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natural philosophy will immediately recognize the "dark maid of Jerusalem," not as a
person but as a material sacred to the sages. Dr. Hartmann writes: "The 'Song of
Solomon,' in the Old Testament, is a description of the processes of Alchemy. In this
Song the Subjectum is described in Cant. i., 5; the Lilium artis in C. ii., 1; the
Preparation and Purification in C. ii., 4; the Fire in C. ii., 7, and C. iv., 16, the
Putrefaction in C. iii., 1; Sublimation and Distillation in C. iii., 6, Coagulation and
Change of Colors, C. v., 9 to 14; Fixation, C. ii., 12, and C. viii., 4; Multiplication, C. vi.,
7; Augmentation and Projection, C. viii., 8, etc., etc."

A tiny particle of the Philosopher's Scone, if cast upon the surface of water, will,
according to an appendix to the work on the universal salt by Herr von Welling,
immediately begin a process of recapitulating in miniature the history of the universe, for
instantly the tincture--like the Spirits of Elohim--moves upon the face of the waters. A
miniature universe is formed which the philosophers have affirmed actually rises out of
the water and floats in the air, where it passes through all the stages of cosmic
unfoldment and finally disintegrates into dust again. Not only is it possible to prepare a
medicine for metals; it is also possible to prepare a tincture for minerals by means of
which pieces of granite and marble can be turned into precious stones; also stones of
inferior quality may be improved.

As one of the great alchemists fittingly observed, man's quest for gold is often his
undoing, for he mistakes the alchemical processes, believing them to be purely material.
He does not realize that the Philosopher's Gold, the Philosopher's Stone, and the
Philosopher's Medicine exist in each of the four worlds and that the consummation of the
experiment cannot be realized until it is successfully carried on in four worlds
simultaneously according to one formula. Furthermore, one of the constituents of the
alchemical formula exists only within the nature of man himself, without which his
chemicals will not combine, and though he spend his life and fortune in chemical
experimentation, he will not produce the desired end. The paramount reason why the
material scientist is incapable of duplicating the achievements of the mediæval
alchemists--although he follow every step carefully and accurately--is that the subtle
element which comes out of the nature of the illuminated and regenerated alchemical
philosopher is missing in his experimentation.

On this subject Dr. Franz Hartmann in a footnote to his translation of extracts from
Paracelsus clearly expresses the conclusions of a modern investigator of alchemical lore:
"I wish to warn the reader, who might be inclined to try any of the alchemical
prescriptions * * *, not to do so unless he is an alchemist, because, although I know from
personal experience that these prescriptions are not only allegorically but literally true,
and will prove successful in the hands of an alchemist, they would only cause a waste of
time and money in the hands of one who has not the necessary qualifications. A person
who wants to be an alchemist must have in himself the 'magnesia', which means, the
magnetic power to attract and 'coagulate' invisible astral elements."

In considering the formulæ on the following pages, it must be recognized that the
experiments cannot be successfully conducted unless the one who performs them be