Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

Alchemy Diffculties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Non ti fidiare al alchemista povero, o medico ammalato." by Parabolanus
Reprinted from Theosophical Siftings! Volume 2 The Theosophical Pu"lishing Society, #ngland

Page 1

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

$R%& the 'ery cradle of the greatest ci'ili(ations of Anti)uity, the precious metals, *old and Sil'er, ha'e formed the "asis of commercial transactions, facilitated their e+pansion, and contri"uted to the mutual intercourse and ,elfare of man-ind. /ommerce made easy leads to mutual ad'ancement, ci'ili(ation, and the spread of -no,ledge. *old and Sil'er must necessarily, at first, ha'e "een o"tained from the localities ,here Nature had deposited them. 0hen their great con'enience had once esta"lished them in general use as the means of o"taining this ,orld1s goods 2 ,hich are considered to "e not only the necessaries of life, "ut also the product of the toil, industry and ingenuity of some classes of men, or of the lu+uries and special fruits of one richly endo,ed soil and climate to "e transported to other countries not so fa'oured 2 it is e'ident that the desire of men to possess as much as possi"le of the precious metals ,ould stimulate some more am"itious and cle'erer than their fello,s to try to imitate the processes of Nature. $rom ,hat ,e no, -no, to "e the e+treme difficulty of it, ,e might reasona"ly suppose that no one, "y the e+ercise of a mere physical intellect, ,ould "e a"le to succeed in doing so. *old is mentioned at the earliest period of history, "ut "efore the time of 3ermes Trismegistus there is no early record of anyone ha'ing in this ,ay succeeded in /hrusopoieia. 0hether there are not slight e'idences of its ha'ing "een so performed, under peculiar circumstances, in later times, ,e shall allude to further on. 0e may ta-e it as presumpti'e e'idence that it ,as not so done, "ecause ,e may "e sure that if it had "een many ,ould ha'e done it, and *old, ,hich ,as then, at least, the scarcest of all metals, ,ould ha'e "ecome so plentiful that the mar-et ,ould ha'e "een o'er supplied, and it ,ould ha'e lost its 'alue and use as a con'enient mode of e+change. The history of the primiti'e ,orld gi'es not the slightest indication that this e'er too- place. /roesus is related to ha'e o"tained his immense ,ealth from the gold found in the sands of the [Page 6 ri'er Pactolus in 4y"ia. 5t ,ould seem he must ha'e ta-en it all, for Stra"o, the *eographer, says none ,as found there in his time. The scientific ,orld and the generality of 6so-called7 educated men, not,ithstanding the e'idence of all Anti)uity, and of, comparati'ely, more modern ,itnesses, such as Picus &irandula, 3el'etius, Athanasius 8ircher, and others, still affect to dou"t ,hether it e'er ,as done. 0e ha'e not the slightest ,ish to ma-e any attempt to con'ince those ,ho are guided "y pre9udice and feeling, or the shi""oleth of a party, instead of the right use of the logical faculty in deli"erately and carefully sifting the ,hole of the e'idence for or against on any gi'en su"9ect. The scientific ,orld is still s,ayed "y loose reasoning and e+ploded pre9udices. 5t is as ,ell that such men should not "elie'e it. 0e ,rite not for them. The mar- of the true &agus is, "y the sternest self-discipline, to ha'e rooted out all pre9udices and to ha'e left the mind perfectly free to recei'e as truth ,hat the preponderance of e'idence, as 9udged "y the logical faculty, declares to "e such, and utterly to disregard the fashion of the times on any su"9ect. These only ,ill gi'e heed to ,hat ,e say. :;nless ye "ecome as little children, ye cannot enter the 8ingdom of 3ea'en : may "e understood to apply to the remo'ing of pre9udices and educational errors. 0e ,ould not ha'e presumed to offer our o,n ideas on the *olden $leece ,ere it not that, firstly, ,e ha'e "een strongly urged to do so, and, secondly, "ecause at the present moment the re'i'al of %ccultism has "rought in its train, as it al,ays has done, a strongly a,a-ened attention to that one "ranch of it called Alchemy. That many may not la"our in 'ain at it, ,e ,ould put "efore them a fe, considerations dra,n, not from the practice e+actly, "ut from the long contemplation of the li'es and calamities of those ,ho ha'e, or, at least, are supposed to ha'e performed this &agnum %pus. As a "asis of ,hat ,e ,ould ,ish to su"mit to them is the 'ery a"le and useful "oo- recently pu"lished, : Page 2

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

4i'es of Alchemistical philosophers,: "y #d,ard Arthur 0aite. 5n the 5ntroductory #ssay to his "oo-, follo,ed "y the Theory and Practice of the &agnum %pus, &r. 0aite, in elo)uent phraseology, e+amines and comments on some of the latest modern ,riters on the su"9ect, and ,ith great perspicacity and 9ustice ,eighs in the "alances their pro"a"le errors, and declares his o,n firm "elief in opposition to some of these modern Alchemical ,riters, that it ,as real material gold ,hich the old Alchemists sought, and not solely the psychical regeneration and perfection of &an. &r. 0aite also sho,s the pro"a"le use of the :5ntuiti'e $aculty: in those ,ho ha'e attained to the :&agnum %pus:. 3erein ,e most cordially agree ,ith him. 0e ha'e, at the "eginning of this Paper, alluded to the e+treme impro"a"ility of anyone reaching this greatly desired goal "y the e+ercise of the mere physical intellectual po,ers, ho,e'er ele'ated [Page ! they might "e a"o'e those of the ordinary run of mortals. 0e must loo- else,here for a confirmation of &r. 0aite1s reasoning as to ,hat ,as re'ealed "y the intuiti'e faculties. No,, in ancient 5ndia there e+isted, of the glorious Aryan race, :&unis:, or inspired men, i.e., intuiti'e. To them ,e are inde"ted for the su"lime Sciences of Alge"ra, Astronomy, etc., and if to them ,e o,e so much in this direction, ,e may safely presume that these ,ere the men, if any, to penetrate intuiti'ely all the secrets of Nature, and "ehold, "y Di'ine 5nspiration, ho, gold had "een formed in the earth. As the Alge"ra they in this ,ay in'ented has come do,n to us, or, more pro"a"ly, some portion only of it, so ,e may reasona"ly conclude did some remnants of their -no,ledge of transmutation of metals. There are treatises in Sanscrit upon it. 0hat e+actly ,as the conne+ion "et,een ancient 5ndia and #gypt, history does not tell us. That the &israimites, or &e((oranians, or #gyptians ,ere s-illed in the esoteric sciences is "eyond dou"t. 3ermes Trismegistus ,as a reality. Possi"ly "oth ,ere colonies from the ancient Atlantis, and had "oth "rought ,ith them the Science of &agic. 0hate'er the source, "oth Aryans and &e((oranians had this Science, and "y it 3ermes Trismegistus made la,s for and go'erned #gypt, gi'ing it dynasties lasting through ages and ages. 5n Ragon1s :&a<onnerie %cculte: he )uotes from the : %edipus Aegyptiacus : of the learned =esuit, Athanasius 8ircher 6t. ii., p. 2, De Alchym., c. 17, e+presses himself thus as to Hermes >: 5t is so certain that these first men possessed the art of making gold, ,hether "y e+tracting it from all sorts of matters, or "y transmuting the metals, that he ,ho dou"ted it, or ,ould fain deny it, ,ould sho, himself perfectly ignorant of history. The priests, the -ings, and the heads of families ,ere alone instructed in it. This art ,as al,ays -ept a great secret, and those ,ho ,ere possessors of it al,ays maintained a profound silence, for fear that the la"oratories and the sanctuary the most concealed of Nature, "eing disco'ered to an ignorant people, they ,ould turn this -no,ledge to the in9ury of the Repu"lic. The ingenious and prudent Hermes, foreseeing this danger ,hich threatened the State, had then reason for concealing this art of ma-ing gold under the same 'eils and under the same hieroglyphic o"scurities, of ,hich he a'ailed himself to conceal from the profane people that part of philosophy ,hich concerned *od, angels, and the uni'erse.: Ragon goes on to say> :5t re)uired the e'idence and the force of truth to dra, such an a'o,al from this most learned father, ,ho, upon many occasions, has disputed the e+istence of the philosopher1s stone.! %ne of these occasions is gi'en in :3istoire de la Philosophie 3erm?ti)ue, par &. l@A""? 4anglet du $resnoy: 6Tom. ii. p. A17. A young man, an unsuccessful see-er of the philosopher1s stone, ,as 'isited "y a perfect stranger, [Page " ,ho sho,ed him a process for ma-ing it, did it ,ith him, and ,ith the po,der Page B

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

so made the young man did con'ert a large )uantity of mercury into pure gold. At the stranger1s dictation he ,rote do,n the recipe. Cet he ne'er could do it again, nor find the stranger. 8ircher, in accordance ,ith the practice of his church, intimated that the strange 'isitor ,as the de'il. Ragon proceeds to say that the gold then found in all the mines of the ,orld ,ould not ha'e sufficed for the e+pense of raising the e+traordinary monuments, the sumptuous palaces, the immense ,or-s ,hich co'ered the soil of #gypt, "ut infers that it must ha'e come from the sacred la"oratories. There is an a"undance of testimony from other sources, that the 3ierarchy or Priest--ings of Ancient #gypt ,ere adepts in the transmutatory art, and, for some centuries, ruled ,ith great 9ustice and e)uity the rest of the nation "y means of the great ad'antage ,hich this and the discipline of 5nitiation ga'e them. 5t ,as necessary, therefore, to enshrine this -no,ledge in the most profound secrecy. 3ence the in'ention of 3ieroglyphics and a Sym"olism, in ,hich the process is in'ol'ed in the most intricate, fantastic, and perple+ing images, the meaning of ,hich none "ut the 5nitiates ,ere a"le to penetrate. There is reason to "elie'e that the 5siac Ta"le is a re'elation to 5nitiates of the ,hole process. This 5nitiation ,as an ordeal that none "ut those highly gifted "y Nature, such as &oses, Pythagoras, Plato, Apollonius Tyanaeus, and some fe, others could undergo and li'e. 0hen they had passed it, they had attained to such a mastery of themsel'es as not to "e li-ely to ma-e an ill use of this -no,ledge, e'en if the penalty of death had not a,aited those ,ho di'ulged the &ysteries of 5nitiation. [ See /hristian1s : 3istoire de la &agie D tra'ers les Eges:, etc., pages 1FG to 1HB. Also :5nitiations au+ mystIres d1lsis dans la pyramide de &emphis: and 5!5nitiation au+ &ystIres de &ithra au+ Sciences &agi)ues des /hald?ens d1Assyrie, Par 3enri Delaage: 5t is, more especially, to this ,ithholding the secrets of /hrusopoieia from all "ut those ,ho had achie'ed the mastery of themsel'es to ,hich ,e ,ould no, refer. &r. 0aite, as ,e mentioned a"o'e, has sho,n the different 'ie,s held "y some modern ,riters, one part maintaining that all the sym"olic and mystic allusions of the Alchemists had reference to the human "ody and soul 2 to &an 2 and denying that it included the literal transmutation of the inferior metals into gold. 0hat ,e ha'e 9ust no, gi'en as to the Ancient 5nitiations, and the "oo-s to ,hich ,e ha'e referred, tend to sho, that the t,o things ,ere com"ined in oneJ that unless the aspirant had passed the ordeal, guaranteeing his complete su"9ugation of the lo,er passions, the -no,ledge of /hrusopoieia ,as for e'er for"idden to him. [Page # The 3ermetic Philosophers understood ,ell the duple+ sym"olism of their Art, i.e., "oth its physical and its psychical meaning, e.g., in the Kodleian 4i"rary at %+ford is a large scroll done "y Sir *eorge Ripley, containing 3ermetic Sym"olism. At one end is the $ool, or merely natural man, dra,n e+actly according to the Lero, or first Sym"ol of the Taro. At the other end is the portraiture of the ,ell-"alanced and highlyde'eloped head of the Adept. The Lero may mean either the unregenerate man, or the Prima &ateria, the /haos, of the Alchemists. The space "et,een the $ool and the Adept contains 'arious Sym"ols applica"le either to the progressi'e stages in finding the philosopher1s stone, or to the process of Regeneration of &an. 0e -no, there are indi'iduals in 'arious parts of this country ,ho are secretly or openly ,or-ing at the 3ermetic Art. 0e do not tell them it is a hopeless tas-, for undou"tedly history tends to sho, it has "een done e'en "y those ,ho ha'e not "ecome regenerate "y a regular process of 5nitiation, "ut the same history sho,s that the percentage of those ,ho ha'e so succeeded is 'ery small, and of this small Page H

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

num"er there is a fatal record of the direst calamities and miseries coming upon some of them. &r. 0aite gi'es a list of more than fifty real or supposed Adepts from *e"er to /agliostro. To go through all these ,ould far e+ceed the limits permitted to us, and ,e can only ta-e a fe, of the most prominent. The &on-s, such as Roger Kacon, Kasil Valentine, Sir *eorge Ripley and others ,e may pass o'er as coming under the category of those ,ho had su"dued their passions "y an ascetic life, e'en if they had not undergone an actual 5nitiation, ,hich seems to "e more than pro"a"le. Although these could undou"tedly perform the &agnum %pus, the e'idence is that they made no use of it for their o,n mere animal and ,orldly en9oyment, ,hich of itself sho,s the attainment of the greatest self-control. Nicolas $lamel is one of the first prominent laymen ,hom modern history asserts to ha'e "een a true Adept, "ut that he did not attain to it till late in life. So many years of patient perse'erance and the necessary self-denial, the all-a"sor"ing mental concentration, all going on to an ad'anced period of life, must ha'e "een a discipline acting on the same lines as progressi'e 5nitiation and, perhaps, e)ui'alent to it in su"duing the lo,er passions. No self-indulgence is recorded of him, "ut he used his ,ealth to "uild churches, alms-houses and hospitals, succoured the needy and did e'ery good ,or-. #liphas 4e'i [ Dogme et Rituel de la 3aute &agie:, Tome 1, page BAA remar-s that his final success ,as o,ing to his personal preparation. 0hat can this mean "ut the same effect ,hich is produced "y progressi'e 5nitiation M According to &r. 0aite, the reputation he had of possessing the philosopher1s stone "rought him under the notice of the -ing, ,ho sent for him. Percei'ing [Page $% the danger he incurred in complying ,ith this summons, he contri'ed that his ,ife should appear to die and "e "uried, "ut, in reality, she fled to another country, ,hen he also enacted for himself a pseudo-death and "urial, "ut secretly ,ent and 9oined his ,ife, and that they ,ere seen ali'e many years after in another country. 5f this "e true, his Adeptship ,as en'ironed "y a great danger, ,hich his sagacity and prudence alone ena"led him to a'oid. 3ad the -ing demanded his secret and he refused to re'eal it, he might ha'e ended his days in the Kastile ,hich /harles V5 had 9ust completed. Kernard Tre'isan passed a ,hole life and spent all his patrimony in 'ainly trying to ma-e gold, and ,as reduced to the greatest e+tremity of po'erty, "ut at last, ,hen he ,as se'enty-fi'e years of age, as he said, "y la"orious comparing one Alchemical ,riter ,ith another, pic-ing out a little from each and putting the ,hole together, did at last find out the secret. This is the piece of e'idence ,e alluded to in our opening remar-s as tending to sho, it could "e done "y a mere physical Adeptship, "ut ,hat ,e ha'e said as to Nicolas $lamel is e)ually applica"le to him. A life-time spent and energies concentrated on the constant search for the one thing, and latterly in po'erty, e+patriation, and actual ,ant and pri'ation, must of itself ha'e "een e)ual to an 5nitiation, and ha'e included in it the a"asement of the mere animal passions and a corresponding ele'ation of the higher faculties, ,hich at last ena"led him to triumph. 0e -no, that S,eden"org "ecame lucid at the age of fifty-se'en, and /ardan at a"out the same age. Tre'isan1s lucidity may ha'e "een delayed to a still later period, and it might, after all, ha'e "een a psychic Adeptship ,hich at last ga'e him the entrance to the shut palace of the -ing. %f him, 4englet du $resnoy [ Philosophie Hermtique:, Tome 1, page. 2HH ,rites : 5t ,as a fee"le consolation to ha'e consummated uselessly considera"le ,ealth at the end of more than si+ty years, to ha'e "een e+posed to the most e+treme misery, and e'en to see himself forced to e+patriation that his misery might not "e -no,n, and not to arri'e at the consummation till the age of se'enty-fi'e years, an age at ,hich a man can no longer en9oy ,ealth. 3o,e'er, if Kernard did find, he en9oyed it for some fe, years, "ut can one call "y the title of en9oyment riches ac)uired at the e+pense of his repose, and at the age of decrepitude, ,hen one ought to "e no longer occupied ,ith anything "ut the possession of future good M : To this ,e Page A

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

ans,er that his more than si+ty years freedom from de"asing ,orldly pleasures, and the e+ercise of his ,ill in ele'ating his psychic po,ers ,ere the true riches ,ith ,hich to enter upon the ne+t ,orld. 0e ha'e no account of his a"using the great po,er he possessed during the remaining years of his life. &en act from ha"it, ,hich in his case ,as formed "y 'oluntary long and painful a"stinence. [Page $$ This ha"it ,as the passport to his final success, and ,e may reasona"ly suppose that he considered himself happy to ha'e achie'ed it e'en at the cost of so much suffering. 3is e+ample, ho,e'er, does not gi'e much encouragement to those ,ho are see-ing this po,er for their o,n selfish and ,orldly purposes. The ne+t prominent adept is the man of apparent contradictions, the mar'ellous Paracelsus, the pupil of the great Trithemius, ,ho, at the early age of thirty years, had so far ad'anced that an Ara"ian Adept at /onstantinople re'ealed to him the great secret, or so much of it as he did not -no, already. The Ara"ian must ha'e percei'ed that he had so far progressed that he ,as 9ustified in re'ealing to him ,hat no possessor ,ill impart to an un,orthy person, e'en if it cost him his life to refuse. &uch mystery has hung a"out the death of Paracelsus at the early age of forty-eight years, for the unra'elling of ,hich ,e are greatly inde"ted to the careful researches of Dr. $ran( 3artmann, at Sal("urg, ,hich seem to pro'e conclusi'ely that he ,as assassinated. This e+traordinary man must ha'e used his po,ers ,ith the greatest moderation, for in his life there ,as no ostentation nor am"ition of high station, and at his death no signs of great ,ealth ,ere found. 3is one care seems to ha'e "een to heal the sic-, performing such cures as are not recorded of any &edicus "efore or since, and to ha'e "een content to li'e on his professional income, and scorning to use his Alchemical -no,ledge for his o,n pleasure or con'enience.Nliphas 4?'i has said in his remar-s upon e'ocations [ 3istoire de la &agie!, page HAG 2 that Schroepffer and 4a'ater, ,ho practised this dangerous form of magic, "oth died a 'iolent death, the one "y suicide, the other "y assassination, and seems to intimate that in these t,o cases the e'ocation of spirits ,as, at least, the indirect cause of this tragical consummation. 0hether there ,as any irregularity in the occult practice of Paracelsus li-ely to lead to such a calamity, there is no relia"le e'idence. The -ind of life he is said to ha'e passed does not sho, any great personal comfort or ,orldly ad'antage ,hich he deri'ed from the immense po,er his 5llumination ga'e him, "ut rather an intense strain upon his "odily and mental functions, ,hich his profound -no,ledge caused him to percei'e must "e e)uili"riated "y seasons of con'i'iality and festi'e rela+ation. 3is early death seems re'olting to all our ideas of ,hat should "e the last end of an Adept. 0hether he re'ealed too much to princes is a )uestion not easy to sol'e. 5f he did, it may account for that fate o'erta-ing him, ,hich is the allotted portion of the re'ealers of mysteries. 4et those ,ho are entering upon this study consider ,ell the dangers that "ristle on their path. 0e ,ill only ma-e a passing allusion to Dr. =ohn Dee. Although he had passed pro"a"ly as many years in the pursuit of the philosopher1s stone, yet the e+treme po'erty and dependence of his last years attest that [Page $& he could not ha'e performed the &agnum %pus, and that his endea'ours to o"tain it "y communicating ,ith spirits opens up a lugu"rious 'ista of the degradation and humiliation "rought upon a man of genius and learning "y this ris-y means. 0e possess a &S. purporting to ha'e "elonged to him ,hich gi'es the sym"ols of formulae for e'o-ing the spirits of the planet Venus to gain from them the -no,ledge of transmutations of metals. Dr. Dee is another lamenta"le instance of the perils and sufferings incurred "y those ,ho try to gain this great pri(e "y running the race ,ithout regarding the ,ise rules laid do,n "y the ancient sages. Apparently, the most successful as ,ell the most unfortunate and ,retched of all Adepts ,as the Scotchman, Ale+ander Seton, calling himself /osmopolites. &r. 0aite gi'es his history. 5t seems nothing Page G

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

less than utter infatuation on the part of Seton, in 'isiting 3olland and *ermany, to ha'e made pro9ections in the presence of such 'arious people. This infatuation ,as only e)ualled "y the great courage and fortitude he after,ards displayed ,hen put to the torture "y the #lector of Sa+ony to force him to disco'er his secret. 5n this he sho,ed the spirit of the true Adept. And yet his singular folly and imprudence cannot "e other,ise designated than as "eing contrary to all the rules ,hich should guide those ,ho ha'e "een admitted to this great arcanum. &r. 0aite does not mention it, "ut it is -no,n to a fe, that the mode in ,hich he gained his -no,ledge ,as not )uite regular. 3e had a sister, a natural /lair'oyante, ,hose health he ruined "y employing her lucidity in his researches. 3e also made an e'ocation of a spirit ,hom ,e ,ill not name, and, "y this means, gained possession of a po,erful Ancient Talisman. 5n this irregularity ,e may, perhaps, discern the cause of his great imprudence a"o'e alluded to. Spirits al,ays turn the ta"les on those ,ho constrain them, if they ha'e the opportunity. Neither did Seton, li-e $lamel, use his ,ealth for charita"le purposes, "ut simply for his o,n personal ,ealth and en9oyment. $or t,o years after escaping from the #lector of Sa+ony "y the aid of Sendi'ogius, he under,ent the greatest "odily suffering from the effects of the rac- and the hot irons applied to him. 3e told Sendi'ogius that, had not his "ody "een completely disorgani(ed "y the terri"le torture of the rac-, his #li+ir ,ould ha'e restored him. 0e may suppose that his mental agonies could not ha'e "een less than his "odily sufferings. $rom these he ,as released "y death at the end of t,o years. 3is fate does not encourage anyone to endea'our, "y de'ious paths, to compass the Art of Transmutation for the purpose of self-en9oyment and the gratification of am"itious ,orldly desires. There is another not included in the list gi'en "y &r. 0aite, the also unfortunate Dr. Price, of *uildford. This "rings transmutation nearer to our o,n times, for it ,as in the year 1OP2, from &ay Gth to &ay 2Pth, upon eight different occasions, in the presence of ,itnesses 'arying from [Page $' four in the first e+periment to fifteen in the last "ut one, 4ords %nslo,, 8ing, and Palmerston "eing amongst the num"er, Dr. Price did transmute inferior metals into gold and sil'er ,hich stood the test of the assayers in 4ondon and %+ford. #'ery precaution ,as ta-en against deception, those coming to the trial "ringing the metals to "e transmuted and other things ,ith them. There seemed to "e no dou"t in the minds of those present that Dr. Price had fully succeeded in transmuting inferior metals into pure gold and sil'er. All this is gi'en at length in the Annual Register: for 1OP2. 5t is also gi'en in the : *entleman1s &aga(ine:, as ,e suppose, of the same date, "ut this ,e ha'e not oursel'es seen. 5t seems to us impossi"le to read this account of his 'arious transmutations, so often repeated, and "efore so many credita"le and ,atchful ,itnesses, ,ithout "eing con'inced that if he had used any of the ,ell--no,n tric-s of the pseudo-artists, he must ha'e "een detected. The se)uel to this strange history is, that the Royal Society of ,hich Dr. Price ,as a $ello, called upon him, on pain of e+pulsion if he refused, to repeat the e+periment in their presence. 3e attempted it and failed. 0e are precluded from o"taining from himself the causes of this failure, for he forth,ith ,ent and committed suicide. The $ello,s of the Royal Society ,ould, no dou"t, "e glad to ta-e this as conclusi'e e'idence that he could not, and ne'er had done it. And yet there ,ere fifteen ,itnesses of high intelligence and as competent to 9udge of this particular )uestion as any of the $ello,s of the Royal Society, ,ho could ha'e had no special e+perience in this department. 5n a /ourt of 4a,, ,e opine, the positi'e e'idence of the fifteen ,itnesses ,ould out-,eigh the negati'e e'idence of the $ello,s of the Royal Society. As %ccultists ,e -no, there may ha'e "een other reasons for his failure under such conditions, and ,hat ,e may call, hostile influences, for ,e may consider the )uestion pre9udged, or they ,ould ha'e "een content ,ith, and not ignored, the e'idence of fifteen such good ,itnesses as they ,ere. As %ccultists ,e -no, that Dr. Price ,as contra'ening all the la,s of 5nitiation to attempt to ma-e it a pu"lic matter, and ,as therefore pre-doomed to pay the penalty of failure and death. Page O

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

As yet ,e ha'e not succeeded in o"taining any information as to ho, Dr. Price "ecame possessed of the po,der of pro9ection ,ith ,hich he effected the transmutations, ,hether he made it himself, or ,hether a small )uantity only had "een gi'en him "y some Adept, and that he had e+hausted his stoc-, or nearly so, in the eight e+periments a"o'e mentioned, or ,hether he had learned it from intercourse ,ith spirits, and they according to their ,ont, turned treacherous to him in his greatest need, ,e ha'e not "een a"le to disco'er. Sendi'ogius ,as presented "y Ale+ander Seton ,ith a goodly portion of the po,der of pro9ection, and, ,ith this, Sendi'ogius posed as an Adept, pu"lished Seton1s ,ritings as his o,n, and transmuted in the presence of Royalty, and recei'ed high honours and [Page $( appointments, "ut, ,hen his po,der ,as all e+pended, he "ecame the 'eriest charlatan and impostor, descending to the meanest tric-s, and narro,ly escaping the sad fate of Ale+ander Seton. 5n the same ,ay, in $rance, one Delisle is supposed to ha'e possessed himself of the po,der of pro9ection "y murdering an Adept. Keginning from the year 1OFP, he decei'ed the ,orld "y his pu"lic transmutations, ,here"y he gained the reputation of "eing a real Adept, "ut, at last coming under the notice of Royalty, he ,as arrested. 3is guards, -no,ing he had some of the po,der of pro9ection on his person, resol'ed to -ill him to possess themsel'es of it. 0ith this intention they ga'e him an opportunity of escaping, that they might ha'e a prete+t for firing upon him. Delisle a'ailed himself of this chance, and ,as fired at and not -illed, "ut only his thigh "ro-en. 5n this misera"le condition, he ,as imprisoned in the Kastille, and "efore the end of a year, tired of his misera"le e+istence, destroyed himself "y poisoning the ,ound ,hich the soldiers had gi'en him. Kefore his death he confessed he did not -no, ho, to ma-e the po,der, "ut had it from an 5talian Adept. This pro"a"ly is the one he ,as supposed to ha'e murdered. 3o, this murdered man gained his -no,ledge ,e ha'e not "een a"le to glean any precise information, though it seems he ,as ac-no,ledged "y 4ascaris to ha'e "een a true son of the Transmutatory Art. The history of Delisle may "ear some,hat upon the misera"le fate of Dr. Price, from ,hich, "y analogy, there may reasona"ly "e considera"le dou"t ,hether, e'en if he ,ere an Adept, he had not, li-e Ale+ander Seton, gained his -no,ledge in a )uestiona"le and irregular ,ay. To ma-e pro9ection in pu"lic seems of itself to "e e'idence of a dou"tful and ris-y 5nitiation, and dire retri"ution in the shape of terri"le personal suffering and suicide usually follo,s it. #'en as ,e ,rite, there appears from Paris the startling account of one Tiffereau, calling himself the Alchemist of the Nineteenth /entury! lecturing to an assem"lage of eager listeners on his grand disco'ery of a ne, method of ma-ing gold artificially, proclaiming pu"licly the details of the process, and demanding that the *o'ernment should furnish him ,ith the means of setting up a ,or-shop in Paris ,hence he could supply the manufactured article at QG sterling, or as lo, e'en as Q B for a"out 2 5"s. of gold. The present price of gold is not )uite Q H per %L. 4i-e Kernard Tre'isan, he has passed a long life in the pursuit of the Transmutatory Art, "ut unli-e Tre'isan, he does not seem to ha'e really found it, e'en in his old age. Nliphas 4?'i, in his Analysis of the se'en chapters of 3ermes:, lays do,n as an a+iom [:4a clef des grands mystIres:, page HAF . !3e ,ho ,ould ma-e -no,n the Magnum Opus, ,ould pro'e there"y that he -ne, it not:. =udging "y this, ,e may reasona"ly and perhaps safely conclude that Tiffereau, instead of finding "y his long years of search and spending all his money on it, has "ecome hallucinated, and li-e all demented men, no, see-s to hallucinate [Page $) others, and yet ,ith method in his madness, aims at o"taining from the *o'ernment the re,ard of the pu"lic gold, ,hich a life-time of research has not ena"led him to ma-e for himself. The Daily Telegraph : had a leading article upon Tiffereau, in ,hich the ,riter used the thread"are and stoc- arguments to sho, that gold cannot "e artificially made, and e'inces the usual amount of ignorance on the history of the su"9ect. 3e does, ho,e'er, percei'e and dilate upon, ,hat ,e ha'e herein"efore remar-ed, the complete dislocation of commerce and uni'ersal disaster ,hich must ensue, if it could "e done so as to "e generally -no,n. 5f Tiffereau has succeeded, as he says, ,e shall encounter strange changes ere long. %ur frontispiece is a copy of one prefi+ed to a *erman edition of one of the ,or-s of #ugenius Philalethes. The interpretation Page P

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

of it is> The man "lindfolded is the /andidate for 5nitiation into the &ysteries. 3e ,anders in the 4a"yrinth of $antasy, led "y his o,n natural instincts, and is deluded "y the #lementals or other "eings in harmony ,ith his lo,er tendencies. Ariadne is on the left ,ith the thread in her hand ready to gi'e him the clue for his li"eration, "ut he turns himself from her and simultaneously from the 4ight of Nature into the region of dar-ness, ,hich he appears to lo'e "etter than 4ight. Possi"ly, this may ha'e the same signification as the man putting his hand to the plough and loo-ing "ac-, and his conse)uent unfitness and re9ection. At the "ottom of the frontispiece is represented de"ased human nature under the sym"ol of a ,inged dragon ,hich de'ours its o,n tail. Ky this is signified the 5nitiate con)uering his 'ices and lo,er inclinations, "efore he can de'elop the higher phases of his "eing, and so render himself fit to "e intrusted ,ith the great secrets and po,ers of Nature. 0ithin the circle formed "y this dragon is seated the Adept, ,ho has passed the ordeal and con)uered in all the progressi'e stages of trial. 3a'ing learned to command himself, he is no, fit to command others. The thesaurus incantatus,: or enchanted treasure, is laying in profusion around him. At the upper part, 9ust outside the Region of $antasy, is the in'isi"le mountain of the &agi, the Sun, &oon, and stars sym"oli(ing the &acrocosm and all its po,ers and influences -no,n only to these true Adepts, and alluding pro"a"ly to the seclusion of the Rosicrucians. Philalethes and other Adepts call the attaining to the Magnum Opus the gift of *od. %ur frontispiece gi'es an intimation of ,hat he means "y this. 0hen a man has con)uered himself and made himself one ,ith the *reat Soul of the ;ni'erse, according to the %riental philosophy, he "ecomes a *od, and ,e may suppose this to "e the concealed meaning of Philalethes and others, in these ,ords. This Adept, ,hom ,e 'erily "elie'e to ha'e performed chrusopoieia at a 'ery early age, does not appear ma-ing transmutations "efore -ings or no"lemen, and in his 'arious ,or-s he ,rites o"scurely, sym"olically, and enigmatically as any Ancient #gyptian [Page $6 3ierophant could desire. None "ut the 5nitiated could disco'er the true meaning of his alchemical ,ritings. 3is design ,as only to mislead all "ut the 5nitiates. 3e pro"a"ly had a further design to ma-e himself -no,n to the Rosicrucians, and to let them see that he ,ould not re'eal this Sacred Arcanum. 5t is supposed that he did ultimately 9oin that %rder, "ut his later years are ,rapped in apparently impenetra"le o"scurity. According to his o,n account such ,as the state of society under the then e+isting regime, such the tyranny and despotism per'ading e'en commercial transactions, such formalities and o"structions, that he had the greatest difficulty in disposing of the gold and sil'er he had made, and ,as o"liged to roam from country to country, and city to city, and assume all sorts of disguises to conceal his identity. #'en for this genuine Adept, his 'ery success "rought ,ith it, in those times, an+iety for his personal safety, discomfort, and harassing cares. 0hen the Rosicrucians admitted him into their %rder, as it seems li-ely they did, these an+ieties ought to ha'e ceased, "ut the Rosicrucians themsel'es ,ere o"liged to lea'e #urope on account of persecutions and dangers, ,hich ,e ,ill not here more particularly enter into. The summing up of the e'idence ,e ha'e adduced is simply that /hrusopoieia has "een in the past and can still "e effected, "ut that in order to "e a successful Alchemist a man must either at an early age first con)uer his lo,er nature, and ha'e no desire left for ,hat are "y ,orldly men considered the ad'antages of ,ealth, and ha'e disciplined himself ne'er to re'eal the secret, gi'ing hostages to Silence, spea-ing only in 'ague and enigmatical 'er"osity, or he may possi"ly attain to it "y a life-long ,eary search, and ,hen he shall ha'e arri'ed at an age ,hen the "odily and mental po,ers are ,aning and the gra'e is ya,ning to recei'e him, disco'er it, as did Kernard Tre'isan. 4i-e Tiffereau, he may pass his ,hole life in Page R

Theosophical Siftings

Alchemy - Difficulties and Dangers in its Pursuit

Vol 2, No 1

the ,eary search, and at the same age as Tre'isan, instead of finding, lose the e)uili"rium of his faculties, and die in po'erty and misery. 3e may ,rest the eagerly desired -no,ledge, "y a fatal pact ,ith spirits, ,ho ,ill ta-e care that he shall not long en9oy his riches ,ithout some terri"le calamity o'erta-ing him. Verbum sat sapienti. A ,or- de'oted entirely to a research into all the details of the li'es of the Alchemists, if research ,ould find such details, ,e "elie'e ,ould fully confirm that of ,hich ,e are only a"le to gi'e a faint outline. 0e feel sure such a ,or- ,ould o'er,helmingly sho, the futility of ma-ing gold "y ,ay of hasting to "e rich, and using it to en9oy this ,orld1s pleasures. 4et those ,ho ha'e opportunity and leisure try to thro, such a side-light on the 3ermetic Art in the li'es of its Professors, and they ,ill "e "enefactors to the human race, and ma-e them content ,ith the less thorny, "ut surer paths of Theosophy.

Page 1F