The Hermetic Museum

A 2

An engraved vignette featuring two nude infants or cherubs on a small, grassy mound beneath a palm tree. One child sits and reaches up toward the palm fronds while the other leans against them. In the foreground, at the base of the mound, a serpent or stylized sea creature is curled.

Preface

Among the multitude of authentically hermeticThe term "hermetic" refers to the esoteric traditions of alchemy and philosophy attributed to the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus, often involving "hidden" or "sealed" wisdom. and authentically MasonicRelating to Freemasonry, a fraternal organization that uses the symbols of stonemasonry to teach moral and philosophical lessons. writings which, for the general welfare of the world and for the EnlightenmentIn German, "Aufklärung." This refers to the 18th-century intellectual movement that championed reason, science, and individual rights as the primary sources of authority. of human understanding, in un-