analogous to that of man; and he said he had always re- 

 frained from experimenting with homunculi owing to the 

 terrible moral responsibility involved . Dee then spoke of the 

 fascinating study of gamahes, those natural objects made of 

 marble, silex and other minerals which imitate perfectly man's 

 artistic work. He pointed out the supreme importance of 

 these objects in their relation to transmutation, for the 

 Philosophers' stone is a gamahe in the form of gold. 



Discussion ensued on the influence of the Lemures in de- 

 veloping hermetism, and of the real significance of the great 

 Thelesma of Hermes, when the royal pupil of the erudite 

 Englishman found himself getting beyond his depth in a 

 philosophical maze; to extricate himself he suggested that 

 the goal of transmutation might best be reached by obeying 

 the precepts embodied in the ancient saying: 



"Labora, opera, ora et invenies." 



To this, however, Dee, with the skill of a courtier, added 

 that due weight should be given to another maxim: 



u Omni ex voluntate Dei," 

 which was one of Rudolph's favorite mottoes. 



That famous embodiment of alchemic lore, the Tabula 

 Smaragdina of Hermes Trismegistus, aroused a heated dis- 

 cussion inasmuch as Dee ventured to oppose Rudolph's inter- 

 pretation of it. The 'Father of Alchemy,' Hermes, was identi- 

 fied with Canaan, Noah's grandson ; he invented mathematics, 

 astronomy and music, taught the Egyptians the art of writing 

 and gave them legal institutions and religious rites. More- 

 over he was perfectly acquainted with the Philosophers' stone, 

 and being desirous that posterity should inherit the wonder- 

 ful gift, he had the process for creating gold engraved on an 

 emerald tablet which was placed in his sepulchre. Many years 

 later it was removed by Sarah, Abraham's wife, and she 

 concealed it in a cave near Hebron where it remained until 



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