PREFACE.

-tire years original: "entiéres". Completing the phrase from the previous page: "consumed twelve years in this reading entirely.", after which I wanted to try if I could put into practice what I had conceived in my mind, but being uncertain, I would make one resolution, then another, and there always remained difficulties that I could not overcome; finally, I associated myself on two different occasions with two other people, and this partnership original: "societé". While it translates literally as "society," in this context it refers to a small working group or collaborative study between aspiring alchemists. gave me the opportunity to study better, because I was sometimes obliged to challenge their opinions, and sometimes also to approve them; but in truth we were all like blind men, and we took for a true Light original: "Lumiere". In alchemical literature, "Light" represents the moment of true insight or the "Gift of God" that reveals the secrets of the work. that which was only an effect of our desires and of some readings. Together we conducted several experiments experiments: The French experiences at this time referred both to laboratory trials and to the knowledge gained through observation.,