Works of Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes)

the less a practical alchemist upon the material side—it was, in fact, from inhaling the fumes of mercury during a chemical experiment that he met his death.

Both Fludd and Vaughan were influenced by the movement known as Rosicrucian, which came into prominence in the early part of the seventeenth century. But Vaughan was an unattached interpreter, while there is ground for believing that Fludd may have been connected more or less directly with the so-called "Fratres R. C." At any rate he was a personal friend of Michael Maier, who cannot be dissociated from the movement.

There is a living interest in Vaughan on the personal side ; he belongs to the history of English literature, more especially as a prose writer, though also by the occasional felicity of his metrical exercises. Above all—and this concerns the present venture more closely than any lighter consideration,—he has a position of his own as an interpreter of the Secret Tradition. His works, which are valued possessions to those with sufficient knowledge to appreciate their occult significance, are here made available for the first time in a collected edition.

THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE.