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652 NOTES TO VOLUME I.
be burnt. Nevertheless, as we have already seen, this problem
continued to be pursued at Alexandria, and was handed down from
generation to generation, and gave origin to the school of the
alchemists. Later alchemists derived their art directly from the
Egyptian God Thoth, whom they also called Hermes Trismegistos
whence also the art of making gold was called the Hermetic art.
Among his various writings Pernety had published a treatise on
the “Mythology of the Egyptians,” in which he presented his ideas
on the “Hermetic Philosophy.” This treatise was much relished
by Augustus Nordensköld, who, as we have shown in Note 35, was
very much interested in the problem of making gold, and had tried
many experiments in order to realize it. In a letter, dated October
30, ,1781, addressed to Charles F. Nordensköld, from which we have
given an extract in our introductory note to " Pernety’s Account
of Swedenborg," Pernety writes on the subject of the “Hermetic
Philosophy" as follows: "You see I write to you, judging you to be
an honest man, who will I believe at some future time belong to
the number of God’s children who suffer themselves to be guided
by caution and wisdom, and whose thoughts and actions must have
for their only object the glorification of our good Father. I write
to you as your upright friend, and as such I am glad to be able to
tell you that, in respect to the subject of the “ Hermetic philosophy,"
concerning which I wrote in my treatise on the “Mythology of
the Egyptians," I was led more by my memory than by ’a pro
found knowledge of that philosophy. This treatise contains extracts
from other writings, to which I have added my own views on the
subject. I had no understanding of this matter, and I ask God’s
pardon for the error into which a perusal of this book led those,
who thought they discovered in it the truth which I was unable to
show them . Still, you may believe that it is a Divine science; that
God reveals this secret only to those whom he sees to be fit; that
the philosophers have kept silence where it was their duty to keep
it; that it is impossible to understand this secret except by a
special revelation from God, which will supply the essential points that
have not been disclosed by the philosophers; and , finally, that
this science will not prove successful, unless God indeed commands
the angel of his power to guide the artist and his work . You may
judge then yourself whether your friend possesses indeed this secret,
and you may see also how little dependence can be placed upon the
words of those, who declare that they have found this secret. Let
me repeat here my declaration, that this science is the mystery of
mysteries of the all-wise Creator of nature. Depend upon it, and
as a faithful fellow -brother and friend extricate the gold makers and
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