The Hermetic Museum

A small decorative woodcut vignette ornament featuring stylized leaves or wings, centered at the top of the page.

rejoice in this story, because it is a true witness to the transmutation of metals the alchemical process of changing base metals into noble metals like gold. For the devotee who—due to a lack of insight and unfamiliarity with more significant proofs—hangs between doubt and conviction, and whose spirit longs for the truth, this story will provide peace of mind. But how could it be otherwise than that it should affect the gold-hungry as the consumption of salty food affects the palate of a thirsty man? For he will nonetheless languish in vain for a drop of water from the stream of wisdom.

Now to the story. It was at the end of the harvest month original: "Herbstmonats" — in 18th-century German, this specifically refers to the month of September. in the year 1774, when a well-dressed traveler arrived in the evening at the house of a poor wool-comber a craftsman who prepares wool for spinning by aligning the fibers with combs. who lived in the outermost part of the Old Town of H. The author uses an initial to partially conceal the identity of the city, a common practice in historical accounts of this period.. The traveler asked him for a night’s lodging, claiming he was too exhausted to go all the way into the city to take up residence original: "logiren" — from the French 'loger', meaning to stay or lodge. in an inn. The poor man agreed to his request, provided the traveler would be satisfied with a bundle of straw for a bed, as the man was not wealthy enough to possess a bed even for himself and his wife. The traveler accepted this proposal and asked his host for food