Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial Grand Lodge Of North Wales And Shropshire.
nated by the Prov . Grand Lodge of Shropshire , and in order to make the annual premium payable by each province the same ( viz . £ 10 13 s . Cd . ) , the payment of a first premium of £ 45 17 s . 4 d . should be made out of the funds in the hands of the Prov . Grand Treasurer , so as to reduce the future annual premiums on the new policy to £ 10 13 s . Cd ., the amount now paid on the first policy . That the vote for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , now standing in the name of the Prov . Grand Treasurer , which was purchased with the balance of the Sir Watkin Presentation Fund , be transferred to the Prov . Grand Treasurer for North Wales .
Secondly—This province now being a Vice-Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , which is equal to two Vice-Presidentships , your Committee recommend that North VVales take one Vice-Presidentship with 15 votes , and that Shropshire take the other with 10 votes , and that North VVales should have the additional vote for this Institution which the Provincial Grand Lodge obtained by a donation to the fund for making up the loss sustained by the failure of the bankers of the Institution . This province in like manner being a Vice-Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution
for Girls , your Committee recommend that each of the new provinces take a Vice-Presidentship , North Wales with iS votes , and Shropshire with 12 votes . The province has 12 votes for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , four of which will cease in 1 SS 7 , your Committee therefore recommend that 10 guineas be paid by the Provincial Grand Treasurer from the funds in his hands to the Institution , to make all the votes permanent , and that each of the new provinces take six votes , being three for the Male Fund and three for the Widows' Fund .
Your Committee further recommend that the Provincial Grand Treasurer pay from the funds in his hands 10 guineas to each of the Institutions for Boys and Girls , and 10 guineas to each of the funds for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , and that the votes so obtained , viz ., two votes for each 10 guineas subscribed , be equally divided between the two new provinces . Thirdly—There being a sword and three banners the property of the Provincial Grand
Lodge , as well as a sword presented to the Provincial Grand Lodge by the late Bro . W . H . VVhite , the then Grand Secretary of England , and uncle of Bro . J . P . VVhite , our Prov . Grand Treasurer , your Committee reecommend that as the large banner bears the arms of our late Prov . Grand Master , Bro . Sir W . W . Wynn , the three banners and the sword be handed over to North Wales , and the presentation sword be allotted to Shropshire , in consideration of the connection of Bro . J . P . VVhite vvith the donor .
Your Committee further recommend that such jewels , collars , Stewards' and Tylers ' aprons , as belong to the Provincial Grand Lodge be preiented to the present holders of the several offices in the Provincial Grand Lodge , as mementoes ol their having been the last officers to serve in the United Province of North Wales and Shropshire . Fourthly—Your Committee recommend that Bra . J . P . VVhite be presented with a snuff box value £ 10 ios ., as a memorial of his having served as Treasurer to the Provincial Grand Lodge of North Wales and Shropshire , from the formation of the province in i 3 S 2 , till its dissolution , September 30 th 1 RS 5 .
Your Committee recommend that the balance in the hands of the Provincial Grand Treasurer , after discharging all the liabilities of the province , be handed to Bro . VV . H . Spaull , the Provincial Grand Secretary , in a purse , as a token of esteem from the brethren for the energy displayed by him in promoting the well-being and prosperity of Masonry in the province during the thirteen years he has acted as Provincial Grand Secretary . Finally—Your Committee ask that the brethren of both provinces will continue to
send their votes to some one brother who may act as Charity Steward at the elections of the London Charities , until the debt of votes and obligations of the present province have been discharged . OFFLEY WAKEMAN . VV . LASCELLES SOUTHWELL . J AMES SALMON . V . C . L . CRUMP . J . LLOYD GRIFFITH . ROWLAND G . VENABLES . J DAVIES . After the lodge had been closed , the brethren adjourned to the Town Hall for the banquet .
Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Cheshire.
PROVINCIAL GRAND MARK LODGE OF CHESHIRE .
The Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Mark Master Masons for the Province of Cheshire , was held on Monday last , the 28 th ult ., at Northwich , Bro . the Rig ht Hon . Lord Egerton of Tatton , the Deputy Grand Master of England , and Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Mark Master ,
presiding . The following among others , were present ; Bros , the Rev . Spencer Stanhope , D . P . G . M . M . ; Rev . J . Newell-Turner , P . G . C ; J . Salmon , P . P . G . W . ; I . D . Murray , G . Std . Br . ; G . Morgan , P . G . I . G . ; R . R . Martin , P . Std . Br . ; T . Webster , J . D . ; R . Newhouse , P . G . Sec . ; and R . Kirk . P . G . O .
The lodge having been opened in due form , the roll of the lodges was called over , when it was found that each one in the Province was well represented . The other business on the agenda paper having been gone through , his lordship made some pertinent remarks about the great strides that Masonry was making , especially Mark Masonry , under the fostering
care of the present Royal Family . He congratulated the Cheshire brethren on the admirable manner in which the work had been conducted amongst them during the past year , as , after an examination of the whole of the books , he found them perfectly correct . He then announced that next year the Prov . Grand Mark Lodge would be held at Chester . The sum of ten guineas was voted to the Grand Mark Benevolent Fund . The following
brethren were invested for the present year : Bros . George Morgan , No . 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . W . „ T . Benson , 19 6 ... ... ... Prov . ^ G . J . W . „ W . M . Wy lde , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . M . O . „ J . M . Jones , 196 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . O . „ William Roberts , 165 ... ... ... Prov . G . J . O . , . -r , r ( Prov . G . Reg . „ L . Brassey , 19 6 ... ... .. Prov . G . Treas .
„ Richard Newhouse , 148 ... ... ... Prov . G . Sec . „ Rev . J . Newell Tanner ... ... ... Prov . G . Chap .. „ William Finchett , 19 6 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . D . „ ] . G . Parker , 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . J . D . „ G . B . Cliffe , 327 , ... ... ... Prov . G . l . of VV . „ G . F . Willis , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . D . of C . „ W . G . Cromer , 16 5 ... ... ... Prov . G . A . D . C .
„ E . Ramsden , 196 ... ... ... Prov . G . Swd . Br . „ L . W . Marsh , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . Std . Br . „ R . Kirk , 14 8 ... ... ... ... Prov . G . Org . „ H . Fairclough , 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . I . G . „ H . Bains , 19 6 ... ... ... ,.. Prov . G . Tyler . The brethren afterwards dined together at the Angel Hotel , Bro . Lord Egerton being in the chair .
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
THE ANALOGY BETWEEN MAGIC , ALCHEMY , AND OLD ROSICRUCIANISM .
AN ESSAY READ BEFORE THE ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY OF ENGLAND , BY JOHN COLLINSON , FRA . Ros . CR . ( Continued from page 455 . ) Reverting to the subject of the transmutation of metals , if the expert can make artificial stones brilliants , possessing all the properties of real stones , boih in colour , hardness , and crystalline form , is it not surel y possible to trasmute metals , and produce something so nearl y like gold as to deceive
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
the assayer , or involve him in helpless doubt ? May not the Rosicrucian , or one like minded and similarly endowed , help to produce an improvement in the social and political condition of the human family by acting on the soul of the world and the elements—fire , air , earth , and water—so as to produce a period of general material prosperity ?
From these observations it will be seen that Magic , Alchemy ; and Rosicrucianism were closely related the one to the other . Their ulterior- objects were almost identical . The Magicians , the Alchemists were openly the friends of kings , the Rosicrucians were secretly friends of the' whole human race . The possession of the philosopher ' s stone W .-JS the boasted privilege of adepts of each school . The Alchemist had his elixir , the Rosicrucian his
distilled dew , and the Magician his potion . Distillation , or some kindred process , the rod , the cauldron , were essential to the success of the practices of each , and in this respect in particular they were related one to the other . Yet were they dissimilar . The Alchemist and Rosicrucian proper had 110 connection with witchcraft in its worst sense . We cannot say so of Magicians , ft would be satisfactory to be able to believe that when magic
became sorcery and demonology , it was no longer magic in the proper sense . Rome at that time hated the Magician , the Alchemist , and Rosicrucian , one and all ; hated them as she did the heretic , the witch , the wizard . They were speculators and investigators beyond the limits assigned by the priesthood , and were doubtless in part the pioneers of the Reformation . They
awakened that spirit of inquiry , of criticism , of profound thought , which is believed to have paved the way for the bold assertions and audacious logic of Luther ; and possibly our present privileges are partly due to the efforts of the oid Rosicrucians ( and the theosophisls ) , to bring about the regeneration of mankind , and the downfall of some of the intolerance of the rulers in the Middle Ages .
The spirit of the Magi , the Alchemist , and the Rosicrucian lives still . The Magi , by the mirific word and the practice of their art , sought to unveil the mysteries of heaven to man ; the Alchemists desired to discover and apply the universal solvent ; thc Rosicrucians * attempted to discover the great principle of animal life . A modern writer has said : " Provided the
great organs be not irreparably destroyed , there is no disease that may not be cured , no decrepitude to which vigour may not be restored ; that the true art of healing , so much esteemed by the Brothers of the Rosy Cross , is to assist nature to throw off disease , to remove ihe enemy that may have settled on a part , and this may be effected by invigorating and recruiting the principle of life . "
" Is not this art , the knowledge and power to do this , the secret of immortality : How to baffle death ? We may not be permitted to hold the keys of life and death ; but we may find out why parts ossify , why blood stagnates . May we not be able to apply continual preventatives to such and other effects of time ? "
Old Rosicrucianism was veiled in such impenetrable mystery , that it is difficult , and probably impossible , to form a correct conclusion as to what it was . Were the Brothers of the Rosy Cross Magicians ? Were they Alchemists ? Who can say ? Where are their records ? What evidence , except that of the later Rosicrucians and a species of undefined traditions ,
have we that they ever existed ? Were they an ideal Fraternity , who lived only in the imagination of the students and philosophers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ? To answer these questions is impossible , unless perchance some of the Fraternity be living still , or else their writings or notions be found to solve these mysteries .
Admitting that there was such a Brotherhood , a real Fraternity , and that its history such as wc have of it is true , Rosicrucians would appear lo have been persons who , when it vvas dangerous to life and liberty to do so , sifted the true from the false , both in what was called magic and alchemy , and who used , or could use , magicial and alchemical knowledge to accomplish their purposes when they desired to bring about certain , even uncommon , results .
History tells that alchemy had been described as the grand touchstone of divine wisdom . That Zoroaster , the father of alchemy , by fire , made pure gold from the seven metals . That Hermes Trismegistus was the first who communicated the art of rendering gold medicinal . That the old Rosicrucians were able to prolong life by their knowledge of the art of rendering gold medicinal .
Such being the case , it follows that magic and alchemy are necessary , or contributary , to the formation of Rosicrucianism . What was good in the two first was adopted so far as known by the third . Rosicrucianism may , therefore , be considered as a metaphorical crystallization of the essence of magic and alchemy , as known to the founders of the Fraternity , and herein probably exists the relationship , if any does exist , among these three marvellous schools of ancient science .
If we accept the ancient belief that witches had a power over the elements of raising storms , or producing calms , and of casting malign influences over the fruits of the earth and the beasts of the field ( there is ample evidence to show ground for such a belief ) , we can believe that corresponding gifts were bestowed upon others by which beneficent influences equally extensive could be exercised . Call the one witches , and the others
seers , prophets , magicians , alchemists , Rosicrucian adepts , or what you will , admit the possession of these two kinds of gifts , emanating , say , the one from the principle of evil , or bolh from one principle , and you have a species of human being who can , under certain conditions , produce alchemical effects . With reference to the Rosicrucian belief that the elements swarm with beautiful creatures ready to do man service , it is only fair to say that while
we can believe that thc air is filled with beings , and that elementary spirits are , and that they take interest in human affairs , we can only hear , or read , of sylphs , and gnomes , nymphs , and salamanders , as poetical possibilities , whose existence remains to be proved . In these days we speak of what they represent as the laws of nature , and the powers and forces of nature . In other words , they are to be understood as the names of the powers and forces of the earth , air , fire , water . It is the duty , perhaps the privilege
of the modern Rosicrucian to find the media by which such powers , such forces as sylphs , gnomes , nymphs , and salamanders arc supposed to have , may , or can be influenced , and made active , or controlled . Are not these media ? is not the knowledge of such media , and the knowledge of the means for puttingsuchjmedia into operation , theso-called philosopher's stone ? To attempt to describe the media would be to go beyond the bounds of discretion , and perhaps of common sense . It will probably be said it could not be done , if attempted . Perhaps so .
The subject may here be left , where , in one sense , it only fairly begins . To others may be left the privilege of saying wherein is the magician ' s arr , the alchemist ' s secret , the philosopher ' s stone . Such a speculation would be full of interest , and would well repay any student who will make the hidden mysleries of nature and science thc object of his future study .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial Grand Lodge Of North Wales And Shropshire.
nated by the Prov . Grand Lodge of Shropshire , and in order to make the annual premium payable by each province the same ( viz . £ 10 13 s . Cd . ) , the payment of a first premium of £ 45 17 s . 4 d . should be made out of the funds in the hands of the Prov . Grand Treasurer , so as to reduce the future annual premiums on the new policy to £ 10 13 s . Cd ., the amount now paid on the first policy . That the vote for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , now standing in the name of the Prov . Grand Treasurer , which was purchased with the balance of the Sir Watkin Presentation Fund , be transferred to the Prov . Grand Treasurer for North Wales .
Secondly—This province now being a Vice-Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , which is equal to two Vice-Presidentships , your Committee recommend that North VVales take one Vice-Presidentship with 15 votes , and that Shropshire take the other with 10 votes , and that North VVales should have the additional vote for this Institution which the Provincial Grand Lodge obtained by a donation to the fund for making up the loss sustained by the failure of the bankers of the Institution . This province in like manner being a Vice-Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution
for Girls , your Committee recommend that each of the new provinces take a Vice-Presidentship , North Wales with iS votes , and Shropshire with 12 votes . The province has 12 votes for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , four of which will cease in 1 SS 7 , your Committee therefore recommend that 10 guineas be paid by the Provincial Grand Treasurer from the funds in his hands to the Institution , to make all the votes permanent , and that each of the new provinces take six votes , being three for the Male Fund and three for the Widows' Fund .
Your Committee further recommend that the Provincial Grand Treasurer pay from the funds in his hands 10 guineas to each of the Institutions for Boys and Girls , and 10 guineas to each of the funds for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , and that the votes so obtained , viz ., two votes for each 10 guineas subscribed , be equally divided between the two new provinces . Thirdly—There being a sword and three banners the property of the Provincial Grand
Lodge , as well as a sword presented to the Provincial Grand Lodge by the late Bro . W . H . VVhite , the then Grand Secretary of England , and uncle of Bro . J . P . VVhite , our Prov . Grand Treasurer , your Committee reecommend that as the large banner bears the arms of our late Prov . Grand Master , Bro . Sir W . W . Wynn , the three banners and the sword be handed over to North Wales , and the presentation sword be allotted to Shropshire , in consideration of the connection of Bro . J . P . VVhite vvith the donor .
Your Committee further recommend that such jewels , collars , Stewards' and Tylers ' aprons , as belong to the Provincial Grand Lodge be preiented to the present holders of the several offices in the Provincial Grand Lodge , as mementoes ol their having been the last officers to serve in the United Province of North Wales and Shropshire . Fourthly—Your Committee recommend that Bra . J . P . VVhite be presented with a snuff box value £ 10 ios ., as a memorial of his having served as Treasurer to the Provincial Grand Lodge of North Wales and Shropshire , from the formation of the province in i 3 S 2 , till its dissolution , September 30 th 1 RS 5 .
Your Committee recommend that the balance in the hands of the Provincial Grand Treasurer , after discharging all the liabilities of the province , be handed to Bro . VV . H . Spaull , the Provincial Grand Secretary , in a purse , as a token of esteem from the brethren for the energy displayed by him in promoting the well-being and prosperity of Masonry in the province during the thirteen years he has acted as Provincial Grand Secretary . Finally—Your Committee ask that the brethren of both provinces will continue to
send their votes to some one brother who may act as Charity Steward at the elections of the London Charities , until the debt of votes and obligations of the present province have been discharged . OFFLEY WAKEMAN . VV . LASCELLES SOUTHWELL . J AMES SALMON . V . C . L . CRUMP . J . LLOYD GRIFFITH . ROWLAND G . VENABLES . J DAVIES . After the lodge had been closed , the brethren adjourned to the Town Hall for the banquet .
Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Cheshire.
PROVINCIAL GRAND MARK LODGE OF CHESHIRE .
The Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Mark Master Masons for the Province of Cheshire , was held on Monday last , the 28 th ult ., at Northwich , Bro . the Rig ht Hon . Lord Egerton of Tatton , the Deputy Grand Master of England , and Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Mark Master ,
presiding . The following among others , were present ; Bros , the Rev . Spencer Stanhope , D . P . G . M . M . ; Rev . J . Newell-Turner , P . G . C ; J . Salmon , P . P . G . W . ; I . D . Murray , G . Std . Br . ; G . Morgan , P . G . I . G . ; R . R . Martin , P . Std . Br . ; T . Webster , J . D . ; R . Newhouse , P . G . Sec . ; and R . Kirk . P . G . O .
The lodge having been opened in due form , the roll of the lodges was called over , when it was found that each one in the Province was well represented . The other business on the agenda paper having been gone through , his lordship made some pertinent remarks about the great strides that Masonry was making , especially Mark Masonry , under the fostering
care of the present Royal Family . He congratulated the Cheshire brethren on the admirable manner in which the work had been conducted amongst them during the past year , as , after an examination of the whole of the books , he found them perfectly correct . He then announced that next year the Prov . Grand Mark Lodge would be held at Chester . The sum of ten guineas was voted to the Grand Mark Benevolent Fund . The following
brethren were invested for the present year : Bros . George Morgan , No . 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . W . „ T . Benson , 19 6 ... ... ... Prov . ^ G . J . W . „ W . M . Wy lde , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . M . O . „ J . M . Jones , 196 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . O . „ William Roberts , 165 ... ... ... Prov . G . J . O . , . -r , r ( Prov . G . Reg . „ L . Brassey , 19 6 ... ... .. Prov . G . Treas .
„ Richard Newhouse , 148 ... ... ... Prov . G . Sec . „ Rev . J . Newell Tanner ... ... ... Prov . G . Chap .. „ William Finchett , 19 6 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . D . „ ] . G . Parker , 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . J . D . „ G . B . Cliffe , 327 , ... ... ... Prov . G . l . of VV . „ G . F . Willis , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . D . of C . „ W . G . Cromer , 16 5 ... ... ... Prov . G . A . D . C .
„ E . Ramsden , 196 ... ... ... Prov . G . Swd . Br . „ L . W . Marsh , 327 ... ... ... Prov . G . Std . Br . „ R . Kirk , 14 8 ... ... ... ... Prov . G . Org . „ H . Fairclough , 11 ... ... ... Prov . G . I . G . „ H . Bains , 19 6 ... ... ... ,.. Prov . G . Tyler . The brethren afterwards dined together at the Angel Hotel , Bro . Lord Egerton being in the chair .
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
THE ANALOGY BETWEEN MAGIC , ALCHEMY , AND OLD ROSICRUCIANISM .
AN ESSAY READ BEFORE THE ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY OF ENGLAND , BY JOHN COLLINSON , FRA . Ros . CR . ( Continued from page 455 . ) Reverting to the subject of the transmutation of metals , if the expert can make artificial stones brilliants , possessing all the properties of real stones , boih in colour , hardness , and crystalline form , is it not surel y possible to trasmute metals , and produce something so nearl y like gold as to deceive
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
the assayer , or involve him in helpless doubt ? May not the Rosicrucian , or one like minded and similarly endowed , help to produce an improvement in the social and political condition of the human family by acting on the soul of the world and the elements—fire , air , earth , and water—so as to produce a period of general material prosperity ?
From these observations it will be seen that Magic , Alchemy ; and Rosicrucianism were closely related the one to the other . Their ulterior- objects were almost identical . The Magicians , the Alchemists were openly the friends of kings , the Rosicrucians were secretly friends of the' whole human race . The possession of the philosopher ' s stone W .-JS the boasted privilege of adepts of each school . The Alchemist had his elixir , the Rosicrucian his
distilled dew , and the Magician his potion . Distillation , or some kindred process , the rod , the cauldron , were essential to the success of the practices of each , and in this respect in particular they were related one to the other . Yet were they dissimilar . The Alchemist and Rosicrucian proper had 110 connection with witchcraft in its worst sense . We cannot say so of Magicians , ft would be satisfactory to be able to believe that when magic
became sorcery and demonology , it was no longer magic in the proper sense . Rome at that time hated the Magician , the Alchemist , and Rosicrucian , one and all ; hated them as she did the heretic , the witch , the wizard . They were speculators and investigators beyond the limits assigned by the priesthood , and were doubtless in part the pioneers of the Reformation . They
awakened that spirit of inquiry , of criticism , of profound thought , which is believed to have paved the way for the bold assertions and audacious logic of Luther ; and possibly our present privileges are partly due to the efforts of the oid Rosicrucians ( and the theosophisls ) , to bring about the regeneration of mankind , and the downfall of some of the intolerance of the rulers in the Middle Ages .
The spirit of the Magi , the Alchemist , and the Rosicrucian lives still . The Magi , by the mirific word and the practice of their art , sought to unveil the mysteries of heaven to man ; the Alchemists desired to discover and apply the universal solvent ; thc Rosicrucians * attempted to discover the great principle of animal life . A modern writer has said : " Provided the
great organs be not irreparably destroyed , there is no disease that may not be cured , no decrepitude to which vigour may not be restored ; that the true art of healing , so much esteemed by the Brothers of the Rosy Cross , is to assist nature to throw off disease , to remove ihe enemy that may have settled on a part , and this may be effected by invigorating and recruiting the principle of life . "
" Is not this art , the knowledge and power to do this , the secret of immortality : How to baffle death ? We may not be permitted to hold the keys of life and death ; but we may find out why parts ossify , why blood stagnates . May we not be able to apply continual preventatives to such and other effects of time ? "
Old Rosicrucianism was veiled in such impenetrable mystery , that it is difficult , and probably impossible , to form a correct conclusion as to what it was . Were the Brothers of the Rosy Cross Magicians ? Were they Alchemists ? Who can say ? Where are their records ? What evidence , except that of the later Rosicrucians and a species of undefined traditions ,
have we that they ever existed ? Were they an ideal Fraternity , who lived only in the imagination of the students and philosophers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ? To answer these questions is impossible , unless perchance some of the Fraternity be living still , or else their writings or notions be found to solve these mysteries .
Admitting that there was such a Brotherhood , a real Fraternity , and that its history such as wc have of it is true , Rosicrucians would appear lo have been persons who , when it vvas dangerous to life and liberty to do so , sifted the true from the false , both in what was called magic and alchemy , and who used , or could use , magicial and alchemical knowledge to accomplish their purposes when they desired to bring about certain , even uncommon , results .
History tells that alchemy had been described as the grand touchstone of divine wisdom . That Zoroaster , the father of alchemy , by fire , made pure gold from the seven metals . That Hermes Trismegistus was the first who communicated the art of rendering gold medicinal . That the old Rosicrucians were able to prolong life by their knowledge of the art of rendering gold medicinal .
Such being the case , it follows that magic and alchemy are necessary , or contributary , to the formation of Rosicrucianism . What was good in the two first was adopted so far as known by the third . Rosicrucianism may , therefore , be considered as a metaphorical crystallization of the essence of magic and alchemy , as known to the founders of the Fraternity , and herein probably exists the relationship , if any does exist , among these three marvellous schools of ancient science .
If we accept the ancient belief that witches had a power over the elements of raising storms , or producing calms , and of casting malign influences over the fruits of the earth and the beasts of the field ( there is ample evidence to show ground for such a belief ) , we can believe that corresponding gifts were bestowed upon others by which beneficent influences equally extensive could be exercised . Call the one witches , and the others
seers , prophets , magicians , alchemists , Rosicrucian adepts , or what you will , admit the possession of these two kinds of gifts , emanating , say , the one from the principle of evil , or bolh from one principle , and you have a species of human being who can , under certain conditions , produce alchemical effects . With reference to the Rosicrucian belief that the elements swarm with beautiful creatures ready to do man service , it is only fair to say that while
we can believe that thc air is filled with beings , and that elementary spirits are , and that they take interest in human affairs , we can only hear , or read , of sylphs , and gnomes , nymphs , and salamanders , as poetical possibilities , whose existence remains to be proved . In these days we speak of what they represent as the laws of nature , and the powers and forces of nature . In other words , they are to be understood as the names of the powers and forces of the earth , air , fire , water . It is the duty , perhaps the privilege
of the modern Rosicrucian to find the media by which such powers , such forces as sylphs , gnomes , nymphs , and salamanders arc supposed to have , may , or can be influenced , and made active , or controlled . Are not these media ? is not the knowledge of such media , and the knowledge of the means for puttingsuchjmedia into operation , theso-called philosopher's stone ? To attempt to describe the media would be to go beyond the bounds of discretion , and perhaps of common sense . It will probably be said it could not be done , if attempted . Perhaps so .
The subject may here be left , where , in one sense , it only fairly begins . To others may be left the privilege of saying wherein is the magician ' s arr , the alchemist ' s secret , the philosopher ' s stone . Such a speculation would be full of interest , and would well repay any student who will make the hidden mysleries of nature and science thc object of his future study .