The Hermetic North Star

What the Hermetic Mastery is, etc.

...likewise, original: "gleichen" it can already be seen who he must be who dares to approach this divine light. ($α$) Wisdom of Solomon 1:6: "For wisdom is a kindly spirit..." Search your own heart original: "Klopfet in euren Busen," literally "knock on your breast." and see whether you already possess such a light within yourselves. Examine yourselves well, ($β$) Revelation 3:18: "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire..." or I sincerely advise you to stay away from it, lest you be consumed by this light along with all your earthly goods. For this reason—due to its origin and its virtue original: "Tugend," meaning the inherent power or miraculous property of the substance., and because one attains such science original: "Wissenschaft" only through the special grace and will of God ($γ$) Romans 9:16: "So then it is not of him that willeth... but of God that sheweth mercy."—it is called the Divine Art.

It is also called the Royal Art: not because it produces as much wealth as a kingdom yields, or because a king, as the richest in the land, might be the first to obtain it; but because it is the greatest among all the arts that exist among the children of men, and therefore well deserves this title above all others.

Even more specifically, however, it derives its name from the fact that in the first age of humanity and among the children of that time, some were provided by God with such talents and gifts that, through their profound speculation In this context, "speculation" refers to deep, prayerful contemplation and theoretical study. and investigation of the Book of Nature Book of Nature|The philosophical concept that the natural world is a text written by God, which can be "read" through observation and experiment to reveal divine truths.—for no other books were then in existence—they attained such wisdom above all others, especially...