Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians

COSMOLOGY
OR
Cabala. Universal Science. Alchemy.
CONTAINING
THE MYSTERIES OF THE
UNIVERSE,
REGARDING
GOD
NATURE MAN,
THE
Macrocosm and Microcosm
ETERNITY and TIME
EXPLAINED ACCORDING TO
THE RELIGION OF CHRIST
BY MEANS OF
THE SECRET SYMBOLS
OF THE
ROSICRUCIANS
OF THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES.

COPIED AND TRANSLATED FROM AN OLD GERMAN MANUSCRIPT, AND PROVIDED
WITH A DICTIONARY OF OCCULT TERMS
BY
FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D.

BOSTON
OCCULT PUBLISHING COMPANY
130 TREMONT STREET
1888.

PART I.

AUREUM SECULUM REDIVIVUM

or
The Ancient Golden Age,
which has disappeared from the Earth, but will reappear;
whose germ is beginning to sprout, and will bear blossom and fruit

by
HENCRICUS MADATHANUS THEOSOPHUS

Medicus & tandem, Dei gratia, aureæ crucis frater.

Translated from the German.

"If there is one among You who is deficient in wisdom, let him pray to the spirit of truth,
who comes to the simple-minded, but does not obtrude upon any one,
and he will surely obtain it." [Jacob. Epist. v. 5.]

SYMBOLUM AUTHORIS:

Centrum Mundi: Granum Fundi.

INTRODUCTION
(by the translator)

A FEW centuries ago the name "Rosicrucian" produced a great stir in the world. It suddenly and mysteriously appeared on the mental horizon, and as mysteriously disappeared again. The Rosicrucians were said to be a secret society of men possessing superhuman "if not supernatural" powers; they were said to be able to prophesy future events, to penetrate into the deepest mysteries of nature, to transform Iron, Copper, Lead, or Mercury into Gold, to prepare an Elixir of Life or Universal Panacea, by the use of which they could preserve their youth and manhood; and moreover it was believed that they could’ command the Elemental Spirits of Nature and knew the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, a substance which rendered him who possessed it all-powerful, immortal; and supremely wise.

Many historical facts seem to confirm the truth of such statements, and certain still-existing legal documents go to prove that gold on certain occasions has been indeed produced by artificial means, but the Rosicrudans always insisted that this art was only one of the most insignificant parts of their divine science, and that they possessed far more important secrets. Some of those people believed to be Rosicrucians coul.d heal the sick by the mere touch of their hands, or by means of some wonderful medicines, and they performed same extraordinary feats which equalled those recorded in the Christian Bib1e and in other sacred books and histories of ancient religions. Some were believed to have attained an age of several hundred years; some are believed to be still living upon this earth. The Rosicrucians themselves did not contradict such stories; on the contrary, they asserted that there were many occult laws and mysterious powers; of which mankind on the whole knew very little at those times, and which would for many centuries to come remain unknown to "science"; because all science is based upon the observation of facts, and facts must be perceived before they can be observed; but the spiritual powers of perception are not yet sufficiently among mankind as a whole to enable them to perceive spiritual things. They say that if our spiritual powers of perception were fully developed, we should see this universe peopled with other beings than ourselves, and of whose existence we know nothing at present. They say that we should then see this universe filled with things of life, whose beauty and sublimity surpass the most exalted imagination of man, and we should learn mysteries in comparison with which the art of making gold sinks into insignificance and becomes comparatively worthless. They speak of the inhabitants of the four kingdoms of nature, of Nymphs, Undines. Gnomes, Sylphs. Salamanders, and Fairies, as if they were people with whom they were most intimately acquainted, and as if they did not belong to the realm of the fable, but were living beings of an ethereal organization. too subtle to be perceived by our gross material senses; but living, conscious, and knowing, ready to serve and instruct man and to be instructed by him. They speak of Planetary Spirits who were formerly men. but who are now as far above human beings as the latter are above animals, and they seriously assert that if men knew the divine powers, which are dormant in their constitution, and were to pay attention to their development, instead of wasting all their life and energies upon the comparatively insignificant and trifling affairs of their short and transient extemal existence upon this earth. they might in time become like those planetary spirits or gods.

We are not in a position to demonstrate to what extent such assertions made by ancient and, modem Rosicrucians. are true, or whether those accounts have been exaggerated or misunderstood, nor would we expect to be believed if we were to put forward our testimony to strengthen a doctrine rejected by modern scientific authorities who have never seen anything but what can be seen by means of the external senses. We do not desire to dispute with those who are incapable of seeing in man more than an intellectual animal, who are extremely skeptical in regard to the existence of an invisib1e world within the visible one, but who are vain and credulous enough to believe that nothing can possibly exist of whose existence they know nothing; and that if anything spiritual or divine were to exist, in spite of their assertions to the contrary, they would have found it out long ago. We have no desire to quarrel with the learned about such matters: because the existence of the Unseen cannot be proved so long as it is invisible for them, and even the existence of the seen remains a mere matter of opinion and speculation for those who are blind.

What can a purely material science know about Spirit or about God? what can a science which deals merely with the details of the external phenomena of life know about the fundamental, invisible principles which are the external causes of the universal manifestations of life?

There were true and false "Rosicrucians" during the Middle Ages, as there are true and merely nominal "Christians" today. The Pseudo-Rosicrucians were very numerous; the true ones were seldom to be found. Some people believed to be Rosicrucians were imprisoned in dungeons and tortured, with a view to extract their secrets from them; but nothing was gained by such persecutions, because divine things cannot be revealed to him who has not tbe capacity to comprehend such revelations. No one can be taught how to employ spiritual powers which he does not possess, and no one possesses spiritual powers unless he becomes spiritual himself. No one can be taught to be a good artist or musician unless he possesses a natural talent for the exercise of such arts; no one can be taught how to exercise spiritual functions unless he possesses the organs required for them. As well might we attempt to instruct an animal how to use human speech, as to attempt to teach an unspiritual person to exercise spiritual powers and to become an A1chemist. Such attempts would always end with a failure; because the laws of nature are unchangeable, and no being can enter a higher state than that to which its nature is adapted. Intellectuality is not identical with Spirituality. but merely a product of spiritual activity in its incipient stage; only, when man has, outgrown his animality can his organization become a fit instrument for the exercise of divine powers and a proper temple for the habitation of God.

Although the ancient Rosicrucians were visible men, inhabiting mortal and visible bodies, nevertheless they were highly spiritually developed beings, in whom the occult powers, dormant in the constitution of all men, had become unfolded to such an extent that they could control the action of the universal principle of Life, and obtain power over certain secret forces in nature; and they were therefore able to perform deeds which must necessarily appear incredible or miraculous to those who do not possess such powers. This ignorance of the secret forces of nature is. the cause why all modern scientific and historical researches regarding the true nature of the Rosicrucians have been a failure; and their character and history is not understood merely because the true character and nature of that being which we call Man is not understood, nor his full history known.

What and who were the Rosicrucians? The question is ans’wered by the echo: What and who is Man? So long as we know nothing of man, except his external anatomy and physiology, we cannot hope to be able to judge about the sources of his emotional and intellectual functions, much less about the divine attributes which the real inner man — the regenerated spirit — possesses. If we want to know anything about the divine inner man, the consciousness of our own divinity must first become alive within ourselves, and we must attain self-knowledge; for man cannot actually know anything except that which exists within himself — all other learning is merely speculation, guesswork, belied and opinion.

A little reflection will prove the truth of this statement: If we look at any external objcct, say — for instance — a tree, we perceive nothing of it except the image which its reflection creates in our mind, consequently within our own selves. How, then, could we know anything about a thing which does not exist in our own mind, but in the mind of another. It is true that another person may give us a description which will enable us to form an image in our mind resembling, to a certain extent, the image in the mind of the other; but such an image is our own product; it is. merely our own creation which we have created with the help of aoother, and we therefore know nothing but that which we have ourselves created. Moreovcr, if, wc see, feel, smell. hear. or taste a thing, we know. for all that, nothing about it; all we know are the sensations which it produces on our organism. ami if our organization were different, the sensations received would be different. We therefore know nothing about the thing itself, but merely our relations to it. How, then, could we know anything about a thing to which we stand in no relation, or in a relation of which we are unconscious? This is an old philosophical doctrine, which is theoretical1y accepted by our scientists and philosophers, but which they are continually disregarding in practical life, because they have not yet fully awakened to a realization of its truth.

What we know about external things is therefore merely the re1ation in which we stand to their external appearance, while of the invisible powers, which are the causes of such external appearances, we know absolutely nothing; because they produce no impressions upon our minds, and are therefore non-existent within our own selves. It is true that we may employ our fallible intellectual powers and draw logical deductions in regard to the unknown, by reasoning from the basis of that which we imagine to know: but this is not true knowledge; it is merely speculation, theory, and opinion. Such theories and opinions may be true or false; they may be good enough until new discoveries are made, which overthrow them. and upon which new theories are built up, to be overthrown in time again by others. This is not the kind of knowledge upon which spiritual science is based. Real knowledge is the result of a direct perception and understanding of the truth, only when the truth exists within ourselves can we know it; and we can know it only by the knowledge of self.

The only things which modem science actually knows is the external nature, of things as they appear; but there are certain powers latent within the constitution of man, which, if they become developed, call a higher scale of internal senses into activity, which may enable him to receive spiritual impressions, and to hear, see, feel, taste, and smell things which far surpass the powers of perception of the external senses, and as the latter may be educated by use, likewise the former may be made more acute and receptive by practice.

All men possess this power of interior perception, to a certain extent; he who would deny this fact would deny his own reason; for “Reason” is the spiritual or intuitional perception of a truth; it is "Common Sense" whose decisions are frequently contradicting the logic of the calculating intellect. This power of Intuition, or, as we would define it, the Feeling of a truth, is, in the majority of men, merely in a rudimentary state, — an uncertain thing, a sensation easily overruled by the speculating intellect; but in him whose spirit has awakened to a consciousness of his divine existence, its light grows bright and its voice becomes strong, and it calls into life the inner senses by which man may see and perceive the beings and things existing in the realm of the Soul of the Universe and the inner causes of all external phenomena, and behold the beauties of a spiritual existence of which material science dares not even begin to dream.

Who can imagine or describe the glories and beauties of the Unseen? Living in a world of gross material forrns, we know nothing about the ethereal forms of Life which inhabit the immensity of space; we are prone to imagine that we know all that exists, but our reflection tells us that the infinite realm of the Unknown is as much greater than the realm of that which is known as the ocean is greater than a pebble lying upon its shore. Nature is one great living whole, and the spiritual power acting within her is omnipotent and eternal. He who desires to know Universal Nature and the Eternal Spirit, must rise above personal and temporal considerations, and look upon nature from the standpoint of the Eternal and Infinite. He must, so to say, step out of the shell of his limited and circumscribed personal consciousness, and rise up to the top of the mountain, from which he may enjoy a view of the wide expanse of the All. He who lives at the periphery sees only a part of the All; only from the centre of the circle can we survey the actions of light in all its directions as the beams radiate from the centre. Therefore, the Rosicrucians say that he who knows the One knows All, while he who believes to know many things, knows only the illusions of the shadow produced by the light of the One.

The small cannot embrace the great, the finite cannot conceive of tbe infinite; if men desire to know that which is immensely superior to their personal selves, they must step out of those selves and by the power of Love embrace the infinite All.

How many who crave for occult knowledge are willing to renounce that personal self, which is so dear to them, and around whose existence are centred all their hopes, cares, and affections? How many of those. who desire to be instructed in occult science are willing to accept and to realize practically the truth of the first doctrines of Occultism; namely, that the Universal Spirit is One. and that in him and by his power we live and have our being, and that we should love Wisdom above all, and all humanity, — yea, all living beings, — as if they were part of ourselves? Are not such and similar truths proclaimed every day from all pulpits in Christian and heathen countries, and are they understood, realized, and practically followed out by the hearers or by the preachers themselves? Or are they mere words, impressed upon the memory, listened to by the ear, but neither coming from the heart nor penetrating to it? Verily, if those truths were realized and practised the Golden Age would soon again appear upon the earth, and we should meet angels and saints, Adepts and Rosicrucians at every step.

This renunciation of one's own beloved personal self, with all its desires, theories, and intellectual speculations is the great stumbling-block in the way of the searchers after the truth, barring the way to the entrance of the light at the threshold of the soul. It is "the stone which the builders rejected, and which has become the head of the corner. Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will crush him". It is the one unavoidable and necessary condition for those who desire to obtain eternal life; for how could they partake of the consciousness of the Universal Spirit so long as they cling to the consciousness of being merely a very limited personality?

Upon the recognition of this truth are based all the fundamental doctrines of the religions of the world; it is the rock (Petra) upon which the universal spiritual church of humanity is built; it is allegorically represented in the Bhagavatd-Gita by the battle which Arjuna has to fight with his own personal Egos, to enahle him to become united to Krishna; it is represented by the Christian Cross adorned with the figure of a dying man; for it is not the Christ-principle which dies upon a cross, but the semi-animal self which must suffer and die so that the real man may rise into a glorious resurrection, and become united with the light of the Logos, — the Christ. It is not physical death which is represented in this beautiful allegory, but the mystic death, the death of personal desires, personal claims, and personal considerations. Physical death is a matter of little importance, so far as the spirit of man is concerned: it is merely one iof the many similar incidents which man has to experience during his eternal career; and physical man dies, is born, and dies again many times before he reaches that state in which he needs no more to be born and to die. The mystic death refers to the cessation of man’s existence as a separate and isolated being and his elevation into a higher state, preparatory to his entering into Nirvana.

To grasp this sublime idea, it wilI, above all, be necessary to form a correct conception of the true nature of Man. It is acknowledged by all except the most superficial observers, that the external form of man, whose anatomy we know, is not the real thinking and feeling inner mant but merely an external expression of the latter. What else can this inner man be but an invisible power, active within the physical form? This internal power, called the Spirit of Man, has established a centre of life in the heart and a. centre of thought in the brain; it sends the blood from the heart to all parts of the physical organism, and the light emanating from the brain radiates along the nerves and communicates thoughts to the most distant organs of sense. Unconsciously, but nevertheless effectively, the soul acts in the workshop called a human being, guiding the processes of life and building up a form in which the character of the spirit becomes expressed in each part of the external shape.

Man leads three different kinds of existence. Two of these states are known to all; the third is known only to those who possess the power of spiritual perception, and for all others it is merely a matter of speculation. The first state in which man exists as a personal human being is as a child in the womb of its mother. There he leads an almost merely negative existence, knowing nothing at all about the existence of the outer world, with its inhabitants, its life, light, and sound. Entombed in the womb of his mother he has nothing else to do but to grow. Even if he were able to think and to reason, a state of existence outside of that womb would be incomprehensible to him, because it is beyond his experience; and we might easily imagine a body of scientists in the fatal state holding a meeting, and by drawing logical deductions from what they know, proving scientifically and satisfactorily to each other that any other existence but that within the womb is a scientific impossibility, and a belief in it a deplorable delusion. At last, however, the great moment arrives; in spite of all scientific reasoning that child is born, and enters into a. new, and at first incomprehensible. existence. It is now surrounded by light and sound, which begin to attract its attention. Things which in its former state were of supreme importance for its welfare, — such as the placenta, the liquor amnii, the umbilical cord, etc., — are now of no importance whatever, and have become perfectly worthless. The new man begins to grow; he sees other beings beside his own self. which, like himself, seem to have a life of their own; he feels himself bodily separated from other forms; he feels bodily wants, pleasures, and pains, which are not shared by others; arid thus the illusion of self is created, and that self appears to be of supreme importance to him. All of mans thoughts, desires, and aspirations are now centred around that personal self. He studies how he may increase its pleasures and comforts, how he may keep it from suffering and prolong its existence. That which concerns his own self appears to him to be the only thing needful; that which concerns others, as a matter of secondary consideration, because he feels, knows, and enjoys only the existence of his own self.

Many human beings die before they have seen the light of the terrestrial world, or soon after they are born; many human beings die before they have gotten over the delusion of self, and awakened to a higher state of existence: comparatively few are born into the light of the eternal life in the spirit, by the process of spiritual regeneration. This spiritual state is as far superior to man's terrestrial existence as the latter is to his fatal state; and yet it is unknown to science and incomprehensible to the superficial reasoner. We cannot know what it is, so long as we have not experienced it; but we may, even by logical reasoning, convince ourselves that such a state exists.

If we study the processes by which the existence of external things, is brought to our inner consciousness, we easily understand that the mind of man is not a thing enclosed within the narrow limits of the physical man; but that while the consciousness of man is centred within his organization, the substance of mind must necessarily reach as far as man’s thoughts can reach. Occult science teaches that the spiritual power which constitutes the real man, and whose centre of activity is in the heart of man, whence it radjates to all parts of his organism, is a universal principle which fills, surrounds, and penetrates all things. Likewise the influence of the rays of the physical sun is manifest everywhere, penetrating into the seeds and germs of plants, and developing their forms according tp their individual characters. The sun, without leaving his place in the sky, acts by the influence of his. power within the forms of terrestriaI things, causing a tree to grow out of a kernel in which no such tree could possibly have been contained. Likewise the universal eternal power of the spiritual Sun of the Universe enters the heart of man, and may develop an immortal being.

A ray of spiritual light enters the heart and stimulates the higher elements of the soul into activity and life. It establishes — so to say — a centre of polarity in the soul, causing the spiritual germ to expand and live a higher life than that of which the physical man is conscious; to breathe a spiritual ether, too subtle to support the life of the animal souI, and to obtain a knowledge of spiritual truths, far surpassing the conception of mortals. The powers of the terrestrial sun enter the heart of a tree and cause the growth of branches and twigs, the development of flowers and fruits; they live even in the invisible odor which emanates from the trees, and which may perhaps be perceived even before we approach the latter. The powers of the celestial sun of grace enter the heart of man, and cause the: development of a soul whose activity extends far beyond the limits of the physical body.

Life, being a function of the eternal Spirit, causes the development of body and soul. It enables the physical organism to assume a shape resembling that of its parents, and adapted to the conditions in which it is destined to live; but when the physical form has attained its full development, spiritual activity does not cease. The physical body of man may have attained its apex of growth and its strength may begin to decline, and yet man may grow stronger in love and stronger in knowledge, and acquire more wisdom even during old age. It moreover seems that the development of the higher spiritual faculties is facilitated when the animal energies begin to decline; because the power which in a former state of growth was used to promote the development of the body can then be employed for the unfoldment of the soul. All this goes to prove that man's visible body is not the real man, but that the latter is an invisible power, which may grow even during terrestrial life into a being of great magnitude, while only the kernel — the physical body — is visible to the imperfect sensuous perceptions of mortals.

This, Light, being the Life and the Truth shining into the hearts of men, is the Christ, or Redeemer of mankind. It is universal, and there is no other redeemer; it is known to the wise of all nations, although they do not all call it by the same name; it existed in the beginning of creation, and will exist at its end; it is the flesh and blood, the substance and power, of the inner spiritual man, in his highest divine aspect.

For all we know, the inner man lives in his house — called the physical body — merely during the time when the latter is in a state of wakefulness and conscious of its external surroundings. When the external form is asleep, the inner man may be fully awake and live in a higher state, far more. appropriate to his nature and dignity; but when the physical man awakens again, it may remember nothing about the experiences of the spiritual self, because the latter is far superior to the former, and has a memory of its own. These assertions are not a mere matter of speculation, but known to all who have investigated the dual nature of man; and, moreover, there are certain conditions under which the invisible man may manifest his powers and tell us of his experiences during the sleep of the visible form; and such conditions are met with in cases of trance, somnambulism, and ecstasy.

Universal science teaches that man's spiritual and invisible self is a being far superior to man's visible and personal self, and that the former does not fully enter the latter, but may be looked upon as its guardian spirit, overshadowing it with his wings. This spiritual self lived before the physical body was born, and will continue to live when the latter is agaIn dissolved in the elements; it may have overshadowed many other personalities before it gave light and life to its present external expression; it may have inhabited many a house of flesh and blood, and taken from each its most precious jewels to ornament itself.

Such, indeed, is the ancient doctrine of reincarnation. It is taught by the religions of old, and was known to the Roskrucians of the Middle Ages. It teaches that only the higher self of man is immortal, and that he who desires to enter the eternal Life must strive to grow out of his lower animal self, and become able to unite his soul with his own spiritual Ego, or "Christ". He who succeeds in accomplishing this during his terrestrial life may even now share the superior life and the attributes of that higher existence, in which he may alternately become one with the supreme source of all Good, from which his spirit emanated in the beginning of time.

The Christian teachings, as well as the Brahminical books, whose origin dates from prehistorical times, all tell the same tale in various allegorical forms. They all say that original man, a pure spiritual being, emanated in the beginning from the eternal substance of Parabrahm. This celestial Adam was the Christ or the Word, existing with God and being God itself from all eternity. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." This spiritual Man was an expression of the Will and the Thought of God, and could therefore have no other thought and no other will but that of his eternal source. He was bisexual; that is to say, in him existed the male and female elements in a state of harmony before they became, in consequence of his differentiation in material forms, to a certain extent separated from each other. Gradually this divine Man was tempted by the illusions of his senses, which became more misleading as his organization grew to be more material. He began to think and to will in a manner deviating from the will and imagination of God; he "ate from the tree of knowledge" — he became material and sank into matter. The original spiritual power, constituting aboriginal Man, became differentiated into terrestrial men and women, embodied in material forms, subject to the sufferings caused by the influences of the elements and exposed to the vicissitudes of terrestrial life; and it is now the supreme object of man's existence upon this earth, by living up to the universal law, to subject and purify the animal elements existing in his constitution, to assume his former spiritual state of purity, and by bringing his thoughts and actions in perfect harmony with the will and imagination of God, to become reunited with the light of the Logos.

This fundamental truth forms the laws of all true religion, and all the principal religious systems upon this globe are founded upon this final unification with God. The wise men of all ages know of the birth of Christ, not of a man called "Christ", but of the divine Saviour, who may be born in every human heart. The Christ is the "Son of God", a ray of Light from the eternal spiritual sun of the universe, shining into the hearts of men, and growing up in the midst of the semi-material elements of man's organization. Nature produces the Christ. She is an eternal mother, for all forms are evolved from Nature, and all return again into her womb. Yet she is an ever immaculate virgin; for she has no connection with any external God; the fructifying power of the "Holy Ghost" lives and acts within her own centre.

These truths are as old as the world, and they had been known many thousands of years before the advent of modern Christianity. They have often been impressed upon mankind by great reformers and sages, and have been again forgotten by man. It is said that at certain periods, when mankind as a whole begins to forget the old truths, when religions become materialized by a forgetting of the secret signification of its symbols, and by a blind belief in external forms, taking the acscendancy over the true spiritual power of Faith, a new Avatar, or "Christ", appears upon this earth to refresh men's memory, and to teach anew the old truths by his word and by his example. For all we know, Jesus of Nazareth may have been such a reformer, penetrated by the light of the Logos. If the accounts given about him are true, he was a man filled with the divine spirit of Christ, and therefore a Christ himself, as every other man may be, if he succeeds in entering the light of the Christ. He was a man penetrated by divine power, a man in whose soul Divinity took a form, and therefore he was a god; and "likewise every other man in whom the same power grows into a form may be a god like Christ.

The duality of man in his material and spiritual aspect is universally recognized; it is a truth which forces itself continually upon the attention of every one who is able to think. The final union. of the divine elements existing in the organization of man, with the sum and substance of the divine elements existing in nature, is the truth upon which all reasonable religious teachings are based. All the principal religious systems take, however, only the two extreme views of man's existence into consideration; namely, the existence of man in a supreme spiritual state, being one and identical with God, as a a drop of water is one and identical with the the ocean, — although even in that state the drop, the individual man is conscious of existence in the whole, and enjoying a happiness of which we can form no conception: the other extreme is that rof man's existence upon this earth as a material corporeal being; that is to say, as a spirit, bound to an earth-formed material body which hampers the free movements of the spirit, and whose sensations, desires, and temptations continually tend to drag the real man still deeper down into animality and materiality.

But between these two extremes there are innumerable other forms of existence, in which man may lead a conscious life, free from the bonds of gross matter, living in do comparatively ethereal form, tinder higher and superior conditions than those to which he has been accustomed during his life upon the earth; in a world where his thoughts assume for him an objective reality, and where he enjoys happiness or suffers evil according to the nature of the spiritual forces which he has set in motion during his earthly career. As life exists in thousands of manifold forms upon this earth, likewise there may be thousands of manifold modes of existence in the spiritual state; as the number of suns appearing on the sky during a cloudless night is so great that, looked at from the standpoint of the Infmite, our little globe appears like an insignificant speck of dust in the universe of suns and revolving worlds; likewise the states of existence which man in a higher state may enter must be as numerous as his states upon this earth, and some of them may be so far superior to our present existence that the latter may indeed be looked upon as an exile or punishment for our sins; in other words, as the effect of evil Karma created by ourselves during some previous existence upon this earth. While terrestrial life lasts at best a hundred years, our life in the spiritual state may last for thousands of years before, by the law of Karma (the law of cause and effect on the moral plane), we shall again be forced to overshadow a newborn human being and to submit to a new incarnation.

Man is a dual being in one of his aspects; but in another aspect his nature is triune, while looked at from other points of view he appears under still more varied aspects. In his triune aspect he appears not merely as a trinity of Spirit, Soul, and Body, but this trinity exists on three different planes. The highest plane is the divine state in which man lives in the light of the Logos, and the light of the Logos in him. The lowest state is his semi-animal existence, in which he may be conscious of the light merely by feeling its presence in moments of deep meditation. Between these two states man exists as a spiritual, but not yet purely divine, power, leading a life as much superior to terrestrial man as the life of the latter is superior to that of a plant; and yet they have not yet entered or attained the highest state, in which all consciousness of separation and isolation ceases to exist, and where man becomes one with God.

The doctrines of the ancient Hermetic philosophers, and more recently the theories presented by Darwin, go to show how the universal principle of Life acting within primordial Matter continually evolves new and higher forms, so that, to speak in the language of the Rosicrucians, in the course of millions of ages "a stone becomes a plant, a plant an animal, an animal a man, and a man a god". Everywhere, in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdom, we sce innumerable gradations, of existence, without any hard lines of separation between them; or, if such lines are seen, it is because the "missing links" have been lost. Moreover, there are amphibious beings which are equally adapted to live in the air and in the water, in the earth and air, or in the earth and the water; and the same may be said about the Elementals, or Spirits of Nature.

As there are innumerable gradations of visible forms, likewise there are innumerable, gradations of invisible ones; and there are amphibious existences in the realm of the Universal Soul which may exist in two different states, — which may appear sometimes in visible forms, while at other times thay are invisible to us. There are beings on the Astral Plane which are only seen by those who have developed their inner senses to an extent sufficient to enable them to perceive such forms; but certain conditions may exist which may cause such ethereal forms to become more dense and material, so as to become perceptible even to the physical senses of man. The soul of man is such an amphibious being. His corporeal, external form is visible, his spirit is invisible to the eye; but the soul which connects spirit and body, may live in or out of the body; and while as a rule it is invisible to us, still its ethereal shape may, under certain conditions, become dense enough to be visible, and even tangible, to mortals.

To fully grasp this idea, it will be necessary that we should rise above the opinions and prejudices which a reliance upon the impressions produced by the illusions of the senses have created within the sphere of our mind. We should keep sight of the fact that the whole of the universe, with all its forms, is nothing else but materialized and visible thought; that is to say, images which existed subjectively within the imagination of the Great First Cause, and have been thrown into objectivity by its own will. If our organization were sufficiently ethereal, we should, perhaps, not be aware of the existence of gross matter; but we would see the souls of men, animals, plants, and minerals, and we should be able to see a thought as soon as it had become formed in the mind of a human being.

The majority of people whose minds have not become perverted by the insane doctrines of a false and superficial science, or by the superstitious doctrines presented by modern priestcraft under the guise of religion, believe that the above-described spiritual condition of man is one into which they will enter after the hand of death has dissolved the bonds which chain the spirit to its earthly tabernacle; but occult science proves that such condition may be arrived at even during terrestrial life. Moreover, if we desire to continue to exist in a high spiritual state after the death of the physical body, we should attempt to enter that state even during our terrestrial life; for "death" is merely a throwing off of that which has become useless: it can work no miracles, nor endow us with any attributes which we have not legitimately attained by our own evolution while in the physical state.

The true Brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross were men who had attained that state. Their existence is as well proved as any other fact in history; but their true nature can be known only to him who has become like them. Such persons have existed at various times, and they exist now; we may read of such persons in the sacred books of the East, in the lives of the Christian saints and in mediæval and modern occult literature. Being spiritual themselves, those Adepts are able to see and to converse with other spiritual beings, being as much acquainted with the world of invisible causes as with the world of external effects: they are able to guide and control the processes of life by which matter is cbanged and transformed; having gained spiritual life, they have found the Universal Panacea which cures an ills — appertaining to a lower state of existence — standing upon the rock of the true living Faith — meaning the direct spiritual perception and knowledge of causes and effects — they have come into the possession of the Philosopher's Stone, which lifts them above the region of doubt, and establishes within their own hearts the Cube of Life, the corner-stone of the temple of Wisdom.

What is to hinder a man who has acquired the consciousness and knowledge of being a spiritual power, independent of a material organization, to leave his house of flesh and blood at will whenever he chooses, and to re-enter it again whenever it is necessary to do so? Consciousness is realization of a state of existence, and man cannot become conscious of being that which he is not; he must first become spiritual before he can know that he is a spiritual being: to imagine to be something which one is not would merely be an idle assumption. If man has once become spiritual, he will perceive the existence of other spiritual beings like himself, and of those which are inferior to him. He will then be comparable to an amphibious being, — able to live upon the earth, or to dive into the etemal ocean of Spirit.

Such beings are still men, and it must not be supposed that even in their spiritual state they have neither form nor organization, or that they were, like a breath of air, without form and consciousness. No thought is possible without an organized mind, no function can be exercised without organs of some kind; form is an external expression of internal attributes, and wherever exists a character, there exists a form in which it finds its expression. The superior character of spiritual beings finds its, expression in divine and ethereal forms: Will, Imagination, and Expression in Form are the trinity which forms the basis of all existence in the visible and invisible universe.

Such beings, while in their spiritual state, are independent of the conditions of space and time as we conceive of them; "matter" to them is not impenetrable: they can see into the hearts of men and read their innermost thoughts; in their human state they are like other men, and subject to human conditions. Thus they lead two different kinds of existence, — as men upon the earth and as angels in heaven; and when deatb destroys their physical bodies, it will be a matter of little importance to them, for it will merely destroy that which they do not need, and which they have learned to do without and to care no more for than a man would care for his warm winter-coat when the summer appears. This divine state may, perhaps, be attained by all after untold ages, and in the slow progress of human evolution; but to enter it now requires efforts, and all efforts to be effective. must be well directed and based upon a true knowledge of the nature, the origint and final destiny of man. Theory without practice avails little; but to make practice available, it should be preceded by a correct theory, the true religiont the science of Universal Life.

How can we expect that a man grown up in the midst of scientific misrepresentations and erroneous theological dogmas, fed with prejudices and superstitions, should be able to comprehend and realize such exalted truths? True religion and vile priestcraft are so inextricably mixed up together, at present, that it is almost impossible for average man to distinguish between the two. If the truths of Christianity are taught, those who cannot discriminate between the true and the false will accept at once the superstitions which clerical ignorance and assumption have mixed with the former, or they will reject the true with the false. If the idolatry and superstitions of modem churchmen are exposed, those who cannot think deeply will reject all religion, and instead of seeing the truth, they will sink still deeper into the mire of materialism. Animals cannot be reasoned with; they can only be ruled by love or by fear; but the great majority of men are still too much surrounded oy their own animal elements to be able to see the truth even if it is shown to them; and until they become amenable to reason, the existence of priestcraft wil; be a necessary evil to them. But when will priests and clergymen awaken to a comprehension of the mysteries of the religion which they teach, and begin to show the people the truth, instead of cIamoring for a belief in fables and of a literal acceptance of allegories? They will not arrive at that state until they, too, succeed in vanquishing the selfish propensities of their own animal natures, and rise up to the conception of. the true and universal God, whose temple is man, and who needs no deputies or representatives upon the earth to make his will known to each individual man. They will not know the truth until they become true servants of the God of Humanity, instead of being merely servants of their churches, whose energies are employed to serve the temporal benefits of the latter.

The theory of modem Christianity is not in harmony with its practice: in our modern churches theory and practice contradict each other at every step. The true spiritual church of the living Christ is built upon the rock of the living Faith, a power by which spiritual truths are recognized; but the modern church is based upon popular ignorance regarding the laws of existence, and held togetber by selfish and personal considerations. According to the Bible, God is a universal Spirit, and can be approached only through the Light of the Christ; but modern church-practice makes of God the caricature of a man, and of the priest an unavoidable medium for communication with him. To the mind of the vulgar, a faith in God is something which is far beyond the powers of their comprehension, while a belief in the priest is of supreme importance; for the former is ever unapproachable, while the latter can be approached. Such misconceptions are suffered to continue, because they advance the temporal interests of the church. God is dethroned from his seat and his place is occupied by the priest; and thus the "Beast of Babylon" will sit upon the throne until the strong arm of awakened reason will throw it down and divine justice send it down to the "bottomless pit".

When man ceases to be a child and begins to think, the truth that to live cannot be the true object of life forces itself upon his mind. He asks the great question: "Who am I; and what is the object of my existence?" and he expects his parents or teachers to answer. To give the correct answer to these questions should pe the principal object of religious or scientific education. How do modern science and religion answer bim? The former teaches him all about his external form, its anatomy, physiology, and of his relations to his external surroundings; but this is not all the knowledge he wants. He knows that the external body will die, and to know the conditions. of its short existence is merely a small and comparatively insignificant part of that great science which deals with tbe inner spiritual man, who may live for millions of years, or be forever immortal. Man wants to know something definite about his own spiritual self, and about the conditions under which that self may exist independent of its physical form. Science remains mute, or treats his questions with derision and conternpt. He therefore turns to religion, and religion answers — but what is her answer?

Some two hundred and fifty Christian sects — with perhaps a greater number of not-Christian ones — tell him the most contradictory things, nearly all of their statements being opposed to each other. They give no positive proofs for their statements, nor any intelligible reasons for their beliefs; but each sect claims to possess the truth, and some of them go so far as to condemn to eternal punishment cvery one who does not accept their opinions. Their beliefs usually refer to some historical event, said to have taken place many centuries ago, and about which no reliable historical documents exist; or they refer to the interpretation of certain passages in some books, which may be interpreted in various ways. Thus the seeker after the truth who expects to obtain it by means of external information, is driven from one port to another, like a ship without a rudder blown about by contrary winds. There are many who at last stifle the voice of reason which speaks in their heart, accept some form of belief, and persuade themselves that thereby they will attain the salvation they coveted; many others, in whom the intellectual element is more dominant, conclude that the truth cannot be found, and must remain forever unknown. They cease to inquire, or they adopt the superstitions of superficial materialistic reasoners, and of those mariy henceforth cease to care for anything but for their own personal self and its temporal acquisitions.

But the true searcher after the truth will not remain satisfied so long as the unknown exists. Having examined the various altars and not found the true God, he at last approaches the altar of the unknown God, around which nothing but darkness exists. But in the centre of his own heart there burns a divine fire; and lighting the lamp of his intellect at this divine fire of Reason, he begins to see the truth, and finds it far more sublime than he ever dared to hope. Not in books or in religious doctrines of any kind can the truth be found, nor in intellectual speculations. If we desire to know the truth, we must permit it to enter our heart, so that it may become a part of ourselves. Then by the power of self-knowledge we may see the truth in its own light; we may feel it and see it and know what it is.

If we learn only one religious system and blindly accept its doctrines, we are easily misled into a belief that this system alone contains all the truth; but if by the light of reason we examine the various religious systems of the world, study their symbols and allegories and their secret meaning, comparing the various doctrines with each other, we will soon find that they all have one grand fundamental truth, of whose existence the greater number of the keepers of these religions are ignorant, or whose sublimity, even if they teach it, they do not realize: namely, the One-ness of Nature and the divine eternal Spirit within.

Oh, how far greater than the god of the churches is the God of the Universe! He is not a limited being to be coaxed and persuaded by priests, but an eternal power, unchangeable as the Law. The god of the churches is a bugbear whom the people cannot really love, because they are taught to be afraid of him; the God of humanity is the eternal power of Love, the source of all being, whose image exists in the heart of the pure, whose nature is Fire, whose rays are the Light of Intelligence and the principle of immortal Life. There are thousands of nominal Christians living a life of sensuousness and selfishness, hoping to be able to cheat the god of their church at the end of their days and to obtain salvation from him in spite of their sins; but the universal God creates within the heart of each man his own judge, who cannot be persuaded by words, but who reads the innermost thoughts and judges each man according to his true merits.

Universal religion is based upon the recognition of the truth that all humanity is one and that we should always be guided in our actions by our considerations for the welfare of all, in preference to all personal considerations. Sectarianism, on the other hand, appeals to men's selfish desires, either in regard to this life or in regard to the dread hereafter. It teaches them tha.t they should seek above all salvation for their own selves; the salvation of others is a matter of secondary consideration. The real, sectarian bigot would be ready to annihilate the world, if he could thereby evade the death of his person or prolong the existence of the latter. Likewise the scientific bigot would be glad to destroy the truth, if he could thereby save from perdition the artificial system of theories which he has laboriously constructed. Modern science and modern religion teach that personal happiness, either in this or a future existence, is the great desideratum; occult science teaches that Humanity is a whole, that the personal man is merely a transient illusion, and that permanent happiness cannot be obtained until that illusion of self is destroyed.

The truth of the latter doctrine is self-evident, as may he seen, if we observe the daily life of man. The more a man is thinking of his own self, the more unhappy and discontented will he grow; the more he forgets his own self, the happier will he be. Why do the people run after pleasures and pastimes, why do they love intoxicating drinks, music and shows, theatrical performances and sensuous distractions of all kinds, if not because during such moments they are able to forget their own selves? Men do not become unconscious or die as soon as they cease to think of their own selves; but their souls expand on such occasjons beyond the limits of the prison-house of material day, and they enjoy for a short period a superior form of existence. Sensuous pleasures, however, convey no permanent happiness; they are not lasting, and are often followed by reactions which are injurious and become the causes of suffering.

Sensuous man lives in the impressions which external objects produce upon his senses; intellectual man lives in a world of thought of which his brain is the creator and which is real to him; spiritual man lives in a spiritual world of beauty which the divinity in his heart has created for him and which is the image of heaven. The animal is happy if its physical wants are supplied; for it knows no other but the sensuous world; and if everything in that world relating to the animal is in harmony, then that world is in harmony with itself. In merely intellectual man, filled with an erroneous conception of the importance of his own personality, the world of thought which he has created for himself is not in harmony with the outer world. Such a person has continually something to .desire; he sees things, not as they are, but as he imagines them to be. In spiritual man the world of thought and the world of will are in exact harmony; he recognizes the truth and sees the things as they are, without personal consideration. Looking at the world, not from a personal standpoint and without considering himself as something separated and isolated from other beings, he recognizes the action of universal laws by the power of his enlarged perception.

Here we may be permitted to add a few words of explanation for those who are not sufficiently acquainted with the doctrines of occult science to understand what we mean. Life, Consciousness, and Sensation are not — as a superficial "science" is prone to believe — products of the physical organization of man; but they are states or functions of that universal principle which men call "God", and which become manifest in the forms of terrestrial beings. All the forms ol Life in the Universe may be looked upon as peing manifestations of the One and Universal Principle of Life in various forms; the whole of the Cosmos, being a product of the Universal Mind, may be regarded as universal, absolute consciousness becoming relative in separate forms. The universal consciousness of the Universal Mind forms spiritual centres of consciousness in living beings, whereby each being may feel and know its surroundings; and as the kind of living beings expands, their consciousness and power of sensation and perception expand with it; for all their powers belong to the mind. and not to tbe body: the latter without the mind is merely a form without life. Wherever a man's consciousness exists, there exists the real man. As long as man's consciousness is centred within the animal principles of his organization, he will merely be conscious of being an animal, and he will live in the sphere of his sensual emotions. If a man's consciousness is entirely centred in his brain, he will live in a world of speculation and ideas; if a man's consciousness becomes established within the divine elements of his soul, it will expand with his soul and lift him up into the higher regions of thought, where he becomes unconscious of being in a state of limitation and lives in a higher condition of existence, incomprehensible to those who have never experienced it. Such a state of existence, without consciousness of one's own personality, is described by the apostle Paul, who was "caught up" into such a state, and the same condition is known to the Indian saints, who give it the name Samadhi.

In the final renunciation of one's own personal Self consists the victory over death and the resurrection of the spirit; it is the mystic death, represented by the Christian Cross, a symbol known thousands of years before the advent of modern Christianity upon this earth. The symbol of the Cross is seen everywhere in Christian countries, upon the spires of the churches, in chapels and dwellings, and by the roadside; but to the great majority of priests and laymen it is nothing else but a memento, to call up the memory of an event said to have taken place nearly 2000 years ago in Palestine, on which occasion a perfect and divine man was executed like a criminal, falling a victim to the ignorance of the clergy and the vanity of the Pharisees of his time. A belief in the actuality of this occurrence, by which God is said to have become reconciled to man, is held among the Christians to be of supreme importance for one's future salvation; although no intelligible reason is given to show that God was ever angry with Man and that any such reconciliation was necessary; nor is it explained why a certain opinion in regard to an event of which we cannot possibly know by experience, should be necessary. to attain the eternal life of the spirit. Those, however, whose eyes are not blinded by dogmas and who have compared the allegories of the Christian religion with the allegories of the Eastern religions know that — whether the historical account of the crucifixion of Christ has actually taken place as recorded, or whether it is purely symbolical, the symbol of the Cross has a far deeper and far more sublime secret signification. It represents an episode in the history of every one who has become a Christ; it is the symbol of spiritual regeneration, through which all have to pass who desire to enter into the divine state of existence. In the mind of the superficial thinker the Cross is a token of torture and death; in the conception of the enlightened it is a symbol of victory over self, of triumph, and the beginning of immortal life. Rivers of blood have been caused to flow and millions of human beings have been murdered in the attempts made by professed "Christians" to force all the nations of the world to adopt or profess a certain opinion — such as was authorized by the Roman Catholic Church — in regard to a certain historical event concerning the life and death of a man who taught that the fundamental doctrine of his religion was universal love and benevolence! To those murderers "in the name of Christ" the Cross was a symbol of pillage, destruction, and robbery, and there was no crime too villanous not to be permissible if perpetrated under the banner of the Cross. The Cross of religious bigotry ruled at the autos da fé of the church and sanctioned the burning of living victims; it filled the dungeons of the Holy Inquisition and inspired the villanies committed in the chambers of torture.

The Christ who lives in humanity shudders, if he thinks of all the horrible crimes which bave been perpetrated in his name by those who misunderstood his true nature. Could such things have been possible if the "believers in Christ" had understood the true signification of the Cross, instead of merely clinging to the external form? Could sectarian intolerance exist to-day, if the real meaning of the Cross were understood by the priests? Could the Christ-spirit of the nineteenth century, the spirit of truth, have been insulted by the dogmas of Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility, if the selfstyled deputies of Christ knew their own Master? All the religious bigotry, intolerance, superstition, and degradation in Christian countries finds its root and cause in a misunderstanding of the doctrines which they profess to believe. Our legally appointed guardians of the truth, like the Pharisees of old, do not know the truth; they talk about it, but their practice does not harmonize with their theories. The truth is so beautiful that he who has succeeded in knowing it will practise it and cling to it forever.

Let him who desires to feel and to know the true meaning of the Cross step out of the gloomy temples where terror and fear, ignorance and priestcraft, have established their throne, and let him worship the true living God, the light and Holy Ghost pervading all nature, the source of all life from man down to the insect, yea, even to the spark of life slumbering in a stone; the source of all glory and power, knowledge and wisdom, love and harmony; whose activity is manifest everywhere, and whose image should be seen in every human heart. Let him leave priests and monks to their psalmodies and to the contemplation of a dread hereafter, which they have often just cause to fear, and let him enter the Living Light which makes even the external material world resplendent with beauty. Let him step out of the musty libraries of our speculative and superficial science and study the book of nature in the light of the latter. Let him brush away the cobwebs which have accumulated in his own chamber; so that the light of truth may enter the windows of his soul and melt the icy crust around his heart and cause him to realize the sublimity and majesty of the God of both Christians and Heathens, the God of the Universet whom no one can approach. but whose nature may be known in the manifestation of his power which evolved the Cosmos.

Who can know a thing which he has never seen? Who is legitimately entitled to speak as an authority aoout things which are beyond his own comprehension? Who can be the legitjrnate keeper of truths which are beyond his mental horizon and of whkh he knows nothing? Only he who has grown to be divine — not he who has merely assumed that title — can know divine things; only he who has stepped out of the bonds of matter and become spiritual can know the things of the spirit. Only he whose internal senses are open is able to see and converse with the beings of the superterrestrial plane. Men talk and dogmatize about the attributes of God, as if they were well acquainted with him; they sermonize about Love and Charity, Faith and Wisdomt without understanding practically the meaning of thesse terms. Who can know what Love is but he who has loved? Who can know Wisdom but he who is wise? Who can know the Truth but he in whom the Truth dwelleth? Who can know God, but he who has identified his own soul with him?

Man is originally a son of God. If he wants to know the Father, he must return to his original divine state and become a Christ, full of the Holy Ghost, the Light of the Logos. He is a child of eternally immaculate Nature; if he wants to know his mother, he must enter into perfect harmony with her and become natural. How can man know Nature as she is so long as he is himself unnatural and imagines her to be otherwise than she is? How can he understand Nature so long as he does not let her light enter his heart, but looks merely at his own unnatural misconceptioos regarding her and which he has himself created in his mind? Before man can develop any spiritual powers he must first re-establish harmonious relations between himself and universal Nature; only when he has become natural can he expect to grow spiritual and to be able to obtain command over the divine powers of his mother. True natural science is therefore the basis of all true religion; but to obtain a true knowledge of Nature we must study her as she is, not as she has been represented by those who are continually misrepresenting her, and who know nothing about her except some of her external forms.

To know Nature as she is, and not as she is supposed to be by others, we must free our mind of all the prejudices and misconceptions which have become established therein by a merely superficial science and by a dogmatic theology based upon an entire misconception of the true nature of man. We must free our mind from the noxious influences arising from the animal element; existing within our own soul, so that our understanding will become clear and the light of truth may shine through the pure atmosphere of our own internal heaven without any clouds obstructing its way. We must become One with Nature and One with the Truth, and by the knowledge of Self we will then know the Truth and have the powers or Nature at our command.

It is one of the fundamental truths of occult science that individual man is an image of Nature. His constitution is based upon the same laws upon which Nature as a whole is constructed, and as, a child resembles its mother; likewise man's organism resembles universal nature in everything but the external form. He is a Microcosm of the Macrocosm of nature; containing within himself, either germinally, potentially, or actively, all the powers and principles, substances and forces contained within the great organism of nature, and moreover the great and the little world continually act and react upon each other; the elementary forces of nature act upon man, and the forces emanating from man — even his thoughts — react again upon nature; and the more harmony there exists between man and the laws of universal nature, the more intimate will be the connection between the two: for the two are actually only one, the fact of their appearing to be two being merely an illusion which has been caused by man's contravention of the laws of Nature, and by his consequent falling into an unnatural state. Let man again become a true child of Nature, and of one mind with his mother, and he will know all nature by knowing himself. He will then be like the lost son mentioned in the Bible, who returns again to the house of his father and has his natural birthright and inheritance restored to him. Let him establish the throne whereon the truth may reside within his own beart, and he will know the truth without the study of books and without theoretical speculation.

In the Secret Symbols of fhe Rosicrucrians the science of Nature as a whole, with an the invisible powers living and acting therein, have been laid down, as it appeared to. those great and wise men who were in harmony with Nature and able to read her in her own light. Those symbols are easily comprehended by him who finds the key to their understanding within his own heart; but to all others they will be unintelligible. because they will see merely their external forms and cannot enter their spirit. As the body of a man is a thing without life, after the life-principle which acted therein has deserted it, likewise these symbols of old are things without life unless they become again alive within our own selves. Modern misconceptions and misinterpretations have built a wall around the Temple of Truth, through which we must break before we can enter the latter; but if an opening has once been made in the wall through which the light may shine, then those symbols will serve us as guides and help us to understand the truths which we feel and see withjn our own selves; and without such an interior perception true understanding is impossible, and we must remain in the field of mere theory and speculation.

Our present age is eminently given to intelIectuaI and theoretical spcculation; while even the meaning of the term "Wisdom", i.e. that knowledge which one can only find at the bottom of one’s own heart, has been lost. In our age things arc done in haste and in hurry, and they are done in a vcry superficial manner if religious truths are concerned. We now travel at the rate of sixty miles an hour to a distance which it took our ancestors weeks or months to reach; but while our forefathers learned to know the country through which they travelled, in all its details, its mountains and valleys, forests and lakes, with us the scenery seems to fly past our vision as we rush ahead with the giant power of steam, and we remember finally hardly more than a few prominent points of what we have seen, or perhaps only a few insignificant details which happened to attract our attention. Likewise, our present civilization reads as it runs. and forgets while it is running; a few unimportant details sometimes attract our attention, but the sublimity of the truth is not grasped because we have not yet grown mentally big enough to grasp the whole. Superficial observations are impressed upon our memory and fade again away; only that which reaches the heart, the seat of life, can obtain life. Only that which is known by the heart constitutes true knowledge.

We are taught by a superficial science to look upon nature as a compendium of dead things in which, in some incomprehensible manner, life is produced by means of mechanical motion, the origin of the latter being equally incomprehensible. Thus material science teaches that something can be produced out of nothing; i.e. that a power can be produced out of a thing in which it does not exist. Judging from her very inadequate and superficial standpoint of observation, she teaches that Life is a product of organization, and of the cause of organization she can give no explanation whatever. She believes to know all about "Matter" and yet she knows absolutely nothing about it, except its outward manifestation.

We are taught by occult and universal science to look upon the universe as a manifestation of thought, consequently of Consciousness and Life. We are taught by Wisdom, that God and Life, Truth and Power, are One, manifesting itself in various forms according to the capacity of the latter, and that man — even the most learned — is himself nothing more than an instrument through which the good or evil powers existing in nature may find their expression.

What becomes of all our scientific and theological self-conceit, of our boasted power and knowledge, if we once fully realize the fact that man is nothing, knows nothing, and has no power of his own, but that all he imagines to have belongs to the universal God, and that he is merely an instrument in which the truth may find its expression or in which it may be misrepresented? No man has a life of his own. The life whjch he cans his own is merely lent to him puring his short appearance upon this earth and must be returned to Nature. It is drawn from the universal storehouse of Life and taken away from him when he disappears from the stage. How little and insignificant is personal man upon this globe, and how great and sublime the majesty of the divine power which manifests itself in Nature, and which may produce its highest manifestation of wisdom and power in Man, if the latter becomes a fit instrument for such manifestations! How small, absurd, and ridiculous appear the disputations of our learned doctors of divinity and philosophy, with all their petty dogmatism and theories, if compared with the supreme Wisdom which the divine element in man may experience if it once becomes self-conscious of its own divinity in the organism of Man! There is only one Truth, and no one can know it except he in whom the truth lives and who thus becomes an instrument or mirror in which the truth recognizes itself. There is only one true Knowledge and only one Knower, and he who desires to obtain true knowledge must become one with the supreme Knower of all. He will then be a magic instrument by means of which the God within knows his own self. The science which deals with the illusions of life is itself illusive, and it is of no value except so long as life’s illusions last. It is accessible to the evil disposed as well as to the good, and often those who are the most evil at heart are the most learned and cunning; but the understanding of the fundamental laws of nature, the science of eternal life, is only attainable by a union with the Supreme. The illusions of life may be seen in the light of external nature; but eternal verities can only be seen when the Light of the Logos illuminates the mind.

To know the things which belong to the higher regions of thought, we must be able to rise ourselves to those regions; and as there are few who have the power to do so, the consequence is, that as soon as we begin to speak of such things, misunderstandings arise. Nearly all the theologjcal and philosophical quarrels and disputes among men arise from a misunderstanding of the meaning of terms. So long as men speak of things which can be perceived by the external senses, and which therefore come withir everybody's experience, human language is sufficient to enable men to convey their ideas to each other; but when they attempt to build the tower of their ideas into the higher regions of thought, and to speak of things which are beyond the grasp of their intellectual comprehension and beyond their experience, then the Babylonian confusion begins, because each man forms a conception of his own regarding such things differing from the conception of others; and while all use the same words yet every one interprets its meaning in a different way. Thus it oftens happens that two persons who are of the same opinion) nevertheless dispute with each othert merely because they differ in their application of terms. Each one denounces the conception of the other as wrong, merely because he himself has formed a wrong conception of what the other believes. It appears therefore, above all, necessary that if we speak of occult or transcendental matters we should exactly define the meanings of the terms which we desire to use, and we have therefore attempted to give such definitions at the end of this chapter, well knowing that such an attempt will be incomplete, as no amount of logical reasoning can supply the place of the divine power of Intuition.

The cultivation of the spiritual power of Intuition is the foremost requirement for the attainment of spiritual knowledge. Intuition is Reason pure and unadulterated by any selfish considerations or speculations. It is the power of the Holy Ghost, the Light of Truth, which shines in the hearts of men. It is a power which is felt in the heart, and if it is cultivated and becomes deve1oped, it grows into a sun which illuminates the whole of the interior man. It has nothing to do with intellectual speculation and logical deduction, which in our modem times are mistaken for Reason; for the Intellect is merely a reflection of the light of Reason; it is like the Moon which receives her light from the Sun, and which would become dark if the light of the sun were to cease to shine. Man's theories and speculations are his own inventions, but intuition is not invented by man, nor can a man by his own power make himself more intuitional than he is; it is a light from the divine Sun of Grace which descends upon the earth as the rain descends from the clouds.

A bird cannot fly higher than its wings will carry it; a vessel cannot hold more than what it is capab1e of holding; a man cannot see more than what his organism and means will enable him to see. We have no right to blame the representatives of modern Christianity for not being able to see the true significance of their own symbols, but we advise them not wilfully to shut their eyes to the light of truth when the truth seeks to enter their hearts. We advise them to pay more attention to their own eternal welfare than to the temporal interests of their churches, and to practise the truth which they profess to teach.

The symbols of the ancient Hermetic philosophers have been adopted by the modern Christian church. Many of these symbols have existed from immemorial times, although perhaps the names employed to signify the character of the principles which they represent have been changed many times. The Roman Catholic churches are filled with symbols which were known to the ancient Egyptians, to the still older Brahmins, and perhaps to the inhabitants of the ancient Atlantis, whose history fades away in the night of the forgotten past. Priests and laymen bow reverentially before those signs; because they are taught to do so and because they consider them as historical mementos of the death of Jesus of Nazareth.

The modern skeptic treats those signs with contempt. How could he reasonably do otherwise? for the conceptions which he has formed about them in his own mind are absurd and childish. and moreover they remind him of the days of “religious” persecution and into1erance. Little does the Christian or the skeptic know about the true significance of these symbols; for their real meaning has never been taught them. We do not know of a single book issued by any modern Christian authority giving their true explanation. Their secret meaning was known to the ancient Initiates into the Mysteries; but the modern keepers of these symbols have lost the key to their understanding and know little more about them than their external forms.

Little indeed would be the value of these figures, if they had no other meaning but that which is represented upon their surface. Little indeed would be the value of the Bible, if its stories referred to nothing else but to events said to have taken place in the history of the Jews. Even if such events had actually taken place as described, they couId be of little interest to us, because that history belongs to the past, and the persons concerned in it are gone from the stage of the world. But if we look with the eye of the spirit within the unseen world and learn to observe the processes going on within the realm of the soul of the Universe, whose true image and representation exists within our own selves, we soon learn that the fables and allegories represented by such tales and symbols are of a deep significance and their knowledge of supreme importance to us; and moreover it seems that. many of these stories have been made purposely so absurd that no reasonable person should be tempted to accept them in their literal sense.

As the images of the gods of the Greeks and Romans were not intended to represent persons, but consisted merely of figurative personifications of universal powers of nature; likewise the persons spoken of in the Bible are personifications of the same powers or principles, which still exist today as they existed before the Bible was written. We meet them again in the sacred book of the East, in the Mahabharata and Bhagavat-Gita, in the songs of Homer, and in other inspired books. They are mythological allegories, but they are therefore not less true; because, if properly understood, they represent living truths.

The surest sign of the decay of a religion is when the secret meaning of its symbols becomes entirely lost. It is a sign that the spirit which gave life to that religion has fled, that opinion has taken the place of Faith, and belief the place of Knowledge. The external form of such a system may exist for a while, but finally the dead form will dissolve in spite of an efforts to prevent its decay.

The universal belief in the external significance of the symbols of the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks bas been a precursor of the decay of those religions; the continued disregard of the true meaning of the symbols of the Christian churches will surely lead to the decay and dissolution of the latter. This decay is so universally visible and publicly complained of and acknowledged by the professors of the Christian religion, that it would be a waste of words to attempt to prove that which no one denies.

What greater service could therefore be rendered true religion than to restore their true meaning to the sacred symbols of the past, and to induce those who desire the truth to study the signs by which the fundamental laws of physical and spiritual evolution have been represented far better than could possibly be done by a. verbal description? Words are misleading; they are useless to him who has no intuition; but to him who possesses the power of thought, a point, a line, a triangle, or a circle is very suggestive, and may be sufficient to indicate to him the way to arrive at the truth.

Will the publication of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians help to restore tbe crutches to a decrepid church, or will those who are blind reject the truth, if it does not come to them under the seal of some man-made authority? Will this book serve to infuse life into a corpse, or will the corpse be permitted to putrefy and a new child be born? Will the new wine be poured into new bottles instead of being filled into old casks whose staves are crumbling to pieces? Will priestcraft grow again into power upon this earth; or is the time approaching when every man will be a king and a priest n his own realm, a conqueror over self, free from sectarian and scientific prejudices, worshipping no other god but the Truth, and professing no other creed but the love of divine Reason and the Unity of the All?

VOCABULARY OF OCCULT TERMS

WRITTEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF MITIGATING THE CONFUSION CREATED BY THE BUILDING OF THE TOWER OF BABYLON

"Omnia ab Uno" is one of the mottoes of the Rosicrucians. It expresses the idea that the All has been evolved from One; or, in other words, that God is one and indivisible, and that the multifarious activities of life which we see in the universe are merely various forms of manifestations of God; or, to express it more correctly, of the creative Power, the Light and sunbstance of Life which emanated from the eternal cause of all existence in the beginning of our day of creation, and which has been called the Logos, the Verbum or Word, the Christ.

As the Universal One manifested itself, it assumed various aspects, and it therefore appears as a great variety of powers and as innumerable forms of various substances although all powers and substances are essentially and fundamentally one. The various terms used in occult science are consequently not intended. to describe powers and principles radically different from each other. but merely the various aspects of the one universal principle; and as the aspect of things changes according to the point of view from which they are considered, consequently a name applied to a power, if considered from one point of view. may not be applicable if the same principle is considered from another point of view. Likewise the four sides of a pyramid originate in one point and end in one, each side appearing to have a distinct individuality of its own. The higher we rise towards the summit, the more does this differentiation disappear, and the more does the Unity of all things and their identity with each other become apparent, until all difference is again absolved in the ultimate One. He who knows the One knows All; he who believes to know many things knows nothing. The One is the starting-point for all occult science.

A & Ω (ALPHA AND OMEGA). — The Beginning and End of all things; i.e. the beginning and end of all manifestation of activity and life in the Cosmos; the Logos or Christ. See Logos.

[Compare. Rom. ix. 5.1 — Tim. iii. 16.1 — John v.26. — John viii.58. — John v.26. — John xiv.6. — John x.9 — John xiv.1. — John x.30, 38. — John vi.40, etc.]

A‘DAM. — Primal man in his aspect as a spiritual power, containing the male and female elements. The spiritual principle, constituting humanity, before it became differentiated in matter and assumed gross material forms. [Gen. i. 26. — Ephes. iv. 9.]

THE CELESTIAL ADAM. — The divine man-forming power in its original state of purity as an image of the Creator. [Gen i. 27. — Rom. v. 14.]

THE TERRESTRIAL ADAM. — Adam after his "fall"; i.e. the original man having become the distorted image of God by having lost his original purity in consequence of disobedience to the law and desertion of the straight line of the universal divine will. This disobedience is illustrated by the allegory of the — "eating of the apple in paradise" the "snake" which tempted Adam and Eve is the illusion of self, causing man to imagine to be something different from the universal God, and thus creating within him personal desires. [Gen. ii. 17. — Gen. iii. 7. — Gen iii. 10. — Rom. i. 27. — Gen. iii. 16-19. — Luke iv. 6. — John iv. 32.]

A‘DONAI. — God in his. aspect as the Summum Bonum in nature; i.e. the Light of the Logos having become manifested in nature.

AER. — Air, Pneuma, Soul, a universal and invisible principle. See Elements.

A‘LCHEMY. — The science of guiding the invisible processes of Life for the purpose of attaining certain results on the material, astral or spiritual plane. Alchemy is not only a science, but an art, for the power to exercise it must be acquired; a man must first come into possession of certain powers before he can be taught how to employ them; he must know what "Life" is, and learn to control the life-processes within his own organism before he can guide and control such processes in other organisms. Chemistry is not Alchemy. The former deals with so-called dead substances. the latter with the principle of life. The composition or decomposition of a chemical substance is a chemical process; the growth of a tree or an animal an alchemical process. The highest Alchemy is the evolution of a divine and immortal being out of a mortal semi-animal man. The Song of Solomon describes alchemical processes.

A‘NGELS. — Conscious spiritual powers acting within the realm of the Soul, i.e. certain individualized spiritual states of the universal consciousness. [2 Sam. xiv., xvii., xx. — Ps. cxciii. 20. — Matt. xv. 31. — Luke xx. 36. — Ps. xxxiv. 7.]

A‘NIMA. — See Soul.

ANIMATIO. — Animation. (Alchemy) The act of infusing life into a thing or of causing its own latent life-principle to become active. See Life.

ANTIMONY. — (Alchemy) A symbol representing the element of the Earth in its gross material aspect; primordial matter, also represented as the insatiable Wulf, the destroyer of forms.

AQUA. — (Alchemy) Water. See Elements.

AQUILA. — (Alchemy) Eagle, the emblem of Jupiter; the symbol of the Spiritual Soul.

A‘RCANUM. — (Alchemy) Secret. A mystery which is not within everybody’s grasp i a. certain knowledge which requires a certain amount of development to be comprehended. It also means certain secx:ets which are not to be divulged to the vulgar who would be likely to misuse that knowledge. [Matt. vii. 6.]

ARCHÆUS. — The great invisible storehouse of Nature, wherein the characters of all things are contained and preserved. To one aspect it represents the Astral Light; in another, Primordial Matter.

ARGENTUM. — (Alchemy). Silver. Symbolized by the Moon.

ASTRAL BODY. — A semi-material substance, forming — so to say — the denser parts of the soul, which connect the latter with the physical body. Each thing in which the principle of life exists, from minerals up to man, has an astral body, being the ethereal counterpart of the external visible form.

ASTRAL LIGHT. — The Light of Nature. The Memory, or universal storehouse of nature, in which the characters of all things that ever existed are preserved. He who can see the images existing in the Astral Light can read tbe history of all past events, and prophesy the future.

AZOTH. — (Alchemy) The universal creative principle of Life.

BABYLON. — Humanity in her unregenerated state, the world of fashion, superficiality, animality and intellectuality without spirituality. The world of superficial Knowledge, self-conceit, and ignorance, living in externals. and being attached to illusions. [Rev. xiv. 8. — Rev. xvi. 19. — Rev. xvii. — Rev. xviii.]

BEAST. — (False prophet, Babylonian whore, etc.) Animality, sensuality, and selfishness; but especially intellectuality without spirituality, Knowledge without love, scientific ignorance, skepticism, arrogance, materialism, brutality. The Antichrist, i.e. false prophets. who are putting man’s authority in the place of the universal truth, who degrade religion into sectarianism, and prostitute divine things for selfish purposes, — idolatry, bigotry, superstition, priestcraft, cunning, false logic, etc. [Rev. xvii. — Rev. xviii.]

BIBLE. — The "sacred books" of the "Christians", containing a great deal of ancient wisdom clothed in fables and allegories, and describing many occult processes in the shape of personificatiom of powers and historical events believed to have taken place among the Jews. Some of the events described in those books seem to have actually taken place on the external plane, while others are merely figurative; and it appears to be at present impossible to determine in the Bible the exact line between fiction and history.

BLOOD. — (Alchemy) The vehicle for the principle of Life; the seat of the Will.

BODY. — Matter in a certain state of density, exhibiting a form. A body may be visible or invisible, corporeal or ethereal. [Matt. xxii. 30. — 1 Cor. xv. 42, 51. — Phil. iii. 21.]

CABALA. — The science which teaches the relations existing between the visible and invisible side of nature; i.e. the character of things and their forms in regard to weight, number, and measure. It is the knowledge of the laws of harmony which exist in the universe.

CAPUT MORTUUM. — (Alchemy) Refuse. Dead matter.

CARITAS. — Spiritual Love; benevolence, charity.

CELESTIAL. — A spiritual, divine state; a state of perfection.

CHAOS. — The universal matrix or storehouse of nature. — See Archæus. [Gen. i. 2.]

CHIMLA. — Chemistry. Sometimes the term refers to the Chemistry of Life, Alchemy.

CHRIST. — Spiritual consciousness, Life and Light. The divine element in humanity, which if it manifests itself in man, becomes the personal Christ in individual man. "Christ" means therefore an internal spiritual living and conscious power or principle, identical in its nature with the Logos, with which the highest spiritual attributes of each human being will become ultimately united if that human being has, developed any such Christlike attributes. This principle is in itself of a threefold nature, but it appears to be useless to speculate about its attributes, as they will be comprehensible only to him who realizes its presence within himself. — See Logos.

NOTE. — The misoonception of the original meaning of the term "Christ" (Kristos) has been the cause of many bloody wars and of the most cruel religious persecutions. Upon such a misconception are still based the claims of certain "Christian" sects. "Christ" originally signfies a universal spiritual principle, the "Crown of the Astral-Light", coexistent from all eternity with the "Father", i.e. the Divine source from which it emanated in the beginning. This principle is said to have on many occasions penetrated with its light certain human beings, incarnated itself in them, and then produced great heroes, reformers, or Avatars. Those who cannot rise up to the sublimity of this conception look upon "Christ" as being merely a historical person, who in some inconceivable manner took upon himself the sins of the world. There have been so many clerical dogmas and misconceptions heaped around this term, that it appears to be impossible to throw any light upon this matter, unless we call to our aid the sacred books of the Hindus and compare the doctrines of Krishna with those of Christ. [1 John v. 20. — 1 Tim. vi. 16. — Hos. xiii. 4. — Jer. xliii. — Luke xxiv. 19. — John xii. 44. — Mark ix. 37 . — John xiv. 28. — John x. 29. — John xx. 17. — 1 Pet. i. 21. — John i. 4. — John v. 26. — John v. 30. — Matt. xvii. 2. — John xiv. 6, etc.]

COAGULATIO. — (Alchemy) Coagulation. The act of some fluid or ethereal substance assuming a state of corporeal density. [Canticl. v, 9-14.]

COMBINATIO. — (Alchemy) Combination. The act of combining certain visible or invisible things.

CONJUNCTO. — (Alchemy) Conjunction. The act of two or more things joining together Or coming into harmonious relationship with each other.

CORPUS. — (Alchemy) Body. Matter is a state of corporeal density. The vehicle of a power.

CREATION. — The external, visible manifestation of an internal, invisible power. The production of a visble form out of invisible, formless. substance. The calling into existence of a form.

NOTE. — The term "creation" has often been misrepresented as meaning a creation of something out of nothing; but we know of no passage in the Bible which might justify such an irrational definition. The only persons who believe that something can come from nothing are certain self-styled "scientists", who imagine that life and consciousness are products of the mechanical activity of the body; which is identical with saying that something superior can be produced by something inferior; in other words, by something which according to all known laws of nature is not able to produce it.

CROSS. — A symbol expressing various ideas; but especially. the creative power of Life in a spiritual aspect; acting within the Macrocosm of nature and within the Microcosm of man. It also represents Spirit and Matter ascending and descending. The perpendicular beam represents Spirit, the horizontal bar the animal or earthly principle, being penetrated by the divine Spirit. Universal as well as individual man may be symbolized by a Cross. Man's animal body is a Cross, or instrument of torture for the soul. By means of his battlewith the lower elements of his constitution, his divine nature becomes developed. By means of his physical body, man is nailed to the plane of suffering appertaining to terrestrial existence. The animal elements are to die upon that Cross, and the spiritual man is to be resurrected to become united with the Christ. "Death upon the Cross" represents the giving up of one's own personality and the entering into eternal and universal life. The inscription sometimes found at the top of the Cross, consisting of the letters I. N. R. I., means, in its esoteric sense, Ingi Natura Renovatur Integra; that is to say: By the (divine) Fire (of Love) all Nature becomes renewed. The golden Cross represents spiritual Life, illuminated by Wisdom. It is the symbol of immortality.

DEUS. — God.

DEVIL. — The principle of Evil, the antithesis of the principle or cause of Good, in the sane sense as Darkness is the antithesis of Light. God, being the cause of all powers and principles, is also the cause of the "Devil", but not its direct cause; for as evil is nothing else but perverted good, likewise the power called Devil is, so to say, the reaction of God, or the cause which perverts good into evil. The devil may be said to be the dark, and consequently inferior counterpart of God; consequently, like God, a trinity of thought, word, and its manifestation. [Rev. xvii. 8 — Rev. ii. 13. — Luke iv. — 2 Thess. ii. 9-11. — Acts viii. 9. — Mark xiii. 13. — Rev. xvi. 14. — Mark v. 18. — Wisd. xii. 2. — John xxxii. 31. — Eph. vi. 12.]

EARTH. — See Elements.

EAGLE. — (Alchemy) The spiritual Soul. "The Gluten of the White Eagle", — pure spiritual love, the fiery substance of the spiritual Soul.

ELEMENTA. — (Alchemy) Elements. Universal and (to us) invisible principles, the causes of all visible phenomena, whether they are of an earthly (material), watery (liquid), airy (gaseous), or fiery (ethereal) nature. There are consequently four "Elements", namely: — 1. Earth, representing primordial matter, an invisible ethereal substance, forming the basis of all external corporeal appearances. 2. Water, referring to the realm of the Soul, the connecting link between spirit and matter. It also represents Thought. 3. Fire. regresenting the realm of the Spirit or Life. 4. Air alluding to Space or Form. It is not, strictly speaking, an "Element". There is a fifth element, which is the spiritual Quint-essence (the Mercury) of all things. Each element may be considered from a variety of aspects. Each element constitutes, so to say, a world of its own, with its own inhabitanbs, the "elementary spirits of nature" and by a combination of those elements under various conditione, an endless variety of forms is produced.

ELOHIM. — The Light of the Logos in its aspect as a spiritual power or influence, whose presence may be felt as it penetrates the soul and body of the worshipper in his moments of spiritual exaItation. This Light, having been the cause and begjnning of creation, the term Elohim also expresses its aspect as the creative power of the universe.

EVA. — Eve. The female or generative power in nature; the eternal mother of all, an ever-immaculate virgin; because she has no connection with any external god, but contains the fructifying spiritual principle (the Holy Ghost) within her own self. The celestial Eve represents Theo-Sophia, divine Wisdom, or Nature in her spiritual aspect. The terrestrial Eve represents Nature in a more material aspect, as the womb or matrix out of which forms are continually evolved, and into which they are reabsorbed.

NOTE. — Primordial man was a bisexual spiritual being; the separation of sex took place in consequence of the differentiation of spirit in matter. Man is still to a certain extent bisexual; because each male human being contains female, and each female being male elements. Sex is merely an attribute of the external form; the spiritual man who inhabits the outward form has no particular sex. [Gen. ii. 8. — Gen. i. 27. — Heb. vii. 3. — Gen. vi. 3. — Luke xx. 25.]

EVIL. — The antithesis of Good, i.e. the reaction of good against itself, or good perverted. There can be no absolute Evil, because such a. thing would destroy itself.

EX CENTRO IN CENTRUM. — Everything originates from one centre and returns to that centre.

FAITH. — Spiritual knowledge. A power by which the spirit may feel the existence of truths which transcend external sensual perception. "Faith" should never be confounded with "Belief"; the latter being merely a controvertible opinion about something of which nothing is known. Faith rests upon direct perception; Belief, upon intellectual speculation. [Wis. iii. 4. — Rom. iv. 21. — 2 Tim. i. 12. — 1 John iii. — 2 Cor. iv. 13. — Luke ix. 23. — John xi. 40. — Matt. xxi. 22. — Mark ix. 23. — Matt. xvii. 20, 21. — Luke xvii. 6. — Mark xvi, 17, 18. — John xiv. 12. — Thess. iii, 18 — 2 Cor. xiii. 15.]

FATHER. — (Trinity.) The divine and incomprehensible Fire, from which emanated the Light (the Son). We cannot conceive of "the Father" except as the incomprehensible Absolute, the Cause of all existence, the Centre of Life, becoming comprehensible only when he manifests himself as the "Son". In the same sense a. geometrical point is merely an abstraction and incomprehensible, and must expand into a circle before it can become an object of our imagination. [1 Cor. viii. 6. — Mark xii. 29-32. — 1 John v. 7. — Wisd. vii. 26. — 1 John i. — 1 John v. 1. — 1 Tim vi. 16. — John i. 5. — Eph. i. 23. — 1 Cor. xii. 6.]

FIAT. — The active expression of the Will and Thougbt of the Great First Cause by which God manifested himself in the act of creation; in other words, the energy by which he threw the Light which created the universe into an objective existence. The outbreathing of Brahm at the beginning of a Manvantara. Fiat Lux, — Let there be Light!

FIDES. — See Faith.

FIRE. — An internal activity whose external manifestations are beat and light. This activity differs in chancter according to the plane on which it manifests itself. "Fire" on the spiritual plane represents Love or Hate; on the astral plane it represents Desire and Passion; on the physical plane. Combustion. It is the purifying element, and in a certain aspect identical with "Life". — See Elements.

FIRMAMENT. — Realm. Space in its various aspects. The physical and mental horizon. That which limits the physical or mental perception. The sky.

FIXATIO. — (Aleh.) Fixation. The act of rendering a volatile substance (for instance a thought) fixed. The act of rendering the impermanent permanent. [Cant. ii 12. — Cant. viii 4.]

FOUNDATION. — The Real. The basis or centre of things, in contradistinction to their phenomenal illusive and transient appearance. We may look upon all things as having a common basis, which in each thing manifests certain attributes. We may know tbe attributes of thjngs, but not tbe thing itself.

GLUTEN. — Adhesion. Spiritual substance. — See Eagle.

GOD. — The eternal, omnipresent, self-existent Cause of all things, in its aspect as the Cause of all Good. The meaning of the term "God" differs according to the standpoint from which we view it; but in its highest meaning it is necessarily beyond the intellectual comprehension of imperfect man; because the imperfect cannot conceive the perfect, nor the finite the infinite. In one aspect everything that exists is God, and nothing can possibly exist which is not God; for it is the One Life, and in it every being has its life and existence. God is the only eternal Reality, unknowable to man; all that we know of him are his manifestations. In one aspect God is looked upon as the spiritual central Sun of the Cosmos, whose rays and substance penetrate the universe with life, light, and power. God being the Absolute, cannot have any conceivable relative attributes; because as nothing exists but himself, he stands in relation to no thing, and is therefore non-existent from a relative point of view. We cannot possibly form any conception of the unmanifested Absolute; but as soon as the latter becomes manifest, it appears as a Trinity of Thought, Word, and Revelation, i.e. as the "Father", the "Son", and the "Holy Ghost". Innumerable people have been killed because they differed in regard to their opinions how the term "God" should be defined; but it is obvious tbat a Cause which is beyond all human conception is also beyond any possible correct definition, and that, therefore, all theological disputations about the nature of God are absurd and useless. [John iv. 24. — Eph. i. 23. — John x. 16. — 1 Kings viii. 17. — Matt. v. 35. — John i. 18. — Col. i. 15. — 1 Tim. vi. 16. — 1 John i. 5. — Ps. civ. 30. — Wisd. i. 7. — Eph. i. 16.]

GOD. — A human being in whom divine powers have become active. An Adept.

GOOD. — Everything conducive to a purpose in view is relatively good; but only that. which leads to permanent happiness is permanent Good. Everything, therefore, which ennobles and elevates mankind may be called good, while that which degrades is evil. Supreme Good is that which establishes real and permanent happiness.

GOLD. — (Alchemy) An emblem of perfection upon the terrestrial plane, as the Sun is a symbol of perfection on the superterrestrial plane. There is a considerable amount of historical evidence that the ancient Rosicrucians possessed the power to transmute base metals into gold by alchemical means, by causing it to grow out of its own "seed", and, it is claimed tbat persons possessing such powers exist even to-day.

GRACE. — A spiritual power emanating from the Logos. It should not be confounded with "favor" or "partiality". It is a spiritual influence comparble to the light of the sun, which shines everywhere, but for which not all things are equally receptive. [Matt. vii. 16. — 1 Cor. xv, 10. — Rom. xii. 3. — Eph. iv. 7. — John vi. 14. — Matt. xx. 15. — 1 Cor. iii. 6. — John iii. 27. — John vi. 44. — 1 Pet. i. 13-16. — 1 Cor. vii. 7. — 1 Cor. vii. 17. — Matt. xxii. 14. — Matt. xx. 16. — 2 Cor. xii.31. — Rom. ix. 11, 22.]

HEAVEN. — A state of happiness and contentment. Man can only be perfectly happy when he forgets his own self. "Heaven" refers to a spiritual state free from the bonds of matter. [1 Cor. xv. 50. — Jer. lxvi. 18. — Luke xii. 34. — Luke xvii. 21.]

HELL. — The antithesis of Heaven; a state of misery and discontent. A person suffers when he is conscious of hill own personality and its imperfections. Each being suffers when it is surrounded by conditions which are not adapted to its welfare; consequently, the soul of man surrounded by evil elements suffers until the elements of evil are expelled from his organization. The state in which the divine and consequently pure spirit is still connected with an impure soul, seeking to throw off the impurities of the latter is called Purgatory (Kama loca). When this baa taken place, the consciousness of the disembodied entity will be centred in his spiritual organization, and he will be happy; but if the consciousness has been centred in the impure soul, and remains witb the latter, the soul will be unhappy and in a state of Hell. The latter takes place especially in such cases where people of great intellectual powers, but with evil tendencies, perform knowingly and purposely evil acts. [Jer. lvii. 21. — Rom. i. 27. — Mark ix. 44. — Rev. xx. 10. — 2 Pet. ii. 27. — Wisd. v. 1-15.]

HOLY GHOST. — (Trinity.) The Light of the manifested Logos, representing the body and substance of Christ. The Spirit of Truth, coming from the Father and Son. [John xiv. 11. — John xv. 26. — Rom. i. 20. — Wisd. i. 17.]

HOMO. — Man.

HOPE. — Spiritual hope is a state of spiritual consciousness, resulting from the perception of a certain truth, and based upon a conviction that a certain desire will be realized. This kind of hope should not be confused with the hope which rests merely upon opinion, formed by logical conclusions or caused by uncertain promises.

HYLE. — The universal primordial invisible principle of matter, containing the germs of everything that is to come into objective existence. — See Archæus.

IGNIS. — Fire.

ILLUSION. — All that refers to Form and outward appearance. All that is of a phenomenal character; transient and impermanent; in contradistinction to the Real and Permanent.

JEHOVAH. — Jod-He-Vah. — God manifest, in his aspect as the creative, transforming, and regenerating power of the universe. The seIf-existent, universal God.

JERUSALEM. — Humanity in its spiritual condition. The soul in a state of purity.

JESUS. — The divine man. Each man's spiritual Ego. Each person's personal god or Atman. The redeeming principle in Man, with which man may hope to become united during his life. Jesus of Nazareth is believed to have been an Adept; i.e.. a pure and great man, teacher and reformer, in whom the Logos has taken form; in other words, a human being in whom the Christ-principle has incarnated itself. [John i. 14. — Luke xxiv. 19. — John x. 9. — John xiv. 28. — John i. 4. — John v. 26, 30. — John xiv. 6. — John x. 30, 38.]

JUPITER. — The supreme God. Jehovah.

KNOWLEDGE. — Science, based upon the perception and understanding of a truth. It should never be confounded with "learning" which means the adoption of certain opinion or theory on the strength of some hearsay or logical speculation. We cannot really know anything except tbat which we are able to perceive mth our external or internal senses. [1 Cor. iii. 19. — 1 Cor. xiii. 8, 9. — Wisd. vii. 23. — Wisd. vii. 17. — 1 Cor. xiv. 1. — Gal. vi. 3. — 1 Cor. i. 20. — Job xviii. 28. — Wisd. x. 21. — Matt. x. 19. — 1 Cor. i. 19. — Wisd. vii. 13. — Wisd. vi. 13.]

LAPIS PHILOSOPHORUM. — (Alchemy) A mystery, known only to the practical occultist who has experienced its power. [1 Cor. iii. 16. — Heb. viii. 2. — Matt. xxi. 42 — 1 Pet. ii. 4. — Eph. ii. 21, 22.]

LEAD. — (Alchemy) symbolized by Saturn, the emblem of Matter; the element of Earth.

LEO. — (Alchemy) Lion. The symbol of strength and fortitude; corresponding to Mars. "The Blood of the Red Lion", the vehicle of the Life-principle.

LIFE. — A universal principle; a function of the universal Spirit.

NOTE. — Life is present everywhere, in a stone or plant as well is in an animal or man, iWd there is nothing in natun: which is entirely destitute of life; because all things are a manifestation of the One Life, which fills the universe:. In some bodies the activity of life acts very slow, so that it may be looked at as dormant or latent, in others it acts npidly; but a form which is deserted by the life-principle ceases to exist as a form. Attraction, Cohesion, Gravitation, etc., are all manifestations of life, while in animals this activity enters a state of self-consciousness, which is perfected in man. To suppose that Life is a product of the mechanical or physiological activity of an organism is to mistake effects for causes, and causes for effects. — See Creation. [1 Cor. xv. 53. — John vi. 44. — Luke v. 14. — John i. 4. — Luke vi. 19. — Luke v. 17. — Acts viii. 17.]

LIGHT. — An external visible manifestation of an internal invisible power. The Divine Light of Grace is a spiritual Light, the Light of the Logos, illuminating the mind of the Adept. The Light of Nature is the Astral Light.

LIMBUS. — The universal matrix of all things. — See Archæus.

LOGOS & LOGOI. — A centre or centres of spiritual activity, Life and light. existing from all eternity in the manifested GOD (the Absolute). The Christ-principle, which, shining into the heart of man, may produce an Avatar or Christ.

NOTE. — It is taught that at certain periods such an incarnation of the divine Light of the Logos takes place upon the Earth, and thus causes a new saviour, redeemer, and reformer to appear among mankind, teaching the old and halfforgotten truths again by word and example, and thus producing a new revival of the religious sentiment. The ancient religions speak of several such Avatars in which "the Word has become Flesh". [John i. 14. — Col. ii. 19. — John xvi. 27. — Zach. xiii. 1. — 2 Cor. iv. 4. — Heb. vii. 16. — 1 John v. 20. — 1 Tim. vi. 16. — Hos. xiii. 4. — Jer. xliii. 1, 2. — John xii. 44. — Mark ix. 37. — John xiv. 28. — John x. 29. — John xx. 16. — John i. 4. — John v. 30. — Luke v. 17. — Rom. ix. 5. — 1 Tim. iii. 16. — 1 John v. 26. — John viii. 58. — John xiv. 6. — John x. 9. — John x. 30, 38. — John xvi. 27. — Mark xii. 29. — Col. ii. 3. — 1 Cor. vi. 17. — Rom. i. 4.]

LOVE. — Spiritual Love is an all-penetrating spiritual power, uniting the higher elements of Humanity into one inseparable whole. It is not led by external sensuous attractions. It is the power by which man recognizes the unity of the All, and the product of that knowledge which springs into existence, when man recognizes the identity of his own spirit with the spirit of every other being. This spiritual Love should never be confounded with sexual desire, parental affection, etc., which are merely sentiments, subject to attraction and change. [1 John iv. 8. — 1 John iv. 13. — 1 Cor. xiii. 7, 8. — Prov. viii. 35. — 1 Cor. xiii. 2.]

LUCIFER. — The bearer of Light. An angel of Light possessed of Wisdom. Lucifer in his fallen state is Intellectuality without Spirituality; knowledge without the light of wisdom.

LUMEN. — A power emitting Light.

LUNA. — See Moon.

LUX. — See Light.

MACROCOSM & MICROCOSM. — The great and the little world; the latter being an image or representation of the former, but on a smaller scale. The microcosm of Man resembles the macrocosm of the universe in all his aspects except in external form.

NOTE. — Not only is man thus an image of "God", but every part of our organism has the character of the whole impressed upon it, in the same sense as the qualities of a tree are latent in the seed. It is therefore possible for those who can read in the Light of Nature to know the character, attributes, and history of a thing by examining one of its parts.

MAGIC. — The science and art of employing spiritual powers to obtain certain results. No one can exercise Magic unless he possesses magic powers and to obtain such powers man must be spiritually developed. "Magic" should never be confounded with "Sorcery". The former deals with the Real, the latter deals with Illusions. Magic is the culmination of all sciences, and includes them all; but there can be no true science without wisdom and no wisdom without sanctification.

MAN. — The real man is an invisible internal and spiritual power which, in its outward manifestation, appears as a human being.

NOTE. — Man may be looked upon as an individual ray emaniting from the great spirltual Sea of the universe, having become polarized in the heart of an incipient human organism, endows the latter with life and stimulates its growth. At a certain state of its development that organism becomes conscious of its existence in the phenomenal world, and with this the illusion of self is created. There is nothing real and permanent about this being called Man, except this internal divine power which is called the Spirit, which is ultimately identical with the universal Spirit — the Christ. [Gen. i. 27. — Gen. ii. 7. — Acts xvii. — 1 Cor. iii. 16. — 2 Cor. vi. 16. — Luke iii. 38. — Luke xx. 35.]

MARS. — The power which endows beings with strength. — See Leo.

MARIA. — The universal matrix of Nature. Ceres, Tris, etc. — See Eve.

MATERIA PRIMA. — (Alchemy) Primordial Matter. A'Wâsa. A universal and invisible principle, the basic substance of which all things are formed. By reducing a thing into its prima materia, and clothing it with new attributes, it may be transformed into another thing by him who possesses spiritual power and knowledge. There are several states of matter, from primordial down to gross visibIe matter, and the Alchemists therefore distinguish between Materia proxima, Materia remota, and Materia ultima.

MATRIX. — (Alchemy) Womb. The mother wherein a germ, seed, or principle is brought to ripening. Every germ requires a certain appropriate matrix for its development. Minerals, plants, or animals require a matrix in the incipient state of their growth.

MATTER. — An external manifestation of an internal power.

MERCURY. — (Alchemy) One of the Three Substances. The Astral Light. The principle of Mind. The spiritual quintessence of all things.

METALS. — (Alchemy) Certain occult powers. The "metals" of which a man is made and which produce his virtues or vices are more permanent and lasting than the body composed of flesh and blood.

MOON. — (Alchemy) A reflection caused by the rays of the Sun. The Intellect, being a reflection of the divine light emanating from the Fire of the heart.

MORTIFICATIO. — (Alchemy) Mortification. The art of rendering the lower elements passive, so that the higher ones can become active. The art of dissolving the body, so that the spirit may become free.

MULTIPLTCATIO. — (Alchemy) Multiplication. Increase. The character is the great multiplicator. [Cant. vi. 7.]

NATURAL, UNNATURAL, SUPERNATURAL. — Relative terms, referring to the relations existing between certain things and certain conditions. Everything in Nature is natural in the absolute meaning of this term; but not everything is surrounded by such conditions as according to the laws of its own nature it ought to be surrounded by. Air is natural, but to a fish it is not his natural element; a supernatural being is one who exists in a spiritual condition superior to that of lower beings, and in which gross material beings cannot exist.

NATURE. — The external manifestation of an internal creative power. The whole of nature can be nothing else but a thought of God, having been thrown into objectivity by the power of his Word and grown into forms acrording to the law of evolution. "The nature of a thing" means the summary of its attributes. [Gen. i. 1. — Rom. i. 20. — 2 Cor. xv. 53. — Matt. v. 35. — Mark xiii. 15.]

NOTHING. — The antithesis of something. The term nothing is sometimes applied to signify something which is inconceivable and therefore no thing to us. Form is no thing; it is merely a shape, and does not exist in the Absolute. If a thought becomes expressed in a form, that which was nothing to us becomes something.

OCCULTISM. — The science of things which transcend the ordinary powers of obscervation. The science of things whose perception requires extraordinary or superior faculties of perception. Everything is occult to us as long as we cannot see it, and with every enlargement of the field of our perception a new and heretofore "occult" world becomes open to our investigation. We may speculate about the Unseen; but we cannot actually know anything about it, unless we can mentally grasp its spirit. — See Knowledge. [Sir. i. 16. — Wisd. vii. 21-35. — Jer. ix. 24. — Acts: x. and xi. — Jacob. i. 5. — 1 Cor. xiii. 8, 9.]

OCULUS. — Eye.

OCULUS DIVINUS. — The symbol of spiritual consciousness and knowledge.

OCULUS NATURÆ. — The Astral Light.

OMNIA AB UNO. — "Everything originates from the One".

PATER. — Father.

PERFECTIO. — (Alchemy) Perfection.

PERSON. — An individual, organized, self-conscious being or principle, capable to think and to will different from other beings or principles. An indivisible unity.

PERSONALITY. — Mask. The sum and substance of the attributes which go to distinguish one individual from others. As one and the same actor may appear in various costumes and masks; likewise one individual spiritual entity may appear successively on the stage of life as various personalities.

NOTE. — To comprehend the doctrine of Re-incarnation, it should be remembered that at and after the transformation called "death" only those attributes of a person which have reached a certain degree of spirituality, and are therefore fit to survive, will remain with the individual spirit. When the latter again overshadows a new-born form, it develops a new set of attributes, which go to make up its new personality. [Deut. i. 17. — 2 Chron. xix. 7. — Job xxxiv. 19. — Acts x. 34. — Rom. ii. 2. — Gal. ii. 6. — Eph. vi. 9. — Col. iii. 25. — 1 Pet. i. 17.]

PHILOSOPHY. — True "Philosophy" is practical knowledge of causes and effects: but wbat is to-day called "Philosophy" is a system of speculation based upon logical deductions, or opinions arrived at by reasoning from that which we imagine to know to the unknown. [Wisd. vii. 21. — 1 Cor. iii. 19. — 1 Cor. xiii. 8, 9.]

NOTE. — The fundamentaI basis upon which our modem philosophy rests is erroneous and illusive, because it rests upon the assumption that man could know something witbout knowing himself, while, in truth, man can possess no positive knowledge of anything whatever except that which exists within his own self; and he can know nothing about divine things as long as the divinity within himself has not become alive and self-conscious. Philosophy witbout Theosophy is, therefore, mere speculation, and frequently leads to error.

PHOENIX. — (Alchemy) A fabulous bird: the symbol of death and regeneration.

PRAYER. — An effort of the will to obtain that which one desires. Prayer on the physical plane consjsts in acts: prayer on the plane of thought consists in thoughts; prayer on the spiritual plane consists in the act of rising in thought up to the highest, and to become united with it. [Mark vii. 6. — Matt. vi. 7. — Jas. iv. 3. — 2 Thess. iii. 12. — Matt. iv. 2. — 1 Thess. iv. 10. — 1 Pet. iii. 4. — 2 Cor. xii. 4. — Dan. vi. 23. — Luke xviii. 17. — Rom. viii. 26. — 1 John v. 15. — John ix. 31. — 1 Cor. xiv. 14. — Mark. xi. 24. — Matt. xxi. 22. — John xv. 5.]

PRIMUM MOBILE. — (Alchemy) Primordial Motion. The first Life-impulse.

PRINCIPIUM. — Principle, Cause, Beginning ol Activity.

PRIMA MATERIA. — See Materia Prima.

PROJECTIO. — (Alchemy) Projection. The act of endowing a thing with a certain power or quality by means of an occult power whose root is the Will. [Cant. viii. 8.]

PUREFACTIO. — (Alchemy) Purification.

PUTREFACTIO. — (Alchemy) Putrification. [Cant. iii. 1.]

RAVEN. — (Alchemy) A symbol for a certain occult power.

REBIS. — (Alchemy) Refuse. Matter to be remodelled.

REGENERATIO. — (Alchemy) Regeneration. The act of being reborn in the spirit. The penetration of the soul and body by the divine heat of love and the light of intelligence. emanating from the divine fire within the heart. The awakening and development of spiritual self-consciousness and self-knowledge. [John iii. 3. — John xvi. 33. — Gal. vi. 15. — 1 Pet. i. 23. — 1 John iii. 9. — 1 John ii. 29. — Wisd. i. 4. — 1 John v. 4. — John iii. 10. — John vi. 27. — Gal. iii. 10. — Thess. xi. 19. — Luke xx. 35. — Gal. iv. 19. — John iii. 6.]

RESURRECTIO. — (Alchemy) Resurrection. Initiation into a higher state, of existence. The new life into which the perfected elements of a being enters after the imperfect ones with which they have been amalgamated have been destroyed. [Col. i. 27. — Gal. iv. 5, 6.- — Job. xix. 25. — Gen. iii. 15. — Rom. v. 15. — 2 Cor. v, 15. — 1 Tim. ii. 3. — Rom. vi. 7. — 1 Cor. iii. 17. — 1 Cor. xv. 35.]

ROSE. — (Alchemy) The symbol of evolution, and unfolding and beauty.

ROSICRUCIAN. — A person who by the process of spiritual awakening has attained a practical knowledge of tbe secret signification of the Rose and the Cross. A Hermetic philosopher. A real Theosophist or Adept. One who possesses spiritual knowledge and power.

NOTE. — Names have no meaning if they do not express the true character of a thing. To call a person a Rosicrucian does not make him one, nor does the act of calling a person a Christian make him a Christ. The real Rosicrucian or Mason cannot be made; he must grow to be one by the expansion and unfoldment of the divine power within his own heart. The inattention to this truth is the cause that many churches and secret societies are far from being that which their names express.

SAL. — (Alchemy) Salt. Substance. One of the three substances. The Will. Wisdom. [Matt. v. 13. — Luke xiv. 34.]

SATURN. — (Alchemy) The symbol of the universal principle of matter; the producer and destroyer of fonns.

SEED. — (Alchemy) A germ, element, or power from which a being may grow. There are germs of Elementals. Minerals, Plants, Animals, Human Beings, and Gods. [Luke xix. 26. — Gal. vi. 7. — 1 Cor. iii. 6. — Mark iv. 6. — Matt. xiii. 23. — 1 Cor. ix. 10. — 1 Cor. iii. 9. — John xv. 5, 6. — Luke vi. 43. — Matt. vii. 16.]

SILVER. — (Alchemy) An emblem of intelligence, symbolized by the Moon. Amalgamated with Mercury (the Mind) and penetrated by the Fire of divine Love, it becomes transformed into the Gold of Wisdom.

SOL. — (Alchemy) — See Sun.

SOL-OM-ON. — The name of the Sun of Wisdom expressed in three languages.

SOLUTIO. — (Alchemy) Solution. The act of bringing a thing into a fluid condition. — Corpora non agunt nisi fluida sunt.

SON OF GOD. — One of the three powers constituting the Trinity. The Light, or Christ. The regenerated spiritual man. The celestial Adam. The Logos. Only the inner spiritual and divine man is a direct Son of God; the unregenerated man is his indirect descendant. The Spirit is the Son of God; the Soul is the son of the Sun (astral influences); the Body the son of the Earth. [Gen i. 27. — 1 Thess. v. 23. — 1 Cor. iii. 16. — 2 Cor. vi. 16. — Luke iii. 38. — Rom. v. 14.]

SOPHIA. — Wisdom.

SOPHIST. — Originally this term meant a "wise man"; but now it means a false reasoner, a skeptical speculator, a person who is cunning but possesses no wisdom; one who judges things not by what they are, but by what he imagines them to be; one who dogmatizes about things which he cannot grasp spiritually; a material scientist; a would-be-wise, an intellectual person without love; one who lives, so to say, in his brain and receives no light from his heart. [Rev. xvi. 14. — Rev. xx. 10. — Jer. xxviii. — 1 John iv. 1. — John x. 1. — 1 Tim. vi. 20. — Matt. xxii. 14.]

SOUL. — The semi-material principle connecting matter with spirit. It leads, so to say, an amphibious existence between these two poles of substance. and may ultimately become amalgamated either with one or the other. The Body is the mask of the Soul; the Soul, the body of the Spirit. [Rom. viii. 6. — 2 Cor. iv. 16. — Wisd. iii. 4. — Rom. v. 2. — Matt. xviii. 22.]

SPES. — Hope.

SPIRITUS. — Spirit. God in his aspect as an eternal, universal, and invisible principle or power in a state of the greatest purity and periection. The divine element in Nature. The antithesis of Matter, yet "materia1" in a transcendental sense. Spiritual substance. A conscious, organized. invisible principle. The Substance or Body of Christ. The term "Spirit" is also used to signify the essence or character of a thing, the sum of the highest attributes or powers. [1 Cor. viii. 6. — Mark xii. 29-32. — 1 John v. 7. — John xiv. 17. — John xv. 26. — Wisd. i. 7. — 1 Pet. i. 10. — Luke xvii. 21. — Gal. ii. 20. — 2 Cor. iv. 2. — Phil. iii. 21. — Rom. xiv. 7.]

SPIRITS. — Powers.

NOTE. — The modem usage to apply the term "spirits" to disembodied astral forms and souls of men and animals has originated in the modern misconception of the true nature of man.

SUBLIMATLO. — (Alchemy) Sublimation. The rising of a lower state into a higher one. Vices may become sublimated into virtues. [Cant. iii, 6.]

SUBSTANCE. — That unknown and invisible something which may manifest itself either as matter or force; in other words, that substratum of all things which is energy in one of its aspects, and matter in another. The Three Substances: Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury represent the trinity of all things. They are the basis of all existence, and in each of these three substances the other two are contained. They form an inseparable Unity in a Trinity, differing, however, in its aspects and manifestations. Consequently, in some things the Salt, in others the Sulphur, and in still others the Mercury is preëminently manifest. They represent Thought, Word, and Form; Body, Soul, and Spirit; Earth, Water, and Fire; Fire, Light, and Heat, etc. — See Trinity.

SULPHUR. — (Alchemy) One of the three substances. The principle of Love. The invisiblc fire. [1 John iv. 8. — Matt. xx. 37. — Eph. v. 2. — 1 John. iv. 13. — Prov. viii. 35. — 1 Cor. xiii. 2.]

SUN. — (Alchemy) The Symbol of Wisdom. The Centre of Power or Heart of things. The Sun is a centre of energy and a storehouse of power. Each living being contains within itself a centre of life, which may grow to be a sun. In the heart of the regenerated, the divine power, stimulated by the Light of the Logos, grows into a Sun which illumi-nates his mind. The spiritual Sun of Grace: The Logos or Christ. The natural Sun: The centre of all powers contained in our solar system.

NOTE. — The terrestrial sun is the image or reflection of tbe invisible celestial sun; the former is in the realm of Spirit what the latter is in the realm of Matter; but the latter receives its power from the former. — See Logos.

SUPERIUS & INFERIUS. — (Alchemy) The Above and Below, the Internal and External, the Celestial and Terrestrial. Everything below has its ethereal counterpart above, and, the two act and react upon each other; in fact they are one and merely appear to be two.

TARTARUS. — (Alchemy) Matter. Residuum. A substance which has been deposited by a fluid, or crystallized out of the latter. The gross elements of the soul.

TERRA. — Earth.

TERRESTRIAL. — An earthly or imperfect state.

THEOLOGY. — A system which teaches the nature and action of divine powers and their relation to Man. Some ancient theologies are the products of certain spiritually developed persons who were capable to perceive and understand spiritual truths, and wbo laid down the results of their experience in certain systems, and described what they knew, usually in some allegorical forms. Modern Theology is a system of speculation based upon the knowledge of external symbols and allegories without any understanding of the true meaning of the latter.

THEOSOPHY. — Supreme Wisdom. The knowledge of divine powers obtained by him who possesses such powers. "Theosophy" is therefore identical with Self-knowledge. [Wisd. vii. 21. — Wisd. vii. 35. — Wisd. vii. 26, 27. — 1 Pet. i. 10. — Wisd. vii. 17-27. — Wisd. viii. 18. — Wisd. x. 21. — Matt. x. 19. — Jer. ix. 24. — 1 Cor. i. 29. — Wisd. vi. 13. — Sir. i. 13.]

THEOSOPHIST. — A person whose mind is illuminated by the spirit of Divine Wisdom. One who is able to mentally grasp the spirit of a thing, and to understand it. One who has attained a self-knowledge of the divine powers existing in his own organization.

TINCTURA. — (Alchemy) Tincture. An ethereal or spiritual substance which, by impregnating another substance, endows (tinctures) the latter with its own properties. If a gross principle is penetrated by a higher one, the former is said to be tinctured (colored) by the lower one.

TRINTTY. — The All. The whole of the Universe. Everything is a trinity, and Three is the number of Form. Every conceivable thing consists of Matter and Motion in Space, and the three are forevet one and inseparable. "God" is a trinity, and the Universe being a manifestation of God, every part of the Universe must necessarily be a trinity. Everything is a product of thought, will, and substance (form); i.e., Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt. [1 John v. 7. — 1 Cor. viii. 6. — 1 John i. 5. — 1 John iv. 8. — Rom. i. 20. — Wisd. i. 7.]

UNIFICATION. — At-one-ment. The art of uniting into one. Unification with the eternal One is the only aim and object of all true religion. All things are originally one; they are all states of one universal divine consciousness; they merely appear to be different from each other on account of the illusion of Form. Differentiation and separation exist merely at the surface of the peripbery of the All; the Centre is one. To become reunited with the Centre is to enter the Real, and to become divine and immortal. After a man has become united with his own higher self, he may become united with Christ.

NOTE. — This process of regenerartion and unification is taught in all the religions of tbe East, but — although the whole Christian religion is based upon this truth — it is nevertheless universally misunderstood by modern Christians, who expect to obtain salvation rather through the merit of another that by their own exertions. To understand the process of regeneration and unification requires an understanding of the real nature of man and of his relations to nature; a science which in our modern times is nowhere in Europe taught in schools, because our theologians and scientists are themselves ignorant of the true nature of man, and because mankind finds it easier to accept a belief than to acquire knowledge. [Col. i. 27. — Gal. iv. 5, 6, 19. — Job xix. 25. — 1 Cor. xv. 53-55. — 1 John iii. — 2 Phil. iii. 21.]

UNIVERSE. — The Cosmos. The All; beyond which nothing can exist, because there is no "beyond". The whole of the visible universe is a manifestation of the internaI invisible divine power called the Spirit of God. It is the substance of God, shaped by his thought into images and thrown into objectivity by an exercise of his Will. Whatever God thinks, that he expresses in the Word. and what he speaks becomes an Act. All this takes place according to Law, because God is himself the Law, and does not act against himself. [Gen. i. 1. — Wisd. vii. 17. — Rev. xxi. 6. — Rev. xxii. 13. — John xvi. 22. — Rom. i. 29. — Rom. i. 20. — 1 Kings vi.-viii. — Matt. v. 35. — Mark xiii. 15.]

VENUS. — (Alchemy) The principle of Love.

VERBUM. — The Word, the A and Ω. The Christ or Logos. The expression of a divine thought. The power which emanated in the beginning from the Eternal Centre. The origin of all life. [John i. 18. — Matt. xxvi. 64. — John i. 3. — Sir. xliii. 8. — Gen. i. — Eccles. iii. 15. — Ps. xxxiii. 6.] — See Logos.

VIR. — Man. A human being in whom the male elements are preponderating.

VIRGIN, CELESTIAL — See Eve.

VISIBLE & INVISIBLE. — Relative terms; referring to things which are usually beyond the powers of perception of ordinary man in his normal state. What may be invisible to one may be visible to another.

WATER. — See Elementa.

WILL. — The one universal and fundamental power in the universe, from whicb all other powers take their origin. Fundamentally it is identical with Life. It manifests itself in the lower planes of existence as Attraction, Gravitation, Cohesion; on the higher planes as Life, Will, Spiritual Power, etc., according to the conditions in which it acts. The Will is a function of the universal Spirit of God, and there is no other power in the Universe but the Will of God, acting either consciously or unconsciously, natural or unnatural, if perverted by man. Man can have no will of his own; he is merely enabled to employ the universal will acting in his organization during his earthly existence, and to pervert and misuse it on account of his ignorance with the eternal laws of nature. [Rom. v. 19. — Matt. xxvi. 39. — Heb. x. 7,36. — Matt. vii. 21. — John v.30. — John vi. 38. — Heb. x. 9. — Heb. x. 10. — Man can only accumlate willpower by obedience to the law.]

WISDOM. — The highest conceivable attribute of the Spirit; conceivable — like all other powers — only by him in whom wisdom has become manifest, and who is thereby rendered wise. Wisdom is not of man's making; he cannot invent, but be can acquire it. The same may be said of all other spiritual powers; they exist in the universe, and are to be attained by Man. [Wisd. vii. 17-27. — Wisd. viii.18. — Wisd. x. 21. — Exo. iv.12. — Matt. x.19. — 1 Cor. i.19. — Wisd. vii. 13. — Jacob i.5. — Sir. xxxix.7, 8. — Wisd. vi.13. — Wisd. vii.7. — 1 Pet. i.10. — 2 Pet. i.19. — 1 Cor. xiii.8, 9.]

WOMAN. — A human being in whose organization the female elements are preponderating over the male ones.

WORD. — See Verbum. A and Ω.

ZODIAC. — The twelve signs of the Zodiac represent the twelve universal principles which form the basis of the construction of the material aniverse.

SYMBOLS

THE THREE SUBSTANCES

🜍 Suphur. 🜑 Mercury. 🜔 Salt.

THE FOUR ELEMENTS

🜂 Fire. 🜄 Water. 🜁 Air. 🜃 Earth.

THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES, OR PLANETS

☉ Sun (Gold). ♃ Jupiter (Tin). ☿ Mercury (Quicksilver). ♂ Mars (Iron). ♀ Venus (Copper). ☾ Moon (Silver). ♄ Saturn (Lead).
The Eighth Planet is ♁ the Earth (Antimony).
🝰 Day and Night.

THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC

1. ♈ Aries (Ram). 2. ♉ Taurus (Steer). 3. ♊ Gemini (Twins).
4. ♋ Cancer (Crab). 5. ♌ Leo (Lion). 6. ♍ Virgo (Virgin).
7. ♎ Libra (Balance). 8. ♏ Scorpio (Scorpion). 9. ♐ Sagittarius (Archer).
10. ♑ Capricornus (Capricorn). 11. ♒ Aquarius (Waterman). 12. ♓ Pisces (Fishes).

NOTE. — The student should attempt to grasp intuitively the meaning of these signs; for an explanation in words will be entirely inadequate to express their signification unless their spirit is grasped by the power of the intuition.

PART II.

A TREATISE on the PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

By a still living Philosopher, but who does not desire to be known.
Written for the instructions of those who love the Secret Doctrine, and for
the guidance of the Brothers of the Golden and Rose-Cross.

Copied and translated from an old German Rosicrucian MS.

OMNE DECUS
NISUS IN ARENA
HABET IN SE OMNIA LAPIS BENEDICT.

Fig I. — THE PREPARATION OF THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE ALLEGORICALLY REPRESENTED.

FIGURE I. represents Nature, a great female deity, symoblised as a water-nymph or queen (Venus rising from the ocean), out of which she is born. From her breasts are running two continuous streams of white milk and red blood. The two must be boiled together until they are transformed into silver and gold. Happy is he who surprises the incomparable queen in her most secret retirement and obtains possession.

ADDRESSED TO THE DISCIPLE WHO DESIRES TO LEARN THE HERMETIC ART:

THE reason why, in these last days of the world, I undertook to write this book, is because I wish to prevent you from falling into erroneous opinions. I do not write books for my own sake, for I do not need them. I have read enough books in writing as well as in print during the last twenty years; but I found the greatest part of them filled with phantastry and error. In this book I will describe to you the whole process in the form of a parable, and I will make my description as plain as possible.

As far as my name is concerned, I have determined, after due deliberation, not to reveal it. I do not desire to obtain fame or notoriety before the world; neither do I wish to expose my life to dangers which would unavoidably be connected with the publication of these mysteries, if my person were known. Already some of the Brothers of the Golden Cross have acted imprudently in this respect and were consequently waylaid by certain ambitious and vain fellows, and robbed of their tincture, — the biggest treasure which a man can possess.

But let me ask those who are unable to undentand this book, and who are nevertheless ready to criticise and condemn it: "Have you seen the great Salt-Sea? Tell me, dear, where do they make Sulphur, and where does Mercury come into existence? Have you seen the amorous couple, consisting of man and woman, embracing each other so that eternity cannot separate them, and that they become one being?" If you now understand what I mean, if you have seen it with your eyes and touched it with your hands. I will be your brother and ask to be admitted into your laboratory; but if you do not understand it; I advise you to keep your own counsel. Some people complain that this art is very difficult to learn, but let me tell them. that those who love God, and are found worthy by him, will learn it very easily; while tbe godless will never be able to understand it however much they may exert their own imagition. If, however, some of you are, inclined to accuse me of having described this art too plainly and revealed secrets which ought not to be published, let them know that those who are worthy to learn the art will easily understand what I say, and it will be very useful to them; but those who are not worthy will be sure to leave it alone. I have told the whole process to the would-be wise, and they have laughed at me in their hearts, and could not believe that there is a twofold resurrection of the dead in our work. Our art is a gift of God. He gives it to whomsoever he pleaseth, and takes it away when he chooses, and nobody's own personal will has any influence whatever in determining this matter. It is an art which has been known to me with all its manipulations for over seventeen years; nevertheless I had to wait until, by the grace of God, I could enter into ita practie. It is an art which exists as truly as the sun shines during the day and the moon at night, but it exists only for those who are able to see it.

But you, my beloved Brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross, who are keeping youiselves hidden away from the world, and are enjoying the fruits of your divine gifts in secrecy, do not avoid me; and if you do not know. who I am, I will tell you that the Cross is the touchstone of Faith; it reveals its true value, but imaginary security and sensuality suffocate its germ. Peace be with you all. Amen.

PREFACE

Quærivi: inveni: purgavi sæpius: atque Coniunxi: maturavi: Tinctura secuta est Aurea, Naturæ centrum quæ dicitur: inde Tot sensus, tot scripta virum, variæque figuræ Omnibus, ingenue fateor, Medicina metallis, Infirmisque simul: punctum dinvinitus ortum.* [HARMANNUS DITICHIUS, Auth. famulus.]

* I sought and found; I purified (it) often I mixed (it) and caused (it) to mature. The golden tincture was the result; it ii called the centre of nature The origin of all thought, and of all the books of men and various figures. I now acknowledge freely, it is a panacea For all the metals, the weak ones (in the constitution of man), And a point which originated from God. [HARMANNUS DITICHIUS, Auth. famulus.]

KIND AND TRUTH-LOVING READER:

SOME years ago, after having long and earnestly prayed to Good, the unmanifested, incomprehensible cause of all things I was attracted to Him, and by the power of his Holy Spirit — through whom all Wisdom descends upon us, and who has been sent to us through Christ, the λόγος (logos), from the Father — he illuminated my inner sight, so that I was able to recognize the Centrum in Trigono Centri, which is the only and veritable substance for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone. But although I knew this substance, and had it actualIy in my possession for over five years, nevertheless I did not know how to obtain from it the Blood of the Red Lion, and the Gluten of the White Eagle, neither did I know the processes by which these substances could be mixed, bottled, and sealed up, or how they were to be treated by the secret fire, a process which requires a great deal of knowledge prudence and cautiousness.

I had studied to a great extent the writings, parables and allegories of various writers and I had used great efforts to understand their enigmas, many of which were evidently the inventions of their own fancy; but I found at last that all their prescribed methods for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone were nothing but fables. All their purifications, sublimations, distillations, rectifications, and coagulations, together with their stoves and retorts, crucibles, pots, sand and water baths, etc., were entirely useless and worthless for my purpose, and I began to realize the wisdom of Theophrastus Paracelsus, who said in regard to that stone, that it is a great mistake to seek for it in material and external things, and that the people who do so are very foolish, because instead of following Nature, tbey follow their own brains, which do not know what Nature requires.

Nature in her nobility does not require any artificial methods to produce what she desires. She produces everything out of her own substance, and in that substance we must seek for her. He who deserves her will find her hidden there. But not every one is able to read the book of Nature and this is a truth which I found out by my own experience; for although the true substance for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone was in my own possession for over five years; nevertheless it was only in the sixth year that I received the key to the mystery by a secret revelation from God. To open the secrets of Nature a key is required. This key was in the possession of the ancient patriarchs, prophets, and Adepts, but they always kept it hidden away, so that none but the worthy should come into its possession; for if the foolish or evil-disposed were to know the mysteries of nature, a great deal of evil would be the result.

In the following description I have revealed as much of these mysteries as I am permitted to reveal, and I have been strongly forbidden to speak more explicitly and plainly. Those who read these pages merely with their external understanding will obtain very little valuable infonnation: but to those who read them by the light of the true faith, shining from the ever-burning fires upon the altars erected in the sanctuary of their own hearts, the meaning will be plain. They will obtain sweet fruits, and become and remain forever true brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross, and members of our inseparable fraternity.

But to those who desire to know my name, and who might charge me with being too much reserved if I do not reveal it, I will describe it as follows, so that they will have no cause to complain: The nunber of my name is M.DCXII, and in this number the whole of my name is fully inscribed into the book of Nature by eleven dead and seven living ones. Moreover, the fifth letter is tbe fifth part of the eighth and the fifteenth the fifth part of the twelfth. Let this be sufficient for your purpose.

MONTE ABIEGNO, March 25, 1625.

INTRODUCTION

Fig. II.

FIGURE II. represents the Prima Materia, or primordial matter, the foundation of all things, and from which all things are born. It is the dual principle of nature, its parents are the Sun and the Moon; it produces water and wine, gold and silver, by the blessing of God. If you torture the Eagle, the Lion will become feeble. The "Eagle's tears" and the "red blood of the Lion" must meet and mingle. The Eagle and the Lion bathe, eat and love each other. They will become like the Salamander, and become constant in the fire.

THERE have been among many nations, and at various times, certain people who were illuminated by the Spirit of Wisdom, and who wrote books in which they described the result of their knowledge in such a manner that those who earnestly loved the truth for its own sake might be enabled to find it by following their directions. Some of these illuminated people were Egyptians or Chaldeans; others, Greeks, Arabs, Italians, Frenchmen, Englishmen, Hollanders, Spaniards, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, etc., living in widely separated places, and speaking different languages: but nevertheless their writings describe the same process with such a unanimous accord and harmony that the true philosopher may easily recognize the fact of its being the work of only one spirit. speaking through various instruments, with various tongues, and at various times. This harmony exists in all the writings of the sages; but in the books of the wordly-wise we find a great deal of disharmony; for the latter, instead of following the voice of universal truth, which is only one, follow the vagaries of their own brains. which are many, and. therefore their opinions disagree and their writings are full of errors.

The writings of the sages differ only in regard to the form in which the truth is expressed, but they all agree in the essential points. They all say that there is only one substance, of which the Philosopher's Stone is made. and that in this substance is contained everything necessary for its production. This substance is a spiritual and living one, and all agree, that if you attempt to perform the work with any other substance containing no spirit or life, you will not succeed in your work. Renounce all complexity. Nature is satisfied with only one thing, and he who does not know that thing, cannot command the powers of Nature. This substance is universally distributed everywhere and may be obtained with little expense. It can be found everywhere; every one sees, feels, and loves it and yet there are only few who know it. Tleophrastus Paracelsus calls it the Tinctura Physicorum or the Red Lion; Hermes Trismegistus calls it Mercury, solidified in its interior; in the Tubra it is called the ore; in the "Rosarium Philosophorum" it is called Salt. It has as many names as there are objects in tbe world, and yet it is only known to few. Of this substance may be prepared a spirit as red as blood, and another one white as snow, and in these two is hidden a third one, the mystery, which is to be revealed by the art. Those who do not know how to begin the alchemical work are yet far from having attained the true knowledge. Those who labor with dead materials will obtain nothing which lives.

Our substance, or Rebis, consists of two things, Spirit and Matter; but the two are only one, and they produce a third, which is the Universal Panacea, purifying all things, the Tincture, which transmutes base metals into gold. Our Elixir is therefore one thing, made of two; but the two are one. The water is added to the body and dissolves the latter into a spirit, and thus the water and body produce a solution. Some philosophers describe the Philosopher's Stone as being the true Spiritus Mercurii with the Anima Sulphuris and the Spiritual Salt made into one thing, prepared under one heaven, living in one body; the Dragon and the Eagle; others call it a preparation made of spirit, body, and soul, and they say that the spirit does not combine with the body except by means of the soul, which connects both together, and yet the three are essentially one.

The omnipotent Creator, whose wisdom extends as far as his (its) own substance, created in the beginning, when nothing but himself existed, two classes of things, the heavenly and the terrestrial. The heavenly things are the interior world, with all its inhabitants; the terrestrial things are the external ones, and have been formed of the four elements. The latter consist of three classes; namely, Animalia, Vegetabilia, and Mineralia, and they are distinct from each other; so that, for instance, the animal kingdom does not produce trees, nor the vegetable kingdom monkeys, etc. But each being has its own peculiar seed by which its own species may be propagated, but no other species is produced by them; the species, however, may be improved, purified, and ennobled to a certain extent, and by appropriate means, as every one knows.

Nature is a great alchemical laboratory in which a continual purification and sublimation to a higher standard takes place. The primordial matter from which all the various metals have grown, is originally only one, and contains within itself a Sulphur (A power) which, acting under various conditions, produced in the course of ages a variety of forms, differing in their exterior qualities, but being essentially only one. Thus a portion of this matter, going through a certain process of evolution, assumed the attributes of iron, and is called Iron; another one became Lead, etc.

Our Philosophical stone is of a mineral nature, and it is therefore useless to attempt to prepare it from animal or vegetable substances. Nothing can be extracted from a thing utiless it is contained therein. Those, therefore, who pretend to be able to make it of such substances are impostors. Moreover, our stone is incombustible, and all animal and vegetable substances are combustible; they will be destroyed in the fire, and nothing remains but smoke and ashes, which are useless for our purpose. Neither can it be made of any imperfect metal or mineral, nor of ordinary Mercury, Sulphur, or Salt, for all these things are destructible in their form.

If you wish to see a thing grow, you must look for its seed. A horse is born from a mare, a plant grows by means of the root, and a fire grows out of a spark. If you desire to make gold or silver, you must be in possession of gold and silver; but it must be pure and natural, such as cannot be grasped with the hands. Take such pure spiritual gold and sow it into the while, lamellated earth, made by a fiery calcination. Cultivate it, and it will grow and bring fruit.

The philosophical gold used by the Alchemist is not the common gross material gold, although the latter may be extracted from the former. The gold which he uses is a white and red, true, fixed, and living tincture. He uses living gold and living silver; but the ordinary gold and silver are dead and remain dead, no matter to what chemical process they may be subjected. Therefore do not take the dead gold and silver, bu take ours, which live.

The beginning of the great work is to dissolve the Philosopher's Stone in the water. It is the unification of spirit and body, by which a mercurial water is produced. It is a very difficult work, as will be testified to by all who have attempted to perform it; but to him who knows how to prepare this solution, the rest of the mystery will become plain. The solution requires a permanent association of the male and the female elements, from which union a new form may grow.

Let the disciple ponder about the attributes of this water: for the knowledge of the menstruum in which the stone is dissolved is the principal condition, without which nothing can be accomplished in this art. It is the great mystery which the sages will not reveal, and which no one is permitted to tell. The first part of the work is the solution, and consists in a moistening of the body, so that it may again be dissolved in the substance of the Mercury, and the saltness of the Sulphur be diminished thereby. This Sulphur is attracted away from two other sulphurs when the spirit meets the body. The second part is the regeneration of the body in the water which is called Mercury. There are three Mercuries, the knowledge of which is the key to this science, and without this knowledge nothing will be accomplished in this art. Two of these Mercuries do not belong to the true attributes of the body; the third one is the essential Mercury of the Sun and the Moon. The Mercury contained in the other metals is the noblest material for the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone.

Our gold and silver are not seen in the rays of the Sun and Moon, but their presence is known by their effects. Our stone is the shining substance coming from the Sun and the Moon, by which the Earth receives its illumination. No impure matter is added except one, which is the Green Lion, and which is used to bind together the two tinctures existing between the Sun and the Moon, and to bring them into perfection.

The above remarks will be sufficient for tbe instruction of the true disciple; but if you do not understand them then your mind is not yet ripe to know the substance of which the Philosopher's Stone is prepared; and you must wait until you arrive at that state by meditation and prayer. I will, however, tell you that the first part of our work is the reduction of the body into its primordial substance; the second is the perfect solution of body and spirit together. The solvent and that which is dissolved remain together, and as the body dissolves, the spirit coagulates.

Thus the whole secret is now revealed to you. If you comprehend it, you will see that it is not at all difficult, but a work for women and a play for children, on account of the little amount of labor connected with it. He who knows, the beginning knows the end, and his glorified body will behold all the eternal splendor of God, when the illusions of life will vanish before his eyes, being swallowed up in their own insignificance. Follow the teachings contained in the following parable, and the spirit of wisdom will descend upon you and fill you. To arrive at this exalted state we wish to you and to all of us the blessing of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in all eternity. Amen.

PARABLE

ONCE upon a day I took a walk in a beautiful forest of young and green trees, and began to meditate about the troubles of life, and I remembered how we all became exposed to so much sorrow and misery in consequence of the deep fall of our first parents. I began to weep bitterly. Thus I went on, paying no attention to the place in which I was, and I happened to walk away from the common road. After a while I discovered that I was walking upon a rough and narrow path, all overgrown with weeds, bushes, and shrubs, and I saw that it was a path very seldom used. I attempted to turn back to the main road, but it was impossible to do so; because there was such a strong wiild blowing from that direction, that it would have been easier for me to make ten steps forward than one backwards. I therefore made up my mind not to care about the roughness of the road, but to go ahead. I followed that path to a considerable extent, and arrived at last upon a beautiful plain in the form of a circle and grown all over with trees bearing delicious fruits. The inhabitants of that place called it Pratum felicitatis. They were all old and venerable-looking men, with long gray beards; all except one, who was quite young, and whose beard was black and pointed; and then there was another and still younger one, whose name I knew, but I could not see his face at that time. They discussed numerous things, and especially a certain great and deep mystery contained in nature, and of which they affirmed that God was keeping it hidden from all the world and revealed it only to those few who loved him very much.

I listened to them for a long time and was very much pleased with what they said, but it seemed to me that the opinions of some of them respecting — not the materia or the work, — but merely certain forms and allegories, deviated from the ordinary established rules of belief, and that they followed certain methods discovered by Aristoteles, Plinius, and others, and which one copied from the other. I then could no longer restrain myself, but joined in the conversation and refuted their worthless arguments by explaining the results of my own experience. They listened to me very attentively and made me pass through a severe examination; but the foundation of my doctrine was so strong that they could not contradict me. They seemed to be highly astonished and pleased, and unanimously resolved to receive me into their collegium, whereat I was exceedingly glad.

But they told me that I could not enter into full fellowship in their society until I was perfectly well acquainted with all the qualities of a certain lion,^[1] which they had in their possession, and knew exactly his exterior and interior attributes and capabilities. Possessing a great deal of confidence in myself, I promised to try my best to attain that knowledge; for I was so much pleased with their society that I would not have under any circumstances permitted myself to be separated from them.

They accompanied me to the lion and described him to me very exactly, but none of them consented to tell me how to manage him at first. Some of them threw out a few hints about that subject, but they were so dark and uncertain that not one man in a thousand would have been able to understand them. They said, however, that if I would only chain the lion and protect myself against his sharp claws and pointed teeth, then they would explain to me everything. The lion was old, ferocious, and nig; his yellow, shaggy mane hung in confused clusters around his neck; he seemed to be invincible, and so ferocious were his looks that I was at first frightened at my own audacity; but I took courage for I was ashamed to break my promise, and furthermore these old men stood around, waiting to see what I was going to do, and they would have undoubtedly prevented me, if I bad attempted to run away. I therefore stepped boldly into tbe ditch where the lion was kept, and went up to him and attempted to caress him; but he gave me such a ferocious look witb his luminous eyes that I became terrified. Nevertheless, remembering that I heard one of the men say that a great many people attempted to subdue the lion and very few succeeded, I did not want to be brought into disgrace, and I thought of a certain trick which I had learned in studying the athleletic art,^[2] and being, moreover, well versed in natural magic,^[3] I ceased my caresses and attacked the lion with such boldness and subtility that I succeeded in taking the blood out of his body and even out of his heart, before he became aware of it. I continued my investigations, and found in his body many things which astonished me. His bones were as white as snow, and their quantity was greater than that of his blood.

When the good old men standing around the ditch perceived what I had done, they began to dispute vehemently among themselves. I observed their gesticulations, but I could not understand their words, for I was too far down in that ditch. However, as they became very boisterous, I heard one of them say: "He must cause that lion to live again, else he cannot become one of us."^[4] I wanted to act as unceremoniously as possible, so I got out of the ditch, and found myself suddenly upon a big wall, without knowing how I got there. The height of that wall was over a hundred yards, reaching upwards towards the clouds; but on the top it was not more than a foot wide, and there was from the beginning to the end an iron railing, well attached, with many pillars and posts, to the midst of the wall. I say I got upon this wall, and it seemed to me as if some one were walking a few steps ahead of me upon the right side of that railing.

After having followed him for a while, I furthermore perceived that another one was walking behind me on the other side. I do not know whether it was a man or a woman; however, I heard that person call to me, saying that it was easier to walk upon the other side, and I readily believed it; because on account of the narrowness of the road and the multitude of posts and handles which obstructed it, it was very difficult to walk at such a height, and I noticed how several people who attempted to walk behind me, fell down. I therefore grasped the iron railing firmly with both hands and swung myself upon the other side, and continued to walk until I came to a part of the waIl which was very steep and dangerous. Then I felt sorry that I had not remained on the other side; but I could neither cross over to that other side, nor was it possible to return. I therefore took courage, trusted the strength of my feet, clung to the railing, and got safely down from the wall. Having progressed somewhat farther, I forgot all the danger through which I had passed; the wall and the railing passed out of my sight, and I knew not what had become of them.

I arrived at a beautiful rose-bush, on which there were some white and red roses growing. I took some of them and put them upon my hat. I then noticed a wall which encircled a large garden, and in the latter there were some young men. Some virgins belonging to those, young men, and who were on the outside of the garden. were very anxious to go to them; but they did not want to walk all around the wall, neither did they wish to exert themselves a great deal to arrive at the gate. I felt pity for them, and hastened back in the direction from which I had come, but now upon a level road, and I hurried so fast that I soon arrived at a place where I saw several houses, one of which I supposed to be the gardener’s cottage. There I found a great number of people, each of whom had his own chamber. They seemed to be slow people; but two of them worked together very diligently, each of them having his own separate work. It also seemed to me that the work which they performed had been heretofore performed by myself, and that I was therefore well acquainted with it . I now saw that all their labor was filthy and nasty, unreal and fanciful to the extent of each one's peculiarities of education, but having no foundation in nature; and knowing that all their labor was only like smoke which passes away, I did not want to stop with them any longert, but continued my way.

As I walked towards the gate of the garden, some of those people looked at me in a threatening manner, as if they were going to prevent me from entering, while others ridiculed my intention, and said: "See! he wants to get into that garden. We have been here very many years, doing service to the gardener, and we have never succeeded in entering. We will laugh at him to see his disappointment." However, I paid no attention to their threats, because I knew more about that garden than they did, although I had never been inside, and I went straight up to the gate which was firmly closed, and in which, with ordinary eyes, there was not even a keyhole to be seen; but I knew intuitively rhat there the gate could be opened. I therefore applied a small pick-lock^[5] which I had brought with me, opened the gate, and entered. I then encountered some more closed doors, but I opened them easily and without any great effort. I now found myself to be in a passage, such as may be seen in a wellconstructed house. It was about six feet wide and twenty feet long, with a ceiling overhead, and altbough the other doors were still closed, I could, nevertheless, — after the first door was open, — look through them into the garden, seeing sufficiently dearly to observe all I desired to see.

In the name of God I walked on in that garden, and after a while I arrived at a little square, each side being about six rods long. It was surrounded by rose-bushes, and the roses therein were very beautiful. There was some rain falling, and the sun shone very bright, and a beautiful rainbow appeared. I was about to turn away from there and to go toward the place where I had seen the virgins to whom I desired to offer my assistance, when I saw that the wall had entirely disappeared, and in its place there was only a low fence of twisted twigs, and near that rose-garden I saw the most beautiful virgin, dressed entirely in white satin, with a most noble-looking youth, clothed in scarlet. Their arms were interlocked, and they were carrying fragrant roses in their hands. I went up to them and asked how they had managed to get across that fencer and the lady answered: "This, my dearly beloved bridegroom, assisted me in getting over it, and now we will leave the garden and enter our chamber to atfend to the duties which our friendship imposes upon us." I said: "I am glad that You are obtaining Your wish without troubling myself any further. Nevertheless You will see that I was anxious to serve You and have walked a long way in a very short time to accomplish that purpose."

I then went on and arrived at a mill, the inside of whith was built of stones. There were no meal-boxes, nor any implements for grinding, but through the wall I could see several water-wheels turning in the water. I asked an old miller how the grinding was performed, and be told me that the mill-works were at the other side. At the same time I saw a miller's man walking across the bridge and enter the mill. Following him, I was struck with astonishment, for now the wheels which formerly were to the left of the bridge, were now above it; the water which formerly appeared to be white, was now as black as coal; and the bridge itself seemed merely three fingers wide. Nevertheless I dared to return; I held on to some pieces of wood which were above the bridge, and I got safely across without getting wet. I then asked the old miller how many water-wheels he had, and he answered, ten. This adventure caused me to reflect, and I was anxious to know its significance; but when I found that the old miller was not inclined to satisfy my curiosity, I went away.

Not far from that place there was a high hill paved with stones, and upon that hill there were some of the above-mentioned old men promenading in the warm sunshine. They had written a letter to the Sun, signed by the whole faculty of their college, and they were consulting each other about it. I noticed that the contents of that letter were referring to me. I therefore stepped up to them and asked them what they meant. They said: "We mean that You must keep the woman whom You have recently taken as Your lawful wife; but if You refuse to do so, we shall be obliged to report Your behavior to our sovereign."

I answered: "You need not trouble Yourself about this business, for I love her as much as if I had been born simultaneously with her. I have grown up with her, and having taken her, I shall keep her, and nothing shall separate us, not even death itself. I love her passionately and with all my heart." They then continued: "If so, we shall have no cause for complaint. The bride is equally satisfied. We have her consent; and You must now enter the bonds of matrimony."

"Very well", was my answer.

"Then", said one of them, "the lion will begin to live again and become stronger and more powerful than before."

I then remembered my previous labor and trouble; and somehow it seemed to me that what they said did not concern me, but some other person well known to me. Just then I saw our bridegroom and his bride again. They were dressed as before, and they approached. They were ready to get married, and I was very glad about it; for I had been terribly afraid that the matter was concerning myself.

But when the bridegroom, in his shining scarlet-colored clothes, and the bride, in her white satin dress which sent out rays in all directions, came up to these old men, they married them immediately and I was very much astonished to see that the virgin, although she was said to be the mother of her bridegroom, was still so young that it seemed as if she had just now been born.

I do not know what wicked sin they had committed, except that being brother and sister to each other they were held together by such an ardent love that it was impossible to separate them, and they might perhaps have been accused of incest. However that may be instead of being put upon the connubial couch, they were sentenced to be put into perpetual prison, there to weep forever, to repent of and to atone for their past misdemeanors. But in consideration of their high birth and noble estate, a prison was selected for them which was perfectly clear and transparent like a crystal globe; and this, moreover, served the purpose of exposing them to the public sight, so that in the future they might not be able to do anything whatever in secret. but that all their actions and omissions might be immediate1y known to the guard who was watching. Before being put into that prison they were stripped of all their clothing, and jewels, and the ornaments they had worn, and they were then forced to cohabit in that chamber in a state of entire nudity. Nor was anyone permitted to enter their prison to serve them, but after having been provided with the necessary food and with some water taken from the abovedescribed mill-pond, the door of their prison was firmly closed and bolted, and the seal of the faculty was put upon the lock; and they ordered me to watch them and to warm their prison, because the winter was approaching. I was ordered to take proper care that they would neither bum nor freeze, and that they could not escape or tun away; and I was furthermore informed that if I should neglect my duty, and if damage should be caused thereby, I would be severely punished for it. I felt very uneasy about that affair, and my heart began to sink, for I knew that the duty imposed upon me was of no little importance; and I was also well aware that the Collegium Sapientiæ was not in the habit of vainly boasting, but that in case of any dereliction of duty on my part, they would certainly execute their threats. However, I could not change this matter, and, moreover, the prison was situated in the interior of a strong tower and surrounded by high breastworks and walls, and it was possible to warm the chamber by means of a moderate but continual fire. I undertook the task, and began in the name of God to warm the chamber, to proteet that imprisoned couple against the cold, and lo! very soon a very strange occurrence took place; for as soon as my prisoners began to feel the least degree of the heat, they embraced each other with such a passion that the like of it was never seen before, and they remained in that state until the heart of the bridegroom melted away in the heat of his fervor, and his whole body dissolved in the embrace of his beautiful bride, and fell to pieces. But when the fair bride. whose love to him was not less than his love to her, saw what happened, she began to weep, and she shed so many tears that she — so to say — buried him in those tears, and they flooded the chamber to such an extent that the body of her lover was entirely submerged thereby, and could be seen no more. For a short time she went on weeping in that manner, and her sorrow was so great that she resolved not to live any longert and thereupon she immediately and voluntarily died. O, how great was my grief and affliction to see those whose welfare had been entrusted to my care — so to say — dissolved and dead before my eyes! I expected my certain perdition, and what I dreaded the most, — and more than the punishment which I expected, — was the ridicule and ignominy, of which I was sure that it would be my lot.

For several days I thought and worried about this matter, and studied how to remedy this misfortune, and at last I remembered how Medea restored the dead body of Æson to life, and it occurred to me that as she had been able to accomplish that feat, it might perhaps not be beyond my own power to do likewise. I then meditated about the manner in which I would perform tbat experiment, and I made up my mind to continue to apply a moderate heat until the water would have evapoated, in which case I expected to see again the corpses of our lovers, and thus I hoped to escape from all peril and to obtain profit and praise. I therefore continued to apply heat in the same way as before, for forty consecutive days, when I noticed that the quantity of water iri the chamber was gradually decreasing, and the two corpses, which in the meantime had become black as coal, were again visible.

This would have happened sooner if the chamber had been less firmly dosed and sealed; but I was not permitted to open the door. I perceived that the water rose and the vapors went up to the clouds; but it fell down again from the ceiling above and could not escape, and this continued until the corpses of our bridegroom and his beloved bride were lying before my eyes in a putrid and rotten state; emitting an exceedingly bad odor. In tbe meantime the bright sunshine acting upon the moist atmosphere within the chamber produced a very beautiful rainbow with splendid colors, the sight of which made my heart glad. But what pleased me most was the circumstance that I could see the bodies of the two lovers again.

Still, there is no happiness unalloyed with sorrow, and thus my joy was not without grief; for the two lovers were dead, and no life could be perceived in their bodies. I knew, however, that their prison was made of such solid material, and so firmly closed, that their souls and spirit could not escape from it, and I therefore continued my labor without interruption, day and night, imagining that the two would not return to their bodies so long as there was any moisture present. Such really was the case, for I observed that towards evening a great many vapors rose from the Earth, which were produced by the sun in the same manner as the sun attracts vapors from the ocean. Those vapors coagulated during the night-time and formed a beautiful and fructifying dew, which fell down early in the morning and moistened the earth. and bathed the two corpses, so that the latter in the course of time, and from day to day, became more beautiful and white. Their beauty and whiteness increased in proportion as the amount of the moisture became less, until at last, when the air had become clear and beautiful, and all the vapors and dampness had disappeared, the spirit and soul. of the bride could not remain any longer in the clear and thin atmosphere; but they entered into the clarified and now glorified body of the queen, who soon felt their presence and immediately began to live again. You may believe me when I tell you that I rejoiced exceedingly about it; especially as I saw that she was wearing such a beautiful dress, such as has never before been seen upon the earth, and she had upon her head a costly crown made of pure diamonds. I saw her rise up, and I heard her say: "Listen, O ye mortals, and know all ye who have been born of woman, that the SUPREME has the power to appoint kings and to dismiss them. He makes men rich or poor, according to his will, he kills and causes to live again. Behold in me a true and living example of his power. I was great, and I became small. Having been humiliated, I became exalted and a queen over many kingdoms; having been killed, I was made alive again. Poor as I am, the great treasures of ihe wise and powerful are entrusted to my keeping. Therefore power was given to me to render tlte poor rich, to give meycy to the humble and health to the sick; but in spite of all my power I am not so great as my beloved brother, the great and mighty king, who will be resurrected from the dead."

When the queen ceased to speak, the sun began to shine very bright, the day was warmer than before, and the dog-days were approaching. Long before that time many beautiful and costly dresses were prepared as wedding gifts for our new queen. They were made of black velvet, ash-colored damask, gray silk, silver-teffeta, snow-white satin, and one which was above all others exceedingly beautiful, and made out of silver-cloth, embroidered with costly pearls and splendidly shining diamonds. Now they made for the young king likewiset various coats of incarnate and yellow, of costly stuffs, and finally a red velvet suit embroidered, and provided with a great number of precious rubies. and carbuncles. But the tailors who made these clothes were entirely invisible, and I was yery much astonished to see how one dress after another was finished. well knowing that nobody but the groom and his bride had entered that chamber; but what surprised me above all was to see that whenever a new suit of clothes or a new dress was finished, the one which had been made previously disappeared, and nobody knew what became of it.

When the last costly coat was finished, the great mighty king appeared in all his incomparable splendor and glory, and when he saw that he was imprisoned he spoke very sweetly and courteously, and asked me to open the door and to permit him to come out, saying that great benefit would therefrom result to me. My order was, not to open the door under any circumstances; but the majesty of the king, and the eloquence of his speech, were so great that I opened the door without hesitation. As he stepped out of the chamber he acted with such kindness, amiability, and modesty, that it became evident to me that persons of high standing can have no better ornaments than those virtues. Having been exposed to the heat of the dog-days, he was very thirsty, faint, and tired, and he ordered me to go and fetch him some of the quick-running water from under the wheels of the mill. I did as requested, and having very eagerly drunk the water, he entered the chamber again and ordered me to close the door firmly, so that no one could disturb him, or awaken him from his slumber.

There he rested for a few days, and then asked me to open the door. It then seemed to me that he had become still more beautiful and glorious, and his blood richer. He himself became aware of this, and attributing it to the effect of the water, he asked for more and having obtained it, he drank a great deal more than before, so that it finally became necessary to make his chamber much larger. After the king had drunk as much as he wanted of this precious fluid, which the ignorant considers to be worthless, he became so beautiful and glorious that I never in ail my life saw a more beautiful person, nor any more beautiful actions. He then took me into his kingdom and showed me all the treasures and riches of the world; proving to me thereby that not only did the queen speak the truth, but that there is a great deal more truth still to be described by those who know him. There was no end of gold and carbuncles; of rejuvenating and reconstructing powers, of restitution of health and destruction of disease. But the best and most precious of all was that the people of that country knew their creator. They loved and respected him, and obtained from him wisdom and understanding, and finally, after this temporal splendor, eternal happiness; for the attainment of which we ask the blessing of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

ALLEGORY.^[6]

IWAS meditating about the wonderful works of the Most High, of the mysteries of Nature, and of the fiery and ardent Love of Humanity, and I thought of the wheat-harvest, when Ruben the son of Leæ found upon the field the Dùdaim that was given by Lea to Rachel^[7] as a reward for having cohabited with the patriarch Jacob. My thoughts were very deep, and extended to Moses who took the solar calf which Aaron had manufactured, and rendered it potable by burning it with fire, crushing it into powder, and sprinkling it upon the water, which he gave to the children of Israel to drink.^[8] I was wrapt in astonishment, and as I grasped the truth, my eyes were opened like those of the disciples at Emaus, who recognized the Lord by the manner in which he broke the bread. My heart was burning within my breast, and I laid down to meditate further and fell asleep, when lo! the King Sol-Om-On^[9] appeared to me in my dream with all his glory, riches, and power. He was accompanied by his wives and concubines,^[10] and there were sixty queens, eighty concubines, and the number of virgins^[11] was beyond description. But one was his darling, his dove, the most beautiful and sweetest of all for his heart. They were going in a long procession, as it is the custom among the Roman Catholics, and in the line the Centre was highly venerated and loved, and the name of the Centre^[12] was like an ointment that has been poured out, and whose fragrance surpassed in sweetness all the spices of the East, and its fiery spirit was a key for the door of the Temple, and its possessor could enter the Sanctuary and grasp the horns at the altar.

After the procession was over, Solomon showed me the Only Centrum in Trigono Centri. He opened my understanding, and I became aware that behind me stood a naked woman, having a bleeding wound in her breast, from which blood and water were running, and her loins were touching each other like two spangles made by the hands of a Master. Her navel was like a round goblets, always full of a delicious drink; her belly was like two young twin does, her neck like an ivory tower, her eyes like the deep wells at Hessbon near the door Bathrabbin, her nose like a tower upon Lebanon looking towards Damascus. Upon her neck stood her head like the Mount Carmel, and her hair was tied into plaits, falling over her shoulders like the purple cloak of a king.

But the clothes^[13] she had stripped off were lying at her feet; they were disgusting, filthy, and poisonous, and she began to say "I have stripped off my clothes; how could I be contented to wear them again? I have washed my feet; why should I contaminate them now? The guardians^[14] that go about in the town have found me; they have beaten me sore and have taken away my veil."

When I heard these words I was terrified by fear and by my own ignorance, and I fell down upon the earth. Solomon then bade me arise and said: "Do not fear. What thou beholdest is Nature uncovered and the greatest mystery that exists below heaven and upon the earth. She is as beautiful as Tirce, lovely like Jerusalem, terrible as a forest of spears, and yet a pure and immaculate vigin, out of which Adam was born. Sealed and closed is the hidden entrance to her hut, for she dwells in the garden and sleeps in the double caves of Abraham upon the acre Ephron. and her palace is deep down in the Red Sea, in the crystal grottos and transparent clefts. She is born from the air and has been brought up by the fire. She is a queen of the country; milk and honey are in her breast, her lips are dripping sweets, sugar and milk is in her mouth and under her tongue, her clothes are to the wise like odors wafted from Lebanon, but to the ignorant they are an abomination. Rouse thyself, look around, behold all these females, and see whether you can find a single one who can be compared to her."

As be spoke these words he gave a sign, and forthwith all the females present were forced to strip themselves^[15] naked I began my search; but I was unable to decide in favor of any one, for my eyes were kept captive, and I could not tell which one was the most charming.

When Solomon observed my weakness he separated all the other females from that naked woman, and said: "Thy thoughts are vain, thy intellect is burnt by the Sun,^[16] thy memory is like a black cloud, and therefore thou art not able to decide correctly; but if thou wilt not forfeit thy prospect and trifle away thy opportunity, the bloody sweat and the snow-white tears of this naked virgin may refresh thy heart, restore thy intellect, and purify thy memory, so that thy eyes may see the Magnalia of the Most High, the height of the uppermost and the depth of the lowest. The foundation of nature and the power and action of all the elements will be plain to thee, thy intellect will be of silver and thy memory of gold; jewels of all colors^[17] will appear before thy eyes, and thou wilt know how they were born. Thou wilt then be able to separate the good from the evil, the rams from the sheep. Thy life will be rest, but the noise of the jingles of Aaron will awaken thee from thy sleep, and the sound of the harp of my father David will stir thee up from thy slumber.

This speech of Solomon frightened me still more, and I was exceedingly terrified; not only on account of his heart-rending words, but moreover on account of the exceeding beauty and loveliness of that royal woman. The king took me by the hand and led me through a wine cellar into a secret but very magnificent hall, in which he refreshed me with flowers and gave me apples to eat; and the windows of that apartment were made of clear crystals, through which I looked. Solomon then asked me what I saw, and I answered; "I see the same room in which I was a little while ago, and from which I came to this place, and I see all thy royal women to the left and the naked virgin to the right. Her eyes are redder than wine, her teeth whiter than milk, but the clothes lying at her feet are filthier, blacker, and more disgusting than the creek Kedron."

"Select one of these females for thy sweetheart," said Solomon. "I esteem them and my virgin equally. I am much delighted with the loveliness of my ladies, and I am not afraid of their dirty clothes." — And Solomon turned around, and began to converse with one of his queens.

There was among the ladies an old governess whose age must have been over a hundred years. She wore a gray dress upon her body, and a hlack cap upon her head. The former was beset with snow-white pearls and lined on the inside with red taffety, and embroidered very artfully with blue and yellow silk. Her cloak was of various Turkish colors and ornamented with elevated Indian figures. This old lady gave me secretly a sign, took me aside, and swore to me that she was the mother of the naked woman; that the latter was a chaste, pure, and mysterious virgin, her own daughter, who until then would never have suffered herself to be seen by any man; and although she had been prostituted often and among all nations, even in the open street, nevertheless no man had ever seen her naked nor touched her, for she was the virgin of which the prophet said: "See! we have a secretly born son who is different from the rest. See! A virgin has given birth to a child, a virgin who is called Apdorossa, that means secretly, and who does not like to associate with others." — "As this daughter is still unmarried," continued the old woman, "her dower and bridal ornaments are laid under her feet, on account of the danger of war, so that they may not be taken away by marauding troops, and she be deprived of her jewels." She further said that I should not be frightened by the stench and the horrid condition of her clothes, but that I should select her daughter above all others for my love and lust, and afterwards she would give me a certain liquid with which I might clean these clothes. She promised me that I should obtain a fluid salt and an incombustible oil which I might use in my household, and would find it an inexhaustible treasure, and that her right hand would continually carress me, while her left hand would be laid under my head.

I was about to declare categorically what I intended to do, when Solomon suddenly turned around, gazed in my face, and said "I am the wisest upon the earth; beautiful and delightful is my woman, and the splendor of my queens surpasses the gold of Ophir. The ornaments of my concubines overshadow the light of the sun, those of my virgins the moon. Heavenly are my ladies, inscrutable my wisdom, unfathomable my intellect." I was very much frightened, and bowed low down, and said: "Behold I have found favor before thee because I am poor. Give me therefore this naked virgin, whom I have selected among all for the continuation of my life. Her clothes are soiled and torn, but I will purify them, and I will love her with all my heart, and she shall be my sister, my bride; because with one of her eyes, and with one of the chains from her neck, she has taken away my heart and made me passionate, so that I am sick for love." — And forthwith Solomon gave her to me,^[18] and this act created such a stir and tumult among the females^[19] that I awoke, and taking it all for a dream I meditated about it until it was time to arise.

But when I arose, and after I had prayed, I saw the clothes of the naked virgin lying on the floor by the side of my bed. She herself, however, was nowhere to be Seen, and I began to tremble with fear. My hair stood erect upon my head, and a cold sweat commenced to cover my skin; but I strove to take courage. I recalled the dream in my memory, but my mind was not able to understand the meaning of what I had seen. I therefore did not take the trouble to examine the filthy clothes, neither did I dare to take them away, but I left them undisturbed and moved my bed into another room. Moreover, the stench that arose from these clothes was so strong that during my sleep my eyes had become poisoned and inflamed,^[20] and I was therefore unable to see the time of grace, neither could my understanding realize the great wisdom of Solomon.

But after these clothes had been lying in my chamber for over five years, and as I did not think that they ever could be of any use to me, I at last resolved to burn them, so as to get rid of their presence, and to put them out of my way. I made up my mind to do this on the very next day; but in the following night the. old woman again appeared to me, looked at me very scornfully, and said: "O thou ungrateful wretch! Did I not for the last five years entrust to thee the clothes of my daughter, together with her most precious jewels, and thou never didst attempt to cleanse them, neither didst thou expose them to the sun, so that the moths and worms might be removed? And what is still worse, and still more to be regretted, tbou even thinkest of throwing them into the fire! Is it not enough that thou art the cause of my daughter's death, and that she has perished through thee?" When I heard these words I became very angry, and answered: "I do not understand what you mean. Do you mean that I am a murderer? I never saw your daughter again, nor have I heard of her for the past five years. How could I be the cause of her death?"

But the old woman would not listen to me, and said: "My words are true. You have sinned against God, and therefore you could not obtain my daughter, neither could I give you the philosophical fluid^[21] I promised to you, and with which you could have cleansed her clothes. Solomon gave you my daughter voluntarily and willingly, but you detested her dress, and therefore the Planet Saturn,^[22] who is her grandfather, became angry and changed her again into that which she was before she was born. It is you who have made Saturn angry by your disrespect, and you are therefore the cause of her death, putrefaction, and final decomposition; for she is the one of whom the Senior says: "Woe to me! Give me a naked woman! My body was invisible and small, while I had never become a mother, until I had been born a second time,^[23] and then I gave birth to the powers and virtues of all Ihe roots and herbs, and I became victorious in my essence," etc.

These and other heart-rending complaints fell from her lips, and they appeared to me very strange and unjust. I attempted to suppress my anger as much as possible, but I could not keep from protesting solemnly against her accusations. I told her that I knew absolutely nothing about her daughter, much less of her death and putrefaction. I said that although I had kept her clothes in my room for over five years, nevertheless I had never perceived that they could possibly be of any use, and that I was therefore perfectly innocent before God and man.

My excuses seemed to please the old woman; she looked at me more kindly, and, said: "I see by the sincerity of your manner that you are really innocent of any wilful crimet and your innocence shall now be rewarded. I will therefore tell you honestly and in great secrecy, that in consideration of the extraordinary love and affection which my daughter felt for you, she left among her laid-off clothes a gray marbled casket for your inheritance. This casket is surrounded with a covering of rough, dirty, and black cloth. Clean it of all the filth and evil odor which still adheres to it on account of its contact with tbe clothes, and after it is well cleaned, you will require no key; for it will easily open, and you will find in it the two following things: First, a silver case full of splendid and polished diamonds which have been ground wifh lead; and second, a golden jewel adorned with rubies. This is the whole amount of the relics of my deceased daughter, and all this she made over to you by her last will and testament before she died, as your inheritance. Take that treasure, treat it according to the rules taught by the Hermetic art, purify it secretly, but silently, and with great patience, and preserve it in a warm, moist, vaporous. and transparent secret vault, where it will be protected agaihst cold, wind, hail, lightning. thunder, and other injurious influences, until the time of the wheat-harvest artives, when you will perceive its great and sublime splendor and rejoice in his possession."

While the old woman spoke she gave me a bottle containing the liquid lye. I then awoke and prayed to God earnestly and ferventIy that he might open my understanding, so that I might find the treasure-box which I had seen when it was pointed out to me in my dream. After I had finished my prayer I began to search in the pile of old clothes and found the casket, but the cloth that surrounded it was covered with a hard crust that had grown all around it, and which I vainly attempted to remove, for it would neither be softened by the liquid lye, nor could it be scratched away with iron or steel, and the cleansing fluid did not affect it at all. I finally lost my patience and left it alone, not knowing what else I could do. I suspected that it was bewitched, and I remembered the saying of the prophet, "If you were to clean it with lye, and to use a great deal of soap, still your vices would be only all the more visible to me.^"[24]

Again a year passed away in vain speculation. I frequently racked my brain in thinling how I might remove that crust from the casket, but I could find no answer, One day, however, I took a walk in my garden^[25] for the purpose of driving away my gloomy thoughts, and I sat down upon a square stone, and fell asleep. My body slept, but my heart was awake.^[26] Then the old woman appeared to me again and asked, "Did you obtain my daughter's inheritance?" I felt very melancholy, and said: "No. I have found the casket, but I cannot remove the crust, for tbe liquid which you gave me does not appear to soften it."

When the old woman heard me say such a foolish thing, she began to smile, and said: "Do you expect to eat oysters and crawfishes without opening the shell? Is it not always necessary to have them first prepared by Vulcan, the ancient and honored cook? I did not tell you to attempt to clean the external crust that surrounds the box, but to purify the casket itself with the cleansing fluid I gave to you, and which originated in that casket. Burn the crust away in the philosophical fire, and you will succeed better in your work." — She then gave me a few glowing coals tied up in white tinder, and taught me how to kindle an artificial philosophical fire, to burn away the crust from the casket. I followed her advice, and immediately there began to blow a wind from the North and a wind from the South, and they both blew at the same time through the garden.

I awoke, and after rubbing my eyes I found the glowing coals wrapped up in white tinder lying at my feet. I took them up in great haste and with great joy, and, praying often, called upon the Lord. I studied and practised day and night, and thought of the true and. excellent motto of the philosopher, who said, "Ignis et Azoth tibi sufficiunt",^[27] as truth which is also referred to by Esdra in his fourth book, where he says, "He gave me a goblet full of fire, and his form was like fire; I grew and wisdom grew in me." And God gave me the fifth state of perception, and my spirit entered the eternal memory. My mouth was opened and closed no more, and after the fortieth night was over, the two hundred and four books were finished; seventy of them were written; for the most wise; they were worthy to be read, and I wrote them upon a box-tree.

I worked silently and hopefully, according to the instructions that had been revealed to me by the little old woman, until after a long time my intellect became of silver and my memory of gold, as it had been predicted to me by the King Solomon; and after I had very carefully and prudently locked up the treasure-box and secured it according to the directions received, I found the splendid and glorious lunar-diamonds and solar-rubies, all of which had originated from one casket and from one country, and I heard the voice of Solomon, saying:—

"My friend is white and red, and elected among many thousand. His locks are curled, and black as the wings of a raven. His eyes are like the eyes of doves washed with milk by the side of the river, his cheeks are like gardens, filled with sanative herbs. His lips are like roses dripping with flowing myrrh, his hands are like turquoises, his body is pure as ebony adorned with saphhires, his legs are like marble pillars based upon golden feet. His stature is like that of the cedars of Lebaon, his breath is sweet and delicious. Such is my friend! my friend! Hold fast to him, O you daughters of Jerusalem, and do not lose him until you have taken him home into your mother’s house and brought him into her chamber."

When Solomon finished speaking, I did not know what to answer him, and therefore kept silent; but I thought of opening the locked-up treasure again, so that I might enjoy peace and remain without molestation. Just then, however, I heard another voice, which said:

"I conjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes upon the field, not to awaken my lady-love until she herself chooses to awaken, because she is like a closed garden, a hidden spring, a sealed-up fountain. She is the vineyard of Baalhamon, the garden of Engeddi, the mountain of myrrh and incense, the bed, the arm-chair, the crown, the palm and apple tree, the flowers Saron, the sapphire, the turquoise, the wall, the parapet, the well of living water, the princess and the love of Solomon in voluptuousness. She is the best beloved of her mother and has been selected by her. Her head is covered with dew, and her locks with the rain that fell during the night."

When I heard this speech and revelation I began to understand the purpose of the sages, and I resolved to leave the hidden treasure untouched until, by the mercy of God, by the action of Nature's Nobility, and by the work of my hands, everything will be happily finished.

Shortly after this day, and on the day of the new moon, a solar eclipse^[28] took place, which produced a terrible effect on all who beheld it. At first the sun appeared with dark green and somewhat mixed colors, but at last he turned black as coal, and the heaven, as well as the earth, became dark. Then the people were very much alarmed, but I was glad in my heart, and thought of the great mercy of God and of the new birth, to which Christ's fable of the kernel of wheat refers, and how the seed is decomposed and absorbed by the germ that grows out of it, and - that if this did not take place it could, not grow and bear fruit. And an arm reached out through the clouds, and my body began to tremble, for that arm held a letter in its hand, to which were attached four hanging seals, and in that letter was written, "I am black, but I am lovely, O you daughters of Jerusalem. I am like tite houses of Kedar, and like the carpets of Solomon. Do not despise me because I am black, for the sun has burned my face."

But as soon as that which was fixed began to act in the fluid, a rainbow appeared, and I thought of the covenant which the Supreme had made, and of the fidelity of my guide who had instructed me, and the result was that by the assistance of the planets and fixed stars, the sun overcame the darkness, and a bright day appeared over the mountains and valleys. Then all fear and terror was over, and all who had lived to see that day were glad and rejoiced. They praised the Lord, and said: "The winter is gone, the rain has disappeared, the flowers have come forth all over the country; the spring has arrived, and the cry of the turtle-dove is heard in the forest. The fig-tree and the grape-vine have sprouted and send out their fragrance. Therefore let us hasten and catch the foxes, the little foxes which are despoiling our vineyard, so that we may gather ripe grapes, full of artificial wine, and obtain milk and honey, and feast and be filled."

And when the day was on the decline, and the evening appeared, the entire sky became colored, and the constellation of the Seven Stars arose, and emitted yellow rays. The night ran through its regular course, until the morning was dispersed by the red rays of the sun. Then the wise men of. the country awoke from their sleep, looked toward the sky, and said: "Who is she that comes forth like the glory of the morning, beautiful as the moon, excellent like the sun, and witltout a blemish? The glow of her cheeks is fiery and a flame of the Lord, and many waters cannot extinguish her love, nor would the contents of all the rivers be sufficient to drown her. Therefore we will not desert her, for she is our sister, and athough she has become little and has no breasts, we will take her again into her mother's house, into the crystal chamber in which she has dwelled before, so that she may be nourished by the breasts of her mother. Then she will grow and go forth like the tower of David with its parapets and battlements, on which are hanging a thousand shields and weapons for the strong."

And as she came out of her palace, the daughters praised her, and the queens and concubines admired her and extolled her virtue, but I fell down upon my face, thanked God and praised his holy name.

Thus, O you followers of the truth, the great mystery of the sages and the revelation of the spirit has now been accomplished in all its power and glory. Theophrastus Paracelsus, the great monarch in the kingdom of mind, in his Apocalypsis Hermetis, says that this mysterious essence is contained in the beginning and the end of the world. In its power rest the elements and the Fifth Substance;^[29] it adapts the elements and the spirit to each other, and truly overcomes the resistance of the former. It is the sole Noumen, a unity, a divine and wonderful activity. No eye has ever seen, no ear has heard, and into the heart of no mortal has ever penetrated, that which heaven has incorporated into this spirit of truth. In this mystery alone is the truth, and it has therefore been called the voice of the truth. It is the power out of which Adam and the old patriarchs, Abraham, Isaak, and Jacob, have obtained the Elixir of Life and great riches. By the power of this spirit the ancient philosophers have discovered the seven free arts and filled their treasuries with gold. By the power of this spirit did Noah build bis ark, Moses his tabernacle, Solomon his temple, and mold the golden vessels that were used therein. Esdras restored the law by its power, and it is said that its possession enabled Maria, the sister of Moses, to be very hospitable to strangers. This spirit was universally used among the ancient prophets: it is an Universal Panacea for all diseasses of body and mind, the last and the highest mystery of Nature. It is the spirit of Good that fills the infinite universe, and that moved upon the face of the waters in the beginning. The world cannot conceive of it without the mysterious and gracious inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or without the secret instruction of those to whom it is known; but the whole world needs it, and desires it and cannot exist without it; its value cannot be overestimated by man, and the, saints of all ages and of all nations, ever since the beginning of the world, have earnestly desired to obtain it. It rises up into the seven planets,^[30] lifts the clouds, disperses fogs, gives to all things their light transforms everything it touches into silver and gold, produces health and superabundance, virtues and treasures, comforts the sufferer, heals the sick, and cures all diseases. It is the mystery of all mysteries, the secret of all secrets, the strength and the life of everything. It nourishes the body, refreshes the soul, keeps man in continual youth, drives away old age and debility, destroys weakness, and rejuvenates the world. Its quality is inscrutable, its power infinite, its action invisible, its magnificence greater than all.

It is above all earthly and heavenly things, a spirit of spirits, a select essence, which gives health, happiness, joy, gladness, peace, and love. It destroys poverty, ignorance, and misery. It changes men into beings who can neither think nor speak evil, nor act wrongly, but who are all-powerful for good. It gives to every one that which his heart desires. To the good it gives honor and long life; but to the bad, who misuse it, eternal punishment.

And now we will — in the name of the Holy Trinity, and in the following words — close that which we had to say about this great mystery, the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, and we now, thereby, most solemnly celebrate and conclude the highest feast of the sages: —

Praisem honor, and thanks be given forever to the most high and all-powerful God, who has created this art, and whom it has pleased to reveal it to me through a sacred covenant according to his promise which he fulfilled in spite of iny own imperfections. I pray to him with all the aspirations of my heart, and in great humility of mind, that he may rule and guide my soul, my sense, and my understanding, by the power of his spirit of sanctity, so that I may not speak of this secret before the world, much less communicate it to the unworthy, or reveal it to any creature, and thus break my oath, tear the seal of divinity and become a perjured brorther of the golden Cross; as by doing so I would heap the blackest of insult uprm the majesty of the Supreme, and would knowingly and infallibly commit a sin against the Holy Ghost,^[31] an evil from which Good as father, son, and spirit the Adorable Trinity in Unity, may protect me forever and ever. Amen! Amen! Amen!

 

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