I pored over my books, fasted, slept
little, and sought as much as possible to reduce matter into mind. I
resolved to give myself wholly up to the study of the transmutation of
metals, nothing doubting that some day if I persisted in my labours I
should be rewarded by the discovery of the philosopher's stone. I paid
no visits, neither received any. I had seen enough of dissipation, and
was now resolved to make up for lost time. A sudden change had come over
me. I was no longer the "flotter bursch" that the year before swaggered,
booted and spurred through the streets of Jena, foremost in the midnight
revel, dauntless at the duel, guilty of every species of extravagance
and excess. I had become the haggard and emaciated student of the dark
arts, nervous in the extreme, shunning company, and the nature of whose
studies was a mystery to all. Slovenly and smoke begrimed, daily and
nightly I poured over my crucibles, trying all sorts of experiments and
suffering many disappointments, denying myself the common necessaries of
life, that I might expend my small income in instruments and articles
wherewith to pursue my science. Absorbed in that one pursuit, I quite
forgot the world without, forgot that I was of the same clay as my
fellow mortals, lost all sympathy for the rest of my kind, neither
sought any from them. My whole mental energies were concentrated on that
one topic--that of making gold. Nor was it avarice that induced me to
make gold the object of my pursuit. Nothing, I assure you, but the pure
love of science prompted me in my studies. I had already made several
curious discoveries. I was on the eve, or thought I was, of discovering
the great secret, when owing to excessive fasting and want of sleep, my
health broke down. Being originally of an iron constitution, I deemed in
the pride of my youth that I was proof against any fatigue of mind or
body until actual experience taught me that there were bounds even to my
powers of endurance. As I had not for a very considerable time to set foot beyond the narrow
walls of my cell, and my mental faculties were thoroughly engrossed with
study, my system required but slight stimulant. A cup of milk and a roll
in the morning and a leek in the evening was all I required to keep soul
and body together. Nay, latterly I confined myself to a slice of bread
and a glass of water, and this lasted me all day for more than a
fortnight. This scanty food was brought me by an orphan boy, who was
deaf and dumb, whom I had engaged as my servant, as being better able to
keep silence as to the nature of my studies. Each day I fancied brought me nearer and nearer towards the discovery of
the grand secret, when Nature, long trampled upon, rebelled, and
positively refused to hold out any longer. My form was reduced to that
of a skeleton, objects swam before my eyes, my brain reeled, and I
repeatedly fainted for want of nourishment. My hand trembled, my mind
lost its energy, and I was no longer fit for study. I found that I had
overtaxed my strength, and saw the necessity of taking more food. One morning when I felt so debilitated that I really thought my last
hour was come, I ordered my servant to make me some broth. He had
scarcely left my laboratory to obey my orders when a peculiar sensation
came over me. I am as certain as I am of my own existence at the present
moment that I was then in a waking state, though what I am about to
relate to you now may appear to some like a dream. I felt--if I may so
describe my feelings--that I did not belong to myself, or, as if my
spirit were entirely free and independent of my body. It was a feeling
as of a bounding elasticity, as if neither the walls of my cell nor any
other material objects were impediments to me, and that I was capable at
will of soaring into realms of space, and of conversing with
intelligences of an immeasurably higher order than those of our mundane
sphere, and of perfectly understanding discourses that in the body I was
perfectly sure would be beyond my comprehension. I remember that on this very morning I was seated in a high-backed
arm-chair of carved oak, in a reflective mood. My crucibles and retorts
strewed the laboratory in the greatest disorder. I was too weak to study
or even to rise from my chair, when suddenly upon raising my eyes
towards the opposite wall of my laboratory, the scene seemed changed,
and instead of the bare wall before me I saw the mouth of a large cave,
through the innumerable arches of which I could see to a great distance,
for the interior seemed lighted up as with fire. Now, I know that I was perfectly unable to rise from my chair, yet it
appeared to me that I rose, and with firm step entered the cave. It was dark and very chilly. I gazed around me for a moment and
shuddered when I discovered at my side, my eyes being now accustomed to
the light, the form of an old man, bald-headed, and with snowy locks and
beard. His brow was high and his eye clear and beaming with wisdom and
benevolence. His form was upright and his step firm, and he wore a tunic
with ample folds and of a sad colour. At first I started and looked at him wonderingly, as if to ask him who
he was. He answered to my thoughts affably. "I am your guide. You have
courted our intimacy, and sought to become our equal. Come with me, and
I will initiate you into our mysteries and show you the lot for which
you have so long been striving." There was something so inviting in the old man's manner, something so
charming in the calm and dignified look that superior intellect
invariably gives, that I could not but comply, and following my guide, I
was conducted through long labyrinths of arches in silence, until I
reached the centre of the cavern, when I found myself in a vast hall
formed by nature, or roughly hewn out of the natural rock, and
illuminated by torches. Here I saw a number of tables, and at each table sat one man. They
appeared to be all engaged in chemistry, for each man had before him his
crucibles and other instruments. So absorbed did they all seem in their
work that not one of them noticed our entrance, although we were
talking loud enough for all to hear and our voices re-echoed through the
cavern. I tried to catch the eye of some of them in order to salute them, and
perhaps to enter into conversation with them, but no one looked up. I felt somewhat chilled at this reception, as it seemed to me that they
must have heard us, and purposely avoided looking up. My guide, who
could read all that was passing in my mind, responded to my thoughts. "Be not grieved at their apparent want of civility, for they do not even
see you. These spirits see nothing and hear nothing but what is
immediately before them and connected with their pursuits. All you see
here are alchemists. In your terrestrial globe their sole delight was in
the endeavour to make gold.