A SUGGESTIVE INQUIRY INTO THE HERMETIC MYSTERY, WITH A DISSERTATION ON THE MORE CELEBRATED OF THE ALCHEMICAL PHILOSOPHERS BEING AN ATTEMPT TOWARDS THE RECOVERY OF THE ANCIENT EXPERIMENT OF NATURE
Book Details + Condition: William Tait (Belfast, Ireland). Second Edition or First Reissued Edition, 1918. Originally published in 1850, but most, if not all, copies were burned - see below for more information. Extremely scarce. Hardcover with dark teal blue-green boards and label to spine (most likely a rebinding job). 597 pages with Advertisements to rear. Includes an Introduction by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst, and an Appendix "containing the memorabilia of Mary Anne Atwood". Also includes the bookplate of her father, the occult scholar Thomas South (see picture), in the Introduction. Atwood's esoteric Hermetic classic reframes alchemy as a system of profound spiritual transformation, rather than physical chemistry. The text argues that the true "Philosopher's Stone" is the realization of humanity's divine, immortal inner nature. Shortly after publication, Atwood’s father, who had helped finance the book, feared it revealed sacred, guarded alchemical and spiritual mysteries to the public. He bought and burned nearly all available copies, leading to the book's decades-long obscurity until this 1918 revival, which is titled as "A New Edition". Chapters include:
Part I: An Esoteric View of the Progress and Theory of Alchemy
- A Preliminary Account of the Hermetic Philosophy, with the More Salient Points of Its Public History
- Of the Theory of Transmutation in General, and of the First Matter
- The Golden Treatise of Hermes Trismegistus Concerning the Physical Secret of the Philosopher's Stone, In Seven Sections
Part II: A More Esoteric Consideration of the Art and Its Hermetic Mysteries
- Of the True Subject of the Hermetic Art and Its Concealed Root
- Of the Mysteries
- The Mysteries Continued
- The Mysteries Concluded
Part III: Concerning the Laws and Vital Considerations of the Hermetic Experiment
- Of the Experimental Method and Fermentation of the Philosophic Subject
According to the Paracelsian Alchemists and Some Others
- A Further Analysis of the Initial Principle and Its Education Into Light
- Of the Manifestation of the Philosophic Matter
- On the Mental Requisites and Impediments Incidental to Individuals, Either as Masters of Students in the Hermetic Arts
Part IV: The Hermetic Practice
- Of the Vital Purification, Commonly Called the Gross Work
- Of the Philosophic or Subtle Work
- The Six Keys of Eudoxus
- The Conclusion
An extremely scarce original First Reissue Edition of this alchemical, occult groundbreaking text. Rebinding remains in very good condition, and interior is clean and free of markings save normal age toning. Slight musty smell still present. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
