Introduction.

...is explained, yet even in these most recent times, despite all the enlightenment in natural science, a great many minds are still ruled by old superstition. It seems to have always been the fate of humanity that intellectual enlightenment and spiritual impotence The original German Geistessohnmacht literally translates to a "fainting" or "powerlessness" of the spirit, suggesting a state of intellectual weakness or irrationality., just like light and darkness, must balance one another.

Writings that preach materialism alternate with others that seek to revive the teachings of Jacob Böhme Jacob Böhme (1575–1624) was a German Christian mystic whose complex visionary works were being rediscovered by Romantic thinkers at the time this was written. and other Theosophists Theosophists: Individuals who practice "theosophy" (divine wisdom), a form of esoteric philosophy seeking direct knowledge of the mysteries of being and the nature of divinity.. Unbelief and superstition stand side by side; while one portion of humanity attempts to reason away all spirituality from nature, the other sits in mystical self-reflection, waiting for Inspiration In this mystical context, Inspiration refers to the belief in receiving direct divine or supernatural revelations or "breathing in" the divine spirit., believing they can read their fate in the stars and planets, and searching for the Philosopher’s Stone The legendary Stein der Weisen (Philosopher’s Stone) was the ultimate goal of alchemy, a substance believed to be capable of turning base metals into gold and providing an elixir of life..

Writings of both kinds have frequently appeared in France and Germany in recent years, and it is to be hoped that this ferment of spirits may turn to the benefit of human knowledge, and provide the occasion for discovering a middle path equally distant from both extremes. Given the abundance of magical teachings...