On the Secrets of the Adepts

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from which up to now less honor has accrued to God, and less utility to the human race.

Indeed, lest a science of such great dignity and usefulness should become too common, or be unworthily handled by the ignorant and the malevolent, its wise Possessors original: "Possessores," referring to the masters or "Adepts" who held the secrets of the art. took great pains to describe it in such a way that it would be revealed only to Disciples, while the unworthy would be entirely excluded from it. However, with the passage of time, the Adepts Adepts: (Latin: Adepti) A term for those who have reached the highest level of chemical or alchemical knowledge, specifically those who have mastered the "Great Work." were carried forward toward a fuller perfection of science and experience; they devised now one, now another shorter method in their work; altering the furnaces, fires, vessels, weights, and even the matter itself. Since they were then also compelled to innovate the Theories and the technical terms of the art according to these newly devised Practices, it happened: That the disciple of one Adept could in no way understand the new Theory, and much less the Practice, of another. This even occurred at times to the Adepts themselves—especially those who remained under the instruction of a certain Patron original: "Patroni," meaning a master-teacher who provided the "documento" or specialized instruction. within one specific method and process. For the power of discernment, beyond what they had been taught, was completely lacking in them. For this reason, they often suspected that all the ideas of others that differed greatly from their own, even though in