ALCHEMY 



of the latter were assumed to be true. The Ptolemaic 

 system of the universe, in which the Earth was the 

 centre around which all the planets and the stars 

 revolved, was apparently the natural and proper 

 place for God to become incarnate. It became iden- 

 tified with the true Catholic Faith, which none were 

 allowed to question. The doctrine that man was 

 created pure, innocent and wise; that he had since 

 become degraded, and that to turn to the learning of 

 the past was to draw from the fountain of pure wis- 

 dom was not only the teaching of the Church, but the 

 inborn conviction of nearly all men. Holding to 

 these opinions the world could not advance. A new 

 revelation was needed, and it was soon to open. 



45 



