Manuscripts for Friends of Secret Sciences

P r e f a c e .

I am, however, one of their most zealous admirers, and have seen, heard, and experienced proofs of them which all the sophisms: Clever but false arguments, often used to deceive or mislead. of those who contradict will one day neither dissolve nor refute.

Here is my confession of faith, the result of repeated experiences:

I believe with Shakespeare: that there are still many things under the moon of which our philosophy has never dreamed. A paraphrase of Hamlet’s famous line: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

I humbly repeat after Boerhaave: Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738) was a world-renowned Dutch physician and chemist whose endorsement of certain alchemical principles lent the field great credibility.

Wherever I understand the Alchemists, I see them describing the simplest truth in the plainest words, neither deceiving nor erring; therefore, when I come to those passages where I cannot perceive what they mean, why should I accuse those of falsehood who have shown themselves far more excellent in the art than myself, from whom I have learned very much in those passages of their writings where they thought it appropriate to speak openly? original: "Ubicunque Alchymistas capio, video ipsos simplicissimam veritatem nudissimis verbis describere, nec fallere nec errare; quando igitur ad illos locos pervenero ubi percipere nequeo, quid velint, cur falsi arguam eos, qui in arte se longe præstantiores dederunt me ipso, a quibus plurima didici in illis locis scriptorum, ubi aperte loqui oportunum duxerunt."

I am convinced of the truth of metal refinement: Known as transmutation, this is the alchemical process of "perfecting" base metals into noble ones like gold or silver., and of its possibility in more than one way.

I believe in various kinds of forces that escape my senses, which I do not know, but whose effects I have nevertheless felt, and can also make others feel.