The Secret Work of the Hermetic Philosophy

1GREETINGS TO STUDENTS OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY.

1.2The belief has long prevailed that, among the highest attainments of secret philosophy, the work of the Hermetic Stone is supreme and approaches a miracle. This is partly because of the winding paths of its many operations, from which the human mind cannot extricate itself unless kindled by a higher light; and partly because of its most noble end, which promises lasting abundance of health and worldly means, the two chief supports of a happier life. For this reason the high priests of this science have used their figures of speech and enigmatic language to remove it as far as possible from common knowledge. They have set it on a height, like a citadel made utterly secure by its rocks and position, to which no approach is open unless God shows the way.