ith and, I hope, satisfactorily
answered.

It seems to follow, _ex hypothesi_, that every alchemical work ought to
permit of two interpretations, one physical, the other transcendental.
But I would not venture to assert this, because, as I think, many of
the lesser alchemists knew little of the origin of their theories,
nor realised their significance. They were concerned merely with
these theories in their strictly metallurgical applications, and any
transcendental meaning we can extract from their works was not intended
by the writers themselves. However, many alchemists, I conceive,
especially the better sort, realised more or less clearly the dual
nature of their subject, and their books are to some extent intended to
permit of a double interpretation, although the emphasis is laid upon
the physical and chemical application of mystical doctrine. And there
are a few writers who adopted alchemical terminology on the principle
that, if the language of theology is competent to describe chemical
processes, then, conversely, the language of alchemy must be competent
to describe psychological processes: this is certainly and entirely true
of JACOB BOEHME, and, to some extent also, I think, of HENRY KHUNRATH
(1560-1605) and THOMAS VAUGHAN (1622-1666).

As may be easily understood, many of the alchemists led most romantic
lives, often running the risk of torture and death at the hands
of avaricious princes who believed them to be in possession of the
Philosopher's Stone, and adopted such pleasant methods of extorting (or,
at least, of trying to extort) their secrets. A brief sketch, which I
quote from my _Alchemy: Ancient and Modern_ (1911), SE 54, of the lives
of ALEXANDER SETHON and MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS, will serve as an example:--

"The date and birthplace of ALEXANDER SETHON, a Scottish alchemist, do
not appear to have been recorded, but MICHAEL SENDIVOGIUS was probably
born in Moravia about 1566. Sethon, we are told, was in possession of
the arch-secrets of Alchemy. He visited Holland in 1602, proceeded after
a time to Italy, and passed through Basle to Germany; meanwhile he
is said to have performed many transmutations. Ultimately arriving
at Dresden, however, he fell into the clutches of the young Elector,
Christian II., who, in order to extort his secret, cast him into prison
and put him to the torture, but without avail. Now it so happened that
Sendivogius, who was in quest of the Philosopher's Stone, was staying