and Palestine, after which he passed into southern Greece,\nvisiting remote convents and experimenting in conjunction with monks\nof reputation in the science. In every country he found there were\nalchemists at work, but of those who were successful he could hear\nno account. The true philosophers declined to make themselves known,\nwhile impostors, in search of the credulous, presented themselves on\nall sides. Bernard expended in these travels, and in false operations\nconnected with them, about thirteen thousand crowns, and was forced\nto sell an estate which yielded eight thousand German florins per\nannum. He was now sixty-two years of age, and as he had been deaf to\nthe remonstrances of his family, he saw himself despised and on the\nthreshold of want and misery. He endeavoured to conceal his poverty,\nand fixed on the Isle of Rhodes, wherein to live entirely unknown. Now,\nat Rhodes he became acquainted with _un grand clerc et religieux_,\nwho was addicted to philosophy, and commonly reported to be enjoying\nthe philosophical stone. He managed to borrow eight thousand florins,\nand laboured with this monk in the dissolution of gold, silver, and\ncorrosive sublimate; he accomplished so much in the space of three\nyears that he expended the funds he had raised, and was again at the\nend of his resources. Thus, effectually prevented from continuing the\npractice, he returned to the study of the philosophers, and after eight\nyears, at the age of seventy-three, he professes to have discovered\ntheir secret. By comparing the adepts and examining in what things they\nagree, and in what they differ, he judged that the truth must lie in\nthose maxims wherein they were practically unanimous. He informs us\nthat it was two years before he put his discovery to the test; it was\ncrowned with success, and notwithstanding the infirmities of old age,\nhe lived for some time in the enjoyment of his tardy reward.\n\nThe chief work of Tr\u00e9visan is _La Philosophie Naturelle des M\u00e9taux_.\nHe insists on the necessity of strong and discreet meditation in all\nstudents of Hermetic philosophy. Their operations must wait on nature,\nand not nature on their arbitrary processes. Mercury is said to be\nthe water of metals, \u201cin which, by a mutual alteration, it assumes\nin a convertible manner their mutations.\u201d Gold is simply quicksilver\ncoagulated by the power of sulphur. The secret of dissolution is the\nwhole mystery of the art, and it is to be accomplished not by means\nof fire, as some have supposed, but, with the help of mercury, in\nan abstruse manner, which is not really indicated by the adept. The\nwork of nature is assisted by alchemy, which mingles ripe gold with\nquicksilver, the gold comprising in itself a well-digested sulphur,\nby which it matures the mercury to the \u201canatide proportion\u201d of gold,\nsubtilising the elements and wonderfully abbreviating the natural\nprocess for producing the precious metal of the mines.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN FONTAINE.\n\n\nThe life of this artist is buried in the obscurity of his closet or\nlaboratory, where he divided his time between attention to his furnaces\nand the composition of curious verses. He was alive at Valenciennes\nin the year 1413. His Hermetic poem, _Aux Amoureux de Science_, has\nbeen printed several times. The author announces that he is an adept,\nand describes in an allegorical manner, after the fashion of the\n\u201cRomance of the Rose,\u201d and in the same quaint and beautiful tongue,\nthe different processes which enter into the art of transmutation. His\nlittle work may be profitably studied by the neophytes of practical\nalchemy, though its benefits are of a negative kind, but its paradise\nof dainty devices and its old world nature pictures are better suited\nto the poet and the poetic interpretation of symbols.\n\n\n\n\nTHOMAS NORTON.\n\n\nThe scientific methods of Ripley were followed by this alchemist, who\nwas born in the city of Bristol. He wrote anonymously, but the initial\nsyllables in the six first lines, and the first line in the seventh\nchapter of his \u201cOrdinall of Alchemy,\u201d compose the following couplet:--\n\n \u201cThomas Norton of Briseto,\n A parfet master you may him trow.\u201d\n\nAt the age of twenty-eight, and in the brief space of forty days, he\nis recorded to have mastered \u201cthe perfection of chymistry,\u201d obtaining\nhis knowledge from a contemporary adept, who appears to have been\nRipley himself. He describes his initiator as a person of noble mind,\nworthy of all praise, loving justice, detesting fraud, reserved when\nsurrounded by a talkative company, quite unassuming, and if ever the\nconversation turned upon the Great Art, preserving complete silence.\nFor a long time Norton sought him in vain; the adept proved him by\nvarious trials, but when he was satisfied of his disposition, manners,\nand habits, as well as of his strength of mind, his love yielded to the\nfidelity and perseverance of his postulant, and in answer to one of his\nletters he addressed him as follows:--\n\n\u201cMY TRUSTY AND WELL-BELOVED BROTHER,--I shall not any longer delay;\nthe time is come; you shall receive this grace. Your honest desire and\napproved virtue, your love of truth, wisdom, and long perseverance,\nshall accomplish your sorrowful desires.\n\n\u201cIt is necessary that, as soon as convenient, we speak together face\nto face, lest I should by writing betray my trust. I will make you my\nheir and brother in this art, as I am setting out to travel in foreign\ncountries. Give thanks to God, Who, next to His spiritual servants,\nhonours the sons of this sacred science.\u201d\n\nNorton lost no time in undertaking a journey to his instructor, and\nrode upwards of a hundred miles on horseback to reach the abode of the\nadept. During the forty days already mentioned he received the advice\nand directions of his friend. He was already to a great extent prepared\nfor initiation by a long course of natural philosophy, as well as by\nthe study of the occult and curious sciences. The \u201cdisclosure of the\nbonds of nature\u201d took place, and he became convinced of the truth\nand certainty of the art by the rationality of its theorems. He felt\nconfident of success in the practice, but the adept, on account of his\nyouth, refused to instruct him in the process from the white to the red\npowder, lest the divine gift should be misused in a moment of passion.\nIn due time, and after further proofs of his capacity and integrity, he\nwould communicate the work of the medicinal stone. This, the supreme\ndesire of the neophyte, was afterwards accomplished.\n\nThe chemical operations of Norton were destined, however, to meet with\ntwo signal disappointments. He had almost perfected the tincture, when\nhis own servant, who was employed in the care of the furnace, believing\nthat the prize was complete, carried it away. He again undertook the\nprocess and succeeded in making the elixir, but he complains that it\nwas stolen by the wife of a merchant, said to be William Canning, Mayor\nof Bristol, who suddenly started into great wealth, and who built the\nsplendid and lofty steeple of St Mary\u2019s, Radcliffe, besides enlarging\nWestbury College.\n\nIt is doubtful whether Thomas Norton ever enjoyed the fruits of his\nsupposed knowledge. He does not speak of his own transmutations, and\nif he is called by one of his contemporaries _alchemista suo tempore\nperitissimus_, by others he is termed _Nugarum opifex in frivola\nscientia_. The latter declare that he undid himself by his labours,\nand that all his friends who trusted him with their money were as much\nruined as himself. According to Fuller, he lived and died very poor;\nnevertheless his family appears to have been held in high repute under\nKing Henry VIII. There were nine brothers of the name of Norton. One\nanonymous writer asserts that they were all of them knights. The tomb\nof Sampson Norton, master of the king\u2019s ordnance, and buried in Fulham\nChurch, was adorned with Hermetic paintings, according to one account,\nbut Faulkner, in his historical account of Fulham, describes it as\na rich Gothic monument, ornamented with foliage and oak-leaves, and\nbearing an obliterated inscription.\n\nThomas Norton died in 1477. His grandson Samuel followed in his steps\nas an alchemist, and was the author of several Hermetic treatises,\nwhich are not very highly esteemed.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cThe Ordinal of Alchemy\u201d testifies that the stone is one. In appearance\nit is a subtle earth, brown, and opaque; it stands the fire, and is\nconsidered to be of no value. There is also another and glorious stone,\nwhich is termed the philosophical magnesia. Alchemy is a wonderful\nscience, a secret philosophy, a singular grace and free gift of the\nAlmighty, which was never discovered by independent human labour, but\nonly by revelation or the instruction of one of the adepts.\n\n \u201cIt helpeth a man when he hath neede,\n It voideth vaine Glory, Hope, and also Dreade:\n It voideth Ambitiousnesse, Extorcion, and Excesse,\n It fenceth Adversity that shee doe not oppresse.\n He that thereof hath his full intent,\n Forsaketh Extremities, with Measure is content.\u201d\n\nA certain mineral virtue is said to be the efficient cause in\nthe production of metals in the bowels of the earth; it is in\ncorrespondence with the virtues of the celestial spheres. The red stone\nlengthens life, but it is vain to seek it till after the confection of\nthe white.\n\n\n\n\nTHOMAS DALTON.\n\n\nThe only account of this English adept is preserved by Thomas Norton.\nHe was alive in the year 1450, and is described as a religious man, who\nenjoyed a good reputation till, upon suspicion that he had a large mass\nof transmuting powder, he was taken from his abbey in Gloucestershire\nby Thomas Herbert, one of the squires of King Edward, and being brought\ninto the royal presence he was confronted by Debois, another of the\nking\u2019s squires, to whom Dalton was formerly a chaplain. Debois alleged\nthat Dalton, in less than twelve hours, made him a thousand pounds of\ngood gold, and he attested the fact upon oath. Then Dalton, looking\nat Debois, said, \u201cSir, you are forsworn.\u201d Debois acknowledged that\nhe had vowed never to reveal the benefit which he had received, but\nfor the king\u2019s sake and the good of the commonwealth he ought not to\nkeep his oath. Dalton now addressed the king, and informed him that he\nhad received the powder of projection from a canon of Lichfield, on\ncondition that he forbore to make use of it till after the death of the\ndonor. Since that event he had been in so much danger and disquietude\non account of its possession that he had destroyed it in secret.\nThe king dismissed Dalton, giving him four marks for his travelling\nexpenses; but Herbert lay in wait for him brought him from Stepney,\nand thence conveyed him to the castle of Gloucester, where every means\nwere vainly tried to induce him to make the philosophers\u2019 tincture.\n\nAfter four years\u2019 imprisonment, Dalton was brought out to be beheaded\nin the presence of Herbert. He obeyed with resignation and joy, saying:\n\u201cBlessed art thou, Lord Jesus! I have been too long from you; the\nscience you gave me I have kept without abusing it; I have found no one\napt to be my heir, wherefore, sweet Lord, I will render Thy gift to\nThee again.\u201d\n\nThen, after some devout prayer, with a smiling countenance he desired\nthe executioner to proceed. Tears gushed from the eyes of Herbert when\nhe beheld him so willing to die, and saw that no ingenuity could wrest\nhis secret from him. He gave orders for his release. His imprisonment\nand threatened execution were contrived without the king\u2019s knowledge to\nintimidate him into compliance. The iniquitous devices having failed,\nHerbert did not dare to take away his life. Dalton rose from the block\nwith a heavy countenance and returned to his abbey, much grieved at\nthe further prolongation of his earthly sojourn. Herbert died shortly\nafter this atrocious act of tyranny, and Debois also came to an\nuntimely end. His father, Sir John Debois, was slain at the battle\nof Tewksbury, May 4, 1471, and two days after, as recorded in Stow\u2019s\n_Annales_, he himself, James Debois, was taken, with several others of\nthe Lancastrian party, from a church where they had fled for sanctuary,\nand was beheaded on the spot.[U]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[U] Stow, \u201cAnnales of England,\u201d p. 424, ed. 1615.\n\n\n\n\nSIR GEORGE RIPLEY.\n\n\nThis illustrious alchemical philosopher, whose works paved the royal\nroad to the initiation, in after times, of his still more illustrious\npupil, the sublime and mysterious Philalethes, entered, at an early\nage, among the regular canons of Bridlington, in the diocese of York.\nThe tranquillity of monastic life afforded him a favourable opportunity\nfor the study of the great masters in transcendental chemistry, but he\nfound himself notwithstanding incompetent for their full comprehension,\nand in considerable consequent disappointment he determined to travel,\npersuading himself that he should discover in the conversations of\nphilosophers what he could not glean from books.\n\nIn Italy, Germany, and France he became acquainted with various men of\nlearning, and was present at a transmutation which was performed in\nRome. He proceeded afterwards to the island of Rhodes, where a document\nis supposed to exist testifying that he gave \u00a3100,000 to the Knights\nof St John of Jerusalem. He was dignified by the Pope, which fact, on\nhis return to Bridlington, excited the jealousy of his brethren, and\nin consequence of their hostility he entered the Carmelite order at\nButolph, in Lincolnshire, and, by an indulgence from Innocent VIII.,\nhad permission to live in solitude, exempt from cloistral observances,\nand in his now uninterrupted leisure he wrote twenty-four books,\nsome scientific, and others on devout subjects. The \u201cTwelve Gates\nof Alchemy\u201d he composed in 1471, and he declares that any of his\nexperiments recorded from 1450 to 1470 should be entirely discredited,\nas he wrote them from theory, and found afterwards by practice that\nthey were untrue. Hence it may be concluded that he employed twenty\nyears in mastering the secrets of the science. He died at Butolph in\n1490.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cThe Twelve Gates of Alchemy\u201d describe the stone as a triune microcosm,\nwhence Ripley has been cited as an adept of the spiritual chemistry.\nHe insists upon the necessity of proportion in its composition,\nand declares that the principle, or _prima materia_, may be found\neverywhere. It flies with fowls in the air, swims with fishes in the\nsea, it may be discerned by the reason of angels, and it governs man\nand woman. An astronomical year is required for the manufacture of the\nstone.\n\n\n\n\nPICUS DE MIRANDOLA.\n\n\nJohn Picus, Earl of Mirandola, was born on the 24th February 1463. He\nis equally celebrated for his precocity, the extent of his learning,\nhis prodigious memory, and his penetrating intellect. As the pupil\nof Jochanum, a Jew, he became early initiated in the Kabbalistic\ninterpretation of Scripture, and at the age of twenty-four years he\npublished nine hundred propositions in logic, mathematics, physics,\ndivinity, and Kabbalism, collected from Greek, Latin, Jewish, and\nArabian writers. In his treatise _De Auro_, he records his conviction\nof the success of Hermetic operations, and gives us the following\nnarrations:--\n\n\u201cI come now to declare that which I have beheld of this prodigy,\nwithout veil or obscurity. One of my friends, who is still living, has\nmade gold and silver over sixty times in my presence. I have seen it\nperformed in divers manners, but the expense of making the silver with\na metallic water exceeded the produce.\u201d\n\nIn another place he tells us that \u201ca good man who had not a sufficiency\nto support his family, was reduced to the last extremity of distress;\nwith an agitated mind he went one night to sleep, and in a dream he\nbeheld a blessed angel, who, by means of enigmas, instructed him in\nthe method of making gold, and indicated to him, at the same time, the\nwater he should use to ensure success. At his awaking he proceeded to\nwork with this water, and made gold, truly in small quantity, yet\nsufficient to support his family. Twice he made gold of iron and four\ntimes of orpiment. He convinced me by the evidence of my own eyes that\nthe art of transmutation is no fiction.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nPARACELSUS.\n\n\nPhilippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim was born in\nthe year 1493, at Maria Einsiedeln, in the canton of Zurich, in\nSwitzerland. He was descended from the ancient and honourable family\nof Bombast, which had abode during many generations at the castle of\nHohenheim near Stuttgart, W\u00fcrtemberg. His father was a physician of\nrepute, and in possession of a large collection of curious books. His\nmother had been the matron of a hospital, and Theophrastus, their only\nchild, was born one year after their marriage. He is said to have been\nemasculated in his infancy, a tradition which may have been invented to\naccount for his beardless and feminine appearance, and for his hatred\nof women.\n\nParacelsus received the first rudiments of education from his father,\nand, as he advanced in his studies and capacity, he was instructed in\nalchemy, surgery, and medicine. One of the works of Isaac Holland fell\ninto his hands, and from that moment he was inflamed with the ambition\nof curing diseases by medicine superior to the _materia_ at that time\nin use. He performed several chemical operations, according to the\nbooks of the celebrated Hollander, and adopted from his writings the\nancient principles that a salt, mercury, and sulphur form a trinity\nin every substance. This system he enlarged and explained by his own\nintellectual illumination. He imbibed much of his father\u2019s extensive\nlearning, and then continued his studies under the guidance of monks\nin the convent of St Andrew of Savon, afterwards at the University\nof Basel, and finally devoted himself to the occult sciences with the\nillustrious Johann Trithemius, Abbot of Spanheim, for his teacher and\ndirector. In this way he acquired \u201cthe Kabbalah of the spiritual,\nastral, and material worlds.\u201d He was afterwards placed under the care\nof Sigismond Hagger or Fagger, to be improved in medicine, surgery, and\nchemistry. At twenty years of age he started on his travels through\nGermany, Hungary, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden,\nand Russia. In Muscovy he is said to have been taken prisoner by\nthe Tartars, who brought him before \u201cthe great Cham.\u201d His knowledge\nof medicine and chemistry made him a favourite at the court of this\npotentate, who sent him in company with his son on an embassy to\nConstantinople. It was here, according to Helmont, that he was taught\nthe supreme secret of alchemistry by a generous Arabian, who gave him\nthe universal dissolvent, the Azoth of western adepts, the alcahest or\nsophic fire. Thus initiated, he is said to have proceeded to India. On\nhis return to Europe he passed along the Danube into Italy, where he\nserved as an army surgeon, performing many wonderful cures.\n\nAt the age of thirty-two he re-entered Germany, and was soon after\ninvited to take a professorship of physic, medicine, and surgery at the\nUniversity of Basel, then illuminated by the presence of Erasmus and\nOporinus. There, in his lectures, he professed \u201cinternal medicine,\u201d\ndenounced the antiquated systems of Galen and other authorities, and\nbegan his instruction by burning the works of these masters in a brass\npan with sulphur and nitre. He created innumerable enemies by his\narrogance and his innovations, but the value of his mineral medicines\nwas proved by the cures which he performed. These cures only increased\nthe hatred of his persecutors, and Paracelsus with characteristic\ndefiance invited the faculty to a lecture, in which he promised to\nteach the greatest secret in medicine. He began by uncovering a dish\nwhich contained excrement. The doctors, indignant at the insult,\ndeparted precipitately, Paracelsus shouting after them:--\u201cIf you will\nnot hear the mysteries of putrefactive fermentation, you are unworthy\nof the name of physicians.\u201d Subsequently, he came into conflict with\nthe municipal authorities, and was forced to flee from Basel. He\nresumed his strolling life, lodging at public inns, drinking to excess,\nbut still performing admirable cures. Oporinus testifies that even\nduring the period of his professorship he never seemed sober.\n\nIn 1528, Paracelsus proceeded to Colmar. In 1530 he was staying at\nNuremberg, where the faculty denounced him as an impostor, but he\ntransfixed his opponents by curing in a few days some desperate cases\nof elephantiasis. \u201cTestimonials to this effect,\u201d says Hartmann, his\nlatest biographer, \u201cmay still be found in the archives of the city of\nNuremberg.\u201d He continued his wanderings and his intemperate manner of\nlife, dying on the 24th of September 1541.\n\nThe actual manner of his death has been variously recounted. The\noriginal \u201cLives of Alchemysticall Philosophers\u201d says that it occurred\non a bench of the kitchen fire of the inn at Strasburg. Dr Hartmann, on\nthe other hand, tells us that he \u201cwent to Maehren, Kaernthen, Krain,\nand Hongary, and finally landed in Salzburg, to which place he was\ninvited by the Prince Palatine, Duke Ernst of Bavaria, who was a great\nlover of the secret arts. In that place, Paracelsus obtained at last\nthe fruits of his long labours and of a wide-spread fame. But he was\nnot destined to enjoy a long time the rest he so richly deserved....\nHe died, after a short sickness (at the age of forty-eight years and\nthree days), in a small room of the \u2018White Horse\u2019 Inn, near the quay,\nand his body was buried in the graveyard of St Sebastian.\u201d His death is\nsupposed to have been hastened by a scuffle with assassins in the pay\nof the orthodox medical faculty.\n\nThe last commentator on Paracelsus, Dr Franz Hartmann, has devoted a\nchapter to the alchemical and astrological teachings of the seer of\nHohenheim. The first art, according to Paracelsus, separates the pure\nfrom the impure, and develops species out of primordial matter. It\nperfects what Nature has left imperfect, and, therefore, its principles\nare of universal application, and are not restricted to the metallic\nand mineral kingdoms. Gold can be made by physical chemistry, but the\nprocess is poor and unproductive in comparison with the gold which can\nbe produced by an exercise of the occult powers which exist in the soul\nof man. Actual and material gold can be psycho-chemically manufactured.\nBy this amazing theory, Paracelsus created a new school of alchemy,\nwhich abandoned experimental research, and sought within themselves the\nsecret, subject, and end of alchemystical philosophy.\n\n\n\n\nDENIS ZACHAIRE.\n\n\nIt appears that the true name of this persevering and indefatigable\nseeker after the end and truth of alchemy has not in reality come down\nto us, that which is placed at the head of his _Opusculum Chimicum_\nbeing simply pseudonymous. It is to this little work that we are\nindebted for one of the most singular histories in the annals of the\nHermetic art.\n\nDenis Zachaire was born of a noble family, in an unmentioned part of\nGuienne, during the year 1510. He was sent, as a youth, to Bordeaux,\nunder the care of a tutor, to prosecute the study of philosophy and\n_belles lettres_. His preceptor, however, had a passion for alchemy,\nand inoculated his pupil with the fatal fever of the sages. They\nspeedily abandoned the common academical courses for the thorny\npathways of the _magnum opus_, and Denis, in particular, devoted\nhimself to the assiduous compilation of a vast volume of Hermetic\nreceipts, indicating a thousand processes, with a thousand various\nmaterials, for the successful manufacture of gold. From Bordeaux he\nproceeded to Toulouse, still in the society of his tutor, and for the\nostensible study of law, but in reality for the experimental practice\nof alchemy. Two hundred crowns with which they were supplied for their\nmaintenance during the next two years were speedily expended in the\npurchase of furnaces, instruments, and drugs, for the literal execution\nof the processes contained in the books of the adepts.\n\n\u201cBefore the end of the year,\u201d as he himself informs us, \u201cmy two hundred\ncrowns were gone in smoke, and my tutor died of a fever he took in\nsummer from his close attention to the furnace, which he erected in\nhis chamber, and stayed there continually in extreme heat. His death\nafflicted me much, and still more as my parents refused to supply\nme with money, except what was just necessary for my support. I was\ntherefore unable to proceed in my grand work.\n\n\u201cTo overcome these difficulties I went home in 1535, being of age, to\nput myself out of guardianship; and I disposed of some of my property\nfor four hundred crowns. This sum was necessary to execute a process\nwhich was given me in Toulouse, by an Italian, who said he saw it\nproved. I kept him living with me, to see the end of his process.\n\n\u201cWe dissolved gold and silver in various sorts of strong waters, but\nit was all in vain; we did not recover from the solution one half of\nthe gold and silver which we had put into it. My four hundred crowns\nwere reduced to two hundred and thirty, of which I gave twenty to the\nItalian, to proceed to Milan, where, he said, the author of the process\nlived, and whence he would return with his explanations. I remained at\nToulouse all the winter, awaiting him, and I might have tarried there\nstill, as I never have heard of him since.\n\n\u201cIn the ensuing summer the city being visited by the plague, I went\nto Cahors, and there continued for six months. I did not lose sight\nof my work, and became acquainted with an old man who was called\nthe philosopher, a name given in the country to any one of superior\ninformation. I communicated to him my practices and asked his advice.\nHe mentioned ten or twelve processes which he thought better than\nothers. I returned to Toulouse when the plague ceased, and renewed my\nlabours accordingly. The only consequence was that my money was all\nspent, except one hundred and seventy crowns. To continue my operations\nwith more certainty, I made acquaintance with an abb\u00e9, who dwelt in\nthe neighbourhood of this city. He was taken with a passion for the\nsame pursuit as myself, and he informed me that one of his friends, who\nlived with Cardinal Armanac, had sent him a process from Rome which\nhe believed genuine, but it would cost two hundred crowns. I agreed\nto furnish one half of this sum, and he gave the rest, so we began to\nwork together. Our process required a large supply of spirits of wine.\nI purchased a cask of excellent wine, from which I drew the spirit and\nrectified it many times. We took two pounds weight of it and half a\npound weight of gold, which we had calcined for a month. These were\nincluded in a pelican and placed in a furnace. This work lasted a year,\nbut, not to remain idle, we made some other experiments to amuse\nourselves, and from which we expected to draw sufficient profit to pay\nthe cost of our great work.\n\n\u201cThe year 1537 passed over without any change appearing in the subject\nof our labours. We might have remained through our whole lives in\nthe same state, for we should have known that the perfect metals are\nunaltered by vegetable or animal substances. We took out our powder and\nmade projection upon hot quicksilver, but it was in vain! Judge then of\nour grief, especially as the abb\u00e9 had notified to all his monks that\nthey would have to melt the lead cistern of their house in order that\nhe might convert it into gold as soon as our operations were finished.\n\n\u201cMy bad success could not make me desist. I again raised four hundred\ncrowns on my property; the abb\u00e9 did the same, and I set out for Paris,\na city containing more alchemists than any other in the world. I\nresolved to remain there as long as the eight hundred crowns lasted, or\nuntil I succeeded in my object. This journey drew on me the displeasure\nof my relations, and the censure of my friends, who imagined I was a\nstudious lawyer. However, I made them believe that the design of my\nsojourn in Paris was the purchase of a situation in the law courts.\n\n\u201cAfter travelling for fifteen days I arrived at Paris in January\n1539. I remained a month almost unknown, but no sooner had I visited\nthe furnace makers and conversed with some amateurs than I became\nacquainted with more than a hundred artists, who were all at work in\ndifferent ways. Some laboured to extract the mercury of metals and\nafterwards to fix it. A variety of systems were held by others, and\nscarcely a day passed in which some of them did not visit me, even on\nSundays and the most sacred festivals of the Church, to hear what I had\ndone.\n\n\u201cIn these conversations one said:--\u2018If I had the means to begin again,\nI should produce something good.\u2019 Another--\u2018Would that my vessel\nhad been strong enough to resist the force of what it contained.\u2019\nAnother--\u2018If I had possessed a round copper vessel well closed, I would\nhave fixed mercury with silver.\u2019 There was not one without a reasonable\nexcuse for his failure, but I was deaf to all their discourses,\nrecollecting my experience as the dupe of similar expectations.\n\n\u201cI was tempted, nevertheless, by a Greek who had a process with\ncinnabar, which failed. At the same time I became acquainted with a\nstrange gentleman, newly arrived, who often, in my presence, sold\nthe fruit of his operations to the goldsmiths. I was a long time\nfrequenting his company, but he did not consent to inform me of his\nsecret. At last I prevailed over him, but it was only a refinement\nof metals more ingenious than the rest. I failed not to write to the\nabb\u00e9, at Toulouse, enclosing a copy of the process of the stranger, and\nimagining that I had attained some useful knowledge, he advised me to\nremain another year at Paris, since I had made so good a beginning.\n\n\u201cAfter all, as to the philosophers\u2019 stone, I succeeded no better than\nbefore. I had been three years at Paris, and my money was nearly\nexpended, when I had a letter from the abb\u00e9, informing me that he\nhad something to communicate, and that I should join him as soon as\npossible.\n\n\u201cOn my arrival at Toulouse, I found that he had a letter from King\nHenry of Navarre, who was a lover of philosophy, and who requested\nthat I should proceed to Pau, in Berne, to teach him the secret I\nhad received from the stranger at Paris. He would recompense me with\nthree or four thousand crowns. The mention of this sum exhilarated the\nabb\u00e9, and he never let me rest till I set out to wait on the prince.\nI arrived at Pau in May 1542. I found the prince a very curious\npersonage. By his command I went to work, and succeeded according\nto the process I knew. When it was finished I obtained the expected\nrecompense, but although the king wished to serve me further, he was\ndissuaded by the lords of his court, even by those who had engaged me\nto come to him. He dismissed me with great acknowledgments, desiring\nme to see if there was anything in his estates which would gratify me,\nsuch as confiscations or the like, and that he would give them to me\nwith pleasure. These promises, which meant nothing, did not lead me\nto entertain the hopes of a courtier, and I returned to the abb\u00e9 at\nToulouse.\n\n\u201cOn my road I heard of a religious man, who was very skilful in natural\nphilosophy. I went to visit him; he lamented my misfortunes, and said,\nwith a friendly zeal, that he advised me to amuse myself no longer\nwith these various particular operations, which were all false and\nsophistical, but that I should rather peruse _the best books of the\nancient philosophers_, as well to know _the true matter_ as the _right\norder that should be pursued_ in the practice of this science.\n\n\u201cI felt the truth of this safe counsel, but before I put it in\nexecution, I went to see my friend at Toulouse, to give him an account\nof the eight hundred crowns that we had put in common, and to divide\nwith him the recompense I had received from the King of Navarre. If\nhe proved not content with all I told him, he was still less so at\nthe resolution I had taken to discontinue my operations. Of our eight\nhundred crowns, we had but eighty-six left. I departed from him, and\nreturned home, intending to go to Paris, and there remain until I was\nfixed in my theory of reading the works of the adepts. I reached Paris\nin 1546, and remained there a year, assiduously studying the _Turba\nPhilosophorum_, the good Tr\u00e9visan, the \u201cRemonstrance of Nature,\u201d and\nsome other of the best books. But as I had no _first principles_, I\nknew not on what to determine.\n\n\u201cAt length I went out of my solitude, not to see my old acquaintances,\nthe searchers after particular tinctures and minor works, but to\nfrequent those who proceeded in the great process by the books of\nthe genuine adepts. I was, nevertheless, disappointed herein, by\nthe confusion and disagreement of their theories, by the variety of\ntheir works, and of their different operations. Excited by a sort of\ninspiration, I gave myself up to the study of Raymond Lully and Arnold\nde Villa Nova. My reading and meditation continued another year. I\nthen _formed my plan_, and only waited to sell the remainder of my\nland to enable me to go home, and put my resolution into practice.\nI commenced at Christmas, 1549, and after some preparations, having\nprocured everything that was necessary, I began my process, not without\ninquietude and difficulty. A friend said to me:--\u201cWhat are you going\nto do? have you not lost enough by this delusion?\u201d Another assured me\nthat if I continued to purchase so much coal, I should be suspected of\ncounterfeiting coin, of which he had already heard a rumour. Another\nsaid I ought to follow my business of a lawyer. But I was chiefly\ntormented by my relations, who reproached me bitterly with my conduct,\nand threatened to bring the officers of justice into my house to break\nmy furnaces in pieces.\n\n\u201cI leave you to judge my trouble and grief at this opposition. I\nfound no consolation but in my work, which prospered from day to day,\nand to which I was very attentive. The interruption of all commerce,\nwhich was occasioned by the plague, gave me the opportunity of great\nsolitude, in which I could examine with undisturbed satisfaction the\nsuccess of the three colours which mark the true work. I thus arrived\nat the perfection of the tincture, and made an essay of its virtue on\ncommon quicksilver, on Easter Monday, 1550. In less than an hour it\nwas converted into pure gold. You may guess how joyful I was, but I\ntook care not to boast. I thanked God for the favour he shewed me, and\nprayed that I should be permitted to use it but for His glory.\n\n\u201cThe next day I set out to find the abb\u00e9, according to the promise we\ngave each other, to communicate our discoveries. On my way, I called at\nthe house of the religious man who had assisted me by his good advice.\nI had the grief to find that both he and the abb\u00e9 had been dead about\nsix months. I did not go back to my house, but sought another place,\nto await the arrival of one of my relations whom I had left at my\ndwelling. I sent him a procuration to sell all that I possessed, both\nhouse and furniture, to pay my debts, and to distribute the remainder\namong those of my relations who were in want. He soon after rejoined\nme, and we set out for Lausanne, in Switzerland, resolved to pass our\ndays without ostentation in some of the celebrated cities of Germany.\u201d\n\nIn his unknown retreat[V] the adept recorded his adventures and\nexperiences when in search of the philosophical stone, _ut divertarem\nbonos piosque vivos, \u00e0 sophisticationibus, ad viam rectam perfectionis\nin hoc opere divino_. His little work is entitled simply _Opusculum\nChemicum_; it opens with the romantic narrative which I have cited\nalmost _in extenso_. It calls Hermes _magnus propheta noster_, insists\nthat the art is the gift of God alone on the authority of all the\ninitiates, and quotes so largely from previous writers that it can\nscarcely be considered an original work on the Hermetic philosophy.\n\nThe life of Bernard Tr\u00e9visan has abundantly testified to the physical\nnature of his object, which is amply confirmed by this treatise. The\nmethods of projection upon metals, the composition of precious stones,\nand the application of the tincture as a medicine for the human body,\nare successively considered. One grain of the _divinum opus_, dissolved\nin white wine, transmutes that liquor into a rich citron colour, and\nhas innumerable hygienic uses.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[V] See Appendix I.\n\n\n\n\nBERIGARD OF PISA.\n\n\nThe following account of a transmutation performed by himself, is\nrecorded by the celebrated Italian philosopher, Claude Berigard, and\nwill be found on the twenty-fifth page of his _Circulus Pisanus_,\npublished at Florence in 1641.\n\n\u201cI did not think that it was possible to convert quicksilver into gold,\nbut an acquaintance thought proper to remove my doubt. He gave me about\na drachm of a powder nearly of the colour of the wild poppy, and having\na smell like calcined sea-salt. To avoid all imposition, I purchased a\ncrucible, charcoal, and quicksilver, in which I was certain that there\nwas no gold mixed. Ten drachms of quicksilver which I heated on the\nfire were on projection transmuted into nearly the same weight of good\ngold, which stood all tests. Had I not performed this operation in the\nmost careful manner, taking every precaution against the possibility of\ndoubt, I should not have believed it, but I am satisfied of the fact.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHARNOCK.\n\n\nThomas Charnock was born in the Isle of Thanet, in the year 1524.\nHe calls himself an unlettered scholar, and student in astronomy\nand philosophy. He practised surgery, and, though he knew only the\nrudiments of Latin, it appears that he was famous in the neighbourhood\nof Salisbury, where he had established himself, for his accomplishments\nin the liberal sciences. He had two masters in alchemy, the first\nbeing Sir James S----, a priest, dwelling in the cloisters, near\nSalisbury, who informed Charnock that he did not derive his knowledge\nfrom any living adept, but that by meditation upon the words of the\nphilosophers, he had mastered the principal secrets of alchemy as he\nlay in his bed, and had accordingly succeeded in making the silver\npowder.\n\nThe other master who instructed Charnock was a blind man, led by\na boy, whom the neophyte accidentally discovered at an inn among\nother travellers, by a few words of the occult chemistry, which he\nperceived in his conversation. As soon as the company had retired,\nCharnock questioned the speaker, and requested instruction in natural\nphilosophy. To this the adept objected that he was unacquainted with\nhis interrogator, saying he would render up his knowledge to God who\ngave it, if he did not meet with a certain Master Charnock, the fame of\nwhose learning and charity had reached him.\n\nAt these words Charnock made himself known, and the old man discoursed\nwith him for an hour, during which time he found him expert in many\nmysteries of the sacred science. He promised Charnock that if he made a\nvow not to reveal the secret for gold, preferment, or through affection\nfor great men, but only at death to one who was truly devoted to the\nsearch into nature, he would make him the heir of his knowledge.\nAccordingly, on the following Sunday they received the Eucharist\ntogether, and then, withdrawing into the middle of a large field, the\nboy was sent away out of hearing, and, in a few words, the blind man\nuttered \u201cthe mystery of mineral prudence.\u201d Their conversations were\ncontinued for nine days. The secrets of alchemy were disclosed, and\nthe adept also related his own private history, acquainting Charnock\nthat his name was William Bird, that he had been a prior of Bath, and\nhad defrayed the expense of repairing the abbey church from treasure\nwhich he had acquired by means of the red and white elixirs. At the\nsuppression of the abbey, he concealed the inestimable powder in the\nwall, and returning in ten days it was gone. He found a few rags in the\nplace where he had left it. This misfortune almost deprived him of his\nsenses; he wandered about, and lost his sight. He was therefore unable\nto repeat his process, and continued to travel over the country, led by\na boy. He had received his Hermetic knowledge from a servant of Ripley.\n\nAt the time of this communication, Charnock was twenty-eight years\nold, and two years after his first master fell sick while attending\nhis furnace for the completion of the red stone. He sent for Charnock,\nmade him the heir of his work, and died after giving him instructions\nhow to proceed. Charnock began his operations on the materials left by\nhis leader, and was much perplexed by the difficulty of keeping the\nfire equal. He often started out of his sleep to examine the fuel; but\nafter all his care, which continued during the space of several months,\nthe frame of wood that covered the furnace took fire during a short\nperiod of his absence, and when, smelling the burning, he ran up to his\nlaboratory, he discovered that his work was completely destroyed. This\noccurred on January 1, 1555. To repair the mischief he was obliged to\nrecommence at the first part of the process, and he hired a servant to\nassist in taking care of the fire. In the course of two months certain\nsigns filled him with hopes of success, when his dependence on his\nservant proved the ruin of his work. He discovered that this unfaithful\nassistant would let the fire nearly out, and then, to conceal his\nneglect, would rekindle it with grease till it was so hot as to scorch\nthe matter beyond recovery.\n\nIn the third attempt, Charnock resolved to proceed without help. His\nfire cost him three pounds a week, and he was obliged to sell some\nrings and jewels to maintain it. He made good progress in the course\nof eight months, and expected to be rewarded in a little time for all\nhis labours; but at this critical period he was impressed to serve as\na soldier at the siege of Calais. Furious with disappointment, he took\na hatchet, smashed his glasses, furnace, and apparatus, and threw them\nout of the house.\n\nHe wrote his \u201cBreviary of Philosophy\u201d in 1557, and the \u201cEnigma of\nAlchemy\u201d in 1572, with a memorandum, dated 1574, when he was fifty\nyears old. Therein he declares his attainment of the gold-producing\npowder when his hairs were white. The \u201cBreviary\u201d claims to describe\nall the vessels and instruments which are required in the science; a\npotter, a joiner, and a glassmaker must lend their several services.\nThe address of one of these artificers, specially recommended by the\nauthor, is said to be Chiddinfold in Sussex; he could manufacture\negg-shaped glasses which opened and shut \u201cas close as a hair.\u201d The\nregulation of the philosophical fire is described in this curious poem,\nbut the rest of its information is of a purely autobiographical kind.\n\n\n\n\nGIOVANNI BRACCESCO.\n\n\nThis alchemist of Brescia flourished in the sixteenth century. He was\nthe author of a commentary on Geber, which is not supposed to cast\nmuch light on the obscurities of the Arabian philosopher. The most\ncurious of his original treatises is _Legno della Vita, vel quale\nsi dichiara la medecina per la quale i nostri primi padri vivevano\nnove cento anni_, Rome, 1542, 8vo.--\u201cThe Wood of Life, wherein is\nrevealed the medicine by means of which our Primeval Ancestors lived\nfor Nine Hundred Years.\u201d This work, together with _La Esposizione\ndi Geber Filosophe_, Venice, 1544, 8vo, was translated into Latin,\nand may be found in the collections of Gratarole and Mangetus. They\nwere also published separately under the title _De Alchimia dialogi\nduo_, Lugd., 1548, 4to. The Wood of Life is one of the innumerable\nnames given by the alchemists to the matured and perfected stone, the\ncomposition whereof is the accomplishment of the _magnum opus_. It is\nmore generally denominated the Universal Balsam or Panacea, which cures\nall diseases and insures to its most blessed possessor an unalterable\nyouth. The name Wood of Life is bestowed by the Jews on the two sticks\nwhich confine the scroll of the Law. They are convinced that a simple\ncontact with these sacred rods strengthens the eyesight and restores\nhealth. They also hold that there is no better means of facilitating\nthe _accouchement_ of females than to cause them to behold these\nvitalising sticks, which, however, they are in no wise permitted to\ntouch.[W]\n\nThe work of Braccesco is written in the form of a dialogue, and is\nexplanatory of the Hermetic principles of Raymond Lully, one of the\ninterlocutors, who instructs an enthusiastic disciple in the arcane\nprinciples of the divine art, the disciple in question being in\nsearch of a safeguard against the numerous infirmities and weaknesses\nof the \u201chumid radical.\u201d Such a medicine is declared by the master\nto be extracted from a single substance, which is the sophic _aqua\nmetallorum_. The dialogue is of interest, as it shows the connection in\nthe mind of the writer between the development of metallic perfection\nand the physical regeneration of humanity.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[W] _Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes_, i. p. 232.\n\n\n\n\nLEONARDI FIORAVANTI.\n\n\nDoctor, surgeon, and alchemist of the sixteenth century, this Italian\nwas a voluminous author, who is best known by his \u201cSummary of the\nArcana of Medicine, Surgery, and Alchemy,\u201d published in octavo at\nVenice in 1571, and which has been reprinted several times. It contains\nan application of Hermetic methods and principles to the science\nof medicine, but the author\u2019s account of the _petra philosophorum_\nshows the designation to be of a purely arbitrary kind, for it is a\nmixture of mercury, nitre, and other substances, intended to act on\nthe stomach, and has no connection with the transmuting _lapis_ of the\nalchemical sages.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN DEE.\n\n\nThe life of this pseudo-adept, and of Edward Kelly, his companion in\nalchemy, is involved in a cloud of necromancy and magico-Hermetical\nmarvels, so that the fabulous and historical elements are not to be\neasily separated.\n\nThe true name of Edward Kelly is supposed to have been Talbot. He is\nsaid to have been born at Worcester in 1555, and to have followed the\nprofession of a lawyer in London. His talents in penmanship appear to\nhave been utilised in the falsification of deeds. He was prosecuted at\nLancaster, according to a narrative of his enemies, for an offence of\nthis nature, and was condemned to lose his ears. By some he is said to\nhave suffered this punishment,[X] by others to have evaded it, seeking\nsafety in Wales, where he lodged at an obscure inn, and concealed his\nidentity by adopting a new name. During this sojourn an old manuscript\nwas shown him by the innkeeper, which was indecipherable by himself\nor his neighbours. The so-called Edward Kelly, being initiated into\nthe mysteries of ancient writing, discovered it to be a treatise on\ntransmutation, and his curiosity was highly excited. He inquired as to\nits history, and was told that it had been discovered in the tomb of\na bishop who had been buried in a neighbouring church, and whose tomb\nhad been sacrilegiously uptorn by some wretched heretical fanatics at\nthat epoch of furious religiomania and rampant Elizabethan persecution.\nThe object of this desecration was the discovery of concealed treasures\nin the resting-place of the prelate, to whom immense riches were\nattributed by popular tradition. The impiety was, however, rewarded by\nnothing but the manuscript in question, and two small ivory bottles,\nrespectively containing a ponderous red and white powder. These pearls\nbeyond price were rejected by the pigs of apostasy; one of them was\nshattered on the spot, and its ruddy, celestine contents for the most\npart lost. The remnant, together with the remaining bottle and the\nunintelligible manuscript, were speedily disposed of to the innkeeper\nin exchange for a skinful of wine. The unbroken bottle was transferred\nby the new owner as a plaything to his children, but the providence\nwhich in the main overwatches the accomplishment of the sublime act\npreserved its contents intact. When Edward Kelly, with an assumed\nantiquarian indifference about objects which were more curious than\nvaluable, offered a pound sterling for all the articles, a bargain was\npromptly effected. The lawyer was by no means an alchemist, but he\nbelieved himself possessed of a Hermetic treasure; he determined, at\nall risks, to return to London, and consult with his friend Dr Dee,\nwho abode in a cottage at Mortlake, and who, in matters of magical\ndevilment, and in the tortuosities of the occult, was considered a man\nof men.\n\nWhether he had been accused of forgery, whether he had lost his ears,\nor not, the discovery of Edward Kelly caused the necromantic doctor to\nbe blind to his faults or his crimes; he at once set to work in his\ncompany, in the year 1579, and in the month of December a stupendous\nsuccess was the crown of their labour in common. The richness of\nKelly\u2019s tincture proved to be one upon two hundred and seventy-two\nthousand two hundred and thirty; but they lost much gold in experiments\nbefore they knew the extent of its power. In Dr Dee\u2019s \u201cDiary in\nGermany\u201d he mentions the book of St Dunstan, which is probably the\nmanuscript of Kelly, and also the powder \u201cfound at the digging in\nEngland,\u201d which indicates some foundation for the narrative just given.\nThe place where the treasure was obtained is reported to have been the\nruins of Glastonbury Abbey, founded by St Dunstan. The last abbot was\nhanged by Henry VIII. for his adherence to the Papal cause.\n\nKelly appears to have taken up his quarters at Islington. In June\n1583 an attachment was issued against him for coining, of which his\ncompanion declares him guiltless. In the following September, Dr Dee,\nhis wife and children, and Edward Kelly, with his wife, accompanied\nby a certain Lord Albert Alasco, of Siradia, in Poland, departed from\nLondon for Cracow. As soon as they had arrived in the north of Germany,\nDr Dee received a letter from one of his friends in England, informing\nhim that his library at Mortlake had been seized and partially\ndestroyed, on the vulgar report of his unlawful studies, and that his\nrents and property were sequestered. Despite the possession of the\nDonum Dei, all parties appear to have been in considerable penury in\nconsequence.\n\nIn 1585 we find them at Prague, then the metropolis of alchemy, and\nthe headquarters of adepts and adeptship. Edward Kelly and his\ncompanions presently abounded in money, and the owner of the Hermaic\nBenediction made no secret of his prize or his powers, indulged\nin all kinds of extravagance, performed continual projections for\nhimself and his friends, as well as for many persons of distinction\nwho sought his acquaintance. Much of the result was distributed. The\ntransmutations of Kelly at this period are attested by several writers,\nincluding Gassendus. The most authenticated and remarkable, according\nto Figuier, is that which took place in the house of the imperial\nphysician, Thaddeus de Hazek, when, by the mediation of a single drop\nof a red oil, Kelly transmuted a pound of mercury into excellent\ngold, the superabundant virtue of the agent leaving in addition at\nthe bottom of the crucible a small ruby. Dr Nicholas Barnaud, the\nassistant of Hazek, and an alchemical writer, whose works are as rare\nas they are reputable, was a witness of this wonder, and subsequently\nhimself manufactured the precious metal, the _d\u00e9sir d\u00e9sir\u00e9_, with the\nassistance of Edward Kelly.\n\nThe report spread, and the adept was invited by the Emperor Maximilian\nII. to the Court of Germany, where his transmutations raised him into\nhighest favour; he was knighted, and created Marshal of Bohemia. Now\nperfectly intoxicated, he posed as a veritable adept, who was able to\ncompose the inestimable projecting powder. This gave a handle to the\nenemies whom his exaltation had made him; they persuaded the Emperor to\npractically imprison this living philosophical treasure, and to extract\nhis alchemical secret. His misfortunes now began. Absolute inability to\nobey the imperial mandate and compose a considerable quantity of the\nstone philosophical, was interpreted as a contumacious refusal; he was\ncast into a dungeon, but on engaging to comply with the demand if he\nhad the liberty to seek assistance, he was speedily set free, whereupon\nhe rejoined Dr Dee, and they again set to work in concert. The Book\nof St Dunstan indicated the use but not the preparation of the powder,\nand their experiments, vigilantly overwatched to prevent the escape\nof Kelly, proved entirely futile. In the desperation which succeeded\ntheir failure, the outrageous disposition of Kelly broke out, and he\nmurdered one of his guards. He was again imprisoned, his companion, for\nthe most part, remaining unmolested, and employing his opportunities,\nit is said, to interest Queen Elizabeth in the fate of the Emperor\u2019s\nprisoner. She claimed the alchemist as her subject, but his recent\ncrime had rendered him obnoxious to the laws of the empire, and he was\nstill detained in his dungeon.\n\nIn 1589, Dr Dee set out himself for England. He halted at Bremen, and\nwas there visited by Henry Khunrath, one of the greatest adepts of\nthe age. The Landgrave of Hesse sent him a complimentary letter, and\nwas presented in return with twelve Hungarian horses. Dr Dee arrived\nin England after an absence of six years; he was received by the\nQueen, who subsequently visited him at his house, presented him with\ntwo hundred angels to keep his Christmas, and gave him a license in\nalchemy. Sir Thomas Jones offered him his Castle of Emlin, in Wales,\nfor a dwelling; he was made Chancellor of St Paul\u2019s, and in 1595,\nWarden of Manchester College. He repaired thither with his wife and\nchildren, and was installed in February 1596. He does not appear to\nhave accomplished any transmutation after his return to England. In\n1607 we again find him at Mortlake, living on the revenue which he\nderived from Manchester, but subject to much persecution by the Fellows\nof that College. He died in 1608, at the age of eighty years.\n\nThe Hermetic abilities of Kelly were always believed in by the Emperor;\nhe continued to detain him, hoping to extract his secret. Some friends\nof the unfortunate alchemist endeavoured, in the year 1597, to effect\nhis escape by means of a rope, but he fell from the window of his\nprison, and died of the injuries which he received.\n\nDuring his confinement he composed a treatise on the philosophical\nstone, and the Diary of Dr Dee was published from a genuine Ashmolean\nmanuscript in 1604. The son of John Dee became physician to the Czar\nat Moscow, and in his _Fasciculus Chemicus_, he states that, in early\nyouth, he witnessed transmutation repeatedly for the space of seven\nyears.\n\nThe metrical account of Sir Edward Kelly\u2019s work in the _Theatrum\nChemicum Britannicum_ informs all who are broiling in the kitchen of\nGeber to burn their books \u201cand come and learn of me,\u201d for they can no\nmore compound the _Elixir Vit\u00e6_ and the precious stone than they can\nmanufacture apples. The progenitor of magnesia, wife to the gold of\nthe philosophers, is not a costly thing. The philosophical gold is not\ncommon but Hermetic sulphur, and magnesia is essential mercury.\n\nThe _Testamentum Johannis Dee Philosophi Summi ad Johannem Gwynn,\ntransmissum 1568_, is lucidly worded as follows in its reference to the\n_magnum opus_:--\n\n \u201cCut that in Three which Nature hath made one,\n Then strengthen yt, even by it self alone;\n Wherewith then cutte the powdered sonne in twayne,\n By length of tyme, and heale the wounde againe.\n The self same sonne troys yet more, ye must wounde,\n Still with new knives, of the same kinde, and grounde;\n Our monas trewe thus use by Nature\u2019s Law,\n Both binde and lewse, only with rype and rawe,\n And aye thank God who only is our Guyde,\n All is ynough, no more then at this tyde.\u201d\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[X] Morhof, _Epistola ad Langlelotum de Metallorun Transmutatione_.\n\n\n\n\nHENRY KHUNRATH.\n\n\nThis German alchemist, who is claimed as a hierophant of the psychic\nside of the _magnum opus_, and who was undoubtedly aware of the\nlarger issues of Hermetic theorems, must be classed as a follower of\nParacelsus. He was a native of Saxony, born about the year 1560. He\nperambulated a large portion of Germany, and at the age of twenty-eight\nreceived the degree of medical doctor at the University of Basle. He\npractised medicine at Hamburg and afterwards at Dresden, where he died\nin obscurity and poverty, on the 9th of September 1601, aged about\nforty-five years. The _Amphitheatrum Sapienti\u00e6 \u00c6tern\u00e6 solius ver\u00e6,\nChristiano Kabbalisticum divino magicum_, &c., published in folio in\n1609, is the most curious and remarkable of his works, some of which\nstill remain in manuscript.[Y] It was left unfinished by its author,\nappearing four years after his decease, with a preface and conclusion\nby his friend Erasmus Wohlfahrt.\n\nThe prologue directs the aspirant to the supreme temple of everlasting\nwisdom to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, to know also\nhimself, and the mysteries of the macrocosmos. The whole treatise is\npurely mystical and magical. The seven steps leading to the portals\nof universal knowledge are described in an esoteric commentary on\nsome portions of the Wisdom of Solomon. The _lapis philosophorum_ is\ndeclared to be identical with the Ruach Elohim who brooded over the\nface of the waters during the first period of creation. The Ruach\nElohim is called _vapor virtutis Dei_, and the internal form of all\nthings. The perfect stone is attained through Christ, and, conversely,\nthe possession of that treasure gives the knowledge of Christ. The\n_Amphitheatrum Sapienti\u00e6 \u00c6tern\u00e6_ seems to be the voice of the ancient\nchaos, but its curious folding plates are exceedingly suggestive.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Y] Chausepi\u00e9, _Dictionnaire_.\n\n\n\n\nMICHAEL MAIER.\n\n\nThis celebrated German alchemist, one of the central figures of the\nRosicrucian controversy in Germany, and the greatest adept of his age,\nwas born at Ruidsburg, in Holstein, towards the year 1568. In his youth\nhe applied himself closely to the study of medicine, and establishing\nhimself at Rostock, he practised that art with so much success that he\nbecame physician to the Emperor Rudolph II., by whom he was ennobled\nfor his services. Some adepts, notwithstanding, succeeded in enticing\nhim from the practical path which he had followed so long into the\nthorny tortuosities of alchemical labyrinths. _Il se passionna pour le\ngrand \u0153uvre_ and scoured all Germany to hold conferences with those\nwhom he imagined to be in possession of transcendent secrets. The\n_Biographie Universelle_ declares that he sacrificed his health, his\nfortune, and his time to these \u201cruinous absurdities.\u201d According to\nBuhle,[Z] he travelled extensively; and on one occasion paid a visit to\nEngland, where he made the acquaintance of the Kentish mystic, Robert\nFludd.\n\nHe appears as an alchemical writer a little before the publication of\nthe Rosicrucian manifestoes. In the controversy which followed their\nappearance, and which convulsed mystic Germany, he took an early and\nenthusiastic share, defending the mysterious society in several books\nand pamphlets. He is supposed to have travelled in search of genuine\nmembers of the \u201cCollege of Teutonic Philosophers R.C.,\u201d and, failing\nto meet with them, is said to have established a brotherhood of his\nown on the plan of the _Fama Fraternitatis_. These statements rest on\ninadequate authority, and there is better ground for believing that\nhe was initiated, towards the close of his life, into the genuine\norder. A posthumous tract of Michael Maier, entitled \u201cUlysses,\u201d was\npublished in 1624 by one of his personal friends, who added to the same\nvolume the substance of two pamphlets which had already appeared in\nGerman, but which, by reason of their importance, were now translated\ninto Latin for the benefit of the literati of Europe. The first was\nentitled _Colloquium Rhodostauroticum trium personarum, per Famam et\nConfessionem quodamodo revelatam de Fraternitate Rose\u00e6 Crucis_. The\nsecond was an _Echo Colloquii_, by Benedict Hilarion, writing in the\nname of the Rosicrucian Fraternity. It appears from these pamphlets\nthat Maier was admitted into the mystical order, but when or where\nis uncertain. He became the most voluminous alchemical writer of his\nperiod, publishing continually till his death in the year 1622.\n\nMany of his works are Hermetic elaborations of classical mythology,\nand are adorned with most curious plates. They are all hopelessly\nobscure, if his Rosicrucian apologies be excepted; the latter are not\ndeficient in ingenuity, but they are exceedingly laboured, and, of\ncourse, completely unsatisfactory. He does not appear to have been\nincluded among the adepts, and he is now almost forgotten. His chemical\nknowledge is buried in a multitude of symbols and insoluble enigmas,\nand believers in spiritual chemistry will not derive much comfort or\nprofit from his writings.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Z] See De Quincey\u2019s \u201cRosicrucians and Freemasons.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nJACOB B\u00d6HME.\n\n\nAfter the publication of the psycho-chemical philosophy of the\nilluminated shoemaker of G\u00f6rlitz, the adepts are believed to have\ndespaired of any longer retaining their secrets, and in their own\nwritings they began to speak more freely. In this way the mystery of\nthe _vas philosophorum_ is said to have become less impenetrable than\npreviously, when it was considered a divine secret in the keeping of\nGod and his elect.\n\nJacob B\u00f6hme, who may perhaps be considered as the central figure of\nChristian mysticism, was born in the year 1575, at Old Seidenberg,\na village near G\u00f6rlitz, in what was then called German Prussia. His\nparents were poor but honest and sober peasants, and were unable to\nprocure him more than the usual religious schooling and the most simple\nelements of common education. In his spare time he tended cattle with\nother boys of the village. \u201cHe was a quiet, introspective lad,\u201d says\none of his latest biographers, \u201cwhose face bore somewhat of the dreamy\nexpression which is frequent in poetic natures.\u201d Even at this early age\nhe was rich in inward visions. On one occasion he retired into a cave,\nin the rock called Land\u2019s Crown, and discovered a large wooden vessel\nfull of money, from which he precipitately retired without touching it,\nas though it were something diabolical. He told his companions, but\nthere was no such cavern to be found at the place in question, though\nthey often visited the spot in search of the concealed treasure.\n\nOn leaving school, Jacob was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and while\nhe was one day serving in the shop during the absence of his master,\nan old man, of remarkable and benevolent mien, entered and asked for\nsome shoes, for which the lad, fearing to conclude a bargain without\nhis employer, demanded an extravagant price to deter the stranger from\nbuying. The latter, however, paid the sum asked, and then calling him\nby his name, beckoned him into the street, when taking him by the hand,\nwith sparkling eyes and earnest, angelical countenance, he said:--\n\n\u201cJacob, thou art as yet but little; nevertheless, the time will\ncome when thou shalt be great, and the world shall marvel at thee.\nTherefore, be pious, fear God, and reverence the Word. Read the Holy\nScriptures diligently; in these thou shalt have comfort and instruction\nthrough the misery, poverty, and persecution which are in store for\nthee. Be courageous and persevere; God loves thee, and is gracious unto\nthee.\u201d\n\nThe stranger then disappeared, or departed, leaving Jacob more serious\nand devotional than ever. The words of instruction and inspired\nadmonition which he was frequently prompted to give to his fellow\napprentices brought him into disputes with his master, and eventually\nled to his dismissal. He became a journeyman shoemaker, but returned to\nG\u00f6rlitz in 1594, where he married the daughter of a tradesman, by whom\nhe had four children.\n\nIn 1598 he imagined himself to be surrounded with the divine light\nfor several consecutive days; he beheld the virtue and nature of the\nvegetable world, gazing into the very heart of creation, and learning\nthe secrets of the physical cosmos by means of the self-interpreting\n\u201csignatures\u201d which seemed to be impressed on all around him. A similar\nexperience recurred in 1600, when he passed into the hypnotic state\nby accidentally fixing his eye on a burnished pewter dish. These\nvisions did not interfere with his capacity for work, or with his\nattention to his domestic affairs. Ten years passed away, and his\npsychic perceptions became suddenly clearer. \u201cWhat he had previously\nseen only chaotically, fragmentarily, and in isolated glimpses, he now\nbeheld as a coherent whole and in more definite outlines.\u201d He wrote\nwhat he experienced under a fervour of inspiration, and in this way\nhis first book was produced--\u201cAurora, the Day Spring, or Dawning of\nthe Day in the East, or Morning Redness in the Rising of the Sun.\u201d It\nwas not originally intended for publication, but manuscript copies\nwere circulated by one of his friends, and he suffered much consequent\npersecution from the ecclesiastical authorities of G\u00f6rlitz. He was\nforbidden to write any more books, and was commanded to stick to his\ntrade. For five years he meekly obeyed the tyrannous mandate, and\nafterwards contented himself with writing simply for his intimate\nfriends. From 1619 to 1624 he produced a number of voluminous\ntreatises, of which the book of the \u201cTrue Principles,\u201d the \u201cMysterium\nMagnum,\u201d and the \u201cSignatura Rerum\u201d are perhaps the most characteristic\nand important. The publication, apparently surreptitious, of his\n\u201cWay to Christ\u201d again brought him into conflict with the orthodoxy\nof G\u00f6rlitz, and led to his temporary exile. He was invited to the\nelectoral court at Dresden, where a conference of eminent theologians\nexamined him, and was so greatly impressed by the man that they\ndeclared themselves incompetent to judge him.\n\nIn 1624 he was attacked by a fever at the house of a friend in Silesia,\nwas carried at his own request to his native town, and there on the\n22nd November he expired in a semi-ecstatic condition.\n\nWhile serving his apprenticeship at G\u00f6rlitz, Jacob B\u00f6hme acquired\nsome knowledge of chemistry, and he subsequently made use of Hermetic\nterminology in a transfigured and spiritual sense. His example was\nfollowed by his disciples, including the illustrious Saint Martin,\nDionysius Andreas Freher, and William Law. The second-named writer has\ntreated of the analogy in the process of the philosophic work to the\nRedemption of man through Christ Jesus, as unfolded by Jacob B\u00f6hme.\n\nA treatise on metallurgy is ascribed to the theosophist himself,\nand there are several alchemical references in his numerous private\nepistles. The Holy Ghost is stated to be the key to alchemy; there\nis no need of hard labour and seeking (presumably among physical\nsubstances). \u201cSeek only Christ, _and you will find all things_.\u201d He\ndescribes the philosophers\u2019 stone as dark, disesteemed, and grey in\ncolour. It contains the highest tincture. Like Henry Khunrath before\nhim, he deprecates any expenditure beyond that of the time and cost\nof the operator\u2019s maintenance. \u201cIt doth not cost any money, but what\nis spent upon the time and the maintenance, else it might be prepared\nwith four shillings. The work is easy, the act simple. A boy of sixteen\nyears might make it, but the wisdom therein is great, and it is\ngreatest mystery.\u201d\n\nThe seal of God is elsewhere declared to be set on the secret of\nalchemy, \u201cto conceal the true ground of the same upon pain of eternal\npunishments, unless a man know for certain that it shall not be\nmisused. There is also no power to attain it, no skill or art availeth;\nunless one give the tincture into the hands of another, he cannot\nprepare it, except he be certainly in the new birth.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe following lines, copied from a manuscript inserted in a volume\nof his works, are included in the original edition of the \u201cLives of\nAlchemysticall Philosophers\u201d:--\n\n \u201cWhate\u2019er the Eastern Magi sought,\n Or Orpheus sung, or Hermes taught,\n Whate\u2019er Confucius could inspire,\n Or Zoroaster\u2019s mystic fire;\n The symbols that Pythagoras drew,\n The wisdom God-like Plato knew;\n What Socrates debating proved,\n Or Epictetus lived and loved;\n The sacred fire of saint and sage\n Through every clime, in every age,\n In Bohmen\u2019s wondrous page we view\n Discovered and revealed anew.\n \u2018Aurora\u2019 dawned the coming day:\n Succeeding books meridian light display.\n Ten thousand depths his works explore,\n Ten thousand truths unknown before.\n Through all his books profound we trace\n The abyss of nature, GOD, and grace;\n The seals are broke, the mystery\u2019s past,\n And all is now revealed at last.\n The trumpet sounds, the Spirit\u2019s given,\n And Bohmen is the voice from Heaven.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nJ. B. VAN HELMONT.\n\n\nIn the year 1557, at Bois le Duc, in Brabant, John Baptist van Helmont\nwas born of a noble family. He studied at Louvain, and became eminent\nin mathematics, algebra, the doctrines of Aristotle and Galen, and the\nmedicine of Vopiscus and Plempius. At seventeen he lectured on physics\nas pr\u00e6lector, and took his degree of medical doctor in 1599. He read\nHippocrates and the Greek and Arabian authors before he was twenty-two\nyears old. He then passed ten years in the unsuccessful practice of\nphysic, until he met a Paracelsian chemist, who discovered various\nchemical medicines to him. He retired thereupon to the castle of\nVilvord, near Brussels, and laboured with unremitting diligence in the\nchemico-experimental analysis of bodies of every class. He passed his\nlife in retirement, and was almost unknown to his neighbours, whom he,\nnevertheless, attended in illness, without accepting a fee. He declined\nan invitation and flattering offers from the Emperor and the Elector\nPalatine, and after writing several tracts, which even at this day are\nheld in considerable estimation, he died in the sixty-seventh year of\nhis age.\n\nThis author, so illustrious throughout Europe for his scientific\nknowledge, and no less celebrated for his noble rank than by the\nprobity of his character, testifies in three different places that\nhe has beheld, and himself performed, transmutation. In his treatise,\n_De Vita Eterna_, he declares himself as follows:--\u201cI have seen and I\nhave touched the philosophers\u2019 stone more than once; the colour of it\nwas like saffron in powder, but heavy and shining like pounded glass.\nI had once given me the fourth part of a grain--I call a grain that\nwhich takes six hundred to make an ounce. I made projection therewith,\nwrapped in paper, upon eight ounces of quicksilver, heated in a\ncrucible, and immediately all the quicksilver, having made a little\nnoise, stopped and congealed into a yellow mass. Having melted it in\na strong fire, I found within eleven grains of eight ounces of most\npure gold, so that a grain of this powder would have transmuted into\nvery good gold, nineteen thousand one hundred and fifty-six grains of\nquicksilver.\u201d\n\nHad Helmont possessed the art of making the transmuting powder, his\ntestimony might be open to suspicion. He says, on another occasion,\nthat an adept, after a few days of acquaintance, presented him with\nhalf a grain of the powder of projection, with which he transmuted nine\nounces of quicksilver into pure gold. He tells us further, that he many\ntimes performed a similar operation in the presence of a large company,\nand always with success. On these grounds he believed in the certainty\nand in the prodigious resources of the art, citing his acquaintance\nwith an artist who had so much of the red stone as would make gold to\nthe weight of two hundred thousand pounds.\n\nThough ignorant of the nature of this powder of projection, Helmont\nprofessed the knowledge of the alcahest, and the methods of preparing\nmedicines of transcendent efficacy by its means.\n\n\n\n\nBUTLER.\n\n\nIn the reign of James the First the attention of the curious was\nattracted by a report of several transmutations performed in London\nby an artist of the above name. He was an Irish gentleman, who had\nrecently returned from his travels. It was said that he was not\nhimself acquainted with the secret of the stone, so far as regards its\nmanufacture. To account for possessing it, the following story was\nrelated:--The ship in which he took passage during one of his voyages\nwas captured by an African pirate, and on arriving in port he was sold\nas a slave to an Arabian, who was an alchemical philosopher. Butler,\nappearing to his master skilful and ingenious, was employed in most\ndifficult operations in the laboratory. Having a perfect knowledge of\nthe importance of the process, as soon as it was finished he bargained\nwith an Irish merchant for his ransom, and made his escape, taking with\nhim a large portion of the red powder.\n\nThe performers of public transmutations generally found it necessary\nto conceal their real knowledge by similar inventions. A physician,\nwho was a countryman of Butler, however formed a plan for discovering\nhis secret. He presented himself as a servant in search of a place,\nand was hired in that capacity by Butler. He found the philosopher so\ncircumspect that he sought in vain for some circumstance to justify the\npublic report of his treasures, until at last Butler sent him into the\ncity to purchase a large quantity of lead and quicksilver.\n\nThe disguised doctor now hoped to make a discovery. He executed his\ncommission with dispatch, and prepared a little hole in the wall of his\nmaster\u2019s room, through which, from the adjoining apartment he could\nsee what was going on. He soon perceived Butler taking something out\nof a box, which he put on the melted lead, and deposited the box in a\nconcealed place under the floor of his room. At this moment the table\nand chair on which the doctor was elevated to the spy-hole, gave way,\nand he fell with a loud noise to the ground. Butler rushed out of\nhis room to learn the cause of this disturbance, and perceiving the\nspy-hole, he with difficulty refrained from running his servant through\nthe body with his sword.\n\nFinding there was no hope of obtaining anything from Butler, the doctor\nexpected to surprise his treasures by reporting to the officers of\njustice that he was a coiner of false money. A vigilant search was made\naccording to his directions, but nothing was found, for Butler had\nalready removed whatever could betray him--his furnace, crucibles, and\neighty marks of gold were all he appeared to possess. He was therefore\nliberated from the prison in which he had been confined during the\ninvestigation.\n\nButler was afterwards entombed in the Castle of Vilvord, in Flanders,\nwhere he is said to have performed wonderful cures by means of Hermetic\nmedicine. A monk of Brittany, who was one of his fellow-prisoners,\nhaving a desperate erysipelas in his arm, was restored to health in\nan hour by drinking almond milk in which Butler had merely dipped the\nstone. The next day at the rumour of this circumstance, the celebrated\nHelmont, who abode in the neighbourhood, went with several noblemen to\nthe prison, where Butler cured, in their presence, an aged woman of a\nmegrim by dipping the stone into oil of olives and then anointing her\nhead. An abbess, whose arm was swelled, and whose fingers had been\nstiff for eighteen years, was also cured by a few applications of the\nsame stone to her tongue.\n\nThese cases are attested by the illustrious van Helmont in his works.\n\n\n\n\nJEAN D\u2019ESPAGNET.\n\n\nThis Hermetic philosopher is known to us by two treatises--_Enchiridion\nPhysic\u00e6 Restitut\u00e6_ and _Arcanum Philosophi\u00e6 Hermetic\u00e6_, which, however,\nhas also been claimed as the production of an unknown individual who\ncalled himself the _Chevalier Imp\u00e9rial_.[AA] \u201cThe Secret of Hermetical\nPhilosophy\u201d comprises the practical part of the _magnum opus_ and\nthe Enchiridion, the physical theory on which the possibility of\ntransmutation is founded. D\u2019Espagnet is also the author of the preface\nto the _Tableau de l\u2019Inconstance des D\u00e9mons_, by Pierre Delancre.\n\n\u201cThe Arcanum of Hermetic Philosophy\u201d is better known under the title of\nthe \u201cCanons of Espagnet,\u201d and, as I have shown in the Introduction, it\nis claimed as a treatise on mystical alchemy. The author, however, very\nplainly states that \u201cthe science of producing Nature\u2019s grand Secret\nis a perfect knowledge of Nature universally and of art, concerning\nthe realm of metals; the practice whereof is conversant in finding the\nprinciples of metals by analysis.\u201d Moreover, the authors whom Espagnet\nrecommends as a guide to the student include those who, like Tr\u00e9visan,\nare known to have spent their existence in practical alchemy. The\nSethon-Sendivogius treatises are also respectfully cited. At the same\ntime, it may be freely granted that much of the matter in the canons,\nthough treating of a physical object, may be extended to the psychic\nside of the Hermetic art.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AA] Ce chevalier, tr\u00e8s-r\u00e9v\u00e9r\u00e9e des alchimistes, est mentionn\u00e9e souvent\ndans la _Trompette Fran\u00e7aise_, petit volume, contenant une _Proph\u00e9tic\nde Bombast sur la Naissance de Louis XIV._ On a, du Chevalier Imp\u00e9rial,\nle _Miroir des Alchimistes_, avec instructions aux dames pour\ndor\u00e9navant \u00eatre belles sans plus user de leurs dards venimeux, 1609,\n16mo. _Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes._\n\n\n\n\nALEXANDER SETHON.\n\n\nNone of the adepts suffered from imprudent exposure of their power more\nthan the subject of this article. He was a native of Scotland, and\nis supposed to have inhabited a mansion at a village in the vicinity\nof Edinburgh, and close to the sea-shore.[AB] In the summer of 1601\na Dutch vessel was wrecked upon the coast, and some of the crew were\nsaved through the instrumentality of Sethon, who received them into his\nhouse, treated them with great humanity, and provided them with the\nmeans to return to Holland. One year later he visited James Haussen,\nthe pilot of the ship, one of the rescued persons, at Erkusen, in that\ncountry. The sailor received him with joy, and detained him for several\nweeks in his house, during which period he beheld with astonishment\nseveral transmutations performed by his guest, who confessed that he\nwas an alchemical adept. He was bound in gratitude and friendship to\nthe most inviolable secrecy, but he could not refrain from confiding\nthe wonder which he had witnessed to Venderlinden, the physician of\nEnkhuysen, who was a man of integrity and prudence, and to whom he\npresented a piece of gold, which had been transmuted in his presence\nfrom lead on the 13th March 1602. This curiosity came into the hands of\nthe doctor\u2019s grandson, who showed it to the celebrated George Morhoff,\nby whom it was mentioned, with its history, to Langlet du Fresnoy, in\nan epistle on the transmutation of metals.\n\nFrom Enkhuysen, Sethon proceeded to Amsterdam and Rotterdam,\nsubsequently embarking for Italy, where, after a short stay, he\npassed into Switzerland, and so entered Germany, accompanied by\nWolfgang Dienheim, an adversary of Hermetic philosophy, whom by ocular\ndemonstration he convinced of his error, in presence of several\ndistinguished persons of Basle.\n\nTo this adversary we are indebted for a description of Sethon, whom he\ndeclared eminently spiritual in appearance, short in stature, but very\nstout, having a high colour, and a beard of the French style. He calls\nhim Alexander Sethonius, and states that he was a native of Molier, \u201cin\nan island of the ocean.\u201d\n\nThe lead required for the transmutation was brought by Jacob Zwinger\nfrom his own house, a crucible was borrowed from a goldsmith, and\ncommon sulphur was purchased on the road to the house where the\noperation was to be performed. During the whole course of the\nexperiment, Sethon touched nothing, simply supplying the small packet\nwhich contained the powder of projection, and which transformed the\nbase metal into gold of the purest quality, equivalent in weight to the\noriginal lead.\n\nThe experiment was repeated on another occasion with the same brilliant\nsuccess, and, in addition to the testimony of Dienheim, we have also\nthat of Zwinger, a name highly respected by the Germans in the history\nof medicine.[AC]\n\nAlexander Sethon departed from Basle, and went under an assumed name\nto Strasbourg, whence he proceeded to Cologne, and abode with an\namateur alchemist named Anton Bordemann, by whom he was brought into\nacquaintance with the other souffleurs of that city. He began a kind\nof alchemical crusade among them, imprudently exposing his knowledge\nto credulous and sceptical alike, and producing on one occasion six\nounces of the precious metal by means of a single grain of his great\nphilosophical tincture.[AD]\n\nLeaving Cologne altogether petrified by his marvellous operations, the\nillustrious hierophant of the art Hermetic betook himself to Hamburg,\nwhere his further amazing projections are described by George Morhoff.\nAt Munich, the next stage in his alchemical pilgrimage, he performed no\ntransmutations, suddenly disappearing with the daughter of one of its\ncitizens, whom he appears to have legally married, and to whom he was\nhenceforth most devotedly attached.\n\nThe renown of Sethon about this time attracted the attention of\nChristian II., the young Elector of Saxony. He sent for the alchemist,\nbut the latter, absorbed by his passion, had merged the Hermetic\npropagandist in the lover, and sent William Hamilton, his apparent\ndomestic, but in reality a confidant and friend, to convince the\nElector of the verity of alchemical operations by ocular evidence.\nA projection was performed by Hamilton with perfect success in the\npresence of the whole court, and the gold then manufactured resisted\nevery test.[AE]\n\nThe Elector, previously a sceptic, was now more desirous than ever\nto behold the adept. Sethon reluctantly consented, and at this\njuncture seems to have been deserted by Hamilton. He was received with\ndistinction and favour, and presented a small quantity of the powder\nto Christian II., who soon endeavoured to possess himself of the whole\nsecret of the philosopher. Sethon refused to gratify him, and was\ndeaf to persuasions and menaces; but the Elector, convinced that he\nwas in possession of a living treasure, determined to overcome his\nreluctance, whatever the means employed. He imprisoned him in a tower,\nwhich was guarded by forty soldiers, who had strict orders to keep a\nconstant watch on him. The unfortunate adept was subjected to every\ntorment which covetousness and cruelty could suggest. He was pierced\nwith pointed iron, scorched with molten lead, burnt by fire, beaten\nwith rods, racked from head to foot, yet his constancy never forsook\nhim. At length he outwearied his torturers, and was left in solitary\nconfinement.\n\nAt this time Michael Sendivogius, a Moravian gentleman, generally\nresident at Cracovia, in Poland, chanced to be tarrying at Dresden. He\nwas a skilful chemist, who, like others of his period, was in search of\nthe philosophical stone, and who naturally took interest in the case of\nAlexander Sethon. Having some influence at the court of the Elector,\nhe obtained permission to see him; and after several interviews, at\nwhich the adept was exceedingly reserved on all subjects connected with\nthe divine science, he proposed to contrive his escape. The tortured\nalchemist gladly consented to his plans, and promised to assist him\nin his Hermetic pursuits. As soon as the resolution was formed,\nSendivogius departed to Cracovia, sold his house in order to raise\nmoney, and returning to Dresden, established himself in the vicinity\nof the prison, gaining the favour of its warders by his prodigality\nand indirect bribes. At length the day came for the execution of his\nplan; he regaled the guards better than usual, and when they were all\ndrunk, he carried Sethon, who was unable to walk, on his back to a\npost-chaise, in which they proceeded without discovery. They called at\nthe house of Sethon for his wife, who was in possession of a quantity\nof the transmuting powder, and then made all haste to reach Cracovia.\nThere Sendivogius required from the alchemist the fulfilment of his\npromise, but was blankly refused by the adept, who referred him to God,\nsaying that the revelation of so awful a mystery would be a heinous\niniquity.\n\n\u201cYou see what I have endured,\u201d he continued, \u201cmy nerves are shrunk, my\nlimbs dislocated; I am emaciated to the last extremity, and my body is\nalmost corrupted; even to avoid all this I did not disclose the secrets\nof philosophy.\u201d\n\nSendivogius was not, however, destined to be deprived of all recompense\nfor his pains and self-sacrifice. Alexander Sethon did not long enjoy\nthe liberty which his friend had obtained for him, and on his death,\nwhich occurred two years after his escape, he presented his preserver\nwith the remains of his transmuting powder.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AB] The names Seton or Seatoun have been given as that of the village\nin question, but in Camden\u2019s \u201cBritannia\u201d it appears as the name of\nthe house itself. The alchemist himself is sufficiently myrionimous,\nbeing variously denominated Sethon, Sidon, Sethonius, Scotus, Sitonius,\nSidonius, Suthoneus, Suethonius, and even Seehthonius.\n\n[AC] _Epistola ad doctorem Schobinger_, printed by Emmanuel Konig in\nhis _Ephemerides_.\n\n[AD] Th\u00e9obald de Hoghelande, _Histori\u00e6 aliquot Transmutationis\nMettalic\u00e6 pro defensione Alchemi\u00e6 contra Hostium Rabrein_. Cologne,\n1604.\n\n[AE] Galdenfalk, \u201cAlchemical Anecdotes.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS.\n\n\nSendivogius, whose true name was Sensophax, was born at Moravia in\n1566, and was therefore about thirty-eight years of age on the death\nof his taciturn master. He is said by some of his biographers to have\nbeen the natural son of a Polish nobleman, named Jacob Sendimir. His\nlife has been written at some length by his advocate, an anonymous\nGerman, who, however, produced a romance rather than a history, among\nother fictions representing his hero to have been sent by the Emperor\nRodolph II. to the east, where he received from a Greek patriarch the\nrevelation of the grand mystery. As a matter of fact, Sendivogius had\nmade no progress in alchemy before his acquaintance with Sethon.\n\nHaving almost exhausted his fortune to obtain the liberation of that\nadept, and having a taste for extravagant living, he was dissatisfied\nwith the mere possession of a portion of the transmuting powder, and\nwas more eager than ever to penetrate the mysteries of the Hermetic\nart. He married the widow of Sethon, but she was wholly unacquainted\nwith the process, and her only possession was the manuscript of that\ncelebrated treatise, \u201cThe New Light of Alchemy,\u201d with the dialogue\nof Mercury and the alchemist, which Sendivogius appropriated and\neventually published as his own composition. From this work the\nuninitiated inquirer believed himself to have discovered a method of\naugmenting the powder, but he only succeeded in diminishing it.\n\nFoiled in this attempt, he was still anxious at any rate to appear as\nan adept, and acquired an immense reputation by incessant projections,\nwhich, assisted by his sumptuous living, made him pass for a great\nhierophant. At Prague he presented himself to the Emperor Rodolph II.,\nand, in presence of several nobles, the king himself made gold by\nprojection, and overjoyed at the success of the operation he appointed\nSendivogius as one of his counsellors of state. A marble tablet with\nthe inscription--\n\n _Faciat hoc quispiam alius\n Quod fecit Sendivogius Polonus_,\n\nwas set up in the chamber where the transmutation had been performed,\nand the occasion was celebrated in verse by the court poet, Mardochie\nde Delle.\n\nThis achievement Sendivogius followed by printing at Prague the\ntreatise written by Sethon under the name of Cosmopolita. It passes\nfor the work of its editor, as he included his name anagrammatically\non the title-page, in the motto--_Divi Leschi genus amo_, and gave\nno information concerning the real author. Some time after he issued\na tract on sulphur, which was probably his own composition. The\nmotto on the title-page--_Angelus doce mihi jus_--is another anagram\nof his name. There are discrepancies between this tract and the\ntwelve treatises which comprise the work of Sethon. This Sendivogius\nperceived, and in the second edition of the latter work he made\nalterations in its text.\n\nFrom the Court of Rodolph II. the alchemist proceeded to that of\nPoland. As he passed on his way through Moravia, a lord of the country,\nwho had heard of his transmutations at Prague, and suspected that he\nhad abundance of the transmuting powder, laid an ambush for him on the\nroad, seized him, and secretly imprisoned him, with the threat that\nhe should never be liberated until he communicated the secret of his\ntreasure. Sendivogius, dreading the fate of Sethon, cut through the\niron bar that crossed the window of his dungeon, and making a rope\nof his clothes, he escaped almost naked from the power of the little\ntyrant, whom he summoned to the emperor\u2019s court, where he was condemned\nto be fined, a village on his estate was confiscated and transferred to\nSendivogius, who afterwards gave it as dower with his daughter at her\nmarriage.\n\nSendivogius made several transmutations at Varsovia, but his powder was\nvisibly diminishing. Duke Frederick of W\u00fcrtemberg invited him to visit\nhim, and two projections took place in the presence of this noble, who,\nto place him on the footing of a prince of the blood, gave him the\nterritory of Nedlingen.\n\nHe was destined, however, to meet with a severe reverse at W\u00fcrtemberg\nthrough the machinations of an envious alchemist already attached to\nthe Court, and who persuaded him that the Duke Frederic had formed\nplans which menaced the freedom of his guest and the safety of his\ntransmuting treasure. Sendivogius, once more vividly reminded of the\nfate of his master, precipitately fled, only to be pursued by his\ntreacherous brother in science, who overtook him with twelve armed men,\nwell mounted, arrested him in the name of the prince, robbed him of\nthe philosophical treasure, and caused him to be cast into prison. Then\nthis infamous souffleur, whose star had been overwhelmed by the sun of\nSendivogius, proceeded to perform transmutations, more than regaining\nhis lost reputation; but the report of this discreditable transaction\nspread, public opinion decided that the duke was a party to it, and the\nwife of the victim applying to the King of Poland, soon obtained the\nliberty of alchemist.\n\nOnce more Sendivogius appealed for redress to the Emperor Rodolph, who\ndemanded the person of the souffleur from the Duke of W\u00fcrtemberg. The\npossessions of Sendivogius were at once restored, with the exception of\nthe powder, all knowledge of which was denied. The souffleur was hanged\nby the duke, but from this time the pupil of Sethon perceived his sign\ndescending. He had but an infinitesimal quantity of the powder in his\npossession, which, ever in search of notoriety, he dissolved in spirits\nof wine, carefully rectified, and began to astonish the physicians\nof Cracovia, whither he had again repaired, by the marvellous cures\nwhich he performed with this for a medicine. Desnoyers, secretary to\nthe Queen of Poland, and one of the alchemist\u2019s biographers, was in\npossession of a crown piece which Sendivogius dipped red-hot into the\nsame spirit, in the presence of Sigismund III., King of Poland, and\nwhich was partially transformed into gold.[AF] The elixir relieved the\nsame king from the effects of a serious accident.\n\nWhen every particle of his powder was expended, Sendivogius appears\nto have degenerated into a mere charlatan, obtaining large sums on the\npretence of manufacturing the powder of projection. On one occasion he\nso far descended as to silver a piece of gold, and pretending that he\npossessed the elixir, he caused the silver to disappear by a chemical\nprocess, which he imposed on the ignorant as a projection of the\ntincture and a conversion of silver into gold.\n\nHis confidential servant, Bodowski, explains this deception as a\nfinesse to conceal his real character, having learned from experience\nthe necessity of defending himself from the violence of covetous men.\nHe sometimes feigned poverty, or lay in bed as one attacked with\nthe gout or other sickness. By these means he diverted the general\nsuspicion that he possessed the philosophers\u2019 stone, preferring to pass\nfor an impostor than for one in the enjoyment of illimitable wealth. He\nfrequently travelled in a servant\u2019s livery, concealing most of his red\npowder in the footstep of his chariot, and causing one of his servants\nto sit inside. He kept some of the powder in a small gold box, and with\na single grain of it would convert so much mercury into gold as would\nsell for five hundred ducats.[AG]\n\nHe was at his castle of Groverna, on the frontiers of Poland and\nSilesia, when he was visited by two strangers, one of whom was old\nwhile the other was young. They presented him with a letter bearing\ntwelve seals, and addressed to Sendivogius. He declared that he was not\nthe person whom they sought, but was at length persuaded to open the\ndocument, and learned that they were a deputation from the Rosicrucian\nSociety, who wished to initiate him. He pretended not to understand\nthem when they spoke of the stone of the philosophers, but they drew\nhim into conversation on several abstruse subjects, he, however,\ndeclining to the last the initiation which was offered him.\n\nMichael Sendivogius died at Parma in 1646, aged eighty-four years,\nhaving been counsellor of state to four emperors successively. His only\ndaughter had married an army captain against her father\u2019s wish. He left\nher nothing but a \u201cTreatise on the Salt of the Philosophers,\u201d which\nhas never been printed, and, therefore, must not be confused with a\nspurious work which has been ascribed to him under a similar title.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Sethon-Sendivogius treatises are generally known under the\ncollective title, \u201cA New Light of Alchemy.\u201d They were written to\ncounteract the many adulterated and false receipts composed through\nthe fraud and covetousness of impostors. The procedure they indicate\nis declared to be the result of manual experience. \u201cMany men, both of\nhigh and low condition, in these last years past, have to my knowledge\nseen Diana unveiled. The extraction of the soul out of gold or silver,\nby what vulgar way of alchymy soever, is but a mere fancy. On the\ncontrary, he which, in a philosophical way, can, without any fraud and\ncolourable deceit, make it that it shall really tinge the basest metal,\nwhether with gain or without gain, with the colour of gold or silver\n(abiding all requisite tryals whatever), hath the gates of Nature\nopened to him for the enquiring into further and higher secrets, and\nwith the blessing of God to obtain them.\u201d\n\nIt is thus in the writings of the alchemists that we are continually\nglimpsing or hearing of altitudes beyond transmutation, of regions of\nachievement which nothing in the pages of the adepts prove them to have\nactually explored, but which in possession of a comprehensive theory\nof organic and inorganic development they beheld as a Promised Land.\n\nThe \u201cNew Light of Alchemy\u201d insists on the existence of a sperm in\neverything, and that all Nature originated at the beginning from one\nonly seed. It treats of the generation of metals and the manner of\ntheir differentiation, of the extraction of their seed, and of the\nmanufacture of the stone or tincture.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AF] See Desnoyer\u2019s Letter in Langlet du Fresnoy\u2019s _Histoire de la\nPhilosophie Herm\u00e9tique_. Borel, in his Gallic Antiquities, recounts\nthat he, with many others at Paris, saw this crown-piece. He describes\nit as partly gold, so far only as it was steeped in the elixir.\nThe gold part was porous, being specifically more compact than in\nits silver state. There was no appearance of soldering, or of the\npossibility of deception.\n\n[AG] See _Vie de Sendivogius, tir\u00e9e de la R\u00e9lation de Jean Bodowski_.\n\n\n\n\nGUSTENHOVER.\n\n\nA respectable goldsmith, named Gustenhover, resided at Strasburg\nin 1603. In a time of great peril he gave shelter to a certain M.\nHirschborgen, who is described as good and religious. On leaving his\nhouse after a considerable stay, this person presented his humane host\nwith some powder of projection, and then, departing on his journey, was\nheard of no more.\n\nGustenhover imprudently made transmutations before numerous people,\nand the fact was reported to the Emperor Rodolph II., himself an\namateur in alchemy. He wrote to the magistrates of Strasburg, directing\nthat the goldsmith should be forthwith sent to him. The order was\nzealously obeyed, the man arrested, and guarded with vigilance from\nall possibility of escape. When he discovered that the intention\nof his imprisonment was to send him to the Emperor at Prague, he\ndivined the whole of the business, and invited the magistrates to meet\ntogether, desiring them to bring a crucet and charcoal, and without\nhis approaching to melt some lead. Musket balls were used for the\npurpose, and when the metal was molten, he handed them a small portion\nof red powder, which they cast into the crucet, and the result of their\ncalcination was a considerable quantity of pure gold.\n\nWhen he was brought into the presence of the gold-seeking Emperor,\nGustenhover was forced to admit that he had not himself prepared\nthe miraculous powder, and that he was in total ignorance about its\nnature and composition. The monarch regarded this merely as one of the\nsubterfuges which were common in his experience of jealous adepts.\nThe goldsmith reiterated his protestations in vain; the whole of his\npowder was speedily exhausted, yet he found himself still set to the\nnow impossible task of making gold. He sought a refuge from the fury of\nthe avaricious wretch, who has been denominated the German Hermes by\nan alchemical blasphemy accursed by all sons of the doctrine; but he\nwas pursued, dragged back, and immured in the White Tower, where the\nimperial dragon, blindly and obstinately convinced that the alchemist\nwas concealing his secret, detained him for the rest of his life.\n\nThe adept who presented the goldsmith with the auriferous gift of\nmisery, the so-called Hirschborgen, is supposed to be identical with\nAlexander Sethon, at that period errant, under various disguises, in\nGermany.\n\n\n\n\nBUSARDIER.\n\n\nFew particulars are recorded of this adept. He dwelt at Prague with a\nlord of the Court, and, falling sick, he perceived that his immediate\ndeath was inevitable. In this extremity he wrote a letter to his chosen\nfriend Richtausen, at Vienna, begging him to come and abide with him\nduring his last moments. On the receipt of this letter, Richtausen set\nout, travelling with all expedition, but, on arriving at Prague, he\nhad the mortification to find that the adept was no more. He inquired\ndiligently if he had left anything behind him, and he was informed\nby the steward of the nobleman with whom he had lodged that a powder\nalone had been left, which the nobleman seemed anxious to preserve,\nbut which the steward did not know how to use. Upon this information,\nRichtausen adroitly got possession of the powder, and then departed.\nThe nobleman, hearing of the transaction, threatened to hang his\nsteward if he did not recover the powder, and the latter, judging that\nno one but Richtausen could have taken it, pursued him, well-armed. He\novertook him on the road and presented a pistol to his head, saying\nhe would shoot him if he did not return the powder. Richtausen,\nseeing there was no other way to preserve his life, acknowledged his\npossession of the treasure, and pretended to surrender it, but, by an\ningenious contrivance, he abstracted a considerable quantity.\n\nHe was now the owner of a substance the value of which was fully known\nto him. He presented himself to the Emperor Ferdinand III., who was an\nalchemist, and who, aided by his mine-master, Count Russe, took every\nprecaution in making projection with some of the powder given him by\nRichtausen. He converted three pounds of mercury into gold with one\ngrain. The force of this tincture was one upon 19,470. The emperor is\nsaid to have caused a medal to be struck, bearing the effigy of Apollo\nwith the caduceus of Mercury, and the motto--_Divina metamorphosis\nexhibita Pragu\u00e6, Jan. 15, anno 1648, in pr\u00e6sentia Sac. C\u00e6s. Majest.\nFerdinandi Tertii_. The reverse bore another inscription--_Raris h\u00e6c ut\nhominibus est ars; ita raro in lucem prodit, laudetur Deus in \u00e6ternum,\nqui partem su\u00e6 infinit\u00e6 potenti\u00e6 novis suis abjectissimis creaturis\ncommunicat_.\n\nRichtausen was ennobled by the title of Baron Chaos.\n\nAmong many transformations performed by the same powder was one by the\nElector of Mayence in 1651. He made projection with all the precautions\npossible to a learned and skilful philosopher. The powder, enclosed\nin gum tragacanth to retain it effectually, was put into the wax of a\ntaper, which was lighted, the wax being then placed at the bottom of\na crucet. These preparations were undertaken by the Elector himself.\nHe poured four ounces of quicksilver on the wax, and put the whole\ninto a fire covered with charcoal, above, below, and around. Then they\nbegan blowing to the utmost, and in about half an hour, on removing\nthe coals, they saw that the melted gold was over red, the proper\ncolour being green. The baron said that the matter was yet too high,\nand it was necessary to put some silver into it. The Elector took\nsome coins out of his pocket, put them into the melting-pot, combined\nthe liquefied silver with the matter in the crucet, and having poured\nout the whole when in perfect fusion into a lingot, he found, after\ncooling, that it was very fine gold, but rather hard, which was\nattributed to the lingot. On again melting, it became exceedingly soft,\nand the master of the mint declared to his highness that it was more\nthan twenty-four carats, and that he had never seen so fine a quality\nof the precious metal.\n\n\n\n\nANONYMOUS ADEPT.\n\n\nAthanasius Kircher, the illustrious German Jesuit, records, in his\n_Mundus Subterraneus_, that one of his friends, whose veracity he could\nnot doubt, made him the following relation:--\n\n\u201cFrom my youth I made a peculiar study of alchemy, without ever\nattaining the object of that science. In my course of experiments I\nreceived a visit from a man who was entirely unknown to me. He asked\nvery politely what was the object of my labours, and said, without\ngiving me time to reply, \u2018I see very well by these glasses and this\nfurnace that you are engaged in a search after something very great in\nchemistry, but, believe me, you never will in that way attain to the\nobject of your desire.\u2019\n\n\u201cI said to him--\u2018Sir, if you have better instructions, I flatter myself\nthat you will give them.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Willingly,\u2019 replied this generous unknown.\n\n\u201cImmediately I took a pen and wrote down the process he dictated.\n\n\u201c\u2018To show you the result,\u2019 said the stranger, \u2018let us both work\ntogether according to what you have written.\u2019\n\n\u201cWe proceeded, and our operation being finished, I drew from the\nchemical vessel a brilliant oil; it congealed into a mass, which I\nbroke into a powder. I took part of this powder and projected it on\nthree hundred pounds of quicksilver; it was in a little time converted\ninto pure gold, much more perfect than that of the mines; it endured\nall the proofs of the goldsmiths.\n\n\u201cA prodigy so extraordinary struck me with surprise and astonishment.\nI became almost stupid, and, as another Cr\u0153sus, fancied I possessed\nall the riches in the universe. My gratitude to my benefactor was more\nthan I could express. He told me that he was on his travels and wanted\nnothing whatever; \u2018but it gratifies me,\u2019 said he, \u2018to counsel those\nwho are unable to complete the Hermetic work.\u2019 I pressed him to remain\nwith me, but he retired to his inn. Next day I called there, but what\nwas my surprise at not finding him in it, or at any place in the town!\nI had many questions to ask him which left me in doubt. I returned to\nwork according to the receipt, but failed in the result. I repeated\nthe process with more care; it was all in vain! Yet I persevered until\nI had expended all the transmuted gold and the greater part of my own\nproperty.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe see,\u201d remarks Kircher, very gravely, \u201cby this true history, how\nthe devil seeks to deceive men who are led by a lust of riches. This\nalchemist was convinced he had an infernal visitor, and he destroyed\nhis books, furnace, and apparatus, by the timely advice of his\nconfessor.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nALBERT BELIN.\n\n\nOf this Benedictine, who was born at Besan\u00e7on in 1610, the amateurs\nof alchemy and the occult sciences have much prized the following\nopuscula:--\u201cA Treatise on Talismans or Astral figures, demonstrating\nthe exclusively natural origin of their no less admirable virtues,\nwith the manner of their composition and their practical utility;\u201d\n\u201cJustification of the Sympathetic Powder,\u201d published together\nat Paris, 1671, 12mo; and, in particular, \u201cThe Adventures of an\nUnknown Philosopher in the search after and on the discovery of the\nPhilosophical Stone.\u201d This is divided into four books, and the manner\nof accomplishing the _magnum opus_ is indicated with perspicacity\nin the fourth. It was published in duodecimo at Paris in 1664, and\nhas since been reprinted. In the dedicatory epistle the authorship\nis disclaimed by Belin, who remarks that, in accordance with his\nprofession, he should be occupied with the great work of divine grace\nrather than with the natural _magnum opus_. The adventures are the\nproduction of a young man with whom he was once well acquainted, and\nwho was then lately deceased. In the fourth book, the narrator of the\nstory relates how, with a copy of Raymond Lully in his hand, he went\nby himself into a wood, and there he was interrupted in his studies\nby a wonderful lady, in a wonderful silverine dress, embroidered with\nflowers of gold. She proves to be Wisdom, and is greeted by the student\nas his adorable mistress. In her infinite grace and condescension,\nthe divine incarnation of philosophy instructs her ravished listener,\nduring three several discourses, in the nature, effects, and\nexcellences of the rich and fruitful stone, of the matter whereof it\nis composed, and of its development into absolute perfection.\n\nThe story is suggestive and curious, but in literary and romantic merit\nit will bear no comparison with the \u201cChemical Nuptials of Christian\nRosencreutz.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nEIREN\u00c6US PHILALETHES.\n\n\nIn \u201cThe Real History of the Rosicrucians,\u201d having no space for an\nadequate discussion of the question, I followed the more general\nopinion of Hermetic writers by identifying the author of the _Introitas\nApertus_ with the author of the _Lumen de Lumine_, Thomas Vaughan, and\nconcluded that he wrote indifferently under the pseudonyms of Eugenius\nPhilalethes and Eiren\u00e6us Philalethes.\n\nCertain misleading references in great but fallible bibliographies,\nand one piece of inextricable confusion in the text of the _Introitus\nApertus_, made this view appear to be fairly reasonable. However, in\nthe course of a somewhat detailed notice, a writer in the _Saturday\nReview_ has taken me to task, by no means discourteously, be it said,\nfor inaccuracy in my account of Vaughan.\n\nOn the authority of Ashmole and Wood, he states that this personage\nwas the brother of the Silurist poet, Henry Vaughan, that he was born\nat Llansaintfraid, in Brecknockshire, during the year 1621, that he\ngraduated at Jesus College, Oxford, took orders, and returned to hold\nthe living of his native parish. Under the Commonwealth he was ejected\nas a Royalist, and then betook himself to chemical experiments, one of\nwhich cost him his life on the 27th of February 1665.\n\nNow, it is clear that these facts do not correspond with the life,\nsuch as we know it, of the author of the _Introitus Apertus_, and the\nidentification of the two Philalethes, a habit which is apparently\nunknown to the Saturday Reviewer, must be therefore abandoned. Why this\nidentification has hitherto taken place, and why, with some misgivings,\nit was continued in my work on the Rosicrucians, may be very easily\nexplained.\n\nThe grounds of the confusion are these:--First, the similarity of the\nassumed name, half of which was common to them both, while the other\nhalf appears to have been interchangeable in the minds of historians\nand bibliographers alike, including the compilers of the Catalogue in\nthe Library of the British Museum, which attributes the _Introitus\nApertus_ indiscriminately to both Philalethes. Second, the fact that\nalmost every edition and translation of this treatise contains the\nfollowing passage in the initial paragraph of the preface:--\n\n\u201cI being an adept, anonymous, and lover of learning, decreed to write\nthis little Treatise of physical secrets in the year 1645, in the\ntwenty-third year of my age, to pay my duty to the sons of art, and\nlend my hand to bring them out of the labyrinth of error, to show\nthe adepts that I am a brother equal to them. I presage that many\nwill be enlightened by these my labours. They are no fables, but real\nexperiments, which I have seen, made, and know, as any adept will\nunderstand. I have often in writing laid aside my pen, because I was\nwilling to have concealed the truth under the mask of envy; but God\ncompelled me to write, Whom I could not resist: He alone knows the\nheart--to Him only be glory for ever. I undoubtedly believe that many\nwill become blessed in this last age of the world with this arcanum.\nMay the will of God be done! I confess myself unworthy of effecting\nsuch things--I adore the holy will of God, to Whom all things are\nsubjected! He created and preserves them to this end.\u201d\n\nA simple arithmetical operation will show that the author was\nconsequently born in the year 1621, when also Eugenius Philalethes,\notherwise Thomas Vaughan, first saw the light. This would remain\nunchallenged, but for the fact that the original edition[AH] of the\n_Introitus_ is asserted to read _trigesimo anno_, in the thirty-third\nyear, instead of _vigesimo anno_. There is no copy of this original\nedition in the British Museum, and my knowledge of it is derived\nfrom the reprint in Langlet du Fresnoy\u2019s _Histoire de la Philosophie\nHerm\u00e9tique_. Eiren\u00e6us, in accordance with the later impressions, is\nvenerated by the faithful of Hermes as the adept who accomplished the\ngrand and sublime act at the age of twenty-two.\n\nThese grounds, which in themselves are considerable, may be\nsupplemented by the fact that there is much similarity in the style and\nmethods of the two writers.\n\nEugenius Philalethes wrote _Anthroposophia Theomagica_; _Anima Magica\nAbscondita_, published together in 1650; _Magia Adamica_, 1650; \u201cThe\nMan-Mouse\u201d (a satire on Henry More, the Platonist); \u201cThe Second Wash,\nor The Moore (_i.e._, Henry More) Scoured once more,\u201d 1651; _Lumen de\nLumine_, 1651; \u201cThe Fame and Confession of the Fraternity R.C.,\u201d 1652;\n_Aula Lucis_, 1652; \u201cEuphrates, or The Waters of the East,\u201d 1655. \u201cA\nBrief Natural History,\u201d published in 1669, also bears his name, and in\n1679 his poetical remains were published by Henry, his brother, along\nwith some effusions of his own, entitled _Thalia Rediviva_.\n\nSome idea of the confusion which exists in the minds of biographers\nand bibliographers alike on this point may be gathered from the fact\nthat some authorities represent Thomas Vaughan as dying in 1656, while\nChalmers\u2019 Biographical Dictionary attributes all the works of Eugenius\nPhilalethes to Henry the Silurist, whom he terms a Rosicrucian fanatic.\n\nIf much be confusion which concerns Thomas Vaughan, all is chaos in\nrespect of Eiren\u00e6us Philalethes. He would appear to have emigrated\nto America at a comparatively early period. The Amsterdam original\nedition of his _Experimenta de Pr\u00e6paratione Mercurii Sophici_, which\nwas issued by Daniel Elzevir in 1668, describes that work as _ex\nmanuscripto philosophi Americani, alias \u00c6yren\u00e6i Philalethes, natu\nAngli, habitatione Cosmopolit\u00e6_. In this way, those who have refrained\nfrom identifying him with Thomas Vaughan, carefully confuse him\nwith George Starkey, also an Anglo-American, who claimed a familiar\nacquaintance with Philalethes, and who, owing his initiation to him,\nmay be considered his philosophical son, but not his _alter ego_.\nStarkey returned to London, and wrote several chemical books, some\nof which detail the transmutations performed by Philalethes in the\napothecary\u2019s trans-atlantic laboratory. He died of the plague in London\nin 1665, while Eiren\u00e6us continued publishing for many years after that\ndate, and lived for some time on intimate terms with the illustrious\nRobert Boyle, who, however, has given us no biographical particulars\nconcerning him.\n\nNot the least curious fact in the history of this mysterious adept is\nthe apparently complete disappearance of numbers of his printed works,\nwhich an authentic list extends to some forty volumes, some of which\nseem perfectly unknown and unheard of by bibliographers and collectors\nalike. Langlet du Fresnoy enumerates several manuscript treatises, but\ngives no clue to their whereabouts.\n\nIt is from the books of Philalethes himself that we must be contented\nto glean the scanty facts of his life. The thirteenth chapter of the\n_Introitus Apertus ad Occlusum Regis Palatium_ contains the following\nremarkable account of its author:--\n\n\u201cAll alchemical books abound with obscure enigmas and sophistical\noperations. I have not written in this style, having resigned my will\nto the Divine pleasure. I do not fear that the art will be disesteemed\nbecause I write plainly, for true wisdom will defend its own honour.\nI wish gold and silver were as mean in esteem as earth, that we need\nnot so strictly conceal ourselves. For we are like Cain, driven from\nthe pleasant society we formerly had without fear; now we are tossed\nup and down as if beset with furies; nor can we suppose ourselves safe\nin any one place long. We weep and sigh, complaining to the Lord,\n\u2018Behold, whosoever shall find me will slay me!\u2019 We travel through many\nnations like vagabonds, and dare not take upon us the care of a family,\nneither do we possess any certain habitation. Although we possess all\nthings we can use but a few; what, therefore, do we enjoy except the\nspeculations of our minds? Many strangers to this art imagine that\nif they enjoyed it they would do great good; so I believed formerly,\nbut the danger I have experienced has taught me otherwise. Whoever\nencounters the eminent peril of his life will act with more caution\nthenceforward. I found the world in a most wicked state, scarce a man\nbut is guided by some selfish and unworthy motive, however honest\nor upright he is judged in public. An adept cannot effect the works\nof mercy to an uncommon extent without in some degree confiding to\nthe secrecy of others, and this is at the hazard of imprisonment and\ndeath. I lately had a proof of it; for, being in a foreign place, I\nadministered the medicine to some distressed poor persons who were\ndying, and they having miraculously recovered, there was immediately\na rumour spread abroad of the elixir of life, insomuch that I was\nforced to fly by night with exceeding great trouble, having changed my\nclothes, shaved my head, put on other hair, and altered my name, else\nI would have fallen into the hands of wicked men that lay in wait for\nme, merely on suspicion, excited by the thirst of gold. I could mention\nother dangers which would seem ridiculous to those who did not stand\nin a similar situation. They think they would manage their affairs\nbetter, but they do not consider that all those intelligent people,\nwhose society is chiefly desirable, are extremely discerning, and a\nslight conjecture is enough to produce a conspiracy; for the iniquity\nof men is so great that I have known a person to have been strangled\nwith a halter on suspicion; although he did not possess the art, it was\nsufficient that a desperate man had report of it. This age abounds with\nignorant alchemists; however ignorant of science, they know sufficient\nto discover an adept, or to suspect him. An appearance of secresy will\ncause them to search and examine every circumstance of your life.\nIf you cure the sick, or sell a large quantity of gold, the news is\ncirculated all through the neighbourhood. The goldsmith knows that the\nmetal is too fine, and it is contrary to law for any one to alloy it\nwho is not a regular metallurgist. I once sold pure silver worth \u00a3600\nin a foreign country. The goldsmith, notwithstanding I was dressed as a\nmerchant, told me \u2018this silver was made by art.\u2019 I asked the reason he\nsaid so. He replied, \u2018I know the silver that comes from Spain, England,\n&c. This is purer than any of them.\u2019 Hearing this I withdrew. There is\nno better silver in trade than the Spanish, but if I had attempted to\nreduce my silver from its superior purity, and was discovered, I would\nbe hanged for felony. I never called again for either the silver or the\nprice of it. The transmission of gold and silver from one country to\nanother is regulated by strict laws, and this is enough to condemn the\nadept who appears to have a quantity of it. Thus, being taught by these\ndifficulties, I have determined to lie hid, and will communicate the\nart to thee who dreamest of performing public good, that we may see\nwhat you will undertake when you obtain it.\n\n\u201cThe searcher of all hearts knows that I write the truth; nor is there\nany cause to accuse me of envy. I write with an unterrified quill in an\nunheard of style, to the honour of God, to the profit of my neighbours,\nwith contempt of the world and its riches; because ELIAS the artist is\nalready born, and now glorious things are declared of the city of God.\nI dare affirm that I do possess more riches than the whole known world\nis worth, but I cannot make use of it because of the snares of knaves.\nI disdain, loathe, and detest the idolizing of silver and gold, by\nwhich the pomps and vanities of the world are celebrated. Ah, filthy\nevil! Ah, vain nothingness? Believe ye that I conceal the art out of\nenvy? No, verily I protest to you, I grieve from the very bottom of\nmy soul that we are driven like vagabonds from the face of the Lord\nthroughout the earth. But what need many words? The thing we have seen,\ntaught, and made, which we have, possess, and know, that we do declare;\nbeing moved with compassion for the studious, and with indignation of\ngold, silver, and precious stones, not as they are creatures of God,\nfar be it from us, for in that respect we honour them, and think them\nworthy of esteem, but the people of God adore them as well as the\nworld. Therefore let them be ground to powder like the golden calf! I\ndo hope and expect that within a few years money will be as dross; and\nthat prop of the anti-Christian beast will be dashed to pieces. The\npeople are mad, the nations rave, an unprofitable wight is set up in\nthe place of God. At our long expected and approaching redemption, the\nNew Jerusalem shall abound with gold in the streets, the gates thereof\nshall be made with entire stones, most precious ones, and the tree of\nlife in the midst of Paradise shall give leaves for the _healing_ of\nthe nations. I know these my writings will be to men as pure gold; and\nthrough them gold and silver will become vile as dirt. Believe me, the\ntime is at the door, I see it in spirit, when we, adeptists, shall\nreturn from the four corners of the earth, nor shall we fear any snares\nthat are laid against our lives, but we shall give thanks to the Lord\nour God. I would to God that every ingenious man in the whole earth\nunderstood this science; then it would only be valued for its wisdom,\nand virtue only would be had in honour. I know many adepts who have\nvowed a most secret silence. I am of another judgment because of the\nhope I have in my God; therefore I consulted not with my brethren, or\nwith flesh and blood, in these my writings: God grant that it be to the\nglory of His name!\u201d\n\nWe are told in the preface to \u201cRipley Revived\u201d the authors to whom\nhe was at any rate chiefly indebted. \u201cFor my own part, I have cause\nto honour Bernard Tr\u00e9visan, who is very ingenious, especially in the\nletter to Thomas of Boulogne, where I seriously confess I received\nthe main light in the hidden secret. I do not remember that ever I\nlearned anything from Raymond Lully. Some who are not adepts give\nmore instruction to a beginner than one whom perfect knowledge makes\ncautious. I learned the secret of the _magnet_ from one, the _chalybs_\nfrom another, the use of _Diana\u2019s Doves_ from a third, the _air_ or\n_cameleon_ from another, the gross preparation of the dissolvent in\nanother, the number of _eagles_ in another; but for _operations_ on\nthe _true matter_ and signs of the _true mercury_, I know of none like\nRipley, though Flamel be eminent. I know what I say, having learned by\nexperience what is truth and what is error.\n\n\u201cI have read misleading, sophistical writers, and made many toilsome,\nlaborious experiments, though but young; and having at length,\nthrough the undeserved mercy of God, arrived at my haven of rest, I\nshall stretch out my hand to such as are behind. I have wrote several\ntreatises, one in English, very plain but not perfected--unfortunately,\nit slipped out of my hand. I shall be sorry if it comes abroad into\nthe world--two in Latin, _Brevis Manuductio ad Rubinem C\u0153lestem_, and\n_Fons Chymic\u00e6 Philosophi\u00e6_--these, for special reasons, I resolve to\nsuppress. Two others I lately wrote, which, perhaps, you may enjoy,\nnamely, _Ars Metallorum Metamorphoses_, and _Introitus Apertus ad\nOcclusum Regis Palatium_. I wrote two poems in English, which are\nlost; also, in English, an Enchiridion of experiments, a diurnal of\nmeditations, with many receipts declaring the whole secret, and an\nEnigma annexed. These also fell into the hands of one who, I conceive,\nwill never restore them.\u201d\n\nThe delinquent in question was undoubtedly George Starkey, who\npublished the \u201cMarrow of Alchemy\u201d under the name of Eiren\u00e6us Philoponos\nPhilalethes; this metrical account of the Hermetic theory and practice\nis apparently the vanished verse of the adept, but it contains in\naddition an account of the editor\u2019s own initiation, which is certainly\nworth transcribing.\n\n\u201cI have now to assert, from my own experience, facts of transmutation\nof which I was an eye-witness. I was well acquainted with an artist\nwith whom I have often conversed on the subject, and I saw in his\npossession the white and the red elixir in very large quantity. He gave\nme upwards of two ounces of the white medicine, of sufficient virtue\nto convert 120,000 times its weight into the purest virgin silver.\nWith this treasure I went to work ignorantly upon multiplication,\nand was caught in the trap of my own covetousness, for I expended or\nwasted all this tincture. However, I made projection of part of it,\nwhich is sufficient for my present purpose, enabling me to assert the\npossibility of the art from ocular demonstration. I have tinged many\ntimes hundreds of ounces into the best silver. Of a pound of mercury\nI have made within less than a scruple of a pound of silver; of lead,\nlittle more waste; but \u2019tis wondrous to see tin--although a dross was\nburnt from it, yet its weight increased in the fire. I essayed the\nmedicine on copper, iron, even on brass and pewter, on spelter, solder,\ntinglass, mercury, and on regulus of antimony; and I can say with truth\nit conquers all metallic things, and brings them all to perfection. I\nfound there was nothing akin to it but it would tinge into pure silver.\nEven perfect gold was penetrated and changed into a white glass, that\nwould transmute, but in small quantity, inferior metals into silver;\nbut when this silver was assayed it was found to abide _aquafortis_,\ncupel of antimony, and weighed as gold, so that it was _white gold_.\nThis was because the white tincture had fermented with red earth, and\nboth virtues coming into projection, produced silver-coloured gold,\nor silver equalling gold in perfection, but wanting its hue. I did\nnot know the value of this silver till my medicine was nearly gone,\nand sold eighty ounces of it at the common price, though it was as\nvaluable as gold. I projected the medicine on pure silver, and had a\nchrystalline metal, like burnished steel or mirror, but there was no\nincrease of virtue in this; it tinged only so much as it would if it\nhad not been projected on silver.\n\n\u201cThe artist who gave me this is still living; I prize him as my own\nlife; I wish his happiness, for he has been a sure friend. He is at\npresent on his travels, visiting artists and collecting antiquities as\na citizen of the world. He is an Englishman of an ancient, honourable\nfamily, who now live in the place wherein he was born. He is scarcely\nthirty-three years of age, and is rarely learned. You cannot know more\nof him from me, nor can you be acquainted with him; his acquaintance\nwith me is as unexpected as his love was cordial. I had often seen by\nexperiment that he was master of the white and red before he would\nvouchsafe to trust me with a small bit of the stone, nor would I press\nhim, trusting for his courtesy soon or late, which I shortly received,\nby what I have said of the white medicine, and also a portion of his\nmercury.\n\n\u201cHe told me this mercury was a matchless treasure, if God would open\nmy eyes to the use of it, else I might grope in blindness. With this\ndissolvent, which is the hidden secret of all masters, he exceedingly\nmultiplied his red stone. I saw him put a piece of the red, by weight,\ninto that same mercury, which then digested, dissolved it, and made\nit change colour, and in three days it passed through the process of\nblack, white, and red.\n\n\u201cI thought that if the red and white could be multiplied that one\nlineal progress led to either, and on this false ground I destroyed ten\nparts in twelve of my medicine. This loss did not suffice me, for I\nmixed the remaining two parts with ten times their weight of Luna, and\nfell to work again, hoping to make up for my first error. I then began\nto think upon the maxims of the old books, revolved in my mind the\nagreement of my work with the laws of Nature, and at length I concluded\nthat each thing is to be disposed according to its condition.\n\n\u201cWhen I found that my vain attempts only threw away the tincture, I\nstopped my hand, resolving to keep the few grains left for some urgent\nnecessity, which for its preservation I mixed with ten parts of Luna.\n\n\u201cI tried some of the mercury before mentioned on gold, my desire\nbeing to see the work carried forward and brought to Luna, if not to\nSol. This, then, I projected on mercury. After having alloyed it with\nsilver it tinged fifty parts, and I strove to imbibe it, but in vain,\nbecause I had let it cool. I foolishly supposed to obtain the oil by\nimbibition. However, Nature carried on the work into blackness, the\ncolours, and whiteness, which yet was far short of what I looked for.\n\n\u201cIn these trials I wasted nearly all my mercury likewise; but I\nhad for my consolation the witnessing of transmutations, and those\nextraordinary processes which I beheld with mine own eyes, and blessed\nGod for seeing.\n\n\u201cIn some time I met my good friend and told all my mishaps, hoping that\nhe would supply me as before; but he, considering that my failures had\nmade me wise, would not trust me with more, lest I should pluck the\nHesperian tree as I chose for my own and other men\u2019s hurt. He said to\nme, \u2018Friend, if God elects you to this art, He will in due time bestow\nthe knowledge of it; but if in His wisdom He judge you unfit, or that\nyou would do mischief with it, accursed be that man who would arm a\nmaniac to the harm of his fellow-creatures. While you were ignorant,\nI gave you a great gift, so that, if Heaven ordained, the gift should\ndestroy itself. I see it is not right you should enjoy it at present;\nwhat providence denies I cannot give you, or I should be guilty of your\nmisconduct.\u2019\n\n\u201cI confess this lesson of divinity did not please me; as I hoped so\nmuch from him, his answer was a disappointment. He further said that\nGod had granted me knowledge, but withheld the fruit of it for the\npresent.\n\n\u201cThen I gave him to understand how I had discovered the skill of the\nwater, \u2018by which, in time, I may obtain what you deny, and which I am\nresolved to attempt.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If so, then,\u2019 he replied, \u2018attend to what I say, and you may bless\nGod for it. Know that we are severely bound by strong vows never to\nsupply any man by our art who might confound the world, if he held it\nat will; and all the evil he does is left at the door of that adept\nwho is so imprudent. Consider what a prize you had both of the _stone_\nand of the _mercury_. Would not any one say that he must be mad that\nwould throw it all away without profit?\n\n\u201c\u2018Had you been guided by reason you might have enough of what I gave\nyou. Your method was to add to the purest _gold_ but a grain of the\n_stone_; in fusion it would unite to it, and then you might go about\nthe work with your _mercury_, which would speedily mix with that gold\nand greatly shorten the work, which you might easily govern to the\n_red_; and as you saw how I wedded new _gold_ to _such sulphur_ and\n_mercury_, you saw the weight, time, and heat, what more could you have\nwished? And seeing you know the art of preparing the _fiery mercury_,\nyou might have as much store as any one.\n\n\u201c\u2018But you do not perceive by this that God is averse to you, and caused\nyou to waste the treasure I gave you. He sees perhaps that you would\nbreak His holy laws and do wrong with it; and though He has imparted so\nmuch knowledge, I plainly see that He will keep you some years without\nthe enjoyment of that which no doubt you would misuse. Know, that\nif you seek this art without a ferment, you must beware of frequent\nerror; you will err and stray from the right path, notwithstanding all\nyour care, and perhaps may not in the course of your life attain this\ntreasure, which is the alone gift of God. If you pursue the straightest\ncourse it will take a year to arrive at perfection; but if you take\nwrong ways, you shall be often left behind, sometimes a year, and\nmust renew your charge and pains, repenting of your loss and error,\nin much distraction, care, and perils, with an expense you can hardly\nspare. Attend therefore to my counsel, and I shall disclose the secret\nconditionally. Swear before the mighty God that you will, for such a\ntime, abstain from the attempt or practice; nor shall you at that\ntime, even if you are at the point of death, disclose some few points\nthat I will reveal to you in secrecy.\u2019\n\n\u201cI swore, and he unlocked his mind to me, and proved that he did not\ndeceive by showing me those lights which I shall honestly recount, as\nfar as my oath will admit.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nEiren\u00e6us Philalethes has the credit of unexampled perspicuity, and\nhis _Introitus Apertus_, in particular, is an abridgement or digest\nof the whole _turba philosophorum_. Those who are in search of the\nphysical secret should begin by the careful study of his works; thence\nthey should proceed to a consideration of the authors whom he himself\nrecommends, after which the best Hermetic writers, from the days of\nGeber downward, should be taken in their chronological order, carefully\nanalysed, and their points of difference and agreement duly noted.\n\nThe physical nature of the alchemical arcana in the custody of the\ntrue Philalethes are best seen by the narratives and commentaries\nof his pupil, George Starkey. The mystery which surrounds the adept\nstimulates unbalanced imaginations, and dilates into Titanic stature\nthe projects which he cherished and the wonders he is supposed to have\naccomplished. The _Introitus Apertus_, amid much that is mystical\nand much that suggests an exceedingly romantic interpretation, is a\ntreatise of practical alchemy, and further elaborates the principles,\nevidently physical, that are expounded in the metrical essays which\nwere preserved and made public by Starkey.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AH] It was published at Amsterdam in 1667, and is supposed to have\nbeen free from the numerous typographical errors of the later editions.\n\n\n\n\nPIERRE JEAN FABRE.\n\n\nThis physician of Montpellier, to whom chemistry is indebted for\nsome steps in its progress, flourished at the beginning of the\nseventeenth century. He believed in the transmutation of metals, but\nis not considered as an adept, though he wrote seventeen treatises\non this subject, and on the Spagiric Medicine. His most curious\nwork is _Alchimista Christianus_. Toulouse, 1632, 8vo. In _Hercules\nPiochymicus_, published at the same place two years later, he maintains\nthat the labours of Hercules are allegories, which contain the arcana\nof Hermetic philosophy.\n\nHe defines the philosophical stone as the seed out of which gold and\nsilver are generated. It is three and yet one; it may be found in all\ncompounded substances, and is formed of salt, mercury, and sulphur,\nwhich, however, are not to be confounded with the vulgar substances so\ndenominated.\n\n\n\n\nHELVETIUS.\n\n\nThe following singularly impressive and even convincing testimony to\nthe alleged fact of metallic transmutation was published by the eminent\nDutch physician, John Frederick Helvetius, at the Hague in 1667, and\nwas dedicated to his friends, Dr Retius of Amsterdam, Dr Hansius of\nHeidelberg, and Dr Menzelin of Brandeburg.\n\n\u201cOn the 27th December 1666, in the afternoon, a stranger, in a plain,\nrustic dress, came to my house at the Hague. His manner of address was\nhonest, grave, and authoritative; his stature was low, with a long\nface and hair black, his chin smooth. He seemed like a native of the\nnorth of Scotland, and I guessed he was about forty-four years old.\nAfter saluting me, he requested me most respectfully to pardon his rude\nintrusion, but that his love of the pyrotechnic art made him visit\nme. Having read some of my small treatises, particularly that against\nthe sympathetic powder of Sir Kenelm Digby, and observed therein my\ndoubt of the Hermetic mystery, it caused him to request this interview.\nHe asked me if I still thought there was no medicine in Nature which\ncould cure all diseases, unless the principal parts, as the lungs,\nliver, &c., were perished, or the time of death were come. To which\nI replied, I never met with an adept, or saw such a medicine, though\nI read much of it, and often wished for it. Then I asked if he was\na physician. He said he was a founder of brass, yet from his youth\nlearned many rare things in chemistry, particularly of a friend--the\nmanner to extract out of metals many medicinal arcana by the use of\nfire. After discoursing of experiments in metals, he asked me, Would\nI know the philosophers\u2019 stone if I saw it? I answered, I would not;\nthough I read much of it in Paracelsus, Helmont, Basil, and others, yet\nI dare not say I could know the philosophers\u2019 matter. In the interim\nhe drew from his breast pocket a neat ivory box, and out of it took\nthree ponderous lumps of the stone, each about the size of a small\nwalnut. They were transparent and of a pale brimstone colour, whereto\nsome scales of the crucible adhered when this most noble substance\nwas melted. The value of it I since calculated was twenty tons weight\nof gold. When I had greedily examined and handled the stone almost\na quarter of an hour, and heard from the owner many rare secrets of\nits admirable effects in human and metallic bodies, also its other\nwonderful properties, I returned him this treasure of treasures, truly\nwith a most sorrowful mind, like those who conquer themselves, yet, as\nwas just, very thankfully and humbly. I further desired to know why\nthe colour was yellow, and not red, ruby colour, or purple, as the\nphilosophers write. He answered, that was nothing, for the matter was\nmature and ripe enough. Then I humbly requested him to bestow a little\npiece of the medicine on me, in perpetual memory of him, though but of\nthe size of a coriander or hemp seed. He presently answered, \u2018Oh no,\nthis is not lawful, though thou wouldst give me as many ducats in gold\nas would fill this room, not for the value of the metal, but for some\nparticular consequences. Nay, if it were possible,\u2019 said he, \u2018that fire\ncould be burnt by fire, I would rather at this instant cast all this\nsubstance into the fiercest flames.\u2019 He then demanded if I had a more\nprivate chamber, as this was seen from the public street. I presently\nconducted him into the best furnished room backward, not doubting but\nhe would bestow part thereof or some great treasure on me. He entered\nwithout wiping his shoes, although they were full of snow and dirt. He\nasked me for a little piece of gold, and, pulling off his cloak, opened\nhis vest, under which he had five pieces of gold. They were hanging to\na green silk ribbon, and were of the size of breakfast plates. This\ngold so far excelled mine that there was no comparison for flexibility\nand colour. The inscriptions engraven upon them he granted me to write\nout; they were pious thanksgivings to God, dated 20th August 1666, with\nthe characters of the Sun, Mercury, the Moon, and the signs of Leo and\nLibra.\n\n\u201cI was in great admiration, and desired to know where and how he\nobtained them. He answered, \u2018A foreigner, who dwelt some days in my\nhouse, said he was a lover of this science, and came to reveal it to\nme. He taught me various arts--first, of ordinary stones and chrystals,\nto make rubies, chrysolites, sapphires, &c., much more valuable than\nthose of the mine; and how in a quarter of an hour to make an oxide\nof iron, one dose of which would infallibly cure the pestilential\ndysentery, or bloody flux; also how to make a metallic liquor to\ncure all kinds of dropsies most certainly and in four days; as also\na limpid, clear water, sweeter than honey, by which in two hours of\nitself, in hot sand, it would extract the tincture of garnets, corals,\nglasses, and such like.\u2019 He said more, which I, Helvetius, did not\nobserve, my mind being occupied to understand how a noble juice could\nbe drawn out of minerals to transmute metals. He told me his said\nmaster caused him to bring a glass of rain-water, and to put some\nsilver leaf into it, which was dissolved therein within a quarter of\nan hour, like ice when heated. \u2018Presently he drank to me the half, and\nI pledged him the other half, which had not so much taste as sweet\nmilk, but whereby, methought, I became very light-headed. I thereupon\nasked if this were a philosophical drink, and wherefore we drank this\npotion; but he replied, I ought not to be so curious.\u2019 By the said\nmaster\u2019s directions, a piece of a leaden pipe being melted, he took a\nlittle sulphureous powder out of his pocket, put a little of it on the\npoint of a knife into the melted lead, and after a great blast of the\nbellows, in a short time he poured it on the red stones of the kitchen\nchimney. It proved most excellent pure gold, which the stranger said\nbrought him into such trembling amazement that he could hardly speak;\nbut his master encouraged him saying, \u2018Cut for thyself the sixteenth\npart of this as a memorial, and give the rest away among the poor,\u2019\nwhich the stranger did, distributing this alms, as he affirmed, if my\nmemory fail not, at the Church of Sparenda. \u2018At last,\u2019 said he, \u2018the\ngenerous foreigner taught me thoroughly this divine art.\u2019\n\n\u201cAs soon as his relation was finished, I asked my visitor to show me\nthe effect of transmutation and so confirm my faith; but he declined\nit for that time in such a discreet manner that I was satisfied, he\npromising to come again in three weeks, to show me some curious arts\nin the fire, provided it were then lawful without prohibition. At the\nthree weeks end he came, and invited me abroad for an hour or two. In\nour walk we discoursed of Nature\u2019s secrets, but he was very silent on\nthe subject of the great elixir gravely asserting that it was only to\nmagnify the sweet fame and mercy of the most glorious God; that few men\nendeavoured to serve Him, and this he expressed as a pastor or minister\nof a church; but I recalled his attention, entreating him to show me\nthe metallic mystery, desiring also that he would eat, drink, and lodge\nat my house, which I pressed, but he was of so fixed a determination\nthat all my endeavours were frustrated. I could not forbear to tell him\nthat I had a laboratory ready for an experiment, and that a promised\nfavour was a kind of debt. \u2018Yes, true,\u2019 said he, \u2018but I promised to\nteach thee at my return, with this proviso, if it were not forbidden.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen I perceived that all this was in vain, I earnestly requested a\nsmall crumb of his powder, sufficient to transmute a few grains of\nlead to gold; and at last, out of his philosophical commiseration, he\ngave me as much as a turnip seed in size, saying, \u2018Receive this small\nparcel of the greatest treasure of the world, which truly few kings or\nprinces have ever seen or known.\u2019 \u2018But,\u2019 I said, \u2018this perhaps will not\ntransmute four grains of lead,\u2019 whereupon he bid me deliver it back\nto him, which, in hopes of a greater parcel, I did; but he, cutting\nhalf off with his nail, flung it into the fire, and gave me the rest\nwrapped neatly up in blue paper, saying, \u2018It is yet sufficient for\nthee.\u2019 I answered him, indeed with a most dejected countenance, \u2018Sir,\nwhat means this? The other being too little, you give me now less.\u2019\nHe told me to put into the crucible half an ounce of lead, for there\nought to be no more lead put in than the medicine can transmute. I gave\nhim great thanks for my diminished treasure, concentrated truly in the\nsuperlative degree, and put it charily up into my little box, saying I\nmeant to try it the next day, nor would I reveal it to any. \u2018Not so,\nnot so,\u2019 said he, \u2018for we ought to divulge all things to the children\nof art which may tend alone to the honour of God, that so they may\nlive in the theosophical truth.\u2019 I now made a confession to him, that\nwhile the mass of his medicine was in my hands, I endeavoured to scrape\naway a little of it with my nail, and could not forbear; but scratched\noff so very little, that, it being picked from my nail, wrapped in a\npaper, and projected on melted lead, I found no transmutation, but\nalmost the whole mass of lead sublimed, while the remainder was a\nglassy earth. At this unexpected account he immediately said, \u2018You are\nmore dexterous to commit theft than to apply the medicine, for if you\nhad only wrapped up the stolen prey in yellow wax, to preserve it from\nthe fumes of the lead, it would have sunk to the bottom, and transmuted\nit to gold; but having cast it into the fumes, the violence of the\nvapour, partly by its sympathetic alliance, carried the medicine quite\naway.\u2019 I brought him the crucible, and he perceived a most beautiful\nsaffron-like tincture sticking to the sides. He promised to come next\nmorning at nine o\u2019clock, to show me that this tincture would transmute\nthe lead into gold. Having taken his leave, I impatiently awaited his\nreturn, but the next day he came not, nor ever since. He sent an excuse\nat half-past nine that morning, and promised to come at three in the\nafternoon, but I never heard of him since. I soon began to doubt the\nwhole matter. Late that night my wife, who was a most curious student\nand inquirer after the art, came soliciting me to make an experiment\nof that little grain of the stone, to be assured of the truth. \u2018Unless\nthis be done,\u2019 said she, \u2018I shall have no rest or sleep this night.\u2019\nShe being so earnest, I commanded a fire to be made, saying to myself,\n\u2018I fear, I fear indeed, this man hath deluded me.\u2019 My wife wrapped the\nsaid matter in wax, and I cut half an ounce of lead, and put it into a\ncrucible in the fire. Being melted, my wife put in the medicine, made\ninto a small pill with the wax, which presently made a hissing noise,\nand in a quarter of an hour the mass of lead was totally transmuted\ninto the best and finest gold, which amazed us exceedingly. We could\nnot sufficiently gaze upon this admirable and miraculous work of\nnature, for the melted lead, after projection, showed on the fire the\nrarest and most beautiful colours imaginable, settling in green, and\nwhen poured forth into an ingot, it had the lively fresh colour of\nblood. When cold it shined as the purest and most splendid gold. Truly\nall those who were standing about me were exceedingly startled, and\nI ran with this aurified lead, being yet hot, to the goldsmith, who\nwondered at the fineness, and after a short trial by the test, said it\nwas the most excellent gold in the world.\n\n\u201cThe next day a rumour of this prodigy went about the Hague and\nspread abroad, so that many illustrious and learned persons gave me\ntheir friendly visits for its sake. Amongst the rest, the general\nAssay-master, examiner of coins of this province of Holland, Mr\nPorelius, who with others earnestly besought me to pass some part of\nthe gold through all their customary trials, which I did, to gratify my\nown curiosity. We went to Mr Brectel, a silversmith, who first mixed\nfour parts of silver with one part of the gold, then he filed it, put\n_aquafortis_ to it, dissolved the silver, and let the gold precipitate\nto the bottom; the solution being poured off and the calx of gold\nwashed with water, then reduced and melted, it appeared excellent gold,\nand instead of a loss in weight, we found the gold was increased, and\nhad transmuted a scruple of the silver into gold by its abounding\ntincture.\n\n\u201cDoubting whether the silver was now sufficiently separated from the\ngold, we mingled it with seven parts of antimony, which we melted and\npoured out into a cone, and blew off the regulus on a test, where we\nmissed eight grains of our gold; but after we blew away the red of the\nantimony, or superfluous _scoria_, we found nine grains of gold for our\neight grains missing, yet it was pale and silver-like, but recovered\nits full colour afterwards, so that in the best proof of fire we lost\nnothing at all of this gold, but gained, as aforesaid. These tests I\nrepeated four times and found it still alike, and the silver remaining\nout of the _aquafortis_ was of the very best flexible silver that could\nbe, so that in the total the said medicine or elixir had transmuted six\ndrams and two scruples of the lead and silver into most pure gold.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nGUISEPPE FRANCESCO BORRI.\n\n\n\u201cThe Rape of the Lock\u201d and the graceful romance of \u201cUndine\u201d have\nfamiliarised every one with the doctrine of elementary spirits; but\nthe chief philosophical, or pseudo-philosophical, account of these\nunseen but not extra-mundane intelligences has been the little book\nof the Comte de Gabalis, a series of conversations on the secret\nsciences. It is generally unknown that this work is little more than an\nunacknowledged translation of \u201cThe Key to the Cabinet of the Chevalier\nBorri, wherein may be found various epistles--curious, scientific,\nand chemical--with politic instructions, matters which deserve well\nof the curious, and a variety of magnificent secrets.\u201d[AI] Borri, who\nappears to have been a microcosmic precursor of Cagliostro, was born\nat Milan in 1627. Some proceedings of an equivocal nature caused him,\nin his earlier years, to seek sanctuary in a church, but subsequently,\nlike Joseph Balsamo, he underwent a complete transformation, announced\nthat he was inspired of Heaven, that he was elected by the omnipotent\nGod to accomplish the reformation of mankind, and to establish the\n_Regnum Dei_. There should be henceforth but a single religion, with\nthe Pope as its head, and a vast army, with Borri as general, for the\nextermination of all anti-catholics. He exhibited a miraculous sword\nwhich St Michael had deigned to present him, declared that he had\nbeheld in the empyrean a luminous palm-branch reserved for his own\ncelestial triumph, announced that the Holy Virgin was divine by nature,\nthat she conceived by inspiration, that she was equal with her Son, and\nwas present in the Eucharist with him, that the Holy Spirit had taken\nflesh in her person, that the second and third persons of the Trinity\nare inferior to the Divine Father, that the fall of Lucifer involved\nthat of a vast number of angels, who now inhabit the regions of the\nair, that it was by the intervention of these rebellious spirits that\nGod created the world and gave life to all beasts, but that men were\nin possession of a Divine soul which God made in spite of himself.\nFinally, with a contradiction more French than Italian, he gave out\nthat he was himself the Holy Spirit incarnate.\n\nNeedless to say, this novel gospel, according to mystical imposture,\nbrought him into conflict with hierarchic authority. He was arrested,\nand, on the 3d of January 1661, he was condemned as a heretic, and\nas guilty of various misdeeds. He managed to escape, took flight\nnorthward, and by the expectation of the stone philosophical contrived\nto cheat Christina, Queen of Sweden, out of a large sum of money.\nHe perambulated various parts of Germany, making many supposed\nprojections, visited the Low Countries, and in 1665 entered as a\nprofessional alchemist into the service of the King of Denmark.\nHe announced that he was the master of a demon, who responded to\nhis magical evocations, and dictated the operations required for\nthe successful transmutation of metals. The name of this spook was\nHomunculus, which, according to Paracelsus, signifies a minute human\nbeing generated unnaturally without the assistance of the female\norganism, from the sperm of a man or a boy.\n\nThe monarch, determined to monopolise the talents of his adept,\ndecided that the laboratory of Borri should be transferred to his own\npalace. The alchemist, with an eye to his freedom, objected that the\npower of his imp would be destroyed on the first attempt to divide\nhim from a certain vast iron furnace, which was the sulphureous abode\nof Homunculus; but his royal patron was a man of resources, and the\nfurnace was also transported. Five years passed away, and Frederick\nIII. having died, his successor determined on a closer investigation\nof the transmutatory secrets of Borri, who took flight at the rumour,\nbut was arrested on the frontiers of Hungary, and imprisoned at Vienna,\nwhere he was claimed by the Papal Nuncio as a fugitive condemned for\nhis heresies. He was sent to Rome, and entombed in the Castle of St\nAngelo. There he was permitted to continue his alchemical processes,\nwhich were pursued unsuccessfully till his death in the year 1695.\n\n\u201cThe Key to the Cabinet of the Chevalier Borri\u201d has never been actually\ntranslated; the adaptation by the Abb\u00e9 de Villars is, of course,\nof European celebrity. As to the chemical secrets contained in the\noriginal letters, it may be safely concluded that they are few and\nunimportant.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AI] La Chiave del Gabinetto del Cavagliere G. F. Borri, col favor\ndella quella si vedono varie lettere scientifiche, chimice, e\ncuriosissime, con varie istruzioni politiche, ed altre cose degne da\ncuriosita e molti segreti bellissimi. Cologne (Gen\u00e8ve), 1681, 12mo.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN HEYDON.\n\n\nThis mountebank royalist mystic has no claim to be included among\nalchemical philosophers, and is only noticed here to advise students\nthat everything relating to alchemy in the whole of his so-called works\nwas impudently stolen from Philalethes. He practised wholesale piracy\non his contemporaries and on ancient authors with equal effrontery.\nThe account of his voyage to the land of the Rosicrucians is a mangled\nversion of Bacon\u2019s \u201cAtlantis;\u201d his apologues, epilogues, enigmas, &c.,\nare also stolen goods; in short, whatever is of value in his books is\nmatter borrowed from the highways and byways of occultism, and heaped\nindiscriminately together. Everything emanating from his own weakly\nintelligence is utterly contemptible; he was grossly superstitious and\npitiably credulous, as may be seen by his medical recipes. He claimed a\nfamiliar acquaintance with the most arcane Rosicrucian mysteries, and\npretended that he had visited the temples, holy houses, castles, and\ninvisible mountains of the Fraternity. Of all the alchemical liars and\nof all mystical charlatans who have flourished in England since the\nfirst days of Anglo-occultism, John Heydon is chief.\n\n\n\n\nLASCARIS.\n\n\nGerman writers have principally occupied themselves with the\ntransmutations of this singular personage, who so successfully shrouded\nhimself in mystery, that his name, his age, his birthplace, and\neverything which concerns his private life are completely unknown.\n\nHe called himself Lascaris, but also adopted other appellations. He\nclaimed an Oriental origin, and as he spoke Greek fluently, he has\npassed for a descendant of the royal house of Lascaris. He represented\nhimself as the archimandrite of a convent in the Island of Mytilena,\nand bore letters from the Greek patriarch of Constantinople. His\nmission in the West was the solicitation of alms for the ransom of\nChristian prisoners in the East. He appeared for the first time in\nGermany at the beginning of the eighteenth century, a man seemingly\nsome forty or fifty years old, of attractive mien, agreeable in\nmanner, and fluent in his conversation. Finding himself indisposed\nat Berlin, he sent for a certain apothecary, who for some reason was\nunable to attend, and on several occasions was represented by a pupil\nat the bedside of the stranger. With this youth Lascaris fell into\nconversation, and a sort of friendship sprung up between them. The\napothecary\u2019s pupil had studied Basil Valentine, and had attempted\nexperiments on the principles of this adept. Lascaris recovered, and\nat the moment of departing from Berlin he took the youth aside, and\npresented him with a quantity of the transmuting powder, commanding him\nto be silent as to whence he had derived it, and while forbidding him\nto make use of it till some time after his departure, assured him that\nwhen Berlin unbelievers beheld its amazing effects, no one would be\nable to tax the alchemists with madness.\n\nThe name of this young man was John Frederick B\u00f6tticher. Intoxicated\nat the possession of such an unexpected treasure, he determined to\ndevote himself entirely to alchemy. The apothecary, his master,\nvainly endeavoured to dissuade him from a pursuit which he considered\nchimerical, for he astonished both him and his friends by changing\nsilver into gold in their presence.\n\nThe experiment was repeated with mercury for the benefit of a friend of\nB\u00f6tticher, the tale spread, and the apothecary\u2019s pupil became the lion\nof Berlin, more especially as he spread the report that he was able to\ncompose himself the philosophical tincture.\n\nHe was summoned before the King, Frederick William I., who wished to\nwitness his performances, but he fled to an uncle at Wittenburg. He\nwas claimed from the authorities of that town as a Prussian subject,\nbut he was now a prize of value, and the Elector of Saxony opposed a\ncounter claim for the possession of his person, and to him B\u00f6tticher\ndecided to proceed. He was warmly welcomed, and when his transmutations\nhad been witnessed, the title of baron was conferred on him. He took up\nhis residence at Dresden, living in a style of great magnificence and\nprodigality, till every particle of his powder was expended, when his\nextravagance involved him in debt. His servants, whom he was unable to\nrepay, spread the report that it was his intention to take flight, and\nthe purblind Elector, refusing to perceive in this sudden failure of\nresources a proof that B\u00f6tticher was unable to compose or increase the\nphilosophers\u2019 stone, surrounded his house with guards, and detained him\npractically as a prisoner.\n\nAt this juncture, Lascaris, who was still wandering in Germany, took\npity on the misfortunes of his young neophyte, and endeavoured to\nextricate him from his embarrassing position by means of a young doctor\nnamed Pasch, who was a personal friend of the ennobled apothecary\u2019s\nboy. Their man\u0153uvres resulted in the imprisonment of Pasch at the\nfortress of Sonneinstein, while B\u00f6tticher was closely confined in\nanother castle at K\u0153nigstein.\n\nTwo years and a half passed away. At the end of that time Pasch\nsucceeded in escaping at the expense of his limbs, and died after a few\nmonths, bitterly complaining of the treachery of the adept Lascaris,\nwho had deserted him completely in his danger.\n\nB\u00f6tticher remained in confinement with every opportunity to manufacture\nthe philosophical stone, which, however he failed to accomplish; but\nwhat with his apothecary\u2019s training and his prison experiments, he had\nbecome skilled in several departments of chemistry. He discovered the\nprocess for the production of red porcelain, and afterwards that of\nwhite, very superior in quality to the substances already known by that\nname. These inventions proved as valuable to the tyrannical Elector as\nthe accomplishment of the _magnum opus_. B\u00f6tticher was restored to his\nfavour, and again enjoyed his baronial title, but in his liberty he\nsurrendered himself to an immoderately luxurious life, and died in 1719\nat the age of thirty-seven years.\n\nB\u00f6tticher was by no means the only apothecary\u2019s boy who was enriched\nwith the powder of Lascaris, and despatched to preach the gospel of\nalchemy with practical demonstrations. Godwin, Hermann, Braun, and\nMartin of Fitzlar are mentioned among these half-initiated labourers,\nwho shone till their stock-in-trade was exhausted, and then disappeared\nin succession.\n\nIn the meantime, Lascaris himself was not idle. On the 16th February\n1609 he is believed to have changed mercury into gold and gold into\nsilver, a double transmutation, considered by alchemical connoisseurs\nto be the evidence of an unparalleled adeptship. Liebkneck, counsellor\nof Wertherbourg, was a witness of this transmutation.\n\nIn the same year a goldsmith of Leipsic was visited by a mysterious\nstranger, who is unanimously identified with Lascaris, and who showed\nhim a lingot, which he declared was manufactured by art, and which\nproved in assaying to be gold of twenty-two carats. It was purified by\nthe goldsmith with antimony, and part of it was presented to him by the\nunknown as a memorial of the alleged transmutation.\n\nShortly after, a lieutenant-colonel in the Polish army, whose name was\nSchmolz de Dierbach, and who had inherited from his father a belief\nin alchemical science, was conversing on the subject at a caf\u00e9, when\nhe was accosted by a stranger, who presented him with some powder of\nprojection. It was of a red colour, and a microscopic examination\nrevealed its crystalline nature. It increased the weight of the\nmetals which it was supposed to transmute to an extent which chemical\nauthorities declare to be physically impossible. The recipient made\nuse of it generously, distributing to his friends and acquaintance the\ngold it produced in projection. The unknown donor is identified in the\nimagination of German historians with the mysterious Lascaris, who\nis supposed, in the same anonymous and unaccountable manner, to have\nenriched the Baron de Creux with a box of the precious powder, and to\nhave gratified the amateur Hermetic ambition of the Landgrave of Hesse\nDarmstadt through the commonplace medium of the post. In a word, every\nanonymous adept who appeared at this period in or about Germany is\nsupposed to be Lascaris.\n\nThe last of his debtors or victims was the son of a Neapolitan mason,\nDomenico Manuel, who claims to have been mysteriously initiated into\nthe transmutatory art in the year 1695. He was put in possession of a\nsmall quantity both of the white and red tinctures. Being insufficient\nto really enrich himself, he determined to trade upon the wonders\nthey produced, and obtained large sums from wealthy amateurs for\nthe privilege of beholding the consummation of the great work. He\nperambulated Spain, Belgium, and Austria, obtaining large sums,\nunder the pretence of preparing the tincture, not only from private\nindividuals, but from the Emperor Leopold and the Palatine Elector.\nIn different places he assumed names that were different. Now he was\nCount Ga\u00ebtano, now Count de Ruggiero; at other times he called himself\nField Marshal to the Duke of Bavaria, Commandant of Munich, a Prussian\nmajor-general, and by other titles. In 1705 he appeared at Berlin,\nwhere he imposed on the King himself for a brief period, after which,\nunable to ratify his transmutatory engagements, he was convicted of\ntreason and hanged. This occurred on the 29th of August 1709.\n\n\n\n\nDELISLE.\n\n\nThis artist, whose Christian name is unmentioned by his biographers,\nis included by Figuier among the emissaries or disciples of Lascaris,\nand much information concerning him will be found in the _Histoire de\nla Philosophic Herm\u00e9tique_ by his contemporary, Langlet du Fresnoy.\nHe was a rustic of low birth in Provence, and he became acquainted\nwith alchemical experiments by entering the service of a gentleman\nwho was believed to be in possession of the stone. This gentleman is\nsupposed to have received the prize from Lascaris. His operations,\nhowever, fell under suspicion, and he was forced to quit France. He\nretired into Switzerland, accompanied by Delisle, who is said to have\nassassinated him in the mountains, and to have thus got possession of\na considerable quantity of the transmuting powder. However this may\nbe, the servant, re-entered France in disguise, and about the year\n1708 attracted general attention by changing lead and iron into silver\nand gold. He perambulated Languedoc, the Dauphin\u00e9, and Provence. At\nSisteron he connected himself with the wife of a certain Alnys, who\neventually shared his fortunes for the space of three years. His renown\nwas increased by the apparent simplicity of his operations. He spread\npowder and oil over iron, thrust it into the fire, and brought it\nout a bar of gold. He distributed nails, knives, and rings partially\ntransmuted, and was particularly successful in his experiments with\ncommon steel.\n\nCerisy, prior of New Castel, was employed by the Bishop of Senez\nto collect evidence concerning the truth of these marvels. An old\ngentleman offered Delisle a retreat at his castle of La Palud, where\nthe alchemist, surrounded by admirers, received the daily visits of\nthe curious. In Lenglet\u2019s \u201cHistory of Hermetic Philosophy,\u201d there\nis a letter from the Bishop of Senez to the Minister of State and\nComptroller-General of the Treasury at Paris, in which the prelate,\nwho at first was incredulous, professes his inability to resist the\nevidence of actual transformation performed before himself and several\nvigilant witnesses, who took every precaution against deception. There\nis also the Report of M. de Saint-Maurice, President of the Mint at\nLyons, who testifies to the following facts. That he was accompanied\nby Delisle into the grounds of the Chateau de Saint Auban in May 1710,\nwhere he uncovered a basket that was sunk in the ground. In the middle\nof this basket there was an iron wire, at the end of which he perceived\na piece of linen with some object tied up in it. He took possession\nof this parcel, carried it into the dining-room of the Chateau, and\nby the direction of Delisle he exposed its contents--a blackish earth\nabout half a pound in weight--to the rays of the sun. After a quarter\nof an hour the earth was distilled in a retort of a portable furnace,\nand when a yellow liquor was perceived to flow into the receiver,\nDelisle recommended that the recipient should be removed before a\nviscous oil then rising should flow into it. Two drops of this yellow\nliquor, projected on hot quicksilver, produced in fusion three ounces\nof gold, which were presented to the Master of the Mint. Afterwards\nthree ounces of pistol bullets were melted and purified with alum and\nsaltpetre. Delisle handed Saint-Maurice a small paper, desiring him to\nthrow in a pinch of the powder and two drops of the oil used in the\nfirst experiment. This done, the matter was covered with saltpetre,\nkept fifteen minutes in fusion, and then poured out on a piece of iron\narmour, which reappeared pure gold, bearing all assays. The conversion\nto silver was made in the same manner with white powder, and the\ncertificate which testifies to these occurrences was officially signed\non the 14th December 1760.\n\nA part of the gold manufactured in this manner by Delisle was subjected\nto refinement at Paris, where three medals were struck from it; one\nof them was deposited in the king\u2019s cabinet. It bore the inscription\n_Aurum Arte Factum_.\n\nWith all his alchemical skill, Delisle was unable to read or write, and\nin disposition he was untractable, rude, and fanatical. He was invited\nto Court, but he pretended that the climate he lived in was necessary\nto the success of his experiments, inasmuch as his preparations were\nvegetable. The Bishop of Senez, suspecting him of unwillingness rather\nthan inability, obtained a _lettre de cachet_, after two years of\ncontinual subterfuge on the part of the alchemist, who was thereupon\narrested and taken on the road to Paris. During the journey, his\nguards, after endeavouring to extort his supposed riches, wounded him\nseverely on the head, in which state, on his arrival at the Bastille,\nhe was forced to begin his alchemical operations, but after a short\ntime he persistently refused to proceed, tore continually the bandages\nfrom his wound in the frenzy of his desperation, and in the year\nfollowing his imprisonment he poisoned himself.\n\nHis illegitimate son, Alnys, by some means inherited a portion of\nthe powder from his mother. He wandered through Italy and Germany\nperforming transmutations. On one occasion he made projection before\nthe Duke of Richlieu, then French ambassador at Vienna, and who assured\nthe Abb\u00e9 Langlet that he not only saw the operation performed, but\nperformed it himself, twice on gold and forty times on silver.\n\nAlnys made a considerable collection of gold coins, ancient and modern,\nwhile on a journey through Austria and Bohemia. On his return to Aix\nhe presented himself to the President of Provence, who desired him to\ncall the next day. Alnys, suspecting an intention to arrest him, fled\nin the interim. He was afterwards imprisoned at Marseilles, whence\nhe contrived to escape to Brussels. It was here, in 1731, that he\ngave some philosophic mercury to M. Percell, the brother of Langlet\nde Fresnoy, which mercury the recipient fermented imperfectly, but\nsucceeded so far as to convert an ounce of silver into gold. The death\nof a certain M. Grefier shortly after some operations on corrosive\nsublimate, by which Alnys proposed to instruct him in alchemy, made it\nnecessary for him to depart, and he was heard of no more.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN HERMANN OBEREIT.\n\n\nThis writer, as much mystic as alchemist, was born at Arbon at\nSwitzerland in 1725, and died in 1798. He inherited from his father a\ntaste for transcendental chemistry, and the opinion that metals could\nbe developed to their full perfection, but that the chief instrument\nwas the grace of God, working in the soul of the alchemist. He laboured\nunceasingly at the physical processes, hoping thereby to restore the\nfallen fortunes of his family, but his laboratory was closed by the\nauthorities as endangering the public safety. He contrived to make\nevident the harmless nature of his employment, and was received into\nthe house of a brother of the physiognomist Lavater. He celebrated,\nhe informs us, a mystical marriage with a seraphic and illuminated\nshepherdess named Theantis, the ceremony taking place in a castle on\nthe extreme summit of a cloud-encompassed mountain. His bride after\nthirty-six days of transcendental union, which was neither platonic\nnor epicurean, but of a perfectly indescribable character, departed\nthis life, and the bereaved husband, during the whole night of her\ndecease, bewailed her in a mystical canticle. _La Connexion Originaire\ndes Esprits et des Corps, d\u2019apres les principes de Newton_, Augsbourg,\n1776, and _Les Promenades de Gamaliel, juif Philosophe_, were\nbequeathed by Obereit to a neglectful posterity.\n\n\n\n\nTRAVELS, ADVENTURES, AND IMPRISONMENTS OF JOSEPH BALSAMO.\n\n\nThe notorious Count Cagliostro appears from an impartial review of his\nhistory and phenomenal exploits, to have been one of those characters\nnot uncommonly met with in the chequered annals of occultism. Even as\nthe modern \u201cmediums,\u201d who outrage the confidence of their believers by\nleavening the supernatural bread, whereof the ghastly patent is their\nprerogative and birthright, with the unrighteous mammon of material\nconjuring, and even as those conjurors who are sometimes supposed to\nstill further perplex their audience by supplementary compacts with\n\u201cspooks,\u201d this high priest of transcendental trickery would seem to\nhave possessed, perhaps unconsciously, a certain share of occult gifts,\nwhich assisted no little his unparalleled rogueries. Mystical knowledge\nbeyond that of the age in which he lived was undoubtedly his, and\nthough it was still superficial, he had a genius for making the most of\nit.\n\nJoseph Balsamo, whatever has been advanced to the contrary by\nhimself[AJ] or his admirers, was the son of Peter Balsamo and Felicia\nBracconieri, both of humble extraction. He was born at Palermo,\nin Sicily, on the 8th of June 1743. His parents are authentically\ndescribed as honest tradespeople and good Catholics, who were careful\nin the education of their offspring, and solicitous for their spiritual\nwelfare. Their shop drew much custom in the populous neighbourhood\nwhich divided the handsome _Rue del C\u00e6saro_. While his children were\nstill young, Peter Balsamo died, and, left under the inadequate control\nof a widowed mother, Joseph betrayed, even in his earliest years,\na selfish and indolent disposition, greatly neglecting the scanty\neducational advantages which were afforded him. According to other\naccounts, he was taken under the protection of his maternal uncle,\nwho endeavoured to instruct him in the principles of religion, and to\ngive him an education suitable to his age and prospects; but, even\nfrom his infancy, he showed himself uniformly averse to a virtuous\ncourse of life. His uncle was a worthy _bourgeois_ of Palermo, who\nforesaw, by the vivacity and penetration of his nephew, that he might\neasily become proficient in letters and the sciences.[AK] By him he\nwas desired to embrace an ecclesiastical career, as the royal road\nto distinction in those days. Accordingly, at the age of thirteen he\nwas placed in the Seminary of St Roch di Palermo, where he proved\nhis independence and aversion to discipline by continually running\naway. Recaptured in vagabond company, he was committed, with no very\nfavourable character, to a certain father-general of the Bon Fratelli,\nwho was passing through Palermo. The father-general took charge of him\nand straightway carried him to a Benedictine convent on the outskirts\nof Cartagirone. There the walls were high, and the caged dove was in\nthe keeping of an inflexible _fr\u00e8re tourier_. He assumed perforce the\nhabit of a novice, and the father-general discovering his aptitude for\nnatural history and, more especially, his herbalistic tastes, placed\nhim under the tuition of the conventual apothecary, from whom, as he\nafterwards acknowledged, he learned the first principles of chemistry\nand medicine. Figuier states that in a short time he was able to\nmanipulate the drugs with astonishing sagacity; but even then it was\nremarked that he seemed eager to discover those secrets which would\nfurther the interests of charlatanry.[AL] In strict accordance with\nhis natural perversity, he did not fail to give various instances\nof his innate viciousness, and drew down upon himself the continual\nchastisements of his superiors. One day the involuntary novice, whose\nirregularities were to some extent excusable on the ground of the\nconstraint that was put on him, but who often outstripped all bounds,\nwas set to read during dinner in the refectory a certain portion of an\nexceedingly edifying martyrology, and yielding, says one writer with\npious indignation, to an inspiration of Belial, he substituted for\nthe sacred text a blasphemous version suggested by his own dissolute\nimagination, perverting the sense and the incidents, and pushed his\naudacity so far as to substitute for the saintly names those of the\nmost notorious courtesans of the period. A severe penance was imposed\non the insolent offender; but one night he found means to evade the\nvigilance of his guardians, escaped from the convent, crossed the\nintervening country, and after some days of joyous gipsying and\nvagabond wanderings, he arrived at Palermo. Some knowledge of the\nprinciples of chemistry and medicine was about the total of the\nadvantages he had derived from the discipline of conventual life. His\nuncle began to despair of him, but advice and remonstrances were alike\nlost upon the young reprobate, who derided them all, and employing\na certain portion of his time in the cultivation of a natural taste\nfor drawing, he otherwise abandoned himself to unbridled excesses. He\nassociated with rascals and ne\u2019er-do-wells; his drunkenness, gambling,\nand general libertinage, led him into perpetual brawling; and he\nwas frequently in the hands of the police, whom he is said to have\ntaken special pleasure in resisting, frequently delivering by force\nthe prisoners whom they had arrested. He has been also accused of\nforging tickets of admission to the theatres, and selling them with\ncharacteristic effrontery. One of his uncles coaxed him back for a\ntime into his house, and was rewarded by the robbery of a considerable\nquantity of money and some valuable effects. He became an intermediary\nin the amorous intercourse of a female cousin with one of his friends.\nHe carried _billets-doux_ to and fro between them, and made the entire\ntransaction personally profitable by extorting money from his friend,\npersuading him that the fair cousin had a partiality for presents,\nincluding both money and jewellery, and, of course, appropriating the\nfunds which were entrusted to him. Graver crimes were soon laid to his\ncharge. There was a certain dissolute Marquis Maurigi in Palermo who\ncoveted an inheritance which had been willed to a pious establishment,\nand knowing Balsamo, to him were his projects confided, and an\nexpedient was presently forthcoming. Joseph had a relative who was a\nnotary, and by frequenting his office he found means to forge a will,\nbearing every mark of authenticity, in favour of the Marquis, who made\ngood his claim to the estate, and no doubt liberally recompensed the\nskill and pains of his confederate. The falsification was discovered\nmany years after, but the guilty parties were both of them far away.\nIt was also rumoured that Balsamo was a party to the assassination of\na wealthy canon, but the matter is exceedingly doubtful. He was many\ntimes arrested on various charges, but eluded justice, either by the\nabsence of direct proof against him, or by the credit of his relations,\nand the exertions of reputable persons of Palermo, who took interest in\nhis family. It will scarcely be credited that at this period Balsamo\nwas only fourteen years of age. Naturally endowed with artistic\naptitudes, he soon began to give lessons in drawing, and seems to have\nbeen many times on a fair way to reformation. His skill in arms is also\nacknowledged, but, conscious of his superiority, his street brawls\nfrequently ended in duels; his impetuosity even prompted him to take up\nthe gauntlet for his companions, and he scorned danger.\n\nThe most notorious of his youthful exploits, and that which caused\nhim to commence his life-long wanderings, was the adventure of the\nconcealed treasure, which has been variously related.\n\nAn avaricious goldsmith, named Marano, resided at Palermo. He was\na weak, superstitious man--a believer in magic, says M. Louis\nFiguier--and he was much attracted by the mystery which, even at\nthis period, is declared by Figuier to have surrounded the life and\nescapades of Balsamo, who already posed as an initiate of the occult\nsciences. Joseph was now seventeen years of age, of handsome mien and\nhaughty carriage, speaking little, but holding his hearers spell-bound\nby the magnetic fascination of his glance. He had been seen evoking\nspirits; he was believed to converse with angels, and to obtain by\ntheir agency an insight into the most interesting secrets. He had,\nin fact, radically changed; the common rogue was developing into the\ntranscendental impostor. Marano lent an attentive ear to the stories\nconcerning him, and burned with anxiety to behold \u201cthe friend of the\ncelestial spirits.\u201d The first interview took place in the lodging of\nBalsamo; the goldsmith fell on his knees before him, and Balsamo, after\nreceiving his homage, raised him condescendingly from the ground, and\ndemanded in a solemn manner why he had come to him.\n\n\u201cThanks to your daily communion with spirits, you will easily know,\u201d\nanswered Marano, \u201cand you should have no difficulty in assisting me to\nrecover the money which I have wasted among false alchemists, or even\nto procure me more.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can perform this service for you, provided you believe,\u201d said\nBalsamo, with composure.\n\n\u201cProvided I believe!\u201d cried the goldsmith; \u201cI believe, indeed.\u201d\n\nAn appointment was made for the next day in a meadow beyond the town,\nand the interview ended without another word.\n\nThis version of the story is more romantic than probable, and we owe\nit to the vivacity of a Frenchman\u2019s imagination, which is never more\nbrilliant than when employed in the perversion or embellishment of\nhistory. According to the more sober _Aventures de Cagliostro_, Marano\nhad for some time been acquainted with the youthful charlatan, who\nsought him one day at his own residence, and said to him: \u201cYou are\naware of my communications with the supernal spirits; you are aware of\nthe illimitable potency of the incantations to which I devote myself.\nListen! In an olive field, at no great distance from Palermo, there is\na buried treasure according to my certain knowledge, and by the help of\na ceremonial evocation I can discover the precise spot where the spade\nof the seeker should be driven in. The operation, however, requires\nsome expensive preliminaries; sixty ounces of gold are absolutely\nneeded. Will you place them at my disposal?\u201d\n\nMarano declaimed against the preposterous extravagance of the demand,\nmaintaining that the herbs and drugs utilised in alchemical experiments\nwere exceedingly moderate in their price.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis well,\u201d said Balsamo, coldly. \u201cThe matter is soon settled; I shall\nenjoy the vast treasure alone. A blessing when shared is but half a\nblessing for those who participate in it.\u201d\n\nOn the morrow, however, Marano sought out the enchanter, having been\nagonised by the gold fever the whole night.\n\n\u201cI am furnished with the sum you require,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I pray you to\nbargain a little with the spirits, and endeavour to beat them down.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you take them for sordid speculators?\u201d cried the magician,\nindignant. \u201cThe devil is no Jew, though he abode full long in Judea. He\nis a magnificent seigneur, living generously in every country of the\nworld. Treat him with respect, he returns a hundredfold. I shall find\nelsewhere the sixty ounces of gold, and can afford to dispense with\nyour assistance.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is here,\u201d said Marano, drawing quickly a leather bag from his\npocket, and the arrangements were soon made.\n\nAt moonlight they repaired to the olive field, where Balsamo had\nsecretly made preparations for the approaching evocation. The\nincantatory preliminaries were sufficiently protracted, and Marano\npanted with terror under the influence of the magical charms, till\nit seemed to him that the very earth shivered beneath his feet and\nphantoms issued from the ground. Marano fell prostrate on his face, an\naction apparently foreseen, for there and then the wretched goldsmith\nwas belaboured unmercifully with sticks by the infernal spirits, who\nleft him at length for dead, taking flight in the company of the\nenchanter, and fortified by the possession of the sixty ounces of gold.\nOn the morrow, the goldsmith, fortunately discovered by muleteers, was\ncarried disconsolately home, and forthwith denounced Balsamo to the\nlaw. The adventure spread everywhere, but the magician had sailed for\nMessina.\n\nThese are the facts of the case, but the mendacious chronicle of\nLouis Figuier, alchemical critic and universal manufacturer of light\nscientific literature, offers us a far more ornate and attractive\nversion. There the adept and his miserable dupe repair to a place\nappointed at six o\u2019clock in the morning, Balsamo in dignified\nsilence motioning the goldsmith to follow him, and proceeding with a\npre-occupied aspect along the road to the chapel of Saint Rosalia for\nthe space of a whole hour. They stopped at length in the middle of a\nwild meadow, and in front of a grotto, before which Balsamo extended\nhis hand, and solemnly declared that a treasure was buried within it\nwhich he himself was forbidden to touch, which was guarded by devils of\nhell, which devils might, however, be bound for a brief period by the\nangels who commonly responded to his potent magical call.\n\n\u201cIt only remains to be ascertained,\u201d he remarked in conclusion,\n\u201cwhether you will scrupulously fulfil the conditions which must be\nimposed on you. At that price, the treasure may be yours.\u201d\n\nThe credulous goldsmith impetuously implored him to name them.\n\n\u201cThey cannot be learned from my lips,\u201d said Balsamo loftily. \u201cOn your\nknees, in the first place!\u201d\n\nHe himself had already assumed the posture of adoration. Marano\nhastened to imitate him, and immediately a clear, harmonious voice in\nthe celestial altitude pronounced the following words--words, says the\nFrenchman, more delicious in the ears of the covetous miser than all\nthe symphonies of a\u00ebrial choirs.\n\n\u201cSixty ounces of pearls, sixty ounces of rubies, sixty ounces of\ndiamonds, in a coffer of enchased gold, weighing one hundred and twenty\nounces. The infernal genii who protect this treasure will place it in\nthe hands of the worthy man whom our friend has brought, if he be fifty\nyears of age, if he be no Christian--if--if--if--\u201d and a series of\nconditions followed which Marano perfectly united in his own penurious\nperson, even to the last, which was thus formulated:--\u201cAnd if he\ndeposit at the entrance of the grotto, before setting foot therein,\nsixty ounces of gold to propitiate the guardians.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have heard,\u201d said Balsamo, who, already on his feet, began to\nretrace his steps, completely ignoring the utter stupefaction of his\ncompanion.\n\n\u201cSixty ounces of gold!\u201d ejaculated the miser with a dismal groan, and\ntorn by the internal conflict of avarice and cupidity; but Balsamo\nheeded the exclamation as little as the groan, and regained the town in\nsilence.\n\nWhen they were on the point of separating, Marano appeared to have\nresolved.\n\n\u201cGrant me one instant!\u201d he cried in a piteous voice. \u201cSixty ounces of\ngold? Is that the irrevocable condition?\u201d\n\n\u201cUndoubtedly,\u201d said Balsamo, carelessly.\n\n\u201cAlas! alas! And at what hour to-morrow?\u201d\n\n\u201cAt six o\u2019clock in the morning and, mark, at the same spot.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be there.\u201d\n\nThis was the parting speech of the goldsmith, and, as it were, the\nlast gasp of his conquered avarice. On the morrow, punctual to the\nappointed time, they met as before, Balsamo with his habitual coolness,\nMarano with his gold. They arrived in due course at the grotto, where\nthe angels, consulted as on the previous day, returned the same\noracles. Balsamo assumed ignorance of what would take place. With a\nterrific struggle, Marano deposited his gold and prepared to cross the\nthreshold. He took one step forward, then started back, inquired if\nthere were no danger in penetrating into the depths of the cavern, was\nassured of safety if the gold had been faithfully weighed, entered with\nmore confidence, and again returned, these man\u0153uvres being repeated\nseveral times, under the eyes of the adept, whose expression indicated\nthe most uninterested indifference. At length, Marano took courage\nand proceeded so far that a return was impossible, for three black,\nmuscular devils started out from the shadows and barred his path,\ngiving vent to the most alarming growls. They seized him, forced him\nto whirl round and round for a long time, and then while the unhappy\ncreature vainly invoked the assistance of Balsamo, they proceeded to\ncudgel him lustily till he dropped overwhelmed to the ground, when a\nclear voice bade him remain absolutely silent and motionless, for he\nwould be instantaneously despatched if he stirred either hand or foot.\nThe wretched man did not dare to disobey, but after a long swoon the\ncomplete stillness encouraged him to raise his head; he dragged himself\nas best he could to the mouth of the terrible grotto, looked round him,\nand found that the adept, the demons, and the gold had alike vanished.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhen Balsamo arrived at Messina he was furnished with a very handsome\nsum to support the expenses of his sojourn therein, for the lion\u2019s\nshare of the booty obtained from the goldsmith had, of course, fallen\nto himself. He lodged in one of the chief inns near the port, and had\nprepared himself for further adventures, when he suddenly remembered\nthat he had an old and affluent aunt in the town whom he took occasion\nto visit, but only to discover that she had recently died, leaving the\nbulk of her fortune to different churches of Messina, and distributing\nthe rest to the poor. Doubtless the dutiful nephew paid to the memory\nof this ultra-Christian relation a just tribute of regrets, and anxious\nto inherit at least something from a person so eminent in sanctity, he\ndetermined to assume her family name, joined to a title of nobility,\nand from that time forward he commonly called himself the Count\nAlessandro Cagliostro. His penetrating and calculating mind, says one\nof his biographers, understood the prestige which attached to a title\nat a period when the privileges of birth still exercised an almost\nundisputed influence.\n\nIt was in the town of Messina that Balsamo first met with the\nmysterious alchemist Altotas, whom in his fabulous autobiography he\nrepresented as the oriental tutor of his infancy. As he was promenading\none day near the jetty at the extremity of the port, he encountered\nan individual singularly habited, and possessed of a most remarkable\ncountenance. This person, aged apparently about fifty years, seemed\nto be an Armenian, though, according to other accounts, he was a\nSpaniard or Greek. He wore a species of caftan, a silk bonnet, and the\nextremities of his breeches were concealed in a pair of wide boots. In\nhis left hand he held a parasol, and in his right the end of a cord, to\nwhich was attached a graceful Albanian greyhound.\n\nWhether from curiosity or by presentiment, Cagliostro saluted this\ngrotesque being, who bowed slightly, but with satisfied dignity.\n\n\u201cYou do not reside in Messina, signor?\u201d he said in Sicilian, but with a\nmarked foreign accent.\n\nCagliostro replied that he was tarrying for a few days, and they\nbegan to converse on the beauty of the town and on its advantageous\nsituation, a kind of oriental imagery individualising the eloquence of\nthe stranger, whose remarks were, moreover, adroitly adorned with a few\nappropriate compliments. He eluded inquiries as to his own identity,\nbut offered to unveil the past of the Count Cagliostro, and to reveal\nwhat was actually passing in his mind at that moment. When Cagliostro\nhinted at sorcery, the Armenian smiled somewhat scornfully, and dilated\non the ignorance of a nation which confused science with witchcraft,\nand prepared faggots for discoverers.\n\nHis hearer, much interested, ventured to ask the address of the\nillustrious stranger, who graciously invited him to call. They walked\npast the cathedral and halted in a small quadrilateral street shaded by\nsycamores, and having a charming fountain in the centre.\n\n\u201cSignor,\u201d said the stranger, \u201cthere is the house I inhabit. I receive\nno one; but as you are a traveller, as you are young and courteous,\nas, moreover, you are animated by a noble passion for the sciences, I\npermit you to visit me. I shall be visible to you to-morrow a little\nbefore midnight. You will rap twice on the hammer\u201d--he pointed as he\nspoke to the door of a low-storied house--\u201cthen three times more\nslowly, and you will be admitted. Adieu! Hasten at once to your inn. A\nPiedmontese is trying to possess himself of the seven and thirty ounces\nof gold that are secured in your valise, and which is itself shut up\nin a press, the key of which is in your pocket at this moment. Your\nservant, signor!\u201d and he departed rapidly.\n\nCagliostro, returning in all haste, discovered the thief in the act,\nand, as a lawful and righteously indignant proprietor, he forthwith\ndelivered him to justice.\n\nOn the morrow, at the time appointed, he knocked at the door of the\nlittle house inhabited by the Armenian. It was opened at the fifth\nblow without any visible agency, and closed as soon as the visitor\nhad entered. Cagliostro cautiously advanced along a narrow passage,\nilluminated by a small iron lamp in a niche of the wall. At the\nextremity of the passage a spacious door sprang open, giving admittance\ninto a ground-floor parlour which was illuminated by a four-branched\ncandelabra, holding tapers of wax, and was, in fact, a laboratory\nfurnished with all the apparatus in use among practical alchemists. The\nArmenian, issuing from a neighbouring cabinet, greeted the visitor,\ninquired after the safety of the gold, had intelligence of the truth\nof his clairvoyance, and of the deserved fate of the malefactor, but\ncut short the expressed astonishment and admiration of Cagliostro\nby declaring that the art of divination was simply the result of\nscientific combinations and close observations. He ended by asking his\nhearer if he denied the infallible certitude of judicial astrology, but\nthe self-constituted count denied nothing except the superior power of\nvirtue over self-interest, whereat the Armenian inquired to whom he was\nindebted for his training.\n\n\u201cI was about to say to the solicitude of my uncles and to the\napothecary in the Convent of the Bon Fratelli,\u201d said Cagliostro; \u201cbut\nto what purpose? You undoubtedly know.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d replied the strange individual, \u201cthat you have trained\nyourself; that the apothecary, equally with your uncles, has but opened\nfor you the door to knowledge. What are your plans?\u201d\n\n\u201cI intend to enrich myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is,\u201d said the other, grandiloquently, \u201cyou would make yourself\nsuperior to the imbecile mob--a laudable project, my son! Do you\npropose to travel?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, so far as my thirty-seven ounces of gold will take me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very young,\u201d said the Armenian. \u201cHow is bread manufactured?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith flour.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd wine?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy means of the grape.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut gold?\u201d\n\n\u201cI come to inquire of yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will solve that problem hereafter. Listen to me, young man. I\npropose to depart for Grand Cairo, in Egypt. Will you accompany me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith all my heart!\u201d exclaimed Cagliostro, overjoyed, and they sat down\nin large oak chairs, each at one end of the table where the candelabra\nwas placed.\n\n\u201cEgypt,\u201d said the Armenian, \u201cis the birthplace of all human science.\nAstronomy alone had Chaldea for its fatherland; there the shepherds\nfirst studied the courses of the stars. Egypt availed itself of\nthe astro-Chaldean initiations, and soon surpassed the methods and\nincreased the discoveries of the shepherds. Since the reign of the\nPharaoh Manes, and of his successors, Busiris, Osymandyas, Uchoreas,\nand Moeris, Egyptian knowledge has advanced with giant strides. Joseph,\nthe dream-reader, established the basis of chiromancy; the priests\nof Osiris and Isis invented the Zodiac; the Cosmogonies of Phre and\nHorus revealed agriculture and other physical sciences; the priestesses\nof Ansaki unveiled the secrets of philtres; the priests of Serapis\ntaught medicine. I might proceed with the sublime enumeration, but to\nwhat end? Will you faithfully follow me to Egypt? I hope to embark\nto-morrow, and we shall touch at Malta on the way--possibly also at\nCandia--reaching the port of Phare in eight days.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis settled!\u201d cried the delighted Cagliostro. \u201cI have my thirty-seven\nounces of gold for the journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I not a single crown.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe devil!\u201d ejaculated Cagliostro.\n\n\u201cWhat matters it? What need to have gold when one knows how to make\ngold? What need to possess diamonds when one can extract them from\ncarbon more beautifully than from the mines of Golconda? Go to! you are\nexcessively simple.\u201d\n\n\u201cTherefore, by your leave, I intend to become your disciple.\u201d\n\nThe Armenian extended his hand, and their departure was fixed for the\nmorrow.\n\nThis Altotas, or Althotes, we are assured by Figuier, was no imaginary\ncharacter. The Roman Inquisition collected many proofs of his\nexistence, without, however, ascertaining where it began or ended,\nfor the mysterious personage vanished like a meteor. According to\nthe Italian biography of Joseph Balsamo, Altotas was in possession\nof several Arabic manuscripts, and assumed great skill in chemistry.\nAccording to Figuier, he was a magician and doctor as well, though\nothers represent him despising and rejecting the abused name of\nphysician. As to his divinatory abilities, he had already given a\nsignal proof of their extent to his pupil, but he showed him that he\nwas acquainted with all his Palermese antecedents.\n\nThey embarked on board a Genoese vessel, sailed along the Archipelago,\nlanded at Alexandria, where they tarried for forty days, performing\nseveral operations in chemistry, by which they are said to have\nproduced a considerable sum of money, but whether by transmutation or\nby imposture is not apparently clear. Cagliostro\u2019s respect for his\nmaster did not prevent him, with true Sicilian subtlety, inquiring as\nto his own antecedents, till Altotas, weary of resorting to the same\nstratagems of evasion, declared to him once for all that he was himself\nin complete ignorance as to his birth and parentage.\n\n\u201cThis may surprise you,\u201d he said, \u201cbut science, which can enlighten us\non the part of another, is almost invariably impotent to instruct us\nconcerning ourselves.\u201d\n\nHe declared himself to be much older than would appear, but that he\nwas in possession of certain secrets for the conservation of strength\nand health. He had discovered the scientific methods of producing gold\nand precious stones, spoke ten or twelve languages fluently, and was\nacquainted with almost the entire circle of human sciences. \u201cNothing\nastonishes me,\u201d he said, \u201cnothing grieves me, save the evils which I\nam powerless to prevent, and I trust to reach in peace the term of my\nprotracted existence.\u201d\n\nHe confessed that his name of Altotas was self-chosen, yet was it truly\nhis. His early years had been passed on the coast of Barbary, near\nTunis, where he belonged to a Mussulman privateer, who was a rich and\nhumane man, and who had purchased him from pirates, by whom he had\nbeen stolen from his family. At twelve years of age he spoke Arabic\nlike a native, read the Koran to his master, who was a true believer,\nstudied botany under his direction, and learned the best methods for\nmaking sherbet and coffee. A post of honour was in store for him in\nthe household of his master; but destiny decreed that when Altotas\nwas sixteen, the worthy Mussulman should be gathered to his fathers.\nIn his will he gave the young slave his liberty, and bequeathed him a\nsum which was equivalent to six thousand _livres_, wherewith Altotas\nquitted Tunis to indulge his passion for travelling.\n\nCagliostro represented that he had followed his instructor into\nAfrica and the heart of Egypt, that he visited the pyramids, making\nthe acquaintance of the priests of different temples, and penetrating\ninto the arcana of their mysterious sanctuaries. Moreover, he declares\nhimself to have visited, during the space of three years, all the\nprincipal kingdoms of Africa and Asia. These statements are identical\nin their value with the romantic story of his education in the\npalace of the muphti at Medina. It is altogether doubtful whether he\never visited Arabia, which was in any case the extreme limit of his\nwanderings, and he is subsequently discovered at Rhodes still in the\nsociety of Altotas, and pursuing, in common with that mysterious being,\nhis doubtful chemical operations.\n\nAt Malta they had letters of introduction to the Grand Master, Pinto,\nand tarried for some time to work in his laboratory, for the \u201csupreme\nchief of Maltese chivalry\u201d was infatuated with alchemical experiments,\nand, after the fashion of that extravagant period, had a strong bias\ntowards the marvellous. The history of the failure or success of the\nerrant adepts remains in the laboratory of the Grand Master; but\nfrom this moment Altotas, the chemist and alchemist--Altotas, the\nphenomenal, the wise man, the scientist--disappears completely. \u201cMalta\nwas his sepulchre, or haply the place of his apotheosis.\u201d \u201cThere,\u201d says\nthe Count, in his Memoir, \u201cit was my misery to lose my best friend, the\nmost wise, the most illuminated of mortals, the venerable Altotas.\nHe clasped my hands shortly before his death. \u2018My son,\u2019 he said, in a\nfailing voice, \u2018keep ever before thine eyes the fear of the Eternal and\nthe love of thy neighbour. Thou wilt soon learn the truth of all which\nI have taught thee.\u2019\u201d\n\nWith every mark of respect on the part of the Grand Master, and\naccompanied by the Chevalier d\u2019Aquino, of the illustrious house of\nCaramania, and himself a Knight of Malta, Cagliostro repaired to\nNaples, where he supported himself for some time with money which\nhad been presented to him by Pinto, and perhaps by loans from his\npossibly opulent companion, who, however, eventually quitted him to\nproceed into France. In Naples Cagliostro met with a Sicilian prince\nwho was infected by the prevalent gold fever, and was so enraptured\nwith the high-sounding theories of Cagliostro that he invited him to\nhis chateau in the neighbourhood of Palermo, where they might pursue\ntheir operations in common. It was imprudent, but the pupil of the\ngreat Altotas could not resist the desire to revisit his native land.\nHe tarried a certain period with his companion, but going one day\ninto Messina, he encountered an old acquaintance, a certain dissolute\npriest, his confederate in the affair of Marano, and who had, in\nfact, acted as one of the sable fiends whose stout clubs had agonised\nthe unfortunate goldsmith. The adventurer warned Cagliostro not to\nenter Palermo, where justice was highly offended at his youthful\nindiscretions. He persuaded him to join fortunes with himself, return\nto Naples, and there open a gaming-house for the benefit, or rather for\nthe bleeding, of the wealthy foreigners who visited Italy. This method\nof gold-making was quite after the heart of his hearer, who soon took\nhis leave of the Sicilian prince, but they were regarded with so much\nsuspicion by the Neapolitan Government that they retired into the Papal\nstates. Cagliostro\u2019s companion had, however, received the tonsure,\nand he trembled for his safety on the consecrated ground which was\nthe stronghold of the Holy Inquisition, so he hastened his departure\nto less orthodox places, and does not figure further in the chequered\nhistory of his brother in chicanery.\n\nCagliostro remained, and is said to have assumed several different\ncharacters, occasionally including the sacerdotal habit. According\nto some accounts, he made himself remarkable for his extreme piety,\nvisiting all the churches, fulfilling the duties of religion, and\nfrequenting the palaces of cardinals. By means of some letters of\nrecommendation which he had brought with him from Naples, he obtained\naccess to several persons of distinction, among others to the Seneschal\nde Breteuil, at that time Ambassador from Malta to Rome, and who,\nhearing of his former connection with the Grand Master, received him\nwith much warmth, and procured him other honourable connections. One\nillustrious dupe ensured others, and we find him in a short time\nestablished in the Holy City, retailing wonderful recipes and specifics\nfor all the diseases which afflict fallen humanity in Rome and the\nuniverse. Crowns and ducats flowed in upon him; he lived in some state\nand luxury, refraining, however, from scandalous enjoyments.\n\nThe Italian biography which represents the opinions, embodies the\nresearches, and champions the cause of the Inquisition, draws, however,\na different picture to those of Saint-Felix and Louis Figuier.\n\u201cHe employed himself at this period,\u201d says this doubtful, because\nindisputably biassed, authority, \u201cin making drawings on paper, the\noutlines of which were produced by means of a copperplate engraving,\nand afterwards were filled up with Indian ink. These he sold as designs\nmade by means of the pen alone. Having taken up his abode at the Sign\nof the Sun, in the neighbourhood of the Rotunda, he quarrelled with\none of the waiters and suffered imprisonment for three days.\u201d\n\nWhatever these statements are worth, there is no doubt hanging over the\nmost important incident of his Roman career. It was in that place and\nat this period that he first beheld the young and beautiful Lorenza\nFeliciani, and having in two days fallen violently in love with her,\nhe demanded her in marriage from her father, who, fascinated by his\nbirth, his aristocratic name, and opulent appearance, consented,\ntogether with the lady. The marriage took place, not without _\u00e9clat_,\nsays one section of the witnesses, and the pair resided in the house\nof the father-in-law. The Italian life, minimising to the uttermost\nthe success of Cagliostro, says that he received as a dower a trifling\nfortune proportionate to their condition.\n\nAccording to the testimony of all the biographers, inquisitorial or\notherwise, Lorenza was not only young and beautiful, but \u201crich in every\nquality of the heart, being tender, devoted, honest, and modest;\u201d but\nher husband conceived the diabolical design of advancing his fortunes\nat the expense of her honour, and in private conversation took occasion\nto rally her notions of virtue, which he sought to undermine. The first\nlesson which the young bride received from her husband, according\nto her own confession, was intended to instruct her in the means of\nattracting and gratifying the passions of the opposite sex. The most\nwanton coquetry and the most lascivious arts were the principles with\nwhich he endeavoured to inspire her. The mother of Lorenza, scandalised\nat his conduct, had such frequent altercations with her son-in-law,\nthat he resolved to remove from her house, and in other quarters found\nit a simpler task to corrupt the mind and morals of his wife. Then,\naccording to the Italian author, he presented her to two persons well\nqualified for the exercise of her talents, having instructed her to\nentangle them both by her allurements. With one of these she did not\nsucceed, but over the other she acquired a complete victory. Cagliostro\nhimself conducted her to the house destined for the pleasure of the\nlover, left her alone in his company, and retired to another chamber.\n\nThe interview and the offers made to her were such as entirely\ncorresponded to the wishes of the husband, but the wife on this\noccasion did not exhibit a proper instance of conjugal obedience, and\nupon imparting the whole affair confidentially to her husband, received\nthe most bitter reproach and the most violent and dreadful menaces.\nHe also repeatedly assured her that adultery was no crime when it\nwas committed by a woman to advance her interests, and not through\naffection for other men. He even added example to precept, by showing\nhow little he himself respected the ties of conjugal fidelity--that is,\napparently, he sold himself to lascivious females of advanced age, and\non these occasions aroused his dormant passions by drinking a certain\nEgyptian wine, composed of aromatics which possessed the necessary\nqualities for the completion of his intention. His wife, hearkening\nat length to his instructions, was conducted several times to the\nplace where she had formerly proved so disobedient to his orders. She\nsometimes received, says the same witness, either clothes or trinkets,\nand sometimes a little money, as the reward of her condescension. One\nday her husband wrote a letter, in the name of his wife, in which he\nbegged the loan of a few crowns; these were immediately sent. In return\nfor them an interview was promised during the course of the next day,\nand the lady was faithful to the appointment.\n\nSuch is the version of this disgraceful business given by the\nenemies of Cagliostro, but all biographers agree that he corrupted\nthe morals of his wife. Indeed, the only question is whether the\ntransaction took place on the sordid scale described by the Italian\nwriter. Other authorities tell us that his success tempted \u201ca\nbeautiful Roman--Lorenza Feliciani--to share his rising fortunes.\nUnscrupulous, witty, and fascinating, Lorenza was an admirable partner\nfor Cagliostro, who speedily made her an adept in all his pretended\nmysteries.\u201d Whatever were her natural virtues or failings, it is highly\nimprobable that she sold her uncommon attractions for such paltry and\nmiserable advantages.\n\nThe house which was taken by Cagliostro became the resort of sharpers,\ntwo of whom, Ottavio Nicestro, who was eventually hanged, and a\nso-called Marquis d\u2019Agriata, both Sicilians, became intimate associates\nof their host. With the latter he was frequently closeted for hours\ntogether. Their occupation is uncertain; but as Cagliostro\u2019s wealth\nincreased at no ordinary rate, and as the Marquis was an unparalleled\nproficient in the production of counterfeit writing, they are supposed\nto have succeeded in forging numerous bills of exchange; and it is, at\nany rate, certain that the letters patent by which the great charlatan\nwas authorised to assume the uniform of a Prussian colonel, which he\nsubsequently did to his definite advantage, were the production of this\nskilful miscreant. But a quarrel arose between the three confederates;\nNicastro betrayed his accomplices, the Marquis fled from Rome,\nCagliostro and the unhappy Lorenza incontinently following his example.\n\nOur three fugitives took the road to Venice, reached Bergamo, and there\npractised several unparticularised rogueries, till their identity was\ndiscovered by the Government. The marquis again managed to escape,\nthe others after a short imprisonment were expelled from the town,\nand being stripped of all their resources, undertook a pilgrimage\ninto Galicia, hoping to cross Spain, through the charity of the clergy\nand conventual communities. They travelled through the territories of\nthe King of Sardinia, through Genoa, and so arrived at Antibes. From\nthis moment the life of the Count Cagliostro was for several years\none of incessant wandering. According to the Italian biographer, as\nbeggary proved unprofitable, Lorenza was again forced by her husband\nto augment their resources through the sale of her charms. In this way\nthey arrived at Barcelona, where they tarried for six months, the same\ncourse of infamous prostitution, followed by Lorenza with the most\nmanifest reluctance, contributing in the main to their support.\n\nFrom Barcelona they proceeded to Madrid, where also certain noble\nSpaniards proved sensible to the charms of Lorenza. From Madrid they\njourneyed to Lisbon, and thence sailed to England, where Cagliostro\nis said to have adopted the profession of a common quack, to have\nfallen into prison, to have been bought out by his wife, in whose\nperson he still continued to traffic, bartering her charms to every\nopulent man who wished to become a purchaser; but the frequency of her\nprostitutions has probably been grossly exaggerated.\n\nAn English Life of the Count Cagliostro, dedicated, in 1787, to Madame\nla Comtesse, and written in the interests of the charlatan, gives a\nsingular account of his misfortunes in London, showing that when he\narrived there he was in possession of plate, jewels, and specie to the\namount of three thousand pounds, that he hired apartments in Whitcomb\nStreet, where he dedicated a large portion of his time to his favourite\nstudies of chemistry and physics, and that all he suffered must be\nentirely attributed to the profuse generosity and charity of himself\nand his lady.\n\nIn 1772, Cagliostro and his wife crossed over to France, accompanied by\none M. Duplaisir, who lodged with them at Paris, and seems to have been\nintimate with Lorenza. But Cagliostro was insatiable, says St Felix. He\nsold his honour at a high price, and the fortune of Duplaisir melted\nin the crucible of another\u2019s follies and extravagances. At length,\nin alarm, the victim took leave of his rapacious guests, not without\nstrongly warning Lorenza to return to her parents, for he had learned\nto esteem the natural good qualities which she possessed. According to\none account, she attempted to follow this advice, but others say that\nshe sought refuge from incessant prostitution with Duplaisir himself.\nIn either case, Cagliostro had recourse to the authority of the king,\nand obtaining an order for her arrest, she was imprisoned in the\npenitentiary of Sainte P\u00e9lagie, and was detained there several months,\nduring which Cagliostro abandoned himself to a life of congenial\ndissipation. The sale of a certain wash for beautifying the complexion\nappears to have procured him a considerable revenue about this period.\n\nThe imprisonment of Lorenza did not prevent a reconciliation with her\nhusband immediately after her release, which occurred on December\n21, 1772, on which date, having obtained under false pretences some\nmagnificent dresses from the _costumiers_, Cagliostro appeared at the\nball of a dancing-master in a peculiarly brilliant costume.\n\nIt is from this period that our adventurer\u2019s success as an alchemist\nmust be dated. Here he found means to form an acquaintance with two\npersons of distinction, who carried their love of chemistry to a\nridiculous excess. He pretended to have discovered some miraculous\nsecrets in the transcendent science, proclaimed himself publicly a\ndepository of the Hermetic Mystery, and posing as a supernatural\npersonage in possession of the great arcanum of the philosophers\u2019\nstone and of the glorious life-elixir. This also was the epoch of\nmesmerism, of which novel science Cagliostro decided to avail himself.\nAfter a time, according to the Italian biography, his two dupes\nentertained suspicions of his veracity, and being in fear of arrest,\nhe obtained a passport under a fictitious name, fled with great\nprecipitation to Brussels, traversed Germany and Italy, and once more\narrived at his native city Palermo.[AM]\n\nAt Palermo he was speedily arrested by the implacable Marano, but\nthe protection of a noble, to whom he had obtained a powerful\nrecommendation while at Naples, ensured his speedy release, and he\nembarked with his wife for Malta, where, according to the Italian\nbiographer, he ostensibly supported himself by the sale of his pomade\nfor the improvement of the complexion, but his more certain income\nappears to have been his wife. Monsieur Saint-F\u00e9lix, however, declares,\nand this, on the whole, is most probable, that they were received with\nthe most marked distinction by the Grand Master. In either case, they\nsoon retired to Naples, when Cagliostro professed in public for three\nmonths both chemistry and the Kabbalah. At Naples they were joined by a\nyounger brother of Feliciani, a lad named Paolo, who was remarkable for\nhis extraordinary loveliness. Cagliostro, seeing that he might prove\nuseful, persuaded him to share their fortunes. They embarked with a\ngreat train for Marseilles, and thence proceeded to Barcelona. The star\nof the great adventurer was now fairly in the ascendant, and from this\ntime he seems always to have travelled in considerable state. He met,\nhowever, with no dupes of importance in the peninsula till he reached\nits extremity, where he cheated a fanatical alchemist of a hundred\nthousand crowns, under the pretence of a colossal accomplishment of the\n_magnum opus_. After this signal success he incontinently departed for\nEngland, while Paolo, with whom he had quarrelled, returned to Rome,\nmuch to the grief of his sister.\n\nThe commencement of the grandeur of Cagliostro is to be dated from\nhis second visit to London. It was then that he was initiated into\nmasonry, and conceived his titanic project of the mysterious Egyptian\nrite. Saint F\u00e9lix accredits him even from the moment of his admission\ninto the order with an unavowed object. Cagliostro, he informs us,\nwas resolved one day to seat himself on the throne of the grand\nmaster of a rival and more potent institution, and he appears to have\nlived henceforth in the light of his high aspiration, and to have\neschewed--theoretically at least--all petty rogueries.\n\nHe incessantly visited the various London lodges, and a correspondence\nprinted in English at Strasburg during the year 1788, relates that by\na pure chance he picked up a curious manuscript at an obscure London\nbookstall. This manuscript appears to have belonged to a certain George\nGaston, who is absolutely unknown. It treated of Egyptian masonry, and\nabounded in magical and mystical notions which excited the curiosity\nof its purchaser, nourished both his ambition and his imagination,\nand in a short time he developed his own system from its suggestive\nhints. The source of his inspiration, of course, remained concealed.\nHe pretended to have received his masonic tradition by succession from\nEnoch and Elias. Privately, however, he pursued his former rogueries,\nand his sojourn in London was not infrequently disturbed by his\nsquabbles with the police. Those who are interested in this part of the\nCagliostro controversy will do well to refer to the English biography,\ndedicated to the countess, and which contains much curious information.\n\nWhen all his plans were matured he departed for the Hague, and thence\nproceeded to Venice, where some of his English creditors seem to have\ndisturbed his serenity, and prompted him in consequence to retire\nthrough Germany into Holstein, where he is supposed to have visited the\nrenowned Count de St Germain.\n\nAccording to the _M\u00e9moires Authentiques pour servir \u00e0 l\u2019Histoire du\nComte de Cagliostro_, published in 1785, he demanded an audience\nwith this man of inscrutable mystery, in order that he might\nprostrate himself before the _dieu des croyants_. With characteristic\neccentricity the Count de St Germain appointed two in the morning\nas the hour for the interview, which moment being arrived, say the\n\u201cMemoirs,\u201d Cagliostro and his wife, clothed in white garments, clasped\nabout the waist with girdles of rose-colour, presented themselves at\nthe castellated temple of mystery, which was the abode of the dubious\ndivinity whom they desired to adore. The drawbridge was lowered, a\nman six feet in height, clothed in a long grey robe, led them into\na dimly-lighted chamber. Therein some folding doors sprang suddenly\nopen, and they beheld a temple illuminated by a thousand wax lights,\nwith the Count de Saint-Germain enthroned upon the altar; at his\nfeet two acolytes swung golden thuribles, which diffused sweet and\nunobtrusive perfumes. The divinity bore upon his breast a diamond\npentagram of almost intolerable radiance. A majestic statue, white and\ndiaphanous, upheld on the steps of the altar a vase inscribed, \u201cElixir\nof Immortality,\u201d while a vast mirror was on the wall, and before it\na living being, majestic as the statue, walked to and fro. Above the\nmirror were these singular words--\u201cStore House of Wandering Souls.\u201d The\nmost solemn silence prevailed in this sacred retreat, but at length a\nvoice, which seemed hardly a voice, pronounced these words--\u201cWho are\nyou? Whence come you? What would you?\u201d Then the Count and Countess\nCagliostro prostrated themselves, and the former answered after a long\npause, \u201cI come to invoke the God of the faithful, the Son of Nature,\nthe sire of truth. I come to demand of him one of the fourteen thousand\nseven hundred secrets which are treasured in his breast, I come to\nproclaim myself his slave, his apostle, his martyr.\u201d\n\nThe divinity did not respond, but after a long silence, the same voice\nasked:--\u201cWhat does the partner of thy long wanderings intend?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo obey and to serve,\u201d answered Lorenza.\n\nSimultaneously with her words, profound darkness succeeded the glare of\nlight, uproar followed on tranquillity, terror on trust, and a sharp\nand menacing voice cried loudly:--\u201cWoe to those who cannot stand the\ntests!\u201d\n\nHusband and wife were immediately separated to undergo their respective\ntrials, which they endured with exemplary fortitude, and which are\ndetailed in the text of the memoirs. When the romantic mummery was\nover, the two postulants were led back into the temple, with the\npromise of admission to the divine mysteries. There a man mysteriously\ndraped in a long mantle cried out to them:--\u201cKnow ye that the arcanum\nof our great art is the government of mankind, and that the one means\nto rule them is never to tell them the truth. Do not foolishly\nregulate your actions according to the rules of common sense; rather\noutrage reason and courageously maintain every unbelievable absurdity.\nRemember that reproduction is the palmary active power in nature,\npolitics, and society alike; that it is a mania with mortals to be\nimmortal, to know the future without understanding the present, and to\nbe spiritual while all that surrounds them is material.\u201d\n\nAfter this harangue the orator genuflected devoutly before the divinity\nof the temple and retired. At the same moment a man of gigantic stature\nled the countess to the feet of the immortal Count de Saint-German, who\nthus spoke:--\n\n\u201cElected from my tenderest youth to the things of greatness, I\nemployed myself in ascertaining the nature of veritable glory.\nPolitics appeared to me nothing but the science of deception, tactics\nthe art of assassination, philosophy the ambitious imbecility of\ncomplete irrationality; physics fine fancies about Nature and the\ncontinual mistakes of persons suddenly transplanted into a country\nwhich is utterly unknown to them; theology the science of the misery\nwhich results from human pride; history the melancholy spectacle of\nperpetual perfidy and blundering. Thence I concluded that the statesman\nwas a skilful liar, the hero an illustrious idiot, the philosopher\nan eccentric creature, the physician a pitiable and blind man, the\ntheologian a fanatical pedagogue, and the historian a word-monger.\nThen did I hear of the divinity of this temple. I cast my cares upon\nhim, with my incertitudes and aspirations. When he took possession of\nmy soul he caused me to perceive all objects in a new light; I began\nto read futurity. This universe so limited, so narrow, so desert, was\nnow enlarged. I abode not only with those who are, but with those who\nwere. He united me to the loveliest women of antiquity. I found it\neminently delectable to know all without studying anything, to dispose\nof the treasures of the earth without the solicitation of monarchs,\nto rule the elements rather than men. Heaven made me liberal; I have\nsufficient to satisfy my taste; all that surrounds me is rich, loving,\npredestinated.\u201d\n\nWhen the service was finished the costume of ordinary life was resumed.\nA superb repast terminated the ceremony. During the course of the\nbanquet the two guests were informed that the Elixir of Immortality was\nmerely Tokay coloured green or red according to the necessities of the\ncase. Several essential precepts were enjoined upon them, among others\nthat they must detest, avoid, and calumniate men of understanding, but\nflatter, foster, and blind fools, that they must spread abroad with\nmuch mystery the intelligence that the Count de Saint-Germain was five\nhundred years old, that they must make gold, but dupes before all.\n\nThe truth of this singular episode is not attested by any sober\nbiographer. If it occurred as narrated, it doubtless served to confirm\nCagliostro in his ambitious projects. The change which had taken place\nin the adventurer since his second visit to England is well described\nby Figuier. \u201cHis language, his mien, his manners, all are transformed.\nHis conversation turns only on his travels in Egypt, to Mecca, and in\nother remote places, on the sciences into which he was initiated at the\nfoot of the Pyramids, on the arcana of Nature which his ingenuity has\ndiscovered. At the same time, he talks little, more often enveloping\nhimself in mysterious silence. When interrogated with reiterated\nentreaties, he deigns at the most to draw his symbol--a serpent with\nan apple in its mouth and pierced by a dart, meaning that human wisdom\nshould be silent on the mysteries which it has unravelled.... Lorenza\nwas transfigured at the same time with her husband. Her ambitions and\ndeportment became worthy of the new projects of Cagliostro. She aimed,\nlike himself, at the glory of colossal successes.\u201d\n\nThe initiates of the Count de Saint-Germain passed into Courland,\nwhere they established Masonic lodges, according to the sublime rite\nof Egyptian Freemasonry. The countess was an excellent preacher to\ncaptivate hearts and enchant imaginations, her beauty fascinated a\nlarge number of Courlandaise nobility. At Mittau, Cagliostro attracted\nthe attention of persons of high rank, who were led by his reputation\nto regard him as an extraordinary person. By means of his Freemasonry\nhe began to obtain an ascendency over the minds of the nobles, some of\nwhom, discontented with the reigning duke, are actually said to have\noffered him the sovereignty of the country, as to a divine man and\nmessenger from above. The Italian biography represents him plotting\nwith this end in view. \u201cHe pretends,\u201d say the documents of the Holy\nInquisition, \u201cthat he had virtue enough to resist the temptation, and\nthat he refused the proffered boon from the respect due to sovereigns.\nHis wife has assured us that his refusal was produced by the reflection\nthat his impostures would soon be discovered.\u201d He collected, however, a\nprodigious number of presents in gold, silver, and money, and repaired\nto St Petersburg, provided with regular passports. But the prophet soon\nfound that a sufficiently brilliant reputation had not preceded him,\nand he, therefore, simply announced himself as a physician and chemist,\nby his retired life and air of mystery soon attracting attention.\n\nHis assumption of the _r\u00f4le_ of physician leads to a brief\nconsideration of the miraculous cures which have been attributed\nto him. They are generally referred to a broad application of the\nprinciples and methods of Mesmer, his contemporary. They were performed\nwithout passes, iron rods, or any of the cumbrous paraphernalia of his\nrival in the healing art; he trusted simply to the laying on of hands.\nMoreover, he did not despoil his patients, but rather dispensed his\nwealth, which now appeared unlimited, among the poor, who flocked to\nhim in great numbers as his reputation increased. The source of this\nwealth is not accurately known, but it is supposed to have been derived\nfrom the Masonic initiates, whose apostle and propagandist he was.\n\nMany of the miraculous cures which Cagliostro performed in Germany\nspread widely, and in Russia he was soon surrounded by the curious.\nLorenza played her own part admirably; she answered discreetly and\nnaturally, making the most outrageous statements with apparently\ncomplete unconsciousness. The physician-chemist, besides his healing\npowers, had his reputation as an alchemist and adept of the arcane\nsciences. The supposed restoration in a miraculous manner of the infant\nchild of an illustrious nobleman to health exalted him to the pinnacle\nof celebrity, and his extravagant pretensions, assisted, as they\npowerfully were, by the na\u00efve beauty of his wife, were beginning to be\ntaken seriously, but the combined result of an amour between Lorenza\nand Prince Poternki, Prime Minister and favourite of the Czarina,\nCatherine, and the discovery that the nobleman\u2019s child had been\napparently changed, caused them to depart hastily with immense spoils\ntowards the German frontier.\n\nThey tarried at Warsaw for a time, and there the Italian biographer\ntells us that Cagliostro made use of all his artifices to deceive a\nprince to whom he was introduced, and who was exceedingly anxious\nto obtain, with the help of the pretended magician, the permanent\ncommand of a devil. Cagliostro puffed him up for a long time with the\nexpectation of gratifying this preposterous ambition, and actually\nprocured presents from him to the amount of several thousand crowns.\nThe prince at length perceiving that there was no hope of retaining one\nof the infernal spirits in his service, wished to make himself master\nof the earthly affections of the countess, but in this too he was\ndisappointed, the lady positively refusing to comply with his desires.\nFinding himself thus balked in both his attempts, he abandoned every\nsentiment but revenge, and intimidated our adventurer and his wife so\nmuch by his menaces that they were obliged to restore his presents.\n\nThe veracity of this account is not, however, beyond suspicion, and\nother of his biographers represent Cagliostro proceeding directly\nto Francfurt and thence to Strasbourg, into which, more wealthy and\nsuccessful than ever, he made a triumphal entry. The distinguished\nvisitor, the Rosicrucian, the alchemist, the physician, the sublime\ncount, had been expected since early morning by the bourgeois of the\nold town, and the following extraordinary account in the _Dictionnaire\ndes Sciences Occultes_ has been given by an anonymous biographer.\n\n\u201cOn the 19th of September 1780, in a public-house just outside\nStrasburg, surrounded by a group of humble tipplers, who stared from\nthe little window at the vast crowd collected below them, there might\nhave been remarked the countenance of a bald and wrinkled man, some\neighty years of age, and evidently of southern origin; this was the\ngoldsmith Marano. Successive failures, and debts which he did not\nsee fit to liquidate, had forced him to leave Palermo, and he had\nestablished himself in his former trade at Strasbourg. Like the rest\nof the townsfolk he had come out to behold the phenomenal personage\nwhose arrival was expected, and who made a greater sensation than\nmany a powerful monarch. He had come by way of Germany from Varsovia,\nwhere he had amassed immense riches, said popular rumour, by the\ntransmutation of base metals into gold, for he was possessed of the\nsecret of the philosophic stone, and had all the incalculable talents\nof an alchemist.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my faith,\u201d said a hatter, \u201cI am indeed happy since I am destined to\nbehold this illustrious mortal, if indeed he be a mortal.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis asserted,\u201d added a druggist, \u201cthat he is a son of the Princess of\nTrebizond, and that he has withal the fine eyes of his mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlso that he is a lineal descendant of Charles Martel,\u201d said a town\nclerk.\n\n\u201cHe dates still further back,\u201d put in a rope-maker, \u201cfor he took part\nin the marriage feast of Cana.\u201d\n\n\u201cBeyond doubt then, he is the wandering Jew!\u201d exclaimed Marano.\n\n\u201cStill better, some credible persons assert that he was born before the\ndeluge.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat hardihood! Yet suppose he is the devil.\u201d\n\nThese notions here reproduced with fidelity, and which were adorned\nby the most extravagant commentaries, were actually at that period in\ngeneral circulation among the crowd. Some regarded the mysterious Count\nCagliostro as an inspired saint, a performer of miracles, a phenomenal\npersonage outside the order of Nature. The cures attributed to him were\nequally innumerable and unexplainable. Others regarded him merely as\nan adroit charlatan. Cagliostro himself boldly asserted that all his\nprodigies were performed under the special favour and help of heaven.\nHe added that the Supreme Being had deigned to accord him the beatific\nvision, that it was his mission to convert unbelievers and reinstate\ncatholicism, but in spite of this exalted vocation he told fortunes,\ntaught the art of winning at lotteries, interpreted dreams, and held\ns\u00e9ances of transcendental phantasmagoria.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d contended the rope-maker with much animation, \u201ca man who\nconverses with angels is never the devil.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he in communication with angels?\u201d cried Marano, struck by the\ncircumstances. \u201cIn that case I must see him at all costs. How old is\nhe?\u201d\n\n\u201cBah!\u201d said the druggist, \u201cas if such a being could have an age! He\nlooks about thirty-six.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d muttered the goldsmith. \u201cWhat if he were my rascal? My rascal\nshould now be thirty-seven.\u201d\n\nAs the hoary Sicilian ruminated over his lamentable past, he was\nroused by a tumult of voices. The supernal being had arrived, and he\npassed presently in the road, surrounded by a numerous cortege of\ncouriers, lacqueys, valets, &c., all in magnificent liveries. By his\nside, in the open carriage, sat Lorenza or Seraphina Feliciani, his\nwife, who seconded with all her ability the intrigues of her husband,\nwhom reasonable people regarded as a wandering member and emissary of\nthe masonic templars, his opulence insured by contributions from the\ndifferent lodges of the order.\n\nA great shout rose up when Count Cagliostro passed before the inn.\nMarano had recognised his man, and flying out had contrived to stop the\ncarriage, shouting as he did so--\u201cJoseph Balsamo! It is Joseph! Coquin,\nwhere are my sixty ounces of gold?\u201d\n\nCagliostro scarcely deigned to glance at the furious goldsmith; but\nin the middle of the profound silence which the incident occasioned\namong the crowd, a voice, apparently in the clouds, uttered with\ngreat distinctness the following words: \u201cRemove this lunatic, who is\npossessed by infernal spirits!\u201d\n\nSome of the spectators fell on their knees, others seized the\nunfortunate goldsmith, and the brilliant cortege passed on.\n\nEntering Strasburg in triumph, Cagliostro paused in front of a large\nhall, where the equerries who had preceded him had already collected\na considerable concourse of the sick. The famous empiric entered and\ncured them all, some simply by touch, others apparently by words or\nby a gratuity in money, the rest by his universal panacea; but the\nhistorian who records these things asserts that the sick persons thus\nvariously treated had been carefully selected, the physician preferring\nto treat the more serious cases at the homes of the patients.\n\nCagliostro issued from the hall amidst universal acclamations, and was\naccompanied by the immense crowd to the doors of the magificent lodging\nwhich had been prepared against his arrival. The \u00e9lite of Strasburg\nsociety was invited to a sumptuous repast, which was followed by a\ns\u00e9ance of transcendental magnetism, when he produced some extraordinary\nmanifestations by the mediation of clairvoyant children of either sex,\nand whom he denominated his doves or pupils. The unspotted virginity\nand innocence of these children were an indispensable condition\nof success. They were chosen by himself, and received a mystical\nconsecration at his hands. Then he pronounced over a crystal vessel,\nfilled with water, the magical formul\u00e6 for the evocation of angelic\nintelligences as they are written in the celestial rituals. Supernal\nspirits became visible in the depths of the water, and responded to\nquestions occasionally in an intelligible voice, but more often in\ncharacters which appeared on the surface of the water, and were visible\nto the pupils alone, who interpreted them to the public.\n\nContemporary testimony establishes that these manifestations, as\na whole, were genuine, and there is little doubt of the mesmeric\nabilities of Cagliostro, who had probably become acquainted in the East\nwith the phenomena of virginal lucidity, especially in boys, and had\nsupplemented the oriental methods by the discoveries of Pus\u00e9ygur, which\nwere at that time sufficiently notorious.\n\nFor three years Cagliostro remained at Strasburg and was f\u00eated\ncontinually. Here he obtained a complete ascendency over the mind\nof the famous cardinal-archbishop, the Prince de Rohan. His first\ncare, on taking up his abode in the town, was to prove his respect\nfor the clergy by his generosity and zeal. He visited the sick in the\nhospitals, deferentially participated in the duties of the regular\ndoctors, proposed his new remedies with prudence, did not condemn the\nold methods, but sought to unite new science with the science which was\nbased on experience. He obtained the reputation of a bold experimenter\nin chemistry, of a sagacious physician, and a really enlightened\ninnovator. The inhabitants of the crowded quarters regarded him as a\nman sent from God, operating miraculous cures, and dispensing riches\nfrom an inexhaustible source with which he was alone acquainted.\nUnheard-of cures were cited, and alchemical operations which surpassed\neven the supposed possibilities of the transmutatory art.\n\nAnything which savoured of the marvellous was an attraction for the\ncardinal-archbishop, and he longed to see Cagliostro. An anonymous\nwriter states that he sought an interview with him again and again\nunsuccessfully; for the cardinal-prince of trickery divined even\nat a distance the character of the prince-cardinal, and enveloped\nhimself in a reserve which, to the imagination of his dupe, was like\nthe loadstone to the magnet. Others represent him, however, courting\nthe favour of the great ecclesiastic\u2019s secretary, and so obtaining\nan introduction. At the first interview he showed some reserve, but\npermitted certain dazzling ideas to be glimpsed through the more\nordinary tenour of his discourse. After a judicious period he admitted\nthat he possessed a receipt for the manufacture of gold and diamonds. A\nsupposed transmutation completed his conquest of the cardinal, and the\nItalian historian confesses that he accordingly lavished immense sums\nupon the virtuous pair, and to complete his folly, agreed to erect a\nsmall edifice, in which he was to experience a physical regeneration by\nmeans of the supernal and auriferous elixir of Cagliostro. The sum of\ntwenty thousand francs was actually paid the adept to accomplish this\noperation.\n\nDoubtless during his sojourn at Strasburg he propagated with zeal\nthe mysteries of his Egyptian Freemasonry, and at length, laden with\nspoils, he repaired to Bordeaux, where he continued his healing in\npublic, and then proceeded to Lyons, where for the space of three\nmonths he occupied himself with the foundation of a mother-lodge,\nand, according to the Italian biographer, here as elsewhere, in less\ncreditable pursuits. At length he arrived at Paris, where, says the\nsame authority, he soon became the object of general conversation,\nregard, and esteem. His curative powers were now but little exercised,\nfor Paris abounded with mesmerists and healers, and the prodigies\nof simple magnetism were stale and unprofitable in consequence. He\nassumed now the _r\u00f4le_ of a practical magician, and astonished the\ncity by the evocation of phantoms, which he caused to appear, at the\nwish of the inquirer, either in a mirror or in a vase of clear water.\nThese phantoms equally represented dead and living beings, and as\noccasionally collusion appears to have been well-nigh impossible,\nand as the theory of coincidence is preposterous, there is reason to\nsuppose that he produced results which must sometimes have astonished\nhimself. All Paris at any rate was set wondering at his enchantments\nand prodigies, and it is seriously stated that Louis XVI. was so\ninfatuated with _le divin Cagliostro_, that he declared anyone who\ninjured him should be considered guilty of treason. At Versailles, and\nin the presence of several distinguished nobles, he is said to have\ncaused the apparition in mirrors, vases, &c., not merely of the spectra\nof absent or deceased persons, but animated and moving beings of a\nphantasmal description, including many dead men and women selected by\nthe astonished spectators.\n\nThe mystery which surrounded him abroad was deepened even when he\nreceived visitors at home. He had lived in the Rue Saint Claude,\nan isolated house surrounded by gardens and sheltered from the\ninconvenient curiosity of neighbours. There he established his\nlaboratory, which no one might enter. He received in a vast and\nsumptuous apartment on the first floor. Lorenza lived a retired life,\nonly being visible at certain hours before a select company, and in\na diaphanous and glamourous costume. The report of her beauty spread\nthrough the city; she passed for a paragon of perfection, and duels\ntook place on her account. Cagliostro was now no longer young, and\nLorenza was in the flower of her charms. He is said for the first time\nto have experienced the pangs of jealousy on account of a certain\nChevalier d\u2019Oisemont, with whom she had several assignations. Private\nvexations did not, however, interfere with professional thaumaturgy,\nand the evocation of the illustrious dead was a common occurrence at\ncertain magical suppers which became celebrated through all Paris.\nThese were undoubtedly exaggerated by report, but as they all occurred\nwithin the doubtful precincts of his own house of mystery, they were\nin all probability fraudulent, for it must be distinctly remembered\nthat in his normal character he was an unparalleled trickster, that\nthe genuine phenomena which he occasionally produced were simply\nsupplements to charlatanry, and not that his deceptions were aids to\nnormally genuine phenomena.\n\nOn one occasion, according to the _M\u00e9moires authentiques pour servir\n\u00e0 l\u2019histoire du Comte de Cagliostro_, the distinguished thaumaturgist\nannounced that at a private supper, given to six guests, he would\nevoke the spirits of any dead persons whom they named to him, and\nthat the phantoms, apparently substantial, should seat themselves at\nthe banquet. The repast took place with the knowledge and, it may be\nsupposed, with the connivance of Lorenza. At midnight the guests were\nassembled; a round table, laid for twelve, was spread, with unheard-of\nluxury, in a dining-room, where all was in harmony with the approaching\nKabbalistic operation. The six guests, with Cagliostro, took their\nseats, and thus the ominous number thirteen were designed to be present\nat table.\n\nThe supper was served, the servants were dismissed with threats of\nimmediate death if they dared to open the doors before they were\nsummoned. Each guest demanded the deceased person whom he desired\nto see. Cagliostro took the names, placed them in the pocket of his\ngold-embroidered vest, and announced that with no further preparation\nthan a simple invocation on his part the evoked spirits would appear\nin flesh and blood, for, according to the Egyptian dogma, there were\nin reality no dead. These guests of the other world, asked for and\nexpected with trembling anxiety, were the Duc de Choiseul, Voltaire,\nd\u2019Alembert, Diderot, the Abb\u00e9 de Voisenon, and Montesquieu. Their names\nwere pronounced slowly in a loud voice, and with all the concentrated\ndetermination of the adept\u2019s will; and after a moment of intolerable\ndoubt, the evoked guests appeared very unobtrusively, and took their\nseats with the quiet courtesy which had characterised them in life.\n\nThe first question put to them when the awe of their presence had\nsomewhat worn off was as to their situation in the world beyond.\n\n\u201cThere is no world beyond,\u201d replied d\u2019Alembert. \u201cDeath is simply\nthe cessation of the evils which have tortured us. No pleasure is\nexperienced, but, on the other hand, there is no suffering. I have\nnot met with Mademoiselle Lespinasse, but I have not seen Lorignet.\nThere is marked sincerity, moreover. Some deceased persons who have\nrecently joined us inform me that I am almost forgotten. I am, however,\nconsoled. Men are unworthy of the trouble we take about them. I never\nloved them, now I despise them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat has become of your learning?\u201d said M. de ---- to Diderot.\n\n\u201cI was not learned, as people commonly supposed. My ready wit adapted\nall that I read, and in writing I borrowed on every side. Thence comes\nthe desultory character of my books, which will be unheard of in half\na century. The Encyclop\u00e6dia, with the merit of which I am honoured,\ndoes not belong to me. The duty of an editor is simply to set in order\nthe choice of subjects. The man who showed most talent in the whole\nof the work was the compiler of its index, yet no one has dreamed of\nrecognising his merits.\u201d\n\n\u201cI praised the enterprise,\u201d said Voltaire, \u201cfor it seemed well fitted\nto further my philosophical opinions. Talking of philosophy, I am none\ntoo certain that I was in the right. I have learned strange things\nsince my death, and have conversed with half a dozen Popes. Clement\nXIV. and Benedict, above all, are men of infinite intelligence and good\nsense.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat most vexes me,\u201d said the Duc de Choiseul, \u201cis the absence of sex\nwhere we dwell. Whatever may be said of this fleshly envelope, \u2019twas\nby no means so bad an invention.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is truly a pleasure to me,\u201d said the Abb\u00e9 Voisenon, \u201cis that\namongst us one is perfectly cured of the folly of intelligence. You\ncannot conceive how I have been bantered about my ridiculous little\nromances. I had almost confessed that I appreciated these puerilities\nat their true value, but whether the modesty of an academician is\ndisbelieved in, or whether such frivolity is out of character with my\nage and profession, I expiate almost daily the mistakes of my mortal\nexistence.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nAmid these marvels, Cagliostro proceeded with the dearest of all his\nprojects, namely, the spread of his Egypto-masonic rite,[AN] into which\nladies were subsequently admitted, a course of magic being opened for\nthe purpose by Madame Cagliostro. The postulants admitted to this\ncourse were thirty-six in number, and all males were excluded. Thus\nLorenza figured as the Grand Mistress of Egyptian Masonry, as her\nhusband was himself the grand and sublime Copt. The fair neophytes\nwere required to contribute each of them the sum of one hundred louis\nto abstain from all carnal connection with mankind, and to submit to\neverything which might be imposed on them. A vast mansion was hired\nin the Rue Verte, Faubourg Saint Honor\u00e9, at that period a lonely part\nof the city. The building was surrounded with gardens and magnificent\ntrees. The s\u00e9ance for initiation took place shortly before midnight on\nthe 7th of August 1785.\n\nOn entering the first apartment, says Figuier, the ladies were obliged\nto disrobe and assume a white garment, with a girdle of various\ncolours. They were divided into six groups, distinguished by the tint\nof their cinctures. A large veil was also provided, and they were\ncaused to enter a temple lighted from the roof, and furnished with\nthirty-six arm-chairs covered with black satin. Lorenza, clothed\nin white, was seated on a species of throne, supported by two tall\nfigures, so habited that their sex could not be determined. The light\nwas lowered by degrees till surrounding objects could scarcely be\ndistinguished, when the Grand Mistress commanded the ladies to uncover\ntheir left legs as far as the thigh, and raising the right arm to rest\nit on a neighbouring pillar. Two young women then entered sword in\nhand, and with silk ropes bound all the ladies together by the arms and\nlegs. Then after a period of impressive silence, Lorenza pronounced\nan oration, which is given at length, but on doubtful authority, by\nseveral biographers, and which preached fervidly the emancipation of\nwomankind from the shameful bonds imposed on them by the lords of\ncreation.\n\nThese bonds were symbolised by the silken ropes from which the fair\ninitiates were released at the end of the harangue, when they were\nconducted into separate apartments, each opening on the Garden, where\nthey made the most unheard-of experiences. Some were pursued by men\nwho unmercifully persecuted them with barbarous solicitations; others\nencountered less dreadful admirers, who sighed in the most languishing\npostures at their feet. More than one discovered the counterpart of\nher own lover, but the oath they had all taken necessitated the most\ninexorable inhumanity, and all faithfully fulfilled what was required\nof them. The new spirit infused into regenerated woman triumphed along\nthe whole line of the six and thirty initiates, who with intact and\nimmaculate symbols re-entered triumphant and palpitating the twilight\nof the vaulted temple to receive the congratulations of the sovereign\npriestess.\n\nWhen they had breathed a little after their trials, the vaulted roof\nopened suddenly, and, on a vast sphere of gold, there descended a man,\nnaked as the unfallen Adam, holding a serpent in his hand, and having a\nburning star upon his head.\n\nThe Grand Mistress announced that this was the genius of Truth, the\nimmortal, the divine Cagliostro, issued without procreation from the\nbosom of our father Abraham, and the depositary of all that hath been,\nis, or shall be known on the universal earth. He was there to initiate\nthem into the secrets of which they had been fraudulently deprived.\nThe Grand Copt thereupon commanded them to dispense with the profanity\nof clothing, for if they would receive truth they must be as naked\nas itself. The sovereign priestess setting the example unbound her\ngirdle and permitted her drapery to fall to the ground, and the fair\ninitiates following her example exposed themselves in all the nudity of\ntheir charms to the magnetic glances of the celestial genius, who then\ncommenced his revelations.\n\nHe informed his daughters that the much abused magical art was the\nsecret of doing good to humanity. It was initiation into the mysteries\nof Nature, and the power to make use of her occult forces. The\nvisions which they had beheld in the Garden where so many had seen\nand recognised those who were dearest to their hearts, proved the\nreality of hermetic operations. They had shewn themselves worthy to\nknow the truth; he undertook to instruct them by gradations therein. It\nwas enough at the outset to inform them that the sublime end of that\nEgyptian Freemasonry which he had brought from the very heart of the\nOrient was the happiness of mankind. This happiness was illimitable in\nits nature, including material enjoyments as much as spiritual peace,\nand the pleasures of the understanding.\n\nThe Marquis de Luchet, to whom we are indebted for this account,\nconcludes the nebulous harangue of Cagliostro by the adept bidding\nhis hearers abjure a deceiving sex, and to let the kiss of friendship\nsymbolise what was passing in their hearts. The sovereign priestess\ninstructed them in the nature of this friendly embrace.\n\nThereupon the Genius of Truth seated himself again upon the sphere\nof gold, and was borne away through the roof. At the same time the\nfloor opened, the light blazed up, and a table splendidly adorned and\nluxuriously spread rose up from the ground. The ladies were joined by\ntheir lovers _in propria persona_; the supper was followed by dancing\nand various diversions till three o\u2019clock in the morning.\n\nAbout this time the Count Cagliostro was unwillingly compelled to\nconcede to the continual solicitations of the poor and to resume\nhis medical _r\u00f4le_. In a short time he was raised to the height of\ncelebrity by a miraculous cure of the Prince de Soubise, the brother\nof the Cardinal de Rohan, who was suffering from a virulent attack of\nscarlet fever. From this moment the portrait of the adept was to be\nseen everywhere in Paris.\n\nIn the meantime, the cloud in his domestic felicity, to which a\nbrief reference has been made already, began to spread. A certain\nadventuress, by name Madame de la Motte, surprised Lorenza one day in\na _t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate_ with the Chevalier d\u2019Oisemont. The count at the time\nwas far away from Paris, and the adventuress promised to keep the\nsecret on condition that Lorenza should in turn do all in her power to\nestablish her as an intimate friend in the house, having free entrance\ntherein, and should persuade Cagliostro to place his knowledge and\nskill at her disposal, if ever she required it. The result of this\narrangement was the complicity of Cagliostro in the extraordinary and\nscandalous affair of the Diamond Necklace. When the plot was exposed,\nCagliostro was arrested with the other alleged conspirators, including\nthe principal victim, the Cardinal de Rohan. He was exonerated, not\nindeed without honour, from the charge of which he was undoubtedly\nguilty, but his wife had fled to Rome at his arrest, and had rejoined\nher family. He himself began to tremble at his own notoriety, and grew\nanxious to leave France. He postponed till a more favourable period\nhis grand project concerning the metropolitan lodge of the Egyptian\nrite.[AO] A personage, calling himself Thomas Ximenes, and claiming\ndescent from the cardinal of that name, sought to reanimate his former\nmasonic enthusiasm; but the vision of the Bastile seemed to be ever\nbefore his eyes, and neither this person, nor the great dignitaries of\nthe Parisian lodges, could prevail with him. In spite of his acquittal\nhe nourished vengeance against the Court of France, and more than once\nhe confided to his private friends that he should make his voice heard\nwhen he had passed the frontier. He prepared to depart, and one day\nhis disconsolate adepts learned that he was on the road to England.\n\nOnce in London he recovered his energy. He was received with great\nhonour; many of his disciples from Lyons and Paris followed him. The\nEnglish masons invited him to the metropolitan lodge, and gave him\nthe first place, that of grand orient. He was entreated to convene a\nmasonic lodge of the Egyptian rite, and consented with some sadness,\nfor the memory of the brilliant Paris lodge which he had been on the\npoint of founding was incessantly before him. He could not console\nhimself for the fall of that beautiful and long-cherished plan, which\nhad cost him so much study, pains, and preaching.\n\nIt was from this discreet distance that Cagliostro addressed his famous\nLetter to the People of France, which was translated into a number\nof languages, and circulated widely through Europe. It predicted the\nFrench Revolution, the demolishment of the Bastile, and the rise of\na great prince who would abolish the infamous _lettres de cachet_,\nconvoke the States-General, and re-establish the true religion.\n\nThe publication was intemperate in its language and revolutionary\nin its sentiments, and close upon its heels followed his well-known\nquarrel with the _Courrier de l\u2019Europe_, which resulted in the exposure\nof the real life of Cagliostro from beginning to end.\n\nDreading the rage of his innumerable dupes, and extreme measures on\nthe part of his creditors, he hastened to quit London, disembarked in\nHolland, crossed Germany, took refuge in Basle, where the patriarchal\nhospitality of the Swiss cantons to some extent reassured the unmasked\nadept. From the moment, however, of this exposure, the descent of\nCagliostro was simply headlong in its rapidity. Nevertheless, he was\nfollowed by some of his initiates, who pressed him to return to\nFrance, assuring him of the powerful protection of exalted masonic\ndignitaries. In his hesitation he wrote to the Baron de Breteuil, the\nking\u2019s minister of the house, but, as it chanced, a personal enemy of\nthe Cardinal de Rohan. Considering Cagliostro as a _prot\u00e9g\u00e9_ of the\nprince, he replied that if he had sufficient effrontery to set foot\nwithin the limits of the kingdom, he should be arrested and transferred\nto a prison in Paris, there to await prosecution as a common swindler,\nwho should answer to the royal justice for his criminal life.\n\nFrom this moment Cagliostro saw that he was a perpetual exile from\nFrance, and feeling in no sense assured of his safety even in\nSwitzerland, he left Basle for Aix, in Savoy. He was ordered to\nquit that town in eight and forty hours. At Roveredo, a dependency\nof Austria, the same treatment awaited him. He migrated to Trent,\nand announced himself as a practitioner of lawful medicine, but the\nprince-bishop who was sovereign of the country discerned the cloven\nhoof of the sorcerer beneath the doctor\u2019s sober dress, and showed\nhim in no long space of time his hostility to magical practices. The\nwandering hierophant of Egyptian masonry, somewhat sorely pressed, took\npost to Rome, and reached the Eternal City after many vicissitudes.\nHere, according to Saint-F\u00e9lix and Figuier, he was rejoined by his\nwife; according to the Italian biographer, Lorenza had accompanied him\nin his wanderings, and persuaded him to seek refuge in Rome, being sick\nunto death of her miserable course of life. The former statement is,\non the whole, the most probable, as it is difficult to suppose that\nshe left Italy to rejoin Cagliostro at Passy, and she appears to have\nreturned to him with marked repugnance. She endeavoured to lead him\nback to religion, which had never been eradicated from her heart. He\nlived for some time with extraordinary circumspection, and consented\nat last to see a Benedictine monk, to whom he made his confession. The\nHoly Inquisition, which doubtless had scrutinised all his movements, is\nsaid to have been deceived for a time, and he was favourably received\nby several cardinals. He lived for a year in perfect liberty, occupied\nwith the private study of medicine. During this time he endeavoured to\nobtain loans from the initiates of his Egyptian rite who were scattered\nover France and Germany, but they did not arrive, and the sublime Copt,\nthe illuminated proprietor of the stone philosophical and the medicine\nyclept metallic, came once more, to the eternal disgrace of Osiris,\nIsis, and Anubis, on the very verge of want.\n\nHis extremity prompted him to renew his relations with the masonic\nsocieties within the area of the Papal States. A penalty of death\nhung over the initiates of the superior grades, and their lodges were\nin consequence surrounded with great mystery, and were convened in\nsubterranean places. He was persuaded to found a lodge of Egyptian\nFreemasonry in Rome itself, from which moment Lorenza reasonably\nregarded him as lost. One of his own adepts betrayed him; he was\narrested on the 27th of September 1789, by order of the Holy Office,\nand imprisoned in the Castle of St Angelo. An inventory of his papers\nwas taken, and all his effects were sealed up. The process against him\nwas drawn up with the nicest inquisitorial care during the long period\nof eighteen months. When the trial came on he was defended by the Count\nG\u00e6tano Bernardini, advocate of the accused before the sacred and august\ntribunal, and to this pleader in ordinary the impartial and benign\noffice, of its free grace and pleasure, did add generously, as counsel,\none Monsignor Louis Constantini, \u201cwhose knowledge and probity,\u201d saith\nan unbought and unbuyable witness (inquisitorially inspired), \u201cwere\ngenerally recognised.\u201d They did not conceal from him the gravity of his\nposition, advised him to refrain from basing his defence on a series of\ndenials, promising to save him from the capital forfeit, and so he was\npersuaded to confess everything, was again reconciled to the church;\nand being almost odoriferous with genuine sanctity, on the 21st of\nMarch 1791 he was carried before the general assembly of the purgers of\nsouls by fire, before the Pope on the 7th of the following April, when\nthe advocates pleaded with so much eloquence that they retired in the\nagonies of incipient strangulation, Cagliostro repeated his avowal, and\nas a natural consequence of the unbought eloquence and the purchased\nconfession, the penalty of death was pronounced.\n\nWhen, however, the shattered energies of the advocates were a little\nrecruited, a recommendation of mercy was addressed to the Pope, the\nsentence was commuted to perpetual imprisonment, and the condemned man\nwas consigned to the Castle of St Angelo. After an imprisonment of two\nyears, he died, God knows how, still in the prime of life, at the age\nof fifty.\n\nLorenza, whose admissions had contributed largely towards the\ncondemnation of her husband, was doomed to perpetual seclusion in a\npenitentiary. The papers of Cagliostro were burned by the Holy Office,\nand the phantom of that institution keeps to the present day the secret\nof the exact date of its victim\u2019s death. It carefully circulated the\nreport that on one occasion he attempted to strangle a priest whom he\nhad sent for on the pretence of confessing, hoping to escape in his\nclothes; and then it made public the statement that he had subsequently\nstrangled himself. When the battalions of the French Revolution entered\nRome, the commanding officers, hammering at the doors of Saint-Angelo,\ndetermined to release the entombed adept, but they were informed that\nCagliostro was dead, \u201cat which intelligence,\u201d says Figuier, \u201cthey\nperceived plainly that the former _Parlement de France_ was not to\nbe compared with the Roman Inquisition, and without regretting the\ndemolished Bastile, they could not but acknowledge that it disgorged\nits prey more easily than the Castle of Saint Angelo.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe personal attractions of Cagliostro appear to have been exaggerated\nby some of his biographers. \u201cHis splendid stature and high bearing,\nincreased by a dress of the most bizarre magnificence, the extensive\nsuite which invariably accompanied him in his wanderings, turned all\neyes upon him, and disposed the minds of the vulgar towards an almost\nidolatrous admiration.\u201d\n\nWith this opinion of Figuier may be compared the counter-statement\nof the Italian biographer:--\u201cHe was of a brown complexion, a bloated\ncountenance, and a severe aspect; he was destitute of any of those\ngraces so common in the world of gallantry, without knowledge and\nwithout abilities.\u201d But the Italian biographer was a false witness,\nfor Cagliostro was beyond all question and controversy a man of\nconsummate ability, tact, and talent. The truth would appear to lie\nbetween these opposite extremes. \u201cThe Count de Cagliostro,\u201d says\nthe English life, published in 1787, \u201cis below the middle stature,\ninclined to corpulency; his face is a round oval, his complexion and\neyes dark, the latter uncommonly penetrating. In his address we are\nnot sensible of that indescribable grace which engages the affections\nbefore we consult the understanding. On the contrary, there is in\nhis manner a self-importance which at first sight rather disgusts\nthan allures, and obliges us to withhold our regards, till, on a more\nintimate acquaintance, we yield it the tribute to our reason. Though\nnaturally studious and contemplative, his conversation is sprightly,\nabounding with judicious remarks and pleasant anecdotes, yet with an\nunderstanding in the highest degree perspicuous and enlarged, he is\never rendered the dupe of the sycophant and the flatterer.\u201d\n\nThe persuasive and occasionally overpowering eloquence of Cagliostro\nis also dwelt upon by the majority of his biographers, but, according\nto the testimony of his wife, as extracted under the terror of the\nInquisition and adduced in the Italian life:--\u201cHis discourse, instead\nof being eloquent, was composed in a style of the most wearisome\nperplexity, and abounded with the most incoherent ideas. Previous to\nhis ascending the rostrum he was always careful to prepare himself for\nhis labours by means of some bottles of wine, and he was so ignorant as\nto the subject on which he was about to hold forth, that he generally\napplied to his wife for the text on which he was to preach to his\ndisciples. If to these circumstances are added a Sicilian dialect,\nmingled with a jargon of French and Italian, we cannot hesitate a\nsingle moment as to the degree of credibility which we are to give\nto the assertions that have been made concerning the wonder-working\neffects of his eloquence.\u201d\n\nBut the Inquisition was in possession of documents which bore\nirrefutable testimony to the extraordinary hold which Cagliostro\nexercised over the minds of his numerous followers, and it is\npreposterous to suppose it could have been possessed by a man who was\nignorant, unpresentable, and ill-spoken. Moreover, the testimony of\nLorenza, given under circumstances of, at any rate, the strongest moral\nintimidation is completely worthless on all points whatsoever, and the\nbiassed views of our inquisitorial apologists are of no appreciable\nvalue.\n\nI have given an almost disproportionate space to the history of Joseph\nBalsamo, because it is thoroughly representative of the charlatanic\nside of alchemy, which during two centuries of curiosity and credulity\nhad developed to a deplorable extent. There is no reason to suppose,\ndespite the veil of mystery which surrounded Altotas, that he was an\nadept in anything but the sophistication of metals, and his skill\nin alchemical trickery descended to his pupil. That Balsamo was a\npowerful mesmerist, that he could induce clairvoyance with facility in\nsuitable subjects, that he had dabbled in Arabic occultism, that he\nhad the faculty of healing magnetically, are points which the evidence\nenables us to admit, and these genuine phenomena supported his titanic\nimpostures, being themselves supplemented wherever they were weak or\ndefective by direct and prepared fraud. Thus his miraculous prophecies,\ndelineations of absent persons, revelations of private matters, &c.,\nmay to some extent be accounted for by the insatiable curiosity and\ndiligence which he made use of to procure knowledge of the secrets of\nany families with which he came into communication. Lorenzo declared\nupon oath during her examination that many of the pupils had been\nprepared beforehand by her husband, but that some had been brought to\nhim unawares, and that in regard to them she could only suppose he had\nbeen assisted by the marvels of magical art.\n\nHis powers, whatever they were, were imparted to some at least of\nhis Masonic initiates, as may be seen in a genuine letter addressed\nto him from Lyons, and which describes in enthusiastic language\nthe consecration in that town of the Egyptian lodge called Wisdom\nTriumphant. This letter fell into the hands of the Inquisition.\nIt relates that at the moment when the assembly had entreated of\nthe Eternal some explicit sign of his approval of their temple and\ntheir offerings, \u201cand whilst our master was in mid air,\u201d the first\nphilosopher of the New Testament appeared uninvoked, blessed them after\nprostration before the cloud, by means of which they had obtained the\napparition, and was carried upwards upon it, the splendour being so\ngreat that the young pupil or dove was unable to sustain it.\n\nThe same letter affirms that the two great prophets and the legislator\nof Israel had given them palpable signs of their goodwill and of their\nobedience to the commands of the august founder, the sieur Cagliostro.\nA similar communication testifies that the great Copt, though absent,\nhad appeared in their lodge between Enoch and Elias.[AP]\n\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\nIt has now been made plain beyond all reasonable doubt by the certain\nand abundant evidence of the lives and labours of the alchemists,\nthat they were in search of a physical process for the transmutation\nof the so-called baser metals into silver and gold. The methods and\nprocesses by which they endeavoured to attain this _d\u00e9sir d\u00e9sir\u00e9_, and\nthe secrets which they are supposed to have discovered, are embodied\nin allegorical writings, and their curious symbolism in the hands\nof ingenious interpreters is capable of several explanations, but\nthe facts in their arduous and generally chequered careers are not\nallegorical, and are not capable of any mystical interpretations;\nconsequently, the attempt to enthrone them upon the loftiest pinnacles\nof achievement in the psychic world, however attractive and dazzling\nto a romantic imagination, and however spiritually suggestive, must\nbe regretfully abandoned. Their less splendid but substantial and\npermanent reputation is based on their physical discoveries and on\ntheir persistent enunciation of a theory of Universal Development,\nwhich true and far-sighted adepts well perceived, had an equal\napplication to the triune man as to those metals which in their\nconception had also a triune nature.\n\nAs stated in the Introduction to this work, I have little personal\ndoubt, after a careful and unbiassed appreciation of all the evidence,\nthat the _Magnum Opus_ has been performed, at least occasionally,\nin the past, and that, therefore, the alchemists, while laying\nthe foundations of modern chemistry, had already transcended its\nhighest results in the metallic kingdom. Now, the Hermetic doctrine\nof correspondences which is, at any rate, entitled to the sincere\nrespect of all esoteric thinkers, will teach us that the fact of\ntheir success in the physical subject is analogically a substantial\nguarantee of the successful issue of parallel methods when applied\nin the psychic world with the subject man. But the revelations of\nmesmerism, and the phenomena called spiritualism, have discovered\nthaumaturgic possibilities for humanity, which in a wholly independent\nmanner contribute to the verification of the alchemical hypothesis\nof development in its extension to the plane of intelligence. These\npossibilities I believe to be realizable exclusively along the lines\nindicated in Hermetic parables. I am not prepared to explain how the\nalchemical theory of Universal Development came to be evolved in the\nscientific and psychological twilight of the middle ages, but the\nfact remains. Nor am I prepared to explain how and why the method of\na discredited science which is not commonly supposed to have attained\nits end, should not only be consistent within its own sphere, but\nshould have a vast field of application without it; yet, again, the\nfact remains. I have brought a wide acquaintance with the history of\nmodern supernaturalism to bear on the serious study of alchemy, and\nhave found the old theories illustrated by the novel facts, while novel\nfacts coincided with old theories. As all this has occurred, in the\nwords of the alchemists, \u201cby a natural process, devoid of haste or\nviolence,\u201d I may trust that it is no illusory discovery, and that its\nfuture enunciation may give a new impulse to the study of the Hermetic\nwritings among the occultists of England and America.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[AJ] In the Memoir written by Joseph Balsamo during his imprisonment\nin the Bastille, he surrounds his origin and infancy with romantic\nand glamorous mystery. \u201cI am ignorant,\u201d he asserts, \u201cnot only of my\nbirthplace, but even of the parents who bore me. All my researches on\nthese points have afforded me nothing but vague and uncertain, though,\nin truth, exalted, notions. My earliest infancy was passed in the\ntown of Medina, in Arabia, where I was brought up under the name of\nAcharat--a name which I afterwards used during my Asiatic and African\ntravels--and was lodged in the palace of the muphti. I distinctly\nrecollect having four persons continually about me--a tutor, between\nfifty-five and sixty years of age, named Altotas, and three slaves, one\nof whom was white, while the others were black. My tutor invariably\ntold me that I had been left an orphan at the age of three months, and\nthat my parents were noble, and Christians as well, but he preserved\nthe most absolute silence as to their name and as to the place where I\nwas born, though certain chance words led me to suspect that I first\nsaw the light at Malta. Altotas took pleasure in cultivating my natural\ntaste for the sciences; he himself was proficient in all, from the most\nprofound even to the most trivial. It was in botany and physics that I\nmade most progress. Like my instructor I wore the dress of a Mussulman,\nand outwardly we professed the Mohammedan law. The principles of the\ntrue religion were, however, engraven in our hearts. I was frequently\nvisited by the muphti, who treated me with much kindness and had great\nrespect for my instructor, through whom I became early proficient in\nmost oriental languages.\u201d\n\n[AK] \u201cLife of the Count Cagliostro, compiled from the original\nProceedings published at Rome by order of the Apostolic Chamber. With\nan engraved Portrait.\u201d London, 1791.\n\n[AL] _L\u2019Histoire du Merveilleux dans les Temps Modernes_, tom. iv.\n\n[AM] \u201cAt a later period, when Cagliostro, uplifted by notoriety\nand fortune, returned in state to Paris with a sumptuous equipage,\nhe strenuously denied his first sojourn in our capital, and the\ndisgraceful episode of Sainte-P\u00e9lagie. He maintained that his wife,\nto whom he now gave the name of Seraphina, had no connection with the\nimprisoned Lorenza Feliciani, nor he, the Count Cagliostro, with the\nquack who at this epoch was prohibited from continuing his rogueries.\nBut certain legal documents of irrefutable authenticity substantiate\nthe contrary assertion of his enemies. It is interesting to know that,\nas a fact, during the incarceration of Lorenza, depositions were made\nbefore the tribunal of police by M. Duplaisir, who stated that, in\naddition to supporting Balsamo and his wife for the space of three\nmonths, they had contracted debts to the amount of two hundred crowns,\nchiefly for clothes, for the perruquier, and the dancing-master.\u201d These\ndepositions, with others, will be found in a pamphlet entitled, _Ma\nCorrespondence avec le Comte de Cagliostro_. Figuier. _Histoire du\nMerveilleux dans les Temps Modernes_, t. iv. pp. 83, 84.\n\n[AN] \u201cIt was his ambition to inaugurate a mother-lodge at Paris,\nto which the rest should be entirely subordinate. He proclaimed\nhimself as the bearer of the mysteries of Isis and Anubis from the\nfar East. Though he threatened common masonry with a radical reform,\nhis innovations triumphed over all obstacles. He obtained numerous\nand distinguished followers, who on one occasion assembled in great\nforce to hear Joseph Balsamo expound to them the doctrines of Egyptian\nfreemasonry. At this solemn convention he is said to have spoken\nwith overpowering eloquence, and such was his signal success that\nhis auditors departed in amazement and completely converted to his\nregenerated and purified masonry. None of them doubted that he was an\ninitiate of the arcana of Nature, as preserved in the temple of Apis\nat the epoch when Cambyses belaboured that capricious divinity. From\nthis moment the initiations into the new masonry were numerous, albeit\nthey were limited to the aristocracy of society. There are reasons\nto believe that the grandees who were deemed worthy of admission\npaid exceedingly extravagantly for the honour.\u201d--Figuier, _Hist. du\nMerveilleux_, t. iv. pp. 23, 24.\n\n[AO] These projects included a determination to force the royal\ngovernment to recognise the new order, and to obtain its recognition\nin Rome as an institution constituted on the same basis, and therefore\nto be endowed with the same great privileges which had belonged to the\norder of St John of Jerusalem.\n\n[AP] See Appendix II.\n\n\n\n\nAN ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE OF WORKS ON HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY AND ALCHEMY.\n\n\nAntonius de Abbatia--Epistol\u00e6 du\u00e6. (_German._) Hamburg, 1672.\n\nAbrahamus \u00e8 Porta Leonis--De Auro, dialogi tres. Venice,\n1514-1584-1586. (_Disesteemed._)\n\nD\u2019Acqueville (Le Sieur)--Les effets de la Pierre Divine. 12mo. Paris,\n1681.\n\n\u00c6gidius de Vadis--Dialogus inter Naturam et Filium Artis. Francfurt,\n1595.\n\n---- Tabula Diversorum Metallorum. (Printed in the Theatrum Chymicum.)\n\nF. Aggravio--Sourano Medicina. 8vo. Venice, 1682.\n\nGeorgius Agricola--De Re Metallica, libri xii. Fol. Basili\u00e6, 1546-1621.\n(_Curious, and embellished with figures and diagrams._)\n\n---- De Ortu et Causis Subterraneorum, libri v. De Natura eorum qu\u00e6\neffluunt Terra, libri v. De Natura Fossilium, libri x. De Veteribus et\nNovis Metallis, libri ii. Bermannus, sive De Re Metallici. Fol. Basil,\n1546.\n\n---- Lapis Philosophorum. (_Rare._) 16mo. Coloni\u00e6, 1531.\n\nJohannes Agricola--Of Antimony. (_German._) 4to. Leipsic, 1639.\n\nLuigi Alamanni--Girone il Cortese, Poema. 4to. In Parigi, 1548. (_Rare\nchymical romance._)\n\nAlani Philosophi Germani, Dicta de Lapide Philosophorum. Lugduni\nBatavorum. 8vo. 1599.\n\nAlbertus Magnus--Opera Omnia, 21 v. Folio. Lugduni, 1653.\n\n---- Libellus de Alchymia. (Theatrum Chemicum, v. 2.)\n\n---- De Rebus Metallicis et Mineralibus, libri v. 4to. August\u00e6\nVindelicor, 1519.\n\nAlchimia Denudata, adept Naxagoras (_pseud_). (_In German._) 8vo.\nBreslaw, 1708.\n\nAlchemia Opuscula, nine scarce tracts. 4to. Franco, 1550.\n\nAlchymia vera lapidis philos. (_German._) 8vo. Magd., 1619.\n\nA Revelation of the Secret Spirit of Alchemy. Anon. 8vo. London, 1523.\n\nAlchemia--Volumen Tractatum, 10. (_Esteemed._) 4to. Norim., 1541.\n\nOder Alchymischer particular Zeiger: id est. Unterricht von Gold, und\nSilbermachen. 8vo. Rostoch, 1707.\n\nAlkahest (Bedencken von). 8vo. Frank., 1708.\n\nAlcaest--Merveilles de l\u2019Art et de la Nature. 12mo. Paris, 1678.\n\nAlstedii (Joh. Henric.)--Philosophia dign\u00e8 restituta. 8vo. Herborn\u00e6,\n1612.\n\n---- Panac\u00e6a Philosophica cum critico de infinito Harmonico Philosophi\u00e6\nLullian\u00e6. 8vo. Herb., 1610.\n\nLa Ruine des Alchimistes. 16mo. Paris, 1612.\n\nAlvetanno (Cornelius)--De Conficiendo Divino Elixire sive Lapide\nPhilosophico. _Theatri Chimici_, t. 5.\n\nAmelungii (D. Petri)--Tractatus Nobilis, in quo de Alchimi\u00e6 Inventione,\nnecessitate et utilitate agitur. 8vo. Lipsi\u00e6, 1607.\n\n---- Apologia, seu Tractatus Nobilis Secundus pro defensione Alchimi\u00e6.\n8vo. Lipsi\u00e6, 1601.\n\nAmelungs (J. C.)--Stein Tinctur. 4to. 1664.\n\nAnthoris (Caspar)--Chrysoscopion, sive Aurilogium. (_A treatise on the\nextension of life by auriferous preparations._) 4to. Jenal, 1632.\n\nAndaloro (Andrea)--La Miniera dell\u2019 Argento Vivo. Messina, 1672.\n\nAngelique (Le Sieur d\u2019)--La Vraye Pierre Philosophale de M\u00e9decine. 12\nmo. Paris, 1622.\n\nAltus Mutus Liber, in quo tota Philosophia Hermetica figuris\nHieroglyphicis depingitur. Fol. Rupell\u00e6, 1677.\n\nApocalypses Hermeticorum. 4to. Gedani, 1683.\n\nApologie du Grand \u0152uvre, ou Elixir des Philosophes. 12 mo. Paris, 1657.\n\nAvantures du Philosophe Inconnu en la recherche et Invention du Pierre\nPhilosophale, divis\u00e9es en quatre livres, au dernier desquels il est\nparl\u00e9 si clairement de la fa\u00e7on de la faire, que jamais on n\u2019en a parl\u00e9\navec tant de canduer. 12mo. Paris, 1646. (_Attributed to the celebrated\nAbb\u00e9 Bebris._)\n\nAurifontana Chimi\u00e6 incomparabilis. 4to. Lugd. Batav., 1696.\n\nVier Ausserlesene Chymische Buchlein. 8vo. Ham., 1697.\n\nAureum Seculum Patefactum, oder Entdeckung dess Menstrivi Universal.\n8vo. Nurnberg, 1706.\n\nL\u2019Ayman Mystique. 12mo. Paris, 1659.\n\nArludes--Myst\u00e8res de la Grace et de la Nature. 1646.\n\nArca--Artificiosissimi Arcani Arca. (_German._) 18mo. Franc., 1617.\n\nArcana--Antiquorum Philosophorum Arcana, 8vo. Leip., 1610.\n\n---- Magni Philosophi Arcani Revelator. 12mo. Hamb., 1672. (_Rare._)\n\nA Strange Letter of the Treasure of an Adept. 24mo. London, 1680.\n\nArs Transmutationis Metallic\u00e6. 8vo. 1550.\n\nAristoteles--De Perfecto Magisterio. In Theatrum Chymicum. t. 3.\n\nArnaud, _see_ Villeneuve.\n\nAncient War of the Knights, _by an adept_. 12mo. London, 1723.\n\nAphorisms. 153 Chemical APHORISMS. (_Esteemed._) London, 1680.\n\nArtephius (_adept, 12th cent._)--Secret Book of the Occult Art and\nMetallic Transmutation. 24mo. London, 1657.\n\n---- La Clef majeure de Sapience et Science des Secrets de la Nature.\n8vo. (_Without date or place of printing._)\n\n---- De Vita Proroganda, aitque se anno 1025 \u00e6tatis suae scripsisse\nlibum suum.\n\nAlphonso (King)--Of the Philos. Stone. 4to. Lond., 1657.\n\nPseudo ATHENAGORAS--Du Vrai et Parfait Amour. 12mo. Paris, 1599. _Very\ncurious._\n\nArtis AURIFER\u00c6, 47 treatises. 3 vols. 8vo. Basil, 1610.\n\nAlciata, Andre\u00e6, Emblemata. Patav., 1618.\n\nAurifontina, chym., 14 tracts on the Philosophical Mercury.\n\nArrais (G. M.)--Tree of Life. 8vo. London, 1683.\n\nAshmole (Elias)--Theatrum Chemicum Britanicum. (_Esteemed._) 25 tracts.\nEnglish adepts.\n\nAvicenna--De Tinctura Metallorum. 4to. Franc., 1530.\n\n---- Porta Elementorum. 8vo. Basili\u00e6, 1572.\n\n---- Epistola ad Regem Hasen. Theatrum Chymicum, t. 4.\n\n---- De Mineralibus. Dantzick, 1687. Printed with Geber.\n\n(_All these treatises of Avicenna are doubtful._)\n\nBacon (Roger)--Art of Chemistry, 16mo. London.\n\n---- Mirror of Alchemy. 4to. 1597.\n\n---- Admirable power of Art and Nature. (Alchemical.)\n\n---- Opus Majus, ad Clementum IV. Fol. Dublin, 1733.\n\n---- Care of Old Age and Preservation of Youth. 8vo. London, 1683.\n\n---- Radix Mundi (alchemical, English). 12mo. 1692.\n\n---- Opus Minus. M.S. Lambeth Library.\n\n---- Thesaurus Chimicus. De Utilitate Scientiarum. Alchimia Major.\nBreviarum de Dono Dei. Verbum abbreviarum de Leone Viridi. Secretum\nSecretorum. Trium Verborum. Speculum Secretorum. Seven Treatises. 8vo.\nFrancof., 1603.\n\n---- De Secretis Operibus Artis et Natur\u00e6. 8vo. Hamb., 1598.\n\n---- (Fr. Lord Verulam)--History of Metals. Fol. Lond., 1670.\n\nBaker (Geo.)--New Jewel of Health. 4to. London, 1576.\n\nBalbian (J.)--Tractatus Septem de Lapide Philosophico. (_Rare._) 8vo.\nLug., 1599.\n\n---- Specchio Chimico. 8vo. Roma., 1624.\n\nBalduini (C. A.)--Aurum Superius et Inferius. 12mo. Lipsi\u00e6, 1674.\n\n---- Phosphorus Hermeticus, sive magnes luminaris. Lipsi\u00e6, 1674.\n\n---- Hermes Curiosus. 12mo. Lips., 1680.\n\n---- De Auro Aur\u00e6 et ipsum hoc Aurum Aur\u00e6. 12mo. 1674.\n\n---- Venus Aur\u00e6--_See_ Miscellanea Curiosa. 4to. Lips., 1678.\n\nBarchusen (J. C.)--Elementa Chemi\u00e6. (_Contains seventy-eight alchemical\nemblems._) Lug. Bat., 1718.\n\nBarlet (A.)--L\u2019Ouvrage de l\u2019Univers. 12mo. Paris, 1653.\n\nBarnaudi (N.)--Triga Chimica. 8vo. Lug. Bat., 1600.\n\n---- Brevis Elucidatio Arcani Philosophorum. 8vo. Lugd. Batav., 1599.\n\nBartoleti (Fabr.)--Encyclopedia Hermetico-Medica. 4to. Bononi\u00e6, 1619.\n\nBatfdorff (Henric \u00e0)--Filum Ariadnes. 8vo. 1636.\n\nBazio (Antonia)--Florida Corona. Lug., 1534.\n\nBeato (G.)--Azoth, seu Aureli\u00e6 Occult\u00e6 Philosophorum, materiam primam\net decantatum illum Lapidem Philosophorum, filiis Hermetis solide\nexplicantes. 4to. Franc., 1613.\n\nBeausoleil (Baron)--De Materia Lapidis. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. 1627.\n\n---- De Sulphure Philosophorum Libellus.\n\nBecher (J. J.)--Transmutations at Vienna. London, 1681.\n\n---- Physica Subterranea. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. Franc., 1669.\n\n---- Institutiones Chimic\u00e6. 4to. Mogunti\u00e6, 1662.\n\n---- Oedipus Chimicus. Franc., 1664.\n\n---- Laboratium Chimicum. 8vo. Francfurt, 1680.\n\n---- Opera Omnia. 2 v. fol. (_In German._)\n\nBeguinus--Tyrocinium Chimicum. (_In English._) London, 1669.\n\nBenedictus--Liber Benedictus, Nucleus Sophicus. (_Allegorical._) 8vo.\nFranc., 1623.\n\nBenzius (A. C.)--Philosopische Schanbuhne nebst einen, Anhaug der\nWeisen. 8vo. Hamb., 1690.\n\n---- Tractatlein von Menstruo Universali. 8vo. Nurem., 1709.\n\n---- Lapis Philosophorum, seu Medicina Universalis. 8vo. Franc., 1714.\n\n---- Thesaurus Processuum Chemicorum. 4to. Nurem., 1715.\n\nBergeri--Catalogus Medicamentorum Spagirice pr\u00e6paratorum. 4to. 1607.\n\nBericht--Von Universal Arts Neyen. 8vo. 1709.\n\nBerle (John de)--Opuscule de Philosophie.\n\nBerlichius--De Medicina Universali. 4to. Jena, 1679.\n\nBernardi (Comitis, _an adept_)--Lib\u00e8r de Chimia. 12mo. Geismari\u00e6, 1647.\n\n---- De Chimico Miraculo. 8vo. Basil, 1600.\n\n---- La Turbe des Philosophes. 8vo. Paris, 1618.\n\n---- Opus de Chimia. (_Curious._) 8vo. Argent, 1567.\n\n---- Trait\u00e9 de l\u2019\u0152uf des Philosophes. 8vo. Paris, 1659.\n\n---- La Parole Delaiss\u00e9e. 12mo. 1672.\n\n---- Epistle to Thomas of Bononia. 24mo. London, 1680.\n\n---- Trevisan\u2019s Fountain. Lond.\n\nBernard--Le Bernard d\u2019Alemagne, cum Bernardo Trevero. 8vo. 1643.\n\nBeroalde (P.)--Histoire des Trois Princes. 2 v. 8vo. 1610.\n(_Disesteemed._)\n\nBeroalde (P.)--Le Palais des Curieux. (_Poem._) 12mo. Paris, 1584.\n\n---- Le Cabinet de Minerva. Rouen, 1601.\n\nBerteman (M.)--Dame de Beau Soliel--Restitution de Pluton. 8vo. Paris,\n1640.\n\nBesardi (J. B.)--Antrum Philosophicum, De Lapide Physico, &c. 4to.\nAug., 1617.\n\nBeuther (D.)--Universale et Particularia. 8vo. Hamb., 1718.\n\nBickeri (O.)--Hermes Redivivus. 8vo. Hanov., 1620.\n\nBillikius (A. G.)--De Tribus Principiis. 8vo. Bremen, 1621.\n\n---- Deliria Chimica Laurenbergii. 8vo. Brem\u00e6, 1625.\n\n---- Assertionem Chymicarum Sylloge Opposita Laurenbergio. 8vo.\nHelmestadii, 1624.\n\nBirelli (G. B.)--De Alchimia. 4to. Firenze, 1602.\n\nBirrius (Martinus)--Tres Tractatus de Metallorum Transmutatione. 8vo.\nAmsterdam, 1668.\n\nBlarvenstein (Sol.)--Contra Kircherum. 4to. Vienna, 1667.\n\nBoerhave (H.)--De Chimia Expurgante suos errores. 4to. Lugduni\nBatavorum, 1718.\n\nB\u00f6hme (Jacob)--\u201cTeutonicus Theosophus.\u201d Works. Containing The\nAurora, Three Principles, Threefold Life of Man, Answers to Forty\nQuestions concerning the Soul, Treatise of the Incarnation, Clavis\nMysterium Magnum, Four Tables of Divine Revelation, Signatura Rerum,\nPredestination, Way to Christ, Discourse between Souls, The Four\nComplexions, Christ\u2019s Testaments, &c. Fol. London, 1764-81.\n\n---- Works, by Elliston and Sparrow. 10 vols. 4to. Lond., 1659.\n\n---- Miroir Temporel de l\u2019\u00c9ternit\u00e9. 8vo. Franc., 1669.\n\n---- Id\u00e6a Chimi\u00e6 Adept\u00e6 Bohmian\u00e6. 12mo. Amst., 1690.\n\nBolnesti (Edw.)--Aurora Chimica. Lond., 1672.\n\nBolton (Samuel)--Magical but Natural Physic. 8vo. Lond., 1656.\n\nBonardo (G. M.)--Minera del Mondo. 8vo. Mantua, 1591.\n\nBono (P., _an adept_)--Margarita Novella. 4to. Basil, 1572.\n\n---- Introductio in Divinam Artem Alchemi\u00e6. 8vo. 1692.\n\n---- De Secreto Omnium Secretorum. 8vo. Venet., 1546.\n\nBonveau (J. D.)--De l\u2019Astronomie Inf\u00e9rieure. 4to. Paris, 1636.\n\nBade (---- de la)--De l\u2019\u00c9nigme trouv\u00e9 \u00e0 Pillier. 4to. Paris, 1636.\n\nBorelli (Petri)--Hermetic Catalogue. 12mo. Paris, 1654.\n\nBornetti (D.)--Jatrochimicus. Franc., 1621.\n\nBorri (G. F.)--La Chiave del Cabinetto. 12mo. Colon., 1681.\n\nBorrichius (O.)--De Ortu et Progressu Chemi\u00e6. 4to. Hafnia, 1668.\n\nBorro (Tomaso)--Ze Fieriele Tomaso Borro Opere. Venez., 1624.\n\nBoyle (Hon. Robert)--Works, _useful_, many editions.\n\nBraceschi (J.)--Gebri Explicatio. 4to. Lugd., 1548.\n\nBradley (Richard)--Work of Nature. (_Rare._) 8vo. Dub., 1721.\n\nBrachel (P.)--On Spurious Potable Gold. (_German._) 8vo. Col., 1607.\n\nBrandaw (M. Erbineus\u00e0)--12 Column\u00e6 Natur\u00e6 et Artis. 8vo. Lip., 1689.\n\nBrebil (J. F.)--Concursus Philosophorum. 8vo. Jena, 1726.\n\nBrendelius (Zac.)--De Chimia in Artis Formam Redacta, ubi de Auro\nPotabile Agit. 8vo. Jen\u00e6, 1630.\n\nBrentzius (Andrew)--Farrago Philos. 8vo. Amberg\u00e6, 1611.\n\nBreton (L.)--Clefs de la Philosophie Spagirique. 12mo. Paris, 1726.\n\nBroault (T. D.)--Abr\u00e9g\u00e9 de l\u2019Astronomie Inferieure ... Des Planetes\nHerm\u00e9tiques. 4to. Paris, 1644.\n\nBrown (Thomas)--Nature\u2019s Cabinet. 12mo. Lond., 1657.\n\nBuchlein (----)--Von Farben, und K\u00fcnsten, auch der Alchimisten. 8vo.\n1549.\n\nBurchelati (B.)--Dialogicum Septem Philosophorum. 4to. Trevisis, 1603.\n\nBurgavii (J. Ernest)--Balneum Dian\u00e6. Lud., 1600-1612.\n\n---- Introductio in Philosophiam Vitalem. 4to. Franc., 1623.\n\nC\u00e6sar (T.)--Alchemi\u00e6 Speculum. (_German._) 8vo. Franco, 1613.\n\nC\u00e6sii (B.)--Mineralogia. (_Rare._) Fol. Lug., 1636.\n\nCalid--Regis Calid Liber Secretorum. 8vo. Franc., 1615.\n\nCampegii (M.)--De Transmutatione Metallorum. 4to. Lud., 1503.\n\nCarellis (J. de)--De Auri Essentia ejusque Facultate in Medendis\nMorbis. 8vo. Venet., 1646.\n\nCarerius (A.)--Qu\u00e6stio an Metalla Artis Beneficio permutari possint.\n4to. Patavii, 1579.\n\nCasi (Jo.)--Lapis Philosophicus. 4to. Oxonii, 1599.\n\nCastagne (Gabriel de)--\u0152uvres Medicinales et Chimiques--1. Le Paradis\nTerrestre. 2. Le Miracle de la Nature M\u00e9tallique. 3. L\u2019Or Potable. 4.\nLa M\u00e9decine M\u00e9tallique. 8vo. Paris, 1661.\n\nCato--Chemicus. 12mo. Lypsi\u00e6, 1690.\n\nCephali (Ar.)--Mercurius Triumphans. 4to. Magdeburgi, 1600.\n\nCharles VI.--Tr\u00e9sor de Philosophie. 8vo. Paris.\n\nChartier (J.)--Antimoine, Plomb Sacr\u00e9. 4to. Paris, 1651.\n\nChesne (J.)--De Plus Curieuses Etrares. Paris, 1648.\n\nChevalier Imp\u00e9rial--Miroir des Alchimistes. 16mo. 1609.\n\nChiaramonte (G.)--Elixir Vit\u00e6. 4to. Genoa, 1590.\n\nChristop--Paris. (_Adept, 13th age._) Chimica. 8vo. Paris, 1649.\n\nChymia Philosophica. 8vo. Norimberg, 1689.\n\nCicollini (Barab.)--Via Brevis. Rom\u00e6, 1696.\n\nClaf (E. Lucii)--De Lapide Christo Sophico. 4to. Ingol., 1582.\n\nClaves (E. de)--Des Principes de la Nature. 8vo. Paris, 1633.\n\nClavei (Gas., _adept_.)--Apologia Argyrop\u0153i\u00e6. 8vo. Niverius, 1590.\n\n---- De Ratione Proginendi Lap. Philosophorum. 8vo. Nivers, 1592.\n\n---- Philosophia Chimica, Prep. Auri. 8vo. Frank., 1602-1612.\n\nClinge (F.)--Philosophia Hermetica. (_German._) 4to. 1712.\n\nCogitationes Circa Alch\u00e6st. (_German._) 8vo. Fran., 1708.\n\nCollectanea Chimica. _Ten tracts._ 16mo. Lond., 1684.\n\nCollesson (J.)--De la Philosophie Herm\u00e9tique. (_Disesteemed._) 8vo.\nParis, 1630.\n\nColletel (G.)--Clavicule et Vie de Raymond Lulle. 8vo. Paris, 1642.\n\nColson (L.)--Philosophia Maturata. (_German._) 8vo. Hamb., 1696.\n\nCombachius (L.)--Salt and Secret of Philosophy. 16mo. Lond., 1657.\n\nComenius (J. A.)--Natural Philosophy Reformed. 16mo. London, 1651.\n\nCommentatio--De Lapide Philosoph. 8vo. Cologne, 1595.\n\nCouringii (Herm.)--De Hermetica \u00c6gyptiorum vetere et Paracelsicorum\nnova Medecina. 4to. Helmstadii, 1648.\n\nCooper (N.)--Catalogue of Alchemical Books. 8vo. Lond., 1675.\n\nCosmopolita--Novum Lumen. (_Adept._) Twelve Treatises, Enigma,\nDialogue, &c. By Alexander Sethon. 8vo. Prague, 1604.\n\n---- Ses Lettres. (_Spurious._) 2 v. 12mo. Paris, 1691.\n\nCozzandi (L.)--De Magisterio Antiq. Colon., 1684.\n\nCrameri (J. A.)--Fossilium. 2 v. 8vo. Lug. Bat., 1730.\n\nCreilingius (J. C.)--De Transmutatione Metallorum. 4to. Tubing.\n\nCremeri (Gaspar)--De Transmutatione Metallorum. 8vo.\n\nCrollii (Osw.)--Philosophy Reformed. 12mo. Lond., 1657.\n\n---- Basilica Chimica. (_English._) Fol. Lond., 1670.\n\nCrollius Redivivus. Stein Tinchtur. 4to. Fran., 1635.\n\nCulpeper (Nic.)--Three-Fold World. 8vo. Lond., 1656.\n\nCuriosities of Chemistry. Lond., 1691.\n\nDammy (Mathieu)--Observations sur La Chimie. 8vo. Amst., 1739.\n\nDastinii (Johan.)--Visio, seu de Lapide Philosophico. (_English\nadept._) 8vo. Franc., 1625.\n\n---- Rosarium Correctius. 8vo. Geismar, 1647.\n\nDeani (E.)--Tractatus Varii de Alchimia. (_Rare._) 4to. Fran., 1630.\n\nDee (Dr Arthur)--Fasciculus Chimicus. 12mo. Lond., 1650.\n\n---- (Dr Joannes)--Monas Hieroglyphica. 1564.\n\n---- Prop\u00e6demnata Aphoristica de Natur\u00e6 Virtutibus. 4to. Lond., 1568.\n\nDemocritus--De Arte Sacra. (_Adept._) 8vo. Patav., 1573.\n\nDeodato (C.)--Pantheum Hygiasticum. Brunstruti, 1628.\n\nDichiaratione, di Enimoni de gl\u2019 Antichi Filosifi Alchimisti. 4to.\nRome, 1587.\n\nDickinson (E.)--De Chrysop\u0153ia. 8vo. Oxon., 1686.\n\nDisputatio Solis et Mercurii cum Lapide Philos. (_The Ancient War of\nthe Knights._) 8vo. Tolos., 1646.\n\nDonato (Fra., Eremita). (_Adept._) Elixir Vit\u00e6. Napoli, 1624.\n\nDorneus (Gerard)--Clavis Philosophi\u00e6. 12mo. Lugd., 1567.\n\nDoux (Gaston le)--Dictionnaire Herm\u00e9tique. 12mo. Paris, 1695.\n\nDrebellius (C.)--Quinta Essentia. (_Not an adept._) 8vo. Hamb., 1621.\n\nDubourg (Jacques)--Saint Saturne de la Chimie.\n\nDuchesne--Les \u0152uvres diverses de M. Duchesne sieur de la Violette. 6 v.\n8vo. Paris, 1635.\n\nDumbelei (J.)--Hortus Amoris Arboris Philosophic\u00e6. 8vo. Fran., 1625.\n\nDunstan (Saint)--On the Philosopher\u2019s Stone. Lond.\n\nEclaircissement de la Pierre Philosophale. 8vo. Paris, 1628.\n\nEfferarius (_an adept_.)--De Lapide Philos. 8vo. Argent., 1659.\n\n---- Thesaurus Philosophicus. (_Esteemed and scarce._) 8vo. Argent.,\n1659.\n\nElmulleri (M.)--Opera Omnia. Venet., 1727.\n\nEmblemata de Secretis Natur\u00e6 Chimic\u00e6. 4to. Oppen., 1618.\n\nEpistola, cujusdam Patris ad Filium. 8vo. Lugd. Lyons, 1601.\n\nEpistolarum philos. Chemicarum. Fol. Francofurti, 1598.\n\nErasti (Thom\u00e6.)--De Auro Potabili. 8vo. Basil, 1578-1584.\n\nErkern (Laz.)--De Re Metallica. (_English and excellent._) Fol.\nFrancof., 1629.\n\nL\u2019Escalier des Sages, avec figures. (_Curious and scarce._) Fol.\nGronigen, 1689.\n\nEspagnet (John)--Enchyridion Physic\u00e6 Restitut\u00e6. Paris, 1601.\n\n---- Enchyridion Philosophi\u00e6 Hermetic\u00e6. (_The anonymous works of this\nesteemed adept in English._) 16mo. Lond., 1651.\n\nEuchiontis (A.)--De Aquis, Oleis, et Salibus Philos. 8vo. Francof.,\n1567.\n\nExamen des Principes des Alchimistes. 12mo. Paris, 1711.\n\nL\u2019Expositione de Geber Filosofo. (_Disesteemed._) 12mo. Venet., 1544.\n\nEygeum (M.)--Le Pilote de l\u2019Onde vive, ou le Secret du Flux et Reflux\nde la Mer et du Point Fixe. (_Scarce._) 12mo. Paris, 1678.\n\nFabri (P. J., _not an adept_)--Alchimista Christianus. 8vo. Tolv., 1632.\n\nFabricius (G.)--De Rebus Metallicis. 8vo. Tiguri, 1565.\n\nFallopius (G.)--Secreti Diversi Raccolti del G. F. 8vo. Venet., 1578.\n\nFaniani (J. C.)--De Arte Alchimi\u00e6. 8vo. Basil, 1576.\n\nFaniani (J. C.)--Metamorphosis Metallica. 8vo. Basil, 1660.\n\nFaustia (J. M.)--Philaleth\u00e6 Illustratus. 8vo. Francofruts, 1706.\n\n---- Pandora Chemica. (_Hermetic Extracts._) 1706.\n\nFenton (Ed.)--Secrets and Wonders of Nature. Lond., 1659.\n\nFernelius (J.)--De Abditis Rerum Causis. (_Doubtful._) 8vo. Paris, 1560.\n\nFernel (Phil.)--Soliloquium Salium. Neapoli, 1649.\n\nFerarius--Fratris Ferarii--Tractatus Integer. 12mo. 1647.\n\nFerro (Josua)--Trattato de Meravigliosi Secreti. 8vo. Venet., 1606.\n\nFiguli (B.)--Paradisus Aureolus Hermeticus. 4to. Fran., 1600.\n\n---- Auriga Benedictus Spagiricus. 12mo. Norimberg\u00e6, 1609.\n\n---- (G.)--Medicina Universalis. 12mo. Brux., 1660.\n\nFilareto Racolto di Secreti. 8vo. Fioren., 1573.\n\nLe Filet d\u2019Ariadne. (_Hermetic._) 8vo. Paris, 1693.\n\nFincki (T. V.)--Enchiridion Hermetico. 16mo. Lip., 1626.\n\nFlamel (Nicholas, _an adept_)--Explanation of his Hieroglyphics. 8vo.\nLond., 1624.\n\n---- Le Grand Eclaircissement. 8vo. Paris, 1628.\n\n---- Summary. 24mo. Lond., 1680.\n\n---- Le D\u00e9sir D\u00e9sir\u00e9, ou Tr\u00e9sor de Philosophie. 8vo. Paris, 1629.\n\n---- La Musique Chimique.\n\n---- Annotationes in D. Zacharia. (_Spurious._) _See_ Theatrum Chemicum.\n\nFludd (Robert)--Clavis Philosophi\u00e6 et Alchimi\u00e6. 2 v. Fol. Francof.\n\nLa Fontaine des Amoureux de Science. 16mo. Paris, 1561.\n\nLa Fontaine Perilleuse. (_Reputed._) 8vo. Paris, 1572.\n\nFradin (P.)--Histoire Fabuleuse. (_Scarce._) 8vo. Lyons, 1560.\n\nFrankenberg (Von)--Gemma Magica. 8vo. Amstelodami.\n\nFreind (J.)--Prelectiones Chemic\u00e6. 8vo. Amst., 1710.\n\nFrickius (J.)--De Auro Potabile Sophorum et Sophistarum. 4to. Ham.,\n1702.\n\nFrischi (D. G.)--Anatomi\u00e1 Alchimi\u00e6. 8vo. Parma, 1696.\n\nFrundeck (L.)--De Elixire Arboris Vit\u00e6. 8vo. Hague, 1660.\n\nFurichius (J. N.)--De Lapide Philosophico. 4to. Argentorati, 1631.\n\nGabella (Phil. \u00e0)--De Lapide Philos. 4to. Cassel., 1615.\n\n---- Secretioris Philosophi\u00e6 Consideratio. 4to. Cassel., 1616.\n\nGamon (C.)--Tr\u00e9sor des Tr\u00e9sors. 2 v. 12mo. Lyons, 1610.\n\nGarlandii (J.)--Dictionarium Alchimi\u00e6. 8vo. Basil, 1571.\n\nGault--Les Erreurs de l\u2019Art Refut\u00e9es. 4to. Paris, 1588.\n\nGeber, Works (_Adept of Chorasan in the Eighth Age_). 1. Sum of\nPerfection. 2. Investigation of Perfection. 3. Invention of Verity. 4.\nFurnaces. 8vo. Gedani, 1682.\n\nGerhardi (J. C.)--Panacea Hermetica. 8vo. Ulm., 1640.\n\n---- In Apertorium Lullii. 8vo. Tabing., 1641.\n\nGermanni (D.)--Judicium Philosophicum. 8vo. 1682.\n\nGerzan (Fran\u00e7ois de Soucy sieur de Gerzan)--Le Vrai Tr\u00e9sor de la Vie\nHumaine. 8vo. Paris, 1653.\n\n---- L\u2019Histoire Africaine. (_Chemical._) 8vo. Paris, 1634.\n\n---- Historie Asiatique Mystique. 8vo. Paris, 1634.\n\nGiangi (Rinaldo)--Istruzione Speziele. Roma., 1715.\n\nGirolani (Flavio)--La Pietro Philosophica. 4to. Venet., 1590.\n\nGivry (P.)--Arcanum Acidularum. 12mo. Amst., 1682.\n\nGlauber (J. R.)--Works. (_Chemistry._) Fol. Lond., 1689.\n\nGlissenti (Fabio)--Della Pietra de Filosofi. 4to. Venet., 1596.\n\nGloria Mundi. Hamb., 1692.\n\nGlutten--Minerale de Mercurio Philos. 8vo. Lips., 1705.\n\nGodfrey (B.)--Miscellaneous Experiments. 8vo. Lond.\n\nGonelli (Jos.)--Thesaurus Philos. Neapoli, 1702.\n\nGohory (J.)--Ancien Poeme, science minerale. 8vo. Paris, 1572.\n\nGrand \u0152uvre--Apologie pour le G. O. par D. B. 12mo. Par., 1659.\n\nGranger (G.)--Paradox que les Metaux out Vie. 8vo. Par., 1640.\n\nGratarole (William)--Vera Alchimia. Twenty-three tracts. 2 v. 8vo.\nBas., 1572.\n\n---- On the Philosopher\u2019s Stone. 4to. Lond., 1652.\n\nGreveri (Jod.)--Secretum Magnum. 8vo. Lugd., 1588.\n\nGrevin (Jac.)--De L\u2019Antimoine Contre Launay. 4to. Par., 1567.\n\nGroschedeli (J. B.)--Proteus Mercurialis. 4to. Francof., 1629.\n\n---- Hermetisches Kleebat, weisheit. 8vo. Fran., 1629.\n\nGroschedeli (J. B.)--Mineralis, seu Physici Metallorum Lapidis\nDescriptio. 8vo. Hamb., 1706.\n\nGuiberto (Mi.)--De Alchimi\u00e6 Ratione et Experientia. 8vo. Arg., 1603.\n\n---- De Interitu Alchymi\u00e6. Tulli, 1614.\n\nGuide to Alchemy. Lond.\n\nGuidi (J.)--De Mineralibus, De Alchimisticis, De Thesauris. 4to.\nVenet., 1625.\n\nGuissonius (P.)--De Tribus Principiis. 8vo. Fran., 1686.\n\nGulielmi (Dom)--De Salibus. 8vo. Lugd. Batav., 1707.\n\nGuinaldi (J.)--Dell\u2019 Alchimia Opera. 4to. Palermo, 1645.\n\nHadrianeum--De Aureo Philosophorum Lapide. 8vo. Rothomagi, 1651.\n\nHaffeurefferi (J.)--Officina Hermetico Paracelsica, 8vo. Ulmm\u00e6, N.D.\n\nHagedon (E.)--Secreta Spagirica. Jena, 1676.\n\nHannemanni (J. L.)--Ovum Hermetico Trismegistum. Franc., 1694.\n\nHapelius (N. N.)--Chieragogia Heliana. 8vo. Marpurgi, 1612.\n\nHartman (J.)--Opera omnia Medico-Chimica. Fol. Franc., 1684.\n\nHaumerie (C.)--Les Secrets les Plus Cach\u00e9s. Par., 1722.\n\nHelbegii (J. O.)--Introitus in veram, atque Inauditam Phisicam. 8vo.\nHam., 1680.\n\n---- Centrum Natur\u00e6 Concentratum. 12mo. Gedani, 1682.\n\n---- Judicium de Viribus Hermetecis. 12mo. Amst., 1683.\n\n---- Salt of Nature, by Alipili. 16mo. Lond., 1696.\n\nHeli\u00e6 (A Franciscan)--Speculum Alchemi\u00e6. 8vo. Fra., 1614.\n\nHelmont (J. B.)--Works, translated. Fol. Lond., 1664.\n\nHelvetius (J. E.)--Of a Transmutation. 8vo. Lond., 1670.\n\nHelwig (J. O.)--Curiositates Alchemi\u00e6. 8vo. Leip., 1710.\n\nHermetis Trismegisti, 7 capitula. (_Adept._) 8vo. Lips., 1600.\n\n---- Seven Chapters, Tablet and Second Book. 8vo. Lond., 1692.\n\nHermetical Banquet. 8vo. London, 1652.\n\nHermophile--Canones Hermetici. 8vo. Marpurgh, 1608.\n\nHeydon (John)--Theomagia, or the Temple of Wisdome. In three\nparts--spirituall, celestiall, and elementall. 8vo. London, 1262-3-4.\n\nHeydon (John)--The Wise Man\u2019s Crown ... With the Full Discovery of the\ntrue C\u0153lum Terr\u00e6, or First Matter of the Philosophers, with the Regio\nLucis. 8vo. London, 1664.\n\n---- Saphiric Medicine. Fol. Lond., 1665.\n\nHieroglyphica Egyptio-Gr\u00e6ca (de Lapide). 4to. Basil, 1571.\n\nHoffmann (F.)--Dissertationes Phisico-Medico-Chimic\u00e6. 4to. Haf., 1726.\n\nHoghelande (Ewald)--Historia Transmutat. 8vo. Colon., 1604.\n\n---- (Theo.)--De Alchimi\u00e6 Difficultatibus. 8vo. Colon., 1594.\n\nHolland (Isaac, _adept_)--Mineralia Opera de Lapide Phil. Middl., 1600.\n\n---- De Triplici Ordine Elixiris et Lapidis Theoria. 8vo. Bern\u00e6, 1608.\n\n---- Opera Universalia et Vegetabilia. Amh., 1617.\n\n---- Vegetable Work. 4to. London, 1659.\n\n---- Universali Opere. (_Sicut filio suo M. Johanni, Isaaco Hollando e\nFlandria Paterno animo._) 8vo. Fran., 1669.\n\nHornei (C.)--De Metallis Medecis. 8vo. Helm., 1624.\n\nHortulanus Hemeticus. (_Cum fig._) 8vo. Franc., 1627.\n\n---- Reign of Saturn Revived. Lond., 1698.\n\nHydropyrographum, true Fire-Water. 24mo. London, 1680.\n\nHylealischen, Natural Chaos. 8vo. Franc., 1708.\n\nIcon Phil. Occult\u00e6. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. Par., 1672.\n\nImperial--Chevalier Imp\u00e9rial. Le Miroir d\u2019Alchimie. 16mo. Paris, 1607.\n\nInconnu--Chevalier Inconnu. La Nature au D\u00e9couvert. 8vo. Aix., 1669.\n\nIsabella--Secreti della Isabella. Venet., 1665.\n\nIsagoge--Triunus Dei et Natur\u00e6. 8vo. Ham., 1674.\n\nIsnard (Abel)--La M\u00e9decine Universelle. 4to. Par., 1655.\n\nJean--Pope John XXII. L\u2019Art Transmutatoire. 8vo. Lyons, 1557.\n\nJebsenii (J.)--De Lapide Philosophorum Discursus. 4to. Rostochii, 1645.\n\nJohnsoni (Guil.)--Lexicon Hemeticarum. 8vo. London, 1652.\n\nJonstoni (J.)--Notilia Regni Mineralis. 12mo. Lips., 1661.\n\nJungkin (J. H.) Chimia Experimentalis Curiosa. 8vo. Franc., 1687.\n\nKalid (_Arabian adept_). Secreta Alchimi\u00e6. 8vo. Lond., 1692.\n\nKelleus (Edw.)--De Lapide Philos. 8vo. Ham., 1673.\n\nKergeri (M.)--De Fermentatione. Wittenb., 1663.\n\nKerneri (A.)--De Auro Mercurio Antimonio. 12mo. Erfurt., 1618.\n\nKhunrath (H. Conrad)--Symbolum. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. Magd., 1599.\n\n---- Magnesia Catholica. 12mo. Argen., 1599.\n\n---- Amphitheatrum Sapienti\u00e6 \u00c6tern\u00e6. 4to. Mag., 1608.\n\nKieseri (F.)--Azoth Solificatum. Mulhusit, 1666.\n\nKircheri (Athan.)--Mundus Subterraneus. 2 v. Fol. Amst., 1678.\n\nKircmayer (G.)--De Natura Lucis, de Igne Philos. 4to. Vitteberg\u00e6, 1680.\n\nKeickringii (T.)--Commentarius in Currum Triumphalem Antimonii. 8vo.\nAmst., 1671.\n\nKleinold--Oder Schatz der Philosophen, &c. 8vo. Fran., 1714.\n\nKnorr (L. G.)--Basil Redivivus. (_German._) 8vo. Lip. 1716.\n\nKoffski (V.)--Vonder Ehrste Tinctur Burtzel. 4to. Dan., 1687.\n\nKriegsmanni (G. C.)--Commentariolus interpres Tabul\u00e6 Hermetis. (_Sine\nloco._)\n\nKruger (A. A.)--De Sol. Chemicorum. Brunswici, 1713.\n\nKunckel (J.)--Experiments. 8vo. Lond., 1705.\n\nKunst (J. C.)--De Menstruo Universali. 4to. Hal., 1737.\n\nLacinium (J.)--Pretiosa Margarita. 8vo. Venet., 1546.\n\nLagnei (D.)--Consensus Philosophorum. 8vo. Paris, 1601.\n\n---- Harmonie Mystique, ou Accord des Philosophes Chimiques. 8vo.\nParis, 1636.\n\nLambye (S. B.)--Revelation of the Secret Spirit. 8vo. Lond., 1623.\n\n---- An Italian Comment on the above work, by Agnelli. 1665.\n\nLamy (Guillaume)--Sur L\u2019Antimoine. 12mo. Paris.\n\nLancilotti (C.)--Guida alla Chimia. 12mo. Modene, 1672.\n\n---- Triumfo del Mercurio. 16mo. Modene, 1677.\n\n---- Triumfo D\u2019ell Antimonio. 12mo. Modene, 1683.\n\nLanglet du Fresnoy--Histoire de la Philosophie Herm\u00e9tique, avec\nCatalogue des Livres Herm\u00e9tiques. 3 v. 8vo. Hay, 1742.\n\n---- The Hermetic Catalogue separately. 8vo. Paris, 1762.\n\nLanis (Francisie Tertii de)--Magisterium. 3 v. Fol. Brix., 1684.\n\nLampas Vit\u00e6 et Mortis. 12mo. Ludg. Bat., 1678.\n\nLapis Philosophicus--Lapis Metaphisicus. (_Rare._) 8vo. Paris, 1570.\n\n---- De Lapidis Physici Conditionibus. 8vo. Colon., 1595.\n\n---- De Lapide Philosophico. ---- 1618.\n\n---- Disceptatio de Lapide Philos. 8vo. Col., 1671.\n\nLasnioro (J.)--Tractatus Aureus. 8vo. 1612.\n\nLavini (Ven.)--De C\u0153lo Terrestre. 8vo. Marp., 1612.\n\nLazarel (Louis)--Le Basin D\u2019Hermes. 8vo. Paris, 1577.\n\nLee (Thomas)--Of the Sovereign Balsam. Lond., 1665.\n\nLemery (Nic.)--De L\u2019Antimoine. 12mo. Paris, 1707.\n\nLemnius (Lav.)--Secret Miracles of Nature. Fol. London, 1658.\n\nLettre sur le Secret du Grand \u0152uvre. 12mo. Hay, 1606.\n\nLeonardi (Camilla)--Speculum Lapidem. Paris, 1610.\n\nLibavius (And.) of Halle in Saxony--44 works on the various branches of\nAlchemy. Fol. Franc., 1595.\n\nLiberii (B.)--Explanatio in Tincturam Physicorum. 8vo. Franc., 1623.\n\nLocatelli (Lud.)--Theatro D\u2019Arcani Chimici. 8vo. Venet., 1648.\n\nLocques (J.)--Philosophie Naturelle. (_Scarce._) 8vo. Par., 1665.\n\nLongino (C.)--Trinum Magicum. (_Rare._) 12mo. Fran., 1616.\n\nLong Livers. Folio. Lond., 1722.\n\nLossii (F.)--De Martis Curationibus. Lip., 1685.\n\nLucerna Salis Philos. (_Curious. It is by John Harprecht of Tubingen, a\nprofessed adept._) 8vo. Amst., 1658.\n\nLucii (C.)--De Lapide Christo Sophico. 4to. Ingold., 1582.\n\nLudovicus Comitibus--Practic\u00e6 Manualis. Francof.\n\nLulli (Raymundi, _an adept_)--Opera Alchemia. 2 v. Lond., 1673.\n\n---- Opera Omnia. 8vo. Argent., 1677.\n\n---- Practica Artis. Fol. Lug., 1523.\n\n---- De Secretis. 8vo. Aug., 1541.\n\n---- De Aquis Super Accurtationes. 8vo. Aug., 1541.\n\n---- Alchimia Magia Naturalis. 8vo. Norimb., 1546.\n\n---- Tertia Distinctio Transmutatione. 4to. Norimb., 1546.\n\n---- Cantilena ad Regem Anglorum. 8vo. Colon., 1553.\n\n---- Summaria Lapidis Abbreviationes. Fol. Basil, 1561.\n\n---- Mercuriorum Repertorium Apertorium. 8vo. Colon., 1566.\n\n---- De Aquis Mineral Epist. Rupert. 8vo. Colon., 1567.\n\n---- Testamentum Novissimum. 8vo. Basil, 1572.\n\n---- De Secretis Medicina Magna. Basil, 1600.\n\n---- Secreta Magnalia Alchimia. Lugd. Bat., 1602.\n\n---- Le Vade Mecum. Abr\u00e8ge de l\u2019Art. 8vo. Paris, 1613.\n\n---- De Conservatione Vit\u00e6. 8vo. Argent., 1616.\n\n---- Testament and Codicil. 8vo. Lond., 1680.\n\n---- Clavicule, or Little Key. 24mo. Lond., 1680.\n\n---- Blaquerna in Lullium--De Amico et Amate. 32mo. Paris.\n\n---- Lullius Redivivus. 8vo. Norim., 1703.\n\n---- Histoire R. L. par Vernon. 12mo. Paris, 1668.\n\nLumi\u00e8re--La Lumi\u00e8re sortant des Ten\u00e9bres. 12mo. Paris, 1687.\n\nMaffei (G. E.)--Scala Naturale. 8vo. Venet., 1564.\n\nMagni Philosophorum Arcani Revelator. 12mo. Geneva, 1688.\n\nMajeri (M.)--Lusus Serius. 50 Figs. 4to. Fran., 1617.\n\n---- Simbola Aure\u00e6 Mens\u00e6. 4to. Franc., 1617.\n\n---- Tripus Aureus. 4to. Franc., 16--.\n\n---- Septimana Philosophica. 4to. Franc., 1620.\n\n---- De Circuito Physico Quadrato. 4to. Franc., 1616.\n\n---- Arcana Arcanissima. 4to. Londini, 1614.\n\n---- Atalanta Fugiens. 4to. Oppenheimii, 1618.\n\n---- Silentium Post Clamores. 8vo. Franc., 1617.\n\n---- Themis Aurea. 8vo. Franc., 1618.\n\n---- Jocus Severus. 4to. Franc., 1617.\n\n---- Maieri Viatorium. 4to. Franc., 1618.\n\n---- De Rosea Cruce. 4to. Franc., 1618.\n\n---- Cantilen\u00e6 Intellectuales. 16mo. Roma., 1622.\n\n---- Quatuor Anguli Mundi.\n\n---- Ulyssus. 8vo. Franc., 1628.\n\n---- Verum Inventum. 8vo. Franc., 1619.\n\n---- Civitas Corporis Humani. 8vo. Franc., 1621.\n\n---- Museum Chimicum. 4to. Franc., 1708.\n\n(_Some of these rare works are embellished with curious and beautiful\ncopperplates._)\n\nMangeti (J. J.)--Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa. 2 v. Fol. It contains 133\nalchemical tracts, of which 33 are reprinted from Theatrum Chemicum,\nviz., Arisleus, Artephius, Aristotle, Avicenna, Arnold, Altus Liber\nMutus, Angenelli, Albinus, Bacon, Becher, Blawenstein, Borrichius,\nBrachesky, Bono, Bernard, Basil, Bernaud, Balduinus, Cato, Clauder,\nChortalasseus, Cuoffelius, Dornea, Dastin, Espagnet, Faber, Fanianus,\nFicinus, Friben, Geber, Gerard, Guido, Hermes, Hogheland, Helvetius,\nIcon, Johnson, Kalid, Kircher, Kuigman, Libavius, Lewis, Lully, Massa\nSolis, Merlin, Morhoff, Morien, Malvisius, F. Mirandola, T. Norton,\nOrthelius, Paracelsus, Philalethes, Pantaleon, Ripley, Richard,\nRupescissa, Sachs, Sendivogius, Stoleius, Todenfeld, Zadith, Zacharia.\nCol, 1702.\n\nManna--Of the Blessed Manna of the Philosophers. Lond., 1680.\n\nMargarita Philosophica. 4to. Basil, 1583.\n\nMaria Egypti Dialogues. (_An adept._) A. M. 3630. 8vo. Leip., 1708.\n\nMark (B.)--Hermetischen Philos. Herren. 8vo. Strasb., 1701.\n\nMars Philosophische, vel Azoth. 8vo. Fran., 1656.\n\nMartini\u00e8re (La)--Le Tombeau de la Folie. 12mo. Paris.\n\nMassin (P.)--De la Pierre Philosophale.\n\nMazotta (B.)--De Triplici Philosophia. 4to. Banoni\u00e6, 1653.\n\nMedices (C. de)--Concursus Philosophorum. 8vo. 1706.\n\nMedicina Metallorum, seu Transmutatio. 4to. Lip., 1723.\n\nMedicinesche, Universal-Sonne. 8vo. Hamb., 1706.\n\nMeerheim (T. G.)--Discours Curieuser Sachen, &c. 8vo. Leip., 1708.\n\nMelceri (N.)--Lapis Philosophorum. Fol. 1449.\n\nMenneus (G.)--Sacr\u00e6 Philosophi\u00e6. 4to. Antwerp, 1604.\n\nMercurii Trismegisti--Sapientia Dei. Basil, 1532.\n\nMercurius Redivivus. (_Scarce._) 4to. Franc., 1630.\n\nMercurius Triumphans. (_Scarce._) 4to. Magd., 1600.\n\nMercury\u2019s Caducean Rod, by Cleidophorus. 16mo. Lond., 1704.\n\nMeresini (Thi.)--Metal Transubstant. 8vo. Han., 1593.\n\nMeun (Jean de)--Ses \u0152uvres. 3 tomes. 12mo. Paris, 1735.\n\n---- Le Miroir d\u2019Alchimie. 18mo. Paris, 1613.\n\nMeurdrack (Maria)--Light of Chemistry. (_German._) 12mo. Fran., 1712.\n\nMeysonnier (L.)--La Belle Magie. Lyons, 1669.\n\nMilii (J. D.)--Opus Medico-Chemicum, cum Fig. (_Disesteemed._) 4to.\nFranc., 1620.\n\nMilii (J. D.)--Philosophia Reformata. (_Curious._) 4to. Fran., 1622.\n\nMinderii (R.)--Disquisido Jatrochimica. Aug., 1618.\n\nMinera del Mondo, Secreti di Natura. 12mo. Ven., 1659.\n\nMinzicht (H.)--Thesaurus Medico-Chimicus. 8vo. Hamb., 1638.\n\nMizaldi (A.)--Memorabilium IX. Centuri\u00e6. 16mo. Coloni\u00e6, 1572.\n\n---- De Lapide Aureo Philosophico. 4to. Hamb., 1631.\n\nMollii (H.)--Physica Hermetica. 8vo. Franc., 1619.\n\nMontani (J. B.)--De Arte Alchemia, libri xviii.\n\nMonte (J.)--De Medicina Universali. 8vo. Fran., 1678.\n\n---- Hermetis, Erlauterung dess Hermetischen Guldenen Fluss. 8vo. Ulm\u00e6,\n1680.\n\nMorestel (P.)--De La Pierre Naturelle. 12mo. Rouen, 1667.\n\nMorhoffi (D. G.)--De Metal Transmut. 8vo. Hamb., 1673.\n\nMorienus (_adept_)--De Transfiguratione Metallorum. 4to. Han., 1565.\n\nMorleii (C. L.)--Collectanea Chemica. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. Ant., 1702.\n\nMormii (P.)--Arcana Natur\u00e6. Lugd., 1630.\n\nMortii (J.)--Opera Varia. Lug. Bat., 1696.\n\nMose (Der Von)--Urtheilende Alchymist. 8vo. Chern., 1706.\n\nMotren (M.)--Amadis de Gaule Livre. 14^{me}. (_Various editions._)\n\nMo\u00fcilhet (P.)--La Vie de P. M. de Carcassonne, avec figs. 8vo. Par.,\n1613.\n\nMuller (A.)--Paradiess-Spiegel. 8vo. Leips., 1704.\n\n---- (J. E.)--Des Steins der W\u00e9isen. 8vo. Franc., 1707.\n\nMulleri (P.)--Miracula Chemica. 12mo. Regio, 1614.\n\nMutus Liber (_Altus_)--The Process in Fifteen Views. Fol. Rup., 1677.\n\nMuseum Hermeticum--21 tracts, by the following authors: Alze, Cremer,\nFlamel, Hydrolitus, Helvetius, Lampspring, De Meun, Mynsicht, Maierus,\nT. Norton, Philalethes, Pansophus, Sendivogus. Franc., 1677.\n\nMylii (J. D.)--Philosophia Reformata. Fran., 1622.\n\nMysii (F.)--De Secretis Antimonii. 8vo. Basil, 1575.\n\nNabre (G. B.)--Il Metamorfosi Metallicoe Humano. 4to. Brescia, 1564.\n\nNadasti (Teodo.)--Teorica Prattica. Cosmop., 1718.\n\nNasari (J. B.)--Della Transmutat. 4to. Bresc., 1599.\n\nNasari (J. B.)--Concordanza dei Filosofi. 4to. Bresc., 1599.\n\nNature--History of Nature Confirmed by Experience. 8vo. Lond., 1678.\n\nNaxagoras (J. Equitis von)--Veritas Hermetica. 8vo. Vratislau, 1712.\n\n---- Alchimia Denudata. (_German._) 8vo. Vratisl\u00e0u, 1716.\n\n---- Aurea Catena Homeri. 12mo. Lipsi\u00e6, 1728.\n\n---- Concorda Philosophica.\n\nNeander (Theop.)--Heptas Alchimica. 8vo. Hall\u00e6, 1621.\n\nNehusi (Henr.)--Tres Tractatu de Lapide. (_Curious._) 16mo. Hanovi\u00e6,\n1618.\n\nNollius (H.)--Theoria Philosophi\u00e6 Hermetic\u00e6. 8vo. Hanov., 1617.\n\n---- Corruption and Generation. 8vo. Lond., 1657.\n\nNortoni (Samuelis)--Septem Tractatus Chimici, cum Figuris. 1. Catholic\nPhysic. 2. Elixir Vitriol. 3. Mercury Revived. 4. Medicine of Life. 5.\nSaturn Saturated. 6. Gems of Pebbles. 7. Alchemy. 4to. Fran., 1630.\n\nNorton (Thomas)--Ordinall of Alchemy. 4to. Lond., 1652.\n\nNuysement (Dom)--True Salt of Philosophers. 8vo. London, 1657.\n\nOhacan (D. A., _Spaniard_)--Commentum in Parabolas Arnoldi. Fol. Hisp.,\n1514.\n\nOlympe--Le Grand Olympe, ou Explication de 79 Metamorphoses. (_The\nauthor of this treatise is said mendaciously to have been a friend of\nFlamel._) 8vo. Franc., 1614.\n\nOpuscula Diversorum Authorum. 8vo. Franc., 1614.\n\nOpus Tripartitum de Philosophorum Arcanis. 8vo. Lond., 1678.\n\nOrontii (Finei)--De Philosophorum Lapide. 4to. Paris, 1542.\n\nOr Potable--Discours des Vertus de l\u2019Or Potable. 12 mo. Paris, 1575.\n\nOrtholanus--Practica Vera Alkimik. Parisiis, 1358.\n\nPadua (J.)--Sapientia Consummata.\n\nPagez (J.)--Les Miracles de la Cr\u00e9ation. 8vo. Paris, 1632.\n\nPalissy (B.)--Les Moyens de devenir Riche. 12mo. Paris, 1636.\n\n---- Du Jardinage et de la Chimie. 8vo. Paris, 1580.\n\nPalladis Chimic\u00e6 Arcana Detecta, J. B. Marnigue. (_Rare._) 8vo. Genev.,\n1674.\n\nPalladium Spagiricum. 8vo. Paris, 1624.\n\nPalmarii (Petri, M.D., Paris)--Lapis Philosophicus. 8vo. Paris, 1609.\n\nPamphilus (Lucidas)--Theatri Alchymistico-Medici breve et jucundum\nspectaculum. 8vo. 1681.\n\nPans\u00e6 (Mart.)--Libellus Aureus. 8vo. Lips., 1615.\n\nPantaleonis--Bifolium Metallicum. 8vo. Norimb\u00e9rg\u00e6, 1676.\n\nPantheus (J. A.)--Sacerdos Venetus, de Arte et Theoria Transmutationis\nMetallicis. 8vo. Paris, 1550.\n\nParacelsi Theophrasti Opera Omnia. 3 v. Fol. Gen., 1662.\n\n---- Compendium Vit\u00e6 et Catalogus. Basil, 1568.\n\n---- Pyrophilia Vexationem. 8vo. Basil, 1568.\n\n---- Septem Libri de Gradibus Philosophi\u00e6 Magn\u00e6.\n\n---- De Tartaro. 8vo. Basil, 1570.\n\n---- Archidoxorum, lib. x. 8vo. Colon., 1570.\n\n---- Aurora. 8vo. Basil, 1577.\n\n---- Key of Philosophy. 8vo. Lond., 1580.\n\n---- De Mercuriis Metallorum. 8vo. Colon., 1582.\n\n---- Medico-Chimico Chirurgica. 12 t. 4to. Franc., 1603.\n\n---- Sympathy. 8vo. Lond., 1656.\n\n---- Chemical Transmutation. 8vo. Lond., 1657.\n\n---- Philosophy to the Athenians. 12mo. Lond., 1657.\n\n---- Prescription of 114 Cures. 4to. 1659.\n\n---- Archidoxis of Arcana and Elixirs. 8vo. London, 1663.\n\n---- Philosophi\u00e6 Adept\u00e6. 8vo. Basil.\n\nParkhurst\u2019s Sympathetic Mummy. Lond., 1653.\n\nPartricii (F.)--Magia Philos. Zoroastris. 8vo. Hamb., 1593.\n\nPartridge (John)--Treasury of Secrets. 8vo. Lond., 1591.\n\nPaysan--Le Petit Paysan. Alchemical. (_German, rare._) 8vo. Strasb.,\n1619.\n\nPellagii Greci, In Democritum Abderitam, de Arte Sacra, sive de Rebus\nMysticis, et Naturalibus comment. 8vo. Coloni\u00e6, 1574.\n\nPelletier, L\u2019Alc\u00e6st de Helmont. (_Esteemed._) 12mo. Rouen, 1704.\n\nPenotus (B.)--Alchemist\u2019s Enchiridion. 12mo. Lond., 1692.\n\n---- De Materia Lapidis Philosophorum. 8vo. Bern., 1608.\n\nPersons (David)--Salamandra. 4to. Lond., 1636.\n\nPetrei (H.)--Nosologia Hermetica. 4to. Marpurg, 1614.\n\nPetty (John)--Mine Laws of England. Fol. Lond., 1610.\n\nPharmundi (J. P.)--Compendium Hermeticum. 12mo. Fran., 1635.\n\nPhiladelphia, or Brotherly Love. Lond.\n\nPhilalethes (Eiren\u00e6us)--Introitus Apertus ad Occlusum Regis Palatium,\nedente Joanne Langio. 8vo. Amstelodami, 1667.\n\n---- Medulla Alchymi\u00e6. 8vo. Lond., 1664. (_In verse and in English._)\n\n---- Ripley Revised. With the Commentaries of Philalethes. 8vo. Lond.,\n1678.\n\n---- Experimenta de Pr\u00e6paratione Mercurii Sophici. 8vo. Amstel., 1668.\n\n---- Enarratio Methodica trium Gebri Medicinarum. 8vo. Amstel., 1668.\n\n---- Tractatus Tres ... edente Martino Birrio. 8vo. Amstel., 1668.\n\n---- Vera Confectio Lapidis Philosophici. 8vo. Amstel., 1678.\n\n---- (Eugenius)--Anthroposophia Theomagica. Anima Magica Abscondita.\n8vo. London, 1650.\n\n---- Magia Adamica. Whereunto is added a perfect and full Discovery of\nthe _C\u0153lum Terr\u00e6_. 8vo. London, 1650.\n\n---- Lumen de Lumine. 8vo. Lond., 1651.\n\n---- Aula Lucis. 1652.\n\n---- Euphrates; or, The Waters of the East. 8vo. Lond., 1655.\n\n---- Fame and Confession of the Fraternity of R. C. With a Declaration\nof their Physicall Work. 8vo. Lond., 1659.\n\n---- (Eiren\u00e6us Philoponos, _i.e._, George Starkey)--Marrow of Alchemy.\n12mo. Lond., 1709.\n\n---- (B. P.)--Enchiridion Alchemi\u00e6. Lond., 1692.\n\nPhilaleth\u00e6--Tract\u00e4tlein von Verwandelung der Metallen, &c. 12mo. Ham.,\n1675.\n\nPhilaleta (T.)--Theosophischer Wunder Saal. 8vo. 1709.\n\nPhilosophus Gallus--De Arbore Solari. 8vo. Arg., 1659.\n\nPicus de Mirandola (J. F.)--De Auro. 4to. Venet., 1586.\n\nPietra de Philosopha Catala. Ascoli, 1737.\n\nPin\u00e6us (V.)--De Concordia Hipoc et Parcels. 8vo. Arg., 1569.\n\nPittore (M. G.)--Dialogi. Venet., 1550.\n\nPlan--Projet du Plan de la Cr\u00e9ation. 8vo. Paris, 1653.\n\nPlanis Campi (D.)--L\u2019\u00c9cole Transmutatoire. 8vo. Paris, 1633.\n\n---- De la M\u00e9decine Universelle. 8vo. Paris, 1633.\n\nPlatt (H.)--Jewel House of Art. 4to. Lond., 1594.\n\nPolitii (A.)--Libri duo de Quinta Essentia Solutiva. 4to. Panormi, 1613.\n\nPontanus (John, _adept_)--Sophic Fire. 24mo. Lond., 1624.\n\n---- De Rebus Celestibus. Fiorenza, 1520.\n\nPoppii (J.)--Hodogeticus Chemicus. (_German._) 1627.\n\nPoppius (H.)--Basilica Antimonii. 4to. Fran., 1618.\n\nPorta (J. B.)--De \u00c6ris Transmutationibus. 4to. Rom\u00e6, 1610.\n\n---- Magia Naturale. Napo., 1611.\n\nPotier (M.)--Apologia Hermetico-Philosophica. 4to. Franc., 1630.\n\n---- De Vera Materia et Processu Lapidis. 8vo. Franc., 1617.\n\n---- Philosophia Pura. 8vo. Francof., 1617.\n\n---- Fons Chimicus, _id est_, Vera Auri Conficienda. 4to. Col., 1637.\n\n---- (P.)--Opera Omnia. (_Disesteemed._) 4to. Franc., 1692.\n\nPrivy Seal of Secrets, or First Matter. Lond., 1680.\n\nProcesses for the Philosophical Stone. (_German._) 8vo. Jena, 1704.\n\nPrudhomme (P.)--Deux Merveilles. 12mo. Paris, 1669.\n\nPruggmayr (M.)--De Vero Elixire Vit\u00e6. 8vo. Salisburgi, 1687.\n\nQuercetan (J.)--Hermetical Physic. 4to. London, 1605.\n\nRabbard\u2019s (Raphael) Book of Alchemy. 4to. Lond., 1591.\n\nRamsaia (C. A.)--Observationes, J. Kunkell. Rott., 1678.\n\nRant\u00e6 (Mariani), _English Prophetess_--Apocaliptica Clavis Auri\nFacturum Brevi Promittens. (_Rare._) 8vo. Tolos\u00e6.\n\nRaph\u00e6lis (S.)--De Sale, Sulphure, et Mercurio. 12mo.\n\nRattri (Silv.)--Theatrum Sympatheticum. Norim., 1658.\n\nReconditiorum Opulenti\u00e6, sapient\u00e6que mundi magni, &c. (_Esteemed._)\nAmst., 1666.\n\nRegio Salutifera--Prima Materia. 8vo. Fran., 1708.\n\nReinecerri Thesaurus Chimicus. 8vo. Lipsi\u00e6, 1609.\n\nRenaudot (E.)--De L\u2019Antimoine Justifi\u00e9. 4to. Paris, 1653.\n\nRespom--Sur L\u2019Esprit Min\u00e9rale. 12mo. Paris, 1668.\n\nReyheri (S.)--De Juridice Philosophica. 4to. Kibi\u00e6, 1692.\n\nRhenani (J.)--Aureus Tractatus. 4to. Franc., 1612.\n\n---- Decades Du\u00e6, seu Syntagma harmoni\u00e6 Chimicorum--Rhasis, Merlin,\nGuido, Saure, Wittich, Dumbel, Gratian, Antonio, Aquinas, Dastin,\nSalamon, Small Rosary. 8vo. Fran., 1625.\n\n---- De Solutione Materi\u00e6. 8vo. Fran., 1635.\n\nRhodagiri (L.)--De Solutione Philosophica. 8vo. Lugd., 1566.\n\nRichebourg (J. M.)--Biblioth\u00e8que. Eighteen tracts. Artephius, Azot,\nAncient War, Bernard, Basil, Flamel, Geber, Hermes, Hortulain, Morien,\nMary, Turba, Zachary. 3 vols. 12mo. Paris, 1741.\n\nRiplei (Georgii, _adept_)--Opera Omnia. 8vo. Casselis, 1649.\n\n---- Treatise of Mercury. Lond., 1680.\n\n---- Bosom Book, Accurtations. 8vo. Lond., 1680.\n\nRiviere (Cesare della)--Il Mondo Magico. Milano, 1605.\n\nRobertus (Valensis)--De Antiquitate Artis Chemi\u00e6. 8vo. Lugd., 1602.\n\nRochas (H.)--La Physique Demonstrative. 8vo. Paris, 1643.\n\nRodostanticum Speculum. (_German._) 4to. 1618.\n\nRodocanacis (C.)--Of Antimony. 4to. Lond., 1664.\n\nRolfincius (G.)--Mercurius Metallorum et Mineralium. 4to. Jena, 1670.\n\nRosarium Novum--De Lapide Benedicto. 4to. Germ., 1668.\n\n\nROSICRUCIANS.\n\nCommunis et Generalis Reformatio Totius Mundi. (_German._) 8vo.\nCasselis, 1614.\n\nFama Fraternitatis of the meritorious order of the R. C. (_German._)\n8vo. Casselis, 1614.\n\nSecretioris Philosophi\u00e6 Consideratio Brevis \u00e0 Philippo \u00e0 Gabella,\nPhilosophi\u00e6 studioso, conscripta; et nunc primum un\u00e0 cum CONFESSIONE\nFRATERNITATIS R. C., in lucem edita. 4to. Cassellis, 1615.\n\nExercitatio Paracelsica Nova de Notandis ex Scripto Fraternitatis de\nRosea Cruce. (_See_ Andreas Libavius\u2019 Examen Philosophi\u00e6 Nov\u00e6, qu\u00e6\nveteri abrogand\u00e6 opponitur.) Fol. 1615.\n\nAnalysis Confessionis Fraternitatis de Rosea Cruce pro admonitione et\ninstructione eorum, qui, quia judicandum sit de ista nova factione\nscire cupiant. Fol. 1615.\n\nChymische Hochzeit: Christiani Rosencreutz. Anno 1459. 8vo. Strasbourg,\n1616.\n\nEcho of the God-illuminated Brotherhood of the Worthy Order R. C. (? By\nJulius Sperber). 8vo. Dantzig, 1615.\n\nJulianus de Campis--An Open Letter or Report addressed to all who have\nread anything concerning the new Brotherhood of the R. C. (_German._)\n8vo. 1616.\n\nAndreas Libavius--Well wishing Objections concerning the Fame and\nConfessions of the Brotherhood of the R. C. (_German._) 8vo. Francfurt,\n1616.\n\nFama Remissa ad Fratres Rose\u00e6 Crucis. (_German._) 8vo. 1616.\n\nRadtichs Brotoffer--Elucidarius Major, oder Ekleuchterunge \u00fcber die\nReformatio der Ganzen Weiten Welt. 8vo. 1617.\n\nFraternitatis Rosat\u00e6 Crucis Confessio Recepta. (Written by A. O. M. T.\nW.) 8vo. 1617.\n\nFredericus G. Menapius (_i.e._, Johann Valentin Alberti)--Epitimia F.\nR. C. The Final Manifestation or Discovery of the worthy and worshipful\nOrder R. C.... Written by command of the above-mentioned Society by\nIren\u00e6us Agnostus (Menapius). _An attack on the Society._ (_German._)\n8vo. 1619.\n\n---- I. Menapius Rose\u00e6 Crucis, to wit: Objections on the part of the\nUnanimous Brotherhood against the obscure and unknown writer, F. G.\nMenapius. (_With other matters. Is also a covert attack written by\nMenapius._) 8vo. 1619. (_German._)\n\nFlorentinus de Valentia--Rosa Florescens contra F. G. Menapii\nCalumniis. 8vo. 1617.\n\nJudicia de Statu Fraternitatis de Rosea Cruce. 12mo. 1617.\n\nResponsum ad Fratres Rosace\u00e6 Crucis Illustres. 12mo. 1618.\n\nF. R. C.--Fama e Scanzia Redux. 12mo. 1618.\n\n\u03c6\u03bb\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b8\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd\u03c1\u03b5\u03b4\u03b1\u03c2.--Hoc est Redintegratio. (_Addressed to the Brotherhood\nof the Rose Cross._) 8vo. 1619.\n\nJohann Valentin Andreas--Turris Babel, sive Judicium de Fraternitatis\nRose\u00e6 Crucis Chaos. 24mo. Argentorati, 1619.\n\nS. R. (_i.e._, Sincerus Renatus, a pseudonym of Sigmund\nRichter)--Perfect and True Preparation of the Philosophical Stone,\naccording to the Secret of the Brotherhood of the Golden and Rosy\nCross. With the Rules of the above-mentioned Order for the Initiation\nof New Members. 8vo. Breslau, 1710.\n\nSecret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth\nCenturies. Fol. Altona, 1785-88.\n\nJoachim Fritz (? Robert Fludd)--Summum Bonum, quod est verum subjectum\nver\u00e6 magic\u00e6, cabal\u00e6, alchymi\u00e6 Fratrum Rose\u00e6 Crucis verorum in dictarum\nscientiarum laudem, et insignis calumniatoris ... M. Mersenni dedecus\npublicatum. Fol. Francfurt, 1629.\n\nThomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes)--The Fame and Confession of\nthe Fraternity of R. C., with a Preface annexed thereto, and a short\ndeclaration of their Physicall Work. 8vo. London, 1652.\n\nJohn Heydon--The Rosie Crucian Infallible Axiomata. 12mo. London, 1660.\n\n---- The Holy Guide, leading the Way to the Wonder of the World. 8vo.\nLondon, 1662.\n\n---- Theomagia; or, The Temple of Wisdome. In three parts--spirituall,\ncelestiall, and elementall. 8vo. London, 1662-3-4.\n\n---- The Wise Man\u2019s Crown, or The Glory of the Rosy Cross. 8vo. London,\n1664.\n\n---- El Havarevna; or The English Physitian\u2019s Tutor in the\nAstrobolismes of Mettals Rosie Crucian. 8vo. London, 1665.\n\nHargrave Jennings--The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries. With\nchapters on the Ancient Fire and Serpent Worshippers, and Explanations\nof the Mystic Symbols Represented on the Monuments and Talismans of the\nPrimeval Philosophers. 8vo. London, 1870.\n\nArthur Edward Waite--The Real History of the Rosicrucians. Founded on\ntheir own Manifestoes and on Facts and Documents collected from the\nwritings of Initiated Brethren. 8vo. London, 1887.\n\n * * * * *\n\nRosnel (P.)--Le Mercure Indien. (_Curious._) 4to. Paris, 1672.\n\nRossello (T.)--Secreti Universali. 8vo. Venet., 1574.\n\nRossinus (H.)--De Opera Dei Creationis. 4to. Fran., 1597.\n\nRothscoltzii (F.)--Bibliotheca Chimica. 4to. 1719.\n\n---- Bibliotheca Chemia Curiosa Adornata. 12mo. Noren., 1720.\n\nRouillac (P.)--Practica Operis Magni. 8vo. Lugd., 1582.\n\nRousselet--La Chrysospagirie. 8vo. Lyons, 1582.\n\nRudenius (M.)--Bendencten Von der Alchimistichen Artzen Kunst. 8vo.\nLip., 1605.\n\nRuelli (J.)--De Natura Stribium. 2 vols. 8vo. Venet., 1538.\n\nRullandi (M.)--Progymnasmata Alchimi\u00e6. 8vo. Fran., 1607.\n\nRullandi (M.)--Lexicon Alchimi\u00e6. 4to. Fran., 1612.\n\nRupecissa (Johan, _adept_)--C\u0153lum Philosophorum. 8vo. Parisiis, 1543.\n\n---- De Quinta Essentia Rerum Omnium. 8vo. Basil, 1561.\n\n---- De Secretis Alchemi\u00e6. 4to. Col. Agi., 1579.\n\n---- Livre de Lumi\u00e8re. 16mo. Paris.\n\nSabor (Chr. Fer.)--Practica Natur\u00e6 vera Preparatio Lapidis Mineralis de\nAntimonio. (_German._) 8vo. 1721.\n\nSaignier (J.)--Magni Lapidis Naturalis Philosophia. 4to. Brem., 1664.\n\nSaint Romain--Effets de la Pierre Divine. 12mo. Paris, 1679.\n\nSal\u00e6 (Angeli)--Opera Medico-Chymica Omnia. 4to. Rothomagi, 1650.\n\nSale (De)--De Secreto Philosophorum. 8vo. Cass., 1651.\n\nSalmon (William, M.D.)--Hermes, Kalid, Pontanus, Artephius, Geber,\nFlamel, Bacon, Ripley. 8vo. Lond., 1692.\n\n---- Biblioth\u00e8que. Containing twelve tracts by reputed adepts. 12mo.\nParis, 1672.\n\nSaltzhal (S.)--De Potentissima Medicina Univali. 8vo. Argent., 1659.\n\nSapientia--Clavis Majoris Sapienti\u00e6 (Artephius). 8vo. Paris, 1609.\n\nSawtree (John)--Of the Philosopher\u2019s Stone. 4to. Lond., 1652.\n\nSchennemannus (H.)--De Medecina Reformata seu denario\nHermetico-Chemico. 8vo. Fran., 1617.\n\nSchleron (H.)--De Lapide Philosophorum. 8vo. Marpus, 1612.\n\nSchlussel--Zur Findung dess Steins der Weissen. 8vo. Leip., 1706.\n\nScholzii (L.)--Summum Philosophi\u00e6. Fol. Hano., 1610.\n\nSchotti (C.)--Physica Curiosa cum Figuris. 4to. Herb., 1667.\n\n---- Mirabilia Artis. 2 v. 4to. Norim., 1664.\n\nSchuleri (C.)--De Miraculo Chemico. 1616.\n\nSchwertzer (Sibald)--Chrysop\u0153i\u00e6. (_Esteemed._) 8vo. Hamb., 1618.\n\nScientia Exemplar (_ex Lagneo_). 4to. Ulm., 1641.\n\nScot (Patrick)--Tillage of Light. 8vo. Lond., 1623.\n\nScoti (Michael)--De Secretis Natur\u00e6. 12mo. Fran., 1614.\n\nSebilista (W.)--Manuale Hermeticum. 4to. Wolf., 1655.\n\nSecrets Disclosed of the Philosopher\u2019s Stone. 24mo. 1680.\n\nSeilerus--Of a Transmuting Powder Found. 4to. Lond., 1633.\n\nSel--Du Sel de Sapience. (_Disesteemed_). 8vo. Paris, 1619.\n\nSemita Rectitudinis de Alchemia. 8vo. Gratianopoli, 1614.\n\nSendivogius (Mich.)--De Vero Sale. (_Spurious._) Franc., 1651.\n\n---- New Light of Alchymy.\n\nSenfrid (J. H.)--Medulla Natur\u00e6. 8vo. Taltzlach, 1679.\n\nSennertus (D.)--Institutions of Chemistry. 8vo. London.\n\nSeverini (Petri)--Totius Philos. Adept\u00e6. 8vo. Basil, 1572.\n\nSeverino (Scipione)--Triomfo d\u2019Ell Alchimia. 8vo. Venet., 1691.\n\n---- Filosofia Alchemia. Venet., 1695.\n\n---- Commentary on Lully. (_Italian._) 1684.\n\nSeyfarti (A.)--Klar und Deutliche Luorterung. 8vo. Leypsich, 1723.\n\nSferza (La)--De Gli Alchemisti. Lion., 1665.\n\nSidrach--Le Grand Fontaine de Science. 4to. Paris, 1514.\n\nSimpson--Of Fermentation. Lond., 1675.\n\nSnoyus (R.)--De Arte Alchimi\u00e6. Fol. Francof., 1620.\n\nSol Sine Vesta (_anonymous adept_). Amst., 1684.\n\nSpacheri (S.)--Alchimia, cum Figuris. 4to. 1616.\n\nSperberi (J.)--Argumentum in Veram Triunius Dei et Natur\u00e6. 8vo. Hamb.,\n1672.\n\n---- De Materia Lapidis. 8vo. Hamb., 1674.\n\nStahli (G. E.)--Fundamenta Chimi\u00e6. 4to. Norim., 1723.\n\nStarky (G.)--Pyrotechny Asserted. 12mo. Lond., 1658.\n\n---- Nature\u2019s Explication. 1658.\n\n---- Marrow of Chemical Physic. 12mo. 1661.\n\nSteebe (I. S.)--Elixir Solis. 12mo. Francof., 1672.\n\n---- C\u0153lum Sephiroticum. Fol. Mogunti\u00e6, 1679.\n\nStisseri (J. A.)--Acta Laboratorii Jesi\u00e6. 4to. Helen., 1701.\n\nStolcii (D.)--Viridiarium Chimicum, cum Figuris. Franc., 1624.\n\n---- Hortulus Hermeticus, cum Figuris. 8vo. Franc., 1627.\n\nStruthius (J.)--Medecina Priscorum. Lugd., 1600.\n\nStruvius (E. G.)--Chimicum sine Igne. 8vo. Jen\u00e6, 1715.\n\nSurmiti (J.)--Physica Electiva. 4to. Nor., 1697.\n\n---- In Collegium Experimentale Curiosum. 4to. Norim., 1701.\n\nSuchten (Alex.)--Clavis Alchemi\u00e6. (_German._) 8vo. Montis., 1614.\n\n---- Secrets of Antimony. 8vo. Lond., 1670.\n\nSudum Philosophicum. 8vo. Hamb., 1660.\n\nSwedenburgii (Em.)--Regnum Minerale. 3 v. Fol. Liq., 1734.\n\nSynes--De Sapientia Divina. 12mo. Lutet., 1635.\n\nT. W.--Marrow of Chemical Physic. Lond., 1659.\n\nTabul\u00e6 Septem Synopsim Lapidis. Erph., 1598.\n\nTachemius (Oth)--De Liquore Alk\u00e6st. 4to. Hamb., 1655.\n\n---- Hippocrates\u2019 Viperine Salt. 4to. London, 1677.\n\nTackii (J.)--Triplex Phasis Sophicus Solis arbe expiditus. 4to. Franc.,\n1673.\n\nTankins (J.)--Collection of Alchemy in German. Leipsic, 1610.\n\nTeichmeyeri (H. F.)--Institutiones. Jen\u00e6, 1729.\n\nTenzelius (A.)--Medecina Diastatica. 12mo. Jen\u00e6, 1629.\n\nTheatrum Chimicum. Two hundred and nine treatises by Arnold, Albert,\nAugmelli, Aristotle, Aquinas, Alanus, Alvetanus, Alphonso, Avicenna,\nArtephius, Aphorisms, Bacon, Balbius, Bernard, Bernaud, Bona,\nBrentzius, Brosse, Blawenstein, Caravantis, Colleson, Christopher, Dee,\nDornea, Democritus, Egidius, Eck, Ficinus, Fanian, Flamel, Ferarius,\nGaston, Greverius, Grossius, Haymonis, Hermes, Hogheland, Hornius,\nIsaac, Kalid, Lagneus, Lasinoro, Lavinius, Lacinius, Lampsprink, Lully,\nMuffetus, Mary, P. Mirandola, Micreris, Meneus, Monachus, Nigrius,\nOrthelius, Odomar, Ortholan, Ponlanus, Penotus, Pantheus, Plato,\nPhedio, Quercetan, Rhedargii, Rupecissa, Ripley, Richard, Rosary,\nPhasis, Sendivogius, Silento, M. Scott, Trithemius, Turba, Troginani,\nVogelius, Ventma, Vallensis, Vigenerus, Zacharia, Zonetus, Zadith. 6 v.\n8vo. Argent., 1662.\n\nTheobaldi (Zach.)--Arcana Natur\u00e6. 4to. Norin., 1628.\n\nThom\u00e6 Aquinatis--Secreta Alchemi\u00e6. 4to. Colon., 1579.\n\n---- Thesaurus Alchemi\u00e6. 8vo. Lugd., 1602.\n\n---- De Esse et Essentia Mineralium. (_Spurious._) 4to. Venet., 1488.\n\nThor (G.)--Cheiragogia Heliana. (_English._) 8vo. Lond., 1659.\n\nThornburgh (John)--Nihil, aliquid, omnia in gratiam eorum qui artem\nauriferam Phisico-chimice et pie profitentur. 4to., Oxon., 1621.\n\nThurneyssers (Leo.)--Hoechste sublilitad der Alchimia. 4to. Munst.,\n1569.\n\nTombeau de la Pauvret\u00e9, par Atramont. 12mo. Par., 1673.\n\nTombeau de Semiramis. 8vo. Par., 1689.\n\nTractat--Gulden Rose Chit der Natur, &c. 8vo. 1706.\n\nTractatus Antiquorum Arcanorum. 8vo. 1612.\n\nTractat. 7 Von Stein der Weissen. 8vo. Ham.\n\nTranas Facilis ad Hermetis Artem. 12mo. Corolopili, 1686.\n\nTransformation M\u00e9tallique. 8vo. Paris, 1651.\n\nTransfiguratione Metallorum (De). 8vo. Hanov., 1593.\n\nTreasure of Treasures. 24mo. Lond., 1680.\n\nTres Tractatus de Metallorum Transmutatione. Amst., 1668.\n\nTrinum--Koffski, Alphidius, and Lully. 8vo. Arg., 1699.\n\nTriomphe Herm\u00e9tique (_i.e._, Ancient War of the Knights). 12mo. Amst.,\n1689.\n\nTrifolium Hermeticum. (_German._) 1629.\n\nTrimosin (S., _adept_)--La Toison d\u2019Or. 8vo. 1611.\n\nTrithemius (J.)--De Lapide Phil. 8vo. 1611.\n\nTrinum Magicum Opus Secretorum. 12mo. Tran., 16, 1809.\n\nTrompette de Philosophie Herm\u00e9tique. 12mo. Paris.\n\nTubicum Conviviale Hermeticum. 4to. Gedani, 1682.\n\nTymme (J.)--Nature\u2019s Closet Opened. 4to. Lond., 1612.\n\nUlstadii (P.)--C\u0153lum Philosophorum. 12mo. Lugd., 1553.\n\nUntzerus (M.)--Anatomia Mercurii. 4to. Hale Sax., 1620.\n\nUrbigero (Baro., _adept_)--Aphorisms. 12mo. Lond., 1690.\n\nVallensis (R.)--De Veritate et Antiquitate Artis Chemic\u00e6. 16mo. Par.,\n1651.\n\nValentine (Basil, _adept_)--Last Will, Practica, Twelve Keys, Manual,\nNatural and Supernatural Things, Microcosm, &c. 8vo. Lond., 1671.\n\n---- Triumphal Chariot of Antimony. 8vo. 1656.\n\n---- Scripta Chimica. 8vo. Hamburgi, 1700.\n\nVallerlis (V.)--Lulliam Explicano. 4to. August., 1589.\n\nVanderlinden--De Scriptis Medecis. 4to. Norim., 1686.\n\nVanner (T.)--Way to Long Life. 4to. Lond., 1623.\n\nVannucio Pyrotecnia della Minere. 4to. Venet., 1540.\n\nVargas (B. P.)--De Re Metallica. 8vo. Madrid, 1569.\n\nVigam of Verona--Medulla Chymi\u00e6. Lond., 1683.\n\nVigenerus (B.)--Of True Fire and Salt. Lond., 1649.\n\nVigani (J. A.)--Medulla Chymi\u00e6. Lug. Bat., 1693.\n\nVillanova (Arnoldus de)--Opera Omnia--Conversion of Metals, Rosary,\nSpeculum, Questions, Flos Florum, &c. Fol. Lugd., 1520.\n\nVillanovani (Petri), _compiler_--Speculum. Du\u00e6, 1626.\n\nVittestein--De Quinta Essentia. 8vo. Basil, 1582.\n\nVogelii (Ewal.)--De Lapide Physici. Colon., 1575.\n\nVonderbeet (D.)--Experimenta. Ferrari\u00e6, 1688.\n\nWallerus--Chemia Physica. 8vo. Lond.\n\nWater--The Water Stone of the Wise. 8vo. Lond., 1659.\n\nWebster\u2019s History of Metals. 4to. Lond., 1671.\n\nWecker (Dr, of Basle)--Secrets. 8vo. Lyons, 1643.\n\nWeidenfeld (J. J.)--Secrets of the Adepts. 4to. Lond., 1685.\n\nWeidnerus (J.)--De Arte Chimica. 4to. Basil, 1610.\n\nWickffbain (J. P.)--Salamandra. Norimb., 1683.\n\nWilliams (W.)--Occult Physics. 8vo. Lond., 1660.\n\nWillis (T.)--Theophisical Alchemy. 8vo. Lond., 1616.\n\n---- Opera Omnia Medicin. 2 v. Lugd., 1681.\n\nWilson (G.)--Three Hundred Unknown Experiments. Lond., 1699.\n\nWirdig (Sebas.)--Medicina Spiritum. Norimberg, 1675.\n\nWittestein (C.)--De Quinta Essentia. 8vo. Basil, 1583.\n\nWittichius (J.)--De Lapide Philos. 8vo. Francof., 1625.\n\nZacharia--Clavis Spagirica. 4to. Venet., 1611.\n\nZacharii (D., _adept_)--La Vraie Philosophie des Metaux. 8vo. Anvers.,\n1567.\n\n---- De Chimico Miracule. 8vo. Basil, 1583.\n\nZadith--Antiquissimi Philos. 8vo. Argent., 1566.\n\nZelator (J.)--Alchemistici. 8vo. Basil, 1606.\n\n * * * * *\n\n_Note._--The titles of some of the treatises enumerated above have been\nmutilated by the original bibliographers, and owing to the extreme\nrarity of most alchemical books, it has been impossible to correct all\nerrors.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n\nI.\n\nThe life of Denis Zachaire has been made the subject of an interesting\nand well-written novel--\u201cA Professor of Alchemy\u201d--by \u201cPercy Ross,\u201d\nrecently published by Mr George Redway. The life of the great adept,\nafter his accomplishment of the Magnum Opus, is detailed at some\nlength, M. Louis Figuier being apparently the authority for the bare\nfacts of the case. The alchemist is represented by the French writer\nas having travelled to Lausanne, where he became enamoured of a young\nand beautiful lady, whom he carried from Switzerland into Germany, and\nthen abandoned himself completely to a life of dissipation and folly,\nwhich closed tragically at Cologne in the year 1556. He was strangled\nin the middle of a drunken sleep by the cousin who had accompanied\nhim in his travels, and who coveted his wealth and his mistress. The\nmurderer effected his escape with the lady, who appears to have been\nhis accomplice. The sole authority for this narrative appears to be a\npoem by Mardoch\u00e9 de Delle, who was attached, as a sort of laureate, to\nthe court of Rodolph II. It is not improbably a mere invention of the\nversifier; there is nothing in the sober treatise of Denis Zachaire,\nwritten at the period in question, to give colour to the account of his\nextravagance.\n\n\nII.\n\nThe manuscript volume entitled \u201cEgyptian Freemasonry\u201d fell, with\nthe other papers of Cagliostro, into the hands of the Inquisition,\nand was solemnly condemned in the judgment as containing rites,\npropositions, a doctrine and a system which opened a broad road to\nsedition and were calculated to destroy the Christian religion. The\nbook was characterised as superstitious, blasphemous, impious, and\nheretical. It was publicly burnt by the hands of the executioner, with\nthe instruments belonging to the sect. Some valuable particulars\nconcerning it are, however, preserved in the Italian life; they are\nreproduced from the original proceedings published at Rome by order of\nthe Apostolic Chamber.\n\n\u201cIt may be necessary to enter into some details concerning Egyptian\nMasonry. We shall extract our facts from a book compiled by himself,\nand now in our possession, by which he owns he was always directed in\nthe exercise of his functions, and from which those regulations and\ninstructions were copied, wherewith he enriched many mother lodges. In\nthis treatise, which is written in French, he promises to conduct his\ndisciples to perfection by means of physical and moral regeneration,\nto confer perpetual youth and beauty on them, and restore them to that\nstate of innocence which they were deprived of by means of original\nsin. He asserts that Egyptian Masonry was first propagated by Enoch\nand Elias, but that since that time it has lost much of its purity\nand splendour. Common masonry, according to him, has degenerated into\nmere buffoonery, and women have of late been entirely excluded from\nits mysteries; but the time was now arrived when the grand Copt was\nabout to restore the glory of masonry, and allow its benefits to be\nparticipated by both sexes.\n\n\u201cThe statutes of the order then follow in rotation, the division of\nthe members into three distinct classes, the various signs by which\nthey might discover each other, the officers who are to preside over\nand regulate the society, the stated times when the members are to\nassemble, the erection of a tribunal for deciding all differences that\nmay arise between the several lodges or the particular members of each,\nand the various ceremonies which ought to take place at the admission\nof the candidates. In every part of this book the pious reader is\ndisgusted with the sacrilege, the profanity, the superstition, and the\nidolatry with which it abounds--the invocations in the name of God, the\nprostrations, the adorations paid to the Grand Master, the fumigations,\nthe incense, the exorcisms, the emblems of the Divine Triad, of the\nmoon, of the sun, of the compass, of the square, and a thousand other\nscandalous particulars, with which the world is at present well\nacquainted.\n\n\u201cThe Grand Copt, or chief of the lodge, is compared to God the Father.\nHe is invoked upon every occasion; he regulates all the actions of\nthe members and all the ceremonies of the lodge, and he is even\nsupposed to have communication with angels and with the Divinity. In\nthe exercise of many of the rites they are desired to repeat the _Veni_\nand the _Te Deum_--nay, to such an excess of impiety are they enjoined,\nthat in reciting the psalm _Memento Domine David_, the name of the\nGrand Master is always to be substituted for that of the King of Israel.\n\n\u201cPeople of all religions are admitted into the society of Egyptian\nMasonry--the Jew, the Calvinist, the Lutheran, are to be received into\nit as well as the Catholic--provided they believe in the existence of\nGod and the immortality of the soul, and have been previously allowed\nto participate in the mysteries of the common masonry. When men are\nadmitted, they receive a pair of garters from the Grand Copt, as is\nusual in all lodges, for their mistresses; and when women are received\ninto the society, they are presented by the Grand Mistress with a\ncockade, which they are desired to give to that man to whom they are\nmost attached.\n\n\u201cWe shall here recount the ceremonies made use of on admitting a female.\n\n\u201cThe candidate having presented herself, the Grand Mistress (Madame\nCagliostro generally presided in that capacity) breathes upon her face\nfrom the forehead to the chin, and then says, \u2018I breathe upon you on\npurpose to inspire you with the virtues which we possess, so that\nthey may take root and flourish in your heart, I thus fortify your\nsoul, I thus confirm you in the faith of your brethren and sisters,\naccording to the engagements which you have contracted with them. We\nnow admit you as a daughter of the Egyptian lodge. We order that you be\nacknowledged in that capacity by all the brethren and sisters of the\nEgyptian lodges, and that you enjoy with them the same prerogatives as\nwith ourselves.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Grand Master thus addresses the male candidate: \u2018In virtue of the\npower which I have received from the Grand Copt, the founder of our\norder, and by the particular grace of God, I hereby confer upon you the\nhonour of being admitted into our lodge in the name of Helios, Mene,\nTetragrammaton.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn a book, said to be printed at Paris in 1789, it is asserted that\nthe last words were suggested to Cagliostro, as sacred and cabalistical\nexpressions by a pretended conjuror, who said that he was assisted\nby a spirit, and that this spirit was no other than the soul of a\ncabalistical Jew, who by means of the magical art had murdered his own\nfather before the incarnation of Jesus Christ.\n\n\u201cCommon masons have been accustomed to regard St John as their patron,\nand to celebrate the festival of that saint. Cagliostro also adopted\nhim as his protector, and it is not a little remarkable that he was\nimprisoned at Rome on the very festival of his patron. The reason for\nhis veneration of this great prophet was, if we are to believe himself,\nthe great similarity between the Apocalypse and the rites of his\ninstitution.\n\n\u201cWe must here observe that when any of his disciples were admitted into\nthe highest class, the following execrable ceremony took place. A young\nboy or girl, in the state of virgin innocence and purity, was procured,\nwho was called the pupil, and to whom power was given over the seven\nspirits that surround the throne of the divinity and preside over the\nseven planets. Their names according to Cagliostro\u2019s book are Ana\u00ebl,\nMicha\u00ebl, Rapha\u00ebl, Gabriel, Uriel, Zobiachel, and Anachiel. The pupil\nis then made use of as an intermediate agent between the spiritual and\nphysical worlds, and being clothed in a long white robe, adorned with a\nred ribbon, and blue silk festoons, he is shut up in a little closet.\nFrom that place he gives response to the Grand Master, and tells\nwhether the spirits and Moses have agreed to receive the candidates\ninto the highest class of Egyptian masons....\n\n\u201cIn his instructions to obtain the moral and physical regeneration\nwhich he had promised to his disciples, he is exceedingly careful\nto give a minute description of the operations to which they are to\nsubmit. Those who are desirous of experiencing the moral regeneration\nare to retire from the world for the space of forty days, and to\ndistribute their time into certain proportions. Six hours are to be\nemployed in reflection, three in prayer to the Deity, nine in the holy\noperations of Egyptian Masonry, while the remaining period is to be\ndedicated to repose. At the end of the thirty-three days a visible\ncommunication is to take place between the patient and the seven\nprimitive spirits, and on the morning of the fortieth day his soul will\nbe inspired with divine knowledge, and his body be as pure as that of a\nnew-born infant.\n\n\u201cTo procure a physical regeneration, the patient is to retire into the\ncountry in the month of May, and during forty days is to live according\nto the most strict and austere rules, eating very little, and then\nonly laxative and sanative herbs, and making use of no other drink\nthan distilled water, or rain that has fallen in the course of the\nmonth. On the seventeenth day, after having let blood, certain white\ndrops are to be taken, six at night and six in the morning, increasing\nthem two a day in progression. In three days more a small quantity of\nblood is again to be let from the arm before sunrise, and the patient\nis to retire to bed till the operation is completed. A grain of the\n_panacea_ is then to be taken; this panacea is the same as that of\nwhich God created man when He first made him immortal. When this is\nswallowed the candidate loses his speech and his reflection for three\nentire days, and he is subject to frequent convulsions, struggles, and\nperspirations. Having recovered from this state, in which, however, he\nexperiences no pain whatever, on the thirty-sixth day, he takes the\nthird and last grain of the panacea, which causes him to fall into a\nprofound and tranquil sleep; it is then that he loses his hair, his\nskin, and his teeth. These again are all reproduced in a few hours, and\nhaving become a new man, on the morning of the fortieth day he leaves\nhis room, enjoying a complete rejuvenescence, by which he is enabled\nto live 5557 years, or to such time as he, of his own accord, may be\ndesirous of going to the world of spirits.\u201d\n\n\nCONCERNING THE LODGE OF FREEMASONS DISCOVERED AT ROME.\n\nThe final chapter of the Italian life of Cagliostro, which appeared\nbefore the death of its subject, contains a curious and interesting\naccount under the above title. The lodge was situated in the quarter\nof the city called the Holy Trinity of the Mountain. It was visited on\nthe night of Cagliostro\u2019s capture, but the members had been evidently\nforewarned; they had taken precautions as to their personal safety,\nhad removed the symbols of their craft and the greater part of their\nbooks and papers, which perhaps, says the writer, contained secrets\nof great importance. The Inquisition claims to have a true insight,\nnotwithstanding, into the origin, establishment, and other particulars\nof this lodge, drawn in part from the depositions of \u201ca multitude of\nwell-informed persons.\u201d\n\nThe founders were seven in number, five Frenchmen, an American, and\na Pole, all of whom had been previously initiated into other lodges.\nIt assumed the title of the Lodge of the Reunion of True Friends,\nand the first meeting took place on November 1, 1787. Proselytes\nwere immediately made, and included candidates who had not been\nreceived into any other society. Its numbers rapidly increased, and\nto establish it with all the necessary formalities approbation was\nprocured from the Mother Lodge at Paris, and a deputy was sent to\nreside in that city as its representative. Its letters were transported\nby special messengers. Mention is made in the register of archives\nkept under three locks, in which the statutes, the mysteries, and\nthe symbols transmitted from Paris were preserved, with all the most\ninteresting speeches delivered within the lodge. However, the Egyptian\nlodge is affirmed to have been in this instance devoid of special\ncharacteristics. The list of its officers was as follows:--\n\n1. The Venerable, or Grand Master.\n\n2. The Superintendent, or Deputy Grand Master.\n\n3. The Terrible.\n\n4. The Master of the Ceremonies.\n\n5. The Treasurer.\n\n6. The Almoner.\n\n7. The Secretary.\n\n8. The Orator, or Export Broker.\n\nThe entire Lodge was composed of two chambers, or halls. The first\nwas called the Chamber of Reflections. A death\u2019s head was placed on a\ntable, and above it were two inscriptions in French, which contained\nan arcane significance. The second apartment was called the Temple;\nit was adorned according to the various rites performed in it. On\nall occasions it was provided with a throne, on which the Venerable\nconstantly sat. Some emblems of masonry adorned the walls--among them\nwere the sun, moon, and planets. On the two sides of the throne several\nmagnificent pillars were placed, and opposite to these the brotherhood\nwere arranged in order, each of them wearing his leathern apron, and\na black ribbon in the form of a deacon\u2019s stole about his neck, while\nin his hands, which were covered with a pair of white gloves, he\nbrandished a naked sword, a hammer, or a compass, according to the\ndifferent formalities prescribed by the institution.\n\nWith the secret signs and passports, the Inquisition does not seem to\nhave been acquainted.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n Abraham the Jew, 99\n\n Adfar, an Arabian adept of Alexandria, 53\n\n Alain of Lisle, 67\n\n Albertus Magnus, 57\n\n Alcahest, 157\n\n Alchemy--Diversity of opinion on the object of alchemical science, 9;\n the avowed object, 10;\n the aim said to be concealed, 11;\n symbolism of the science, 11;\n distinction between alchemy and chemistry, 21;\n alchemy as a factor in the progress of the physical sciences, 27;\n physical nature of the alchemical aim established by the lives and\n writings of the adepts, 29;\n side issues of alchemical theories, 32;\n application of alchemy to the extension of life, 65;\n modification of the human body by alchemy, 65;\n alchemy the science of the four elements, 93;\n the Seal of God set on the secret of alchemy, 165\n\n Alfarabi, 48\n\n Alipili, 22, 23\n\n Altotas, 221, 234\n\n Ancient War of the Knights, 43\n\n Anima Magica Abscondita, 21\n\n Anonymous adept, 184\n\n Antimony, Basil Valentine\u2019s preparation for the study of, 17;\n the Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, 121\n\n Aphrodite Urania, 37\n\n Apono, Peter d\u2019, 88\n\n Aquinas, St Thomas, 61\n\n Argent Vive--Reduction of metals into sophic Argent Vive, 87;\n the Medicine of all Metals, 90;\n the first thing to be ascertained in alchemy is the significance of\n this term, 92\n\n Arnold de Villanova, 88\n\n Ars Lulliana, 68\n\n Avicenna, 51\n\n Azoth, or The Star in the East, a forthcoming work on the psychic\n potencies which enter into the higher act of transmutation, on the\n mysteries of spiritual chemistry, and on the possibilities of\n practical transcendentalism, 37\n\n\n Bacon, Roger, 63\n\n Balsamo, Joseph, Travels, Adventures, and Imprisonments, 220\n\n Basil, Valentine, 120\n\n Belin, Albert, 186\n\n Berigard of Pisa, 148\n\n Bird, William, unknown adept, 150\n\n B\u00f6hme, Jacob, 161\n\n Bono, Peter, 118\n\n Borri, Guiseppe Francesco, 208\n\n Botticher, John Frederich, neophyte, 212\n\n Braccesco, Giovanni, 151\n\n Busardier, unknown adept, 182\n\n Butler, 168\n\n\n Cagliostro, Count Allesandro, name assumed by Balsamo, 230\n\n Calcination, an alchemical process, 13, 19\n\n Canons of Espagnet, 19\n\n Charnock, Thomas, 148\n\n Chemistry, said to have no connection with alchemy, 14;\n distinction between alchemy and chemistry, 21, 25;\n a counter view, 44\n\n Contemplation, a preparation for alchemical practices, 18\n\n Cremer, John, pseudo-abbot of Westminster, 83\n\n\n Dalton, Thomas, 133\n\n Dee, John, 153\n\n Delisle, 216\n\n D\u2019Espagnet, Jean, 170;\n on the obstacles which beset the alchemist, 39\n\n Diana Unveiled, 180\n\n Dissolution, an alchemical process, 12\n\n Dominic, St, said to have been an adept, 58\n\n Dubois, descendant of Flamel, 114\n\n Dunstan, St, Book of, 154, 155\n\n\n Egyptian Masonry, 245, 250, and Appendix II.\n\n Elias the Artist, 193\n\n Eliphas L\u00e9vi, 82\n\n Elixir, the White and Red, 195\n\n _\u00c9toile Flamboyante_, 59\n\n Eugenius Philalethes, 21, 31, 189\n\n Exaltation, an alchemical process, 32\n\n\n Fabre, Pierre Jean, 200\n\n Ferarius, 92\n\n Figuier, Louis, alchemical critic, 27, 63\n\n Fioravanti, Leonardi, 153\n\n Flamel, Nicholas, 95\n\n Fontaine, John, 129\n\n\n Galip, 55\n\n Geber, 44\n\n Generation of Metals, 38, 48, 133\n\n Go\u00ebtic magic, 65\n\n Gold, 10, 28, 140\n\n Grand Magisterium, 57, 123\n\n Grand Secret and Grand Act, 170, 189\n\n Great Art, 130\n\n Grimoire, 60\n\n Gustenhover, 181\n\n\n Helmont, J. B. Van, 166\n\n Helvetius, John Frederick, 201\n\n Hermetic--Aim of Hermetic science, 29;\n true method of Hermetic interpretation, 30;\n supreme secret of Hermetic philosophy, 66;\n the Hermetic art a gift of God, 68\n\n Heydon, John, 210\n\n Hitchcock--His Remarks on Alchemy and the Alchemists, 10, 14, 23, 30\n\n\n Interpretation of Hermetic theories, &c.--Hermetic typology, 10;\n the moral method, 13;\n the Psychic method, 122\n\n Invocation as a preparation for the practice of alchemy, 17\n\n Isaac of Holland, 123\n\n\n Jean de Meung, 90\n\n Johannes de Rupecissa, 119\n\n John XXII., Pope, 93\n\n\n Kalid, an initiated monarch, 54\n\n Khunrath, Henry, 159;\n treats of spiritual alchemy, 33, 36\n\n\n Lascaris, 211\n\n Lavures, alchemical operations, 112\n\n Light--Veritable light of alchemy, 15;\n vision in the Divine Light, 16;\n light the First Matter of the Magnum Opus, 38\n\n\n Magic Chain, 22\n\n Magnum Opus--The first Matter of the Magnum Opus in its psychic aspect\n to be revealed in a forthcoming work, AZOTH, OR THE STAR IN THE\n EAST, 37;\n processes for the accomplishment of the Magnum Opus, 42;\n these described by Arnold, 90;\n the composition of the Stone is the accomplishment of the Magnum\n Opus, 152;\n manner of the accomplishment of the Magnum Opus described in \u201cThe\n Adventures of an Unknown Philosopher,\u201d 186\n\n Maier, Michael, 58, 87, 160\n\n Man--The concealed subject of every adept, 11;\n the mystic vase of election, 14\n\n Manuel, Domenico, 215\n\n Mary of Alexandria, 36\n\n Matter, the first matter of the Magnum Opus, said to be gold, 28;\n defined as a fifth element, 39;\n one only and self-same thing, 40;\n its true nature not disclosed by the adepts, 41;\n its informing spirit variously adaptable, 43;\n a duplex nature, 53;\n contained in silver and gold, 87;\n the seed of every metal can be reduced into the first matter, 93;\n figured in the book of Rabbi Abraham, 103;\n found by Nicholas Flamel, 106;\n mercury the true first matter, 118;\n the matter of the philosophical stone a viscous water, 119;\n said to be Saturn, or lead, 124;\n is found everywhere, 136;\n may be discovered by studying the best books of the philosophers,\n 145\n\n Medicine--Properties of a universal medicine attributed to the Stone,\n 13;\n the Stone a medicine for metals and man, 32;\n life is prolonged by the stone, 123;\n application of the tincture as a medicine for the human body, 148\n\n Mercury--Identified with the supernatural, 11;\n obstacles to its discovery, 39;\n sophic mercury described by Avicenna, 52;\n mercury the water of metals, 129;\n a matchless treasure, 197\n\n Morien, 53\n\n Morning Star, 36\n\n\n New Birth, 11, 12\n\n Norton, Thomas, 130\n\n\n Obereit, John Hermann, 219\n\n One Thing Needful--The exaltation of the cognising faculty, 15\n\n Orizon \u00c6ternitatis, mystical term of Paracelsus, 36\n\n\n Palingenesis, 92\n\n Philalethes, Eiren\u00e6us, 187;\n on the Aqua Philosophorum, 22\n\n Picus de Mirandola, 136\n\n Psychic Chemistry--A Scheme of Absolute Reconstruction, 36;\n accomplished by the Divine Power in the Soul, 22;\n general observations on spiritual alchemistry, 32-37\n\n\n Regnauld, Brother, 63\n\n Rhasis, 46\n\n Richthausen, his transmutations with stolen powder, 183\n\n Ripley, George, 134;\n his description of the Stone, 41;\n supposed to have initiated Thomas Norton, 130\n\n Romance of the Rose, 90\n\n Rose Nobles, 82, 84, 86\n\n Rosicrucians--Had other alchemical objects than metallic\n transmutations, 36;\n the associates defended by Michael Maier, 160;\n initiation offered by the Rosicrucians to Sendivogius, 179\n\n\n Sendivogius, Michael, 175;\n \u201cThe New Light of Alchemy\u201d falsely ascribed to this neophyte, 21, 31\n\n Separation an alchemical process, 12, 17\n\n Sethon, Alexander, 171\n\n Son of the Sun, 37\n\n Sophistication of metals, 62\n\n Starkey, George, 165, 195, 197, &c.\n\n Stone of the Philosophers--Said to be a symbol of immortality, 13;\n analogous in its nature to the state of primeval man, 31;\n Transmutation accomplished by its means, 38;\n in appearance a subtle, brown, and opaque earth, 132;\n dark, disesteemed, and grey in colour, 165;\n the seed out of which gold and silver are generated, 201\n\n Subject of Alchemy--According to Hitchcock, 13;\n according to George Starkey, 24\n\n Suggestive inquiry concerning the Hermetic Mystery, 9, 14, 17, 24, 30,\n 34\n\n Sulphur (Sophic)--Said to symbolise Nature, 11;\n sophic sulphur and the conscience, 12;\n difficulties in its discovery, 39;\n described by Avicenna, 52\n\n\n Transmutation--Doubts as to the significance of the term, 9;\n identified with spiritual conversion, 13;\n the physical theory of Transmutation, 38, &c.;\n possibility of the fact, 33\n\n Transmutations performed by adepts and their emissaries, 84, 94, 106,\n 118, 133, 136, 148, 156, 167, 168, 177, 178, 181, 183, 184, 185,\n 196, 201-208, 212-216, 217, 218\n\n Tr\u00e9visan, Bernard, 124;\n honoured by Philalethes, 194\n\n Tschoudy, Baron, 39\n\n Typology--Possibility of an infinite variety of interpretations of any\n sequence of typology, 29\n\n\n Urbigerus--His alchemical aphorisms, 40\n\n\n Vase of the Philosophers--Identified with man, 14;\n its true nature unexplained by adepts, 41;\n described by Geber, 46\n\n Vaughan, Thomas, 187\n\n\n Wisdom Faculty, 15\n\n Wood of Life, 152\n\n\n Zachaire, Denis, 140\n\n\n_Turnbull & Spears, Printers, Edinburgh._\n\n\n\n\nPUBLISHED BY MR GEORGE REDWAY.\n\n\n_With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Historico-Symbolical Binding. 454 pp,\nprice 7s. 6d._\n\n =THE REAL HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS.= Founded on their own\n Manifestoes, and on Facts and Documents collected from the Writings of\n Initiated Brethren. By ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE.\n\n \u201cWe desire to speak of Mr Waite\u2019s work with the greatest respect on\n the points of honesty, impartiality, and sound scholarship. Mr Waite\n has given, for the first time, the documents with which Rosicrucianism\n has been connected _in extenso_.\u201d--_Literary World._\n\n \u201cThere is something mysterious and fascinating about the history of\n the Virgin Fraternity of the Rose.\u201d--_Saturday Review._\n\n \u201cA curious and interesting story of the doings of a mysterious\n association in times when people were more ready to believe in\n supernatural phenomena than the highly-educated, matter-of-fact people\n of to-day.\u201d--_Morning Post._\n\n\n_Crown 8vo, cloth, with Frontispiece, price 7s. 6d. Third Edition,\nrevised and enlarged._\n\n =MAGIC, WHITE AND BLACK; or, The Science of= Finite and Infinite\n Life, containing Practical Hints for Students of Occultism. By FRANZ\n HARTMANN, M.D.\n\n \u201cDr Hartmann\u2019s \u2018Magic,\u2019 as compared with \u2018Light on the Path,\u2019 is a\n bulky tome; and in its closely-printed pages students of occultism\n will find hints, \u2018practical\u2019 and otherwise, likely to be of great\n service to them in the pursuit of their studies and researches. It was\n not the author\u2019s \u2018object, in composing this book, to write merely a\n code of Ethics, and thereby to increase the already existing enormous\n mountain of unread moral precepts, but to assist the student of\n occultism in studying the elements of which his own soul is composed,\n and to learn to know his own physical organism. I want to give an\n impulse to the study of a science which may be called the \u201canatomy and\n physiology of the Soul,\u201d which investigates the elements of which the\n soul is composed, and the source from which man\u2019s desires and emotions\n spring.\u2019 Dr Hartmann\u2019s compendium is \u2018an attempt to show the way how\n man may become a co-operator of the Divine Power, whose product is\n Nature,\u2019 and his pages, as described by himself, \u2018constitute a book\n which may properly have the title of \u201cMagic,\u201d for if the readers\n succeed in practically following its teaching, they will be able to\n perform the greatest of all magical feats, the spiritual regeneration\n of Man.\u2019 Dr Hartmann\u2019s book has also gone into a third edition, and\n has developed from an insignificant pamphlet, \u2018written originally for\n the purpose of demonstrating to a few inexperienced inquirers that the\n study of the occult side of nature was not identical with the vile\n practices of sorcery,\u2019 into a compendious volume, comprising, we are\n willing to believe, the entire philosophic system of occultism. There\n are abundant evidences that the science of theosophy has made vast\n strides in public estimation of late years, and that those desirous\n of experimenting in this particular and in many respects fascinating,\n branch of ethics, have leaders whose teaching they can follow with\n satisfaction to themselves.\u201d--_Saturday Review._\n\n\n_Crown 8vo, Cloth, price 7s. 6d._\n\n =POSTHUMOUS HUMANITY; A Study of Phantoms.= By ADOLPHE D\u2019ASSIER,\n Member of the Bordeaux Academy of Sciences. Translated and Annotated\n by HENRY S. OLCOTT, President of the Theosophical Society. To which\n is added an Appendix shewing the Popular Beliefs current in India\n respecting the Post-mortem Vicissitudes of the Human Entity.\n\n _Truth_ says--\u201cIf you care for ghost stories, duly accredited,\n excellently told, and scientifically explained, you should read the\n translation by Colonel Olcott of M. Adolphe d\u2019Assier\u2019s \u2018Posthumous\n Humanity,\u2019 a study of phantoms. There is no dogmatism so dogged and\n offensive as that of the professed sceptic--of the scientific sceptic\n especially--who _ex vi termini_ ought to keep the doors of his mind\n hospitably open; and it is refreshing, therefore, to find such\n scientists as Wallace, Crookes, and M. d\u2019Assier, who is a Positivist,\n in the ranks of the Psychical Research host. For my own part, though\n I have attended the s\u00e9ance of a celebrated London medium, and there\n convinced myself beyond all doubt of his imposture, I no more think\n that the detection of a medium fraud disposes of the whole question\n of ghosts, &c., than that the detection of an atheist priest disposes\n of the whole question of Christianity. Whatever view you take of this\n controversy, however, I can promise you that you will find the book\n interesting at least if not convincing.\u201d\n\n\n_Pott 8vo, Cloth, Limp, price 1s. 6d._\n\n =LIGHT ON THE PATH. A Treatise written for the= Personal Use of those\n who are ignorant of the Eastern Wisdom, and who desire to enter within\n its influence. Written down by M. C., Fellow of the Theosophical\n Society. New Edition, with Notes, by the Author.\n\n \u201cSo far as we can gather from the mystic language in which it is\n couched, \u2018Light on the Path\u2019 is intended to guide the footsteps of\n those who have discarded the forms of religion while retaining the\n moral principle to its fullest extent. It is in harmony with much\n that was said by Socrates and Plato, although the author does not use\n the phraseology of those philosophers, but rather the language of\n Buddhism, easily understood by esoteric Buddhists, but difficult to\n grasp by those without the pale. \u2018Light on the Path\u2019 may, we think,\n be said to be the only attempt in this language and in this century\n to put practical occultism into words; and it may be added, by way of\n further explanation, that the character of Gautama Buddha, as shown in\n Sir Edwin Arnold\u2019s \u2018Light of Asia,\u2019 is the perfect type of the being\n who has reached the threshold of Divinity by this road. That it has\n reached a third edition speaks favourably for this _multum in parvo_\n of the science of occultism; and \u2018M. C.\u2019 may be expected to gather\n fresh laurels in future.\u201d--_Saturday Review._\n\n\n_Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6s._\n\n_A BIOGRAPHICAL ROMANCE._\n\n =A PROFESSOR OF ALCHEMY (Denis Zachaire).= By PERCY ROSS, Author of \u201cA\n Comedy without Laughter\u201d and \u201cA Misguidit Lassie.\u201d\n\n \u201cA clever story.... The hero is an alchemist who actually succeeds in\n manufacturing pure gold.\u201d--_Court Journal._\n\n \u201cShadowy and dream-like.\u201d--_Athen\u00e6um._\n\n \u201cAn interesting and pathetic picture.\u201d--_Literary World._\n\n \u201cThe story is utterly tragical, and is powerfully told.\u201d--_Westminster\n Review._\n\n \u201cA vivid picture of those bad old times.\u201d--_Knowledge._\n\n \u201cSure of a special circle of readers with congenial\n tastes.\u201d--_Graphic._\n\n \u201cThis is a story of love--of deep, undying, refining love--not without\n suggestions of Faust. The figure of Berengaria, his wife, is a noble\n and touching one, and her purity and sweetness stand out in beautiful\n relief from the gloom of the alchemist\u2019s laboratory and the horrors\n of the terrible Inquisition into whose hands she falls. The romance\n of the crucible, however, is not all permeated by sulphurous vapours\n and tinged with tartarean smoke. There is often a highly dramatic\n element.\u201d--_Glasgow Herald._\n\n\n_Demy 8vo, bevelled cloth, gilt, price 10s. 6d._\n\n =THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC: A Digest of the= Writings of Eliphas L\u00e9vi.\n With Biographical and Critical Essay, by ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE.\n\n _The Morning Post_ says:--\u201cOf the many remarkable men who have gained\n notoriety by their proficiency, real or imaginary, in the Black Arts,\n probably none presents a more strange and irreconcilable character\n than the French magician, Alphonse Louis Constant. Better known under\n the Jewish pseudonym of Eliphas L\u00e9vi Zahed, this enthusiastic student\n of forbidden art made some stir in France, and even in London, and was\n frequently consulted by those who were inclined to place some credit\n in his reputation as a magician. His works on magic are those of an\n undoubted genius, and divulge a philosophy beautiful in conception if\n totally opposed to common sense principles. There is so great a fund\n of learning and of attractive reasoning in these writings that Mr\n Arthur Waite has published a digest of them for the benefit of English\n readers. This gentleman has not attempted a literal translation in\n every case, but has arranged a volume which, while reproducing with\n sufficient accuracy a great portion of the more interesting works,\n affords an excellent idea of the scope of entire literary remains of\n an enthusiast for whom he entertains a profound admiration.\n\n \u201cWith regard to the contents of the present volume, there is nothing\n in it very suggestive of sulphur. No apprehension need be felt if\n the book be left about the house that the adventurous members of the\n family circle will commence incantations in mystic robes with the\n aid of Abracadabra, the Pentagram and incense. In fact, Eliphas over\n and over again sets his face against amateur attempts at magical\n practices. The reader may, however, with profit peruse carefully\n the learned dissertations penned by M. Constant upon the Hermetic\n art treated as a religion, a philosophy, and a natural science. As\n a religion, Eliphas holds it to be that of the ancient Magi and the\n initiates of all ages; as a philosophy its principles are traced\n in the Alexandrian school, and in the theories of Pythagoras; as a\n science, he indicates the methods to be ascertained from Paracelsus,\n Nicholas Flamel, and Raymond Lully. In view of the remarkable\n exhibitions of mesmeric influence and thought-reading which have\n recently been given, it is not improbable that the thoughtful reader\n may find a clue in the writings of this cultured and amiable magician\n to the secret of many of the manifestations of witchcraft that\n formerly struck wonder and terror into the hearts of simple folks\n eager to behold and ready to believe in supernatural powers.\u201d\n\n\n_Fcap. 8vo, cloth, price, including the pack of cards 78 in number, 5s._\n\n =FORTUNE-TELLING CARDS.--THE TAROT; Its= Occult Signification, Use in\n Fortune-Telling, and Method of Play, &c. By S. L. MACGREGOR MATHERS.\n\n \u201cThe designs of the twenty-one trump cards are extremely singular; in\n order to give some idea of the manner in which Mr Mather uses them in\n fortune-telling it is necessary to mention them in detail, together\n with the general signification which he attaches to each of them. The\n would-be cartomancer may then draw his own particular conclusions,\n and he will find considerable latitude for framing them in accordance\n with his predilections. It should further be mentioned that each of\n the cards when reversed conveys a meaning the contrary of its primary\n signification. No. 1 is the Bateleur or Juggler, called also Pagad;\n the latter designation is adduced by Count de Gebelin in proof of\n the Oriental origin of Tarots, it being derived from PAG, chief or\n master, and GAD, fortune. The Juggler symbolizes Will. 2. The High\n Priestess, or female Pope, represents Science, Wisdom, or Knowledge.\n 3. The Empress, is the symbol of Action or Initiative. 4. The Emperor,\n represents Realization or Development. 5. The Hierophant or Pope is\n the Symbol of Mercy and Beneficence. 6. The Lovers, signify Wise\n Disposition and Trials surmounted. 7. The Chariot, represents Triumph,\n Victory over Obstacles. 8. Themis or Justice, symbolizes Equilibrium\n and Justice. 9. The Hermit, denotes Prudence. 10. The Wheel of\n Fortune, represents Fortune, good or bad. 11. Fortitude, symbolizes\n Power or Might. 12. The Hanged Man--a man suspended head downwards\n by one leg--means Devotion, Self-Sacrifice. 13. Death, signifies\n Transformation or Change. 14. Temperance, typifies Combination. 15.\n The Devil, is the image of Fate or Fatality. 16. The Lightning-struck\n Tower, called also Maison-Dieu, shows Ruin, Disruption. 17. The Star,\n is the Emblem of Hope. 18. The Moon, symbolises Twilight, Deception,\n and Error. 19. The Sun, signifies Earthly Happiness. 20. The Last\n Judgment, means Renewal, Determination of a matter. 21. The Universe,\n represents Completion and Reward. 0. The Foolish Man, signifies\n Expiation or Wavering. Separate meanings, with their respective\n converses, are also attached to each of the other cards in the pack,\n so that when they have been dealt out and arranged in any of the\n combinations recommended by the author for purposes of divination, the\n inquirer has only to use this little volume as a dictionary in order\n to read his fate.\u201d--_Saturday Review._\n\n\nGEORGE REDWAY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nMinor errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed.\n\nInconsistent hyphenations have been maintained from the text.\n\nInconsistencies and errors in spelling have been maintained from\n the text.\n\nPlease note that small caps have been transformed into ALL CAPS\n in this text.\n\nPage 288: \u201cGuinaldi (J.)--Dell\u2019 Alchimia Opera. 4to. Palermo,\n 1645.\u201d placed in alphabetical order.\n\nCorrections related in the Preface by specific page and line refer to\nthe following corrections in the chapter on Eiren\u00e6us Philalethes:\n\n\u201csecrets in the year 1643\u201d was intended to read \u201csecrets in the year\n1645\u201d.\n\n\u201casserted to read _trigesimo anno_\u201d was intended to read \u201casserted to\nread _anno trigesimo tertio_\u201d.\n\n\u201cinstead of _vigesimo anno_\u201d was intended to read \u201cinstead of _anno\nvigesimo tertio_\u201d.","title":"Lives of alchemystical philosophers: To which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophy","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":95417}