The Splendour of the Sun

INTRODUCTORY.

WHEN in the period of the Renaissance, men's minds were waking from the long sleep of medieval darkness, SOLOMON TRISMOSIN A legendary figure in alchemical lore, often identified as the teacher of the famous physician Paracelsus., one of the less known AdeptsIn alchemy, an 'Adept' is an individual who has mastered the Great Work and successfully created the Philosopher's Stone. of Alchemy, went forth in search of that secret knowledge, the possession of which leads to Alchemical Adeptship. His romantic Wanderings in Quest of the Philosopher's Stone, he has himself described, and if he declares to have reached that EldoradoA mythical city of gold; here used to represent the ultimate pinnacle of spiritual and material knowledge. of Hermetic KnowledgeKnowledge derived from the tradition of Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary founder of alchemy. wherein is found the prized Philosopher's Stone, although we may feel inclined to doubt his word, we are, nevertheless not in a position to entirely dispute his statement.

For since the discovery of radioactive substances chemical theory has vastly changed. The very Elementality of the chemical Elements is questioned, and the alchemical idea, that Metals can be decomposed into three ultimate principles: SALT, MERCURY, and SULPHUR Known as the 'Tria Prima,' these represent the three fundamental components of all matter in alchemical philosophy: the physical body (salt), the soul (mercury), and the spirit (sulphur)., may not be so absurd after all.

Let us therefore examine the actual documents remaining of the Alchemists, especially those of reputed Adepts, that they may be studied by the Light of the most recent research of Chemical and Physical Science, and the riddle of the Hermetic SphinxA metaphor for the complex and guarded secrets of the alchemical arts which remain difficult for the uninitiated to "solve." may yet be solved.

In the book before us—provided with those wonderful