The Hermetic Museum, Vol. I — trans. A. E. Waite (1893)

Let me then tell you, who would be a true lover of this Art, that it was first delivered by God to Adam in Paradise, For it is a true revelation of many secrets and mysteries. It shews you the vanity of your body and of your life in this world ; but it also solaces you with the hope of eternal salvation. It suggests to you the reflection that if God has infused such wonderful virtues into mere inanimate natural objects, surely we, who are so much better than they, must be reserved for some high and glorious destiny. I beseech you, therefore, to acquit yourself wisely in all that you do—not to be in haste, —but to reveal this mystery to no mortal man, unless he be a lover of this Art and of a godly, sincere, and merciful temper. Such was the practice of the ancient Sages to whom this wisdom was revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You must also confess that this Art is real, for the sake of those who will not believe that Jesus Christ proceeded from His Almighty Heavenly Father, and was also born of a pure virgin. Moreover, you must ask God to enlighten you by the gift of His Holy Spirit, to sharpen your understanding, to open your eyes, and to grant you a profound insight into that unfathomable wisdom which lies hid in our Art, and which no Sage has ever been able to express in his writings. For there are many secrets in Nature which it is impossible for our unaided human reason to apprehend. If you follow my directions and suffer yourself to be guided by the grace of God, then the work which you undertake for the glory of God, and for the good of your neighbour, will have a joyful issue. Feed the hungry ; give drink to the thirsty ; clothe the naked; comfort the afflicted ; visit the sick and the prisoners : and you shall have what you desire.

ROBERT VALENS RUGL.

• * A spirit is within, which by deliberate skill"
• * you must separate from the body. Simply"
• * disjoin the material part from the vapour. You"
• * should then add the cold water of the spring."
• * With this you should unweariedly sprinkle both."
• * You will then have the true Elixir of all this "

«€T Amt?

Exhortation and Information

to all the lovers of this Art, in which they can see, as in a mirror, all the fundamental and essential requirements thereof ; whether it is possible or not to arrive at the true Art, and concerning the same.

I would warn all and sundry, but especially you, my beloved disciples, in clear and impressive language, to be on your guard against all fantastical teaching, and to listen to the truthful information which I shall now proceed to give you.

In the first place, you must give a wide berth to the false Alchemy of the vulgar herd. I have experienced this so much that [I am loath to recommend any to undertake the work, since this Art is so well hidden that no mortal on earth can discover it unless Sol and Luna meet. If you give diligent heed to my warning you may attain to a knowledge thereof, but if you do not, you will never approach any nearer to it. Know also that there is only oze thing in the whole world that enters into the composition of the Stone, and that, therefore, all coagulation, and admixture, of different ingredients, would shew you to be on a wrong scentaltogether. If you could perform all the different operations of our art, yet all your dissolving, coagulating, decomposing, distilling, augmenting, albefying, &c., would be useless, without a true knowledge of our Matter. For our Art is good and precious, nor can any one become a partaker of it, unless it be revealed to him by God, or unless he be taught by a skilled Master. Itis a treasure such as the whole world cannot buy. Do not, therefore, my sons, spend your toil until you know what that is on which you are to operate. For even if you knew the right Matter, your information would be useless to you without a knowledge of the method of preparing it. "The Stone in its final and effective form is not to be found anywhere in the whole world, either in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath ; nor in any metal, nor in anything that grows, nor yet even in gold or silver. lt must be prepared, Ze, developed, into its final form ; yet for all that, it cannot, strictly speaking, be made better than God created it, nor can the Tincture be prepared out of it: the * Tincture' must be added to it, and therefore has nothing to do