(Translated from an old German Rosicrucian Manuscript.)[1]
Some years ago, after having long and earnestly prayed to Good, the unmanifested, incomprehensible cause of all things, I was attracted to Him, and by the power of his Holy Spirit — through whom all wisdom descends upon us, and who has been sent to us through Christ, the λογος,[2] from the Father — he illuminated my inner sight so that I was able to recognize the Centrum in Trigono Centri, which is the only and veritable substance for the preparation of The Philosopher’s Stone. But although I know this substance, and had it actually in my possession for over five years, nevertheless I did not know how to obtain from it the Blood of the Red Lion, and the Gluten of the White Eagle, neither did I know the processes by which these substances could be mixed, bottled, and sealed up, or how they were to be treated by the secret fire, a process which requires a great deal of knowledge, prudence, and cautiousness.
I had studied to a great extent the writings, parables, and allegories of various writers, and I had used great efforts to understand their enigmas, many of which were evidently the inventions of their own fancy; but I found at last that all of their prescribed methods for the preparation of The Philosopher’s Stone were nothing but fables. All their purifications, sublimations, distillations, rectifications, and coagulations, together with their stoves and retorts, crucibles, pots, sand and water baths, etc, were entirely useless and worthless for my purpose, and I began to realize the wisdom of Theophrastus Paracelsus, who said in regard to that stone, that it is a great mistake to seek for it in material and external things, and that the people who do so are very foolish, because instead of following Nature, they follow their own brains, which do not know what Nature requires.
Nature in her nobility does not require any artificial methods to produce what she desires. She produces everything out of her own substance, and in that Substance we must seek for her. He who deserves her will find her hidden there. But not every one is able to read the book of Nature, and this is a truth which I found out by my own experience; for although the true substance for the preparation of The Philosopher’s Stone was in my own possession for over five years, nevertheless it was only in the sixth year that I received the key to the mystery by a secret revelation from God.
To open the secrets of Nature a key is required. This key was in the possession of the ancient patriarchs, prophets, and Adepts, but they always kept it hidden away, so that none but the worthy should come into its possession; for if the foolish or evil-disposed were to know the mysteries of Nature, a great deal of evil would be the result.
In the following description I have revealed as much of these mysteries as I am permitted to reveal, and I have been strongly forbidden to speak more explicitly and plainly. Those who read these pages merely with their external understanding will obtain very little valuable information; but to those who read them by the light of the true faith, shining from the ever burning fires upon the altars erected in the sanctuary of their own hearts, the meaning will be plain. They will obtain sweet fruits, and become and remain forever true brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross, and members of our inseparable fraternity.
But to those who desire to know my name, and who might charge me with being too much reserved if I do not reveal it, I will describe it as follows, so that they will have no cause to complain: The number of my name is M.DCXII, and in this number the whole of my name is fully inscribed into the book of Nature by eleven dead and seven living ones. Moreover, the fifth letter is the fifth part of the eighth, and the fifteenth the fifth part of the twelfth. Let this be sufficient for your purpose.
Notes:
[1] The Philosopher’s Stone. (Translated from an old German Rosicrucian Manuscript.) Franz Hartmann. The Rosicrucian and the Philosopher’s Stone. S. C. Gould, Editor. Vol. 1., No. 1 (January 1907), 21-22. {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos, by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] {R.H.—Logos}