VI. He should use only vessels of glass or glazed earthen- 

 ware. 

 VII. He should be sufficiently rich to bear the expenses 



of his art. 



VIII. He should avoid having anything to do with Princes 

 and Noblemen. 



Much sound advice is contained in these words of wisdom, 

 but unfortunately for the students of hermetic lore they seldom 

 obeyed the last two injunctions, but plunged into the fasci- 

 nating pursuit of wealth without counting the cost, and were 

 generally very eager to secure the favor of powerful and 

 opulent patrons. A notable exception to this was seen in the 

 case of a Westphalian, whose name has not been preserved, 

 and whose skill in transmutation aroused the cupidity of 

 Rudolph. The Emperor sent a trusty messenger to invite the 

 alchemist to his court, but the man resisted every inducement 

 oifered, saying: "If I possess the Philosophers' stone I have 

 no need of the Emperor, if I do not possess it the Emperor 

 has no need of me." The messenger returned to Prague with- 

 out this witty coiner of epigrams, and Rudolph had to con- 

 tent himself with correspondence with the recalcitrant adept. 



Throughout Rudolph's reign intense activity in alchemical 

 research prevailed not only in Bohemia, but in all Europe; 

 nor was the German Emperor the only potentate who 

 coquetted with the enticing and elusive damsel. Frederick,' 

 Duke of Wurtemberg, was devoted to the pseudo-science; 

 journeymen alchemists were always welcomed at his palace, 

 and he incurred in futile experiments such enormous expenses 

 that the Chamber of Deputies passed restrictive resolutions. 

 Augustus, Elector of Saxony, not only employed salaried 

 adepts, but worked with his own hands in his private labora- 

 tory built in Dresden, known to the citizens as the "Gold- 

 House." He seems to have attained to the wonder working 



63 



