M. Aksakoff, and others — held a series of sittings at Milan,

with Eusapia as medium. Some of the seances were also attended by Professors Richet and Lombroso. The phenomena consisted of raps, materialisation of hands, levitation of the table and other furniture within a radius of three or four feet, and fluctuation of the medium's weight in the balance, to the extent of some 17IDS. It was . evident even then that Eusapia would not lose an opportunity of using fraud. Nevertheless Professor Richet was so impressed that in 1894 he organised a further series of sittings with the same medium at his house on the He Rouband, and on this occasion were present Professor — now Sir Oliver — Lodge, Mr. Myers, Dr. Ochorowicz, and at a later stage, Professor and Mrs. Sidgwick. The seances were held in darkness or semi-darkness, but the medium's hands and feet were controlled by the investigators. Mrs. Sidgwick, indeed, declared that Eusapia herself might easily have produced the phenomena, if she had the use of her bands, but Professor Lodge and others were inclined to attribute them to some external agency. In the following year further seances were held at Mr. Myer's house at Cambridge, and when it became evident that Eusapia frequently freed a foot or a hand Mr. Myer's own faith in the phenomena was temporarily — though only temporarily — destroyed. Professor Richet and Sir Oliver Lodge, however, retained their convictions unshaken. Dr. Hodgson, who had already suggested that Eusapia might use some such method, was also present at the Cambridge sittings. Besides those already mentioned, many prominent Con- tinental scientists investigated Eusapia's manifestations among them being M. Camille Flammarion, Professor Morselli, and M. and Mme. Curie. The two last mentioned were members of a committee of thelnstitut General Psycholo- gique of Paris, which held an important series of sittings with the medium in 1905, 1906, and 1907. In 1908 and 1909 again, the Society for Psychical Research instituted a fresh enquiry into Eusapia's methods. On the whole, scientific opinion is still much divided as to the genuineness or otherwise of the phenomena. Some authorities, taking into consideration the many times the Italian medium has been caught cheating, and the absence of really conclusive tests, incline to the belief that Eusapia is merely a clever conjurer. Such were Dr. Hodgson, Mr. Podmore, Professor and Mrs. Sidgwick. Others, again, such as Professors Richet and Lombroso, M. Camille Flammarion and Sir Oliver Lodge, are of the opinion that the instances of fraud are mere incidents in the career of a true medium, whose performances plainly demonstrate the operation in the material world of strange, unknown forces.
Palladium : (See Devil-worship.)
Palladium, Order of : A masonic-diabolic order, also entitled the Sovereign-Council of Wisdom, founded ' in Paris on May 20th, 1737. It initiated women under the name of companions of Penelope. The fact that it existed is proved by the circumstance that Ragou, the Masonic antiquary, published its ritual.
Palmistry : The science of divination by means of lines and marks on the human hand. It is said to have been practised in very early times by the Brahmins of India, and to be known to Aristotle, who discovered a treatise on the subject
written in letters of gold, which he presented to Alexander the Great, and which was afterwards translated into Latin by Hispanus. There is also extant a work on the subject by Melampus of Alexandria, and Hippocrates, Galen, and several Arabian commentators have also dealt with it. In the Middle Ages the science was represented by Hartlieb (circa 1448), and Codes (circa 1054), and Fludd, Indigane, Rothmann, and many others wrote on cheiromancy. D'Ar- pentigny, Desbarolles,_Carus, and others kept the science alive in the earlier half of the nineteenth century, since when a very large number of treatises upon it have been written. Since i860, or thereabouts, palmistry has become very much more popular than ever before in these islands, and indeed is practised nearly all over the habitable globe.
Palmistry is sub-divided into three lesser arts — cheirog- nomy, cheirosophy and cheiromancy. The first is the art of recognising the type of intelligence from the form of the hands ; the second is the study of the comparative value of manual formations ; and the third is the art of divination from the form of the hand and fingers, and the lines and markings thereon. The palmist first of all studies the shape and general formation of the hand as a whole, afterwards regarding its parts and details, — the lines and markings being considered later. From cheirognomy and cheirosophy the general disposition and tendencies are ascertained, and future events are foretold from the reading of the lines and markings.
There are several types of hands : the elementary or large-palmed type ; the necessary with spatulated fingers ; the artistic with conical-shaped fingers ; the useful, the fingers of which are square-shaped ; the knotted or phil- osophical ; the pointed, or psychic ; and the mixed, in which the types are blended. The principal lines are : those which separate the hand from the forearm at the wrist, and which are known as the rascettes, or the lines of health, wealth and happiness. The line of life stretches from the centre of the palm around the base of the thumb almost to the wrist, and is joined for a considerable part of its course by the line of the head. The line of the heart runs across two-thirds of the palm, above the head line ; and the line of fate between it and the line of the head. nearly at right angles extending towards the wrist. The line of fortune runs from the base of the third finger towards the wrist parallel to the line of fate. If the lines are deep, firm and of narrow width the significance is good — excepting that a strong line of health shows constitutional weakness.
At the base of the fingers, beginning with the first, lie the mounts of Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, and Mercury ; at the base of the thumb the mount of Venus ; and opposite to it, that of Luna. If well-proportioned they show cer- tain virtues, but if exaggerated they indicate the vices which correspond to these. The first displays religion, reasonable ambition, or pride and superstition ; the second wisdom and prudence, or ignorance and failure ; the third when large makes for success and intelligence, when small for meanness or love of obscurity ; the fourth desire for knowledge and industry, or disinterestedness and laziness". The Lunar mount indicates sensitiveness, imagination, morality or otherwise ; and self-will : and the mount of Venus, charity and affection, or if exaggerated viciousness. The phalanges of the fingers are also indicative of certain faculties. For example, the first and second of the thumb, according to their length, indicate the value of the logical faculty and of the will ; those of the index finger in their order — materialism, law, and order ; of the middle finger — humanity, system, intelligence ; of the third finger — truth economy, energy ; and of the little finger goodness, pru- dence, reflectiveness. There are nearly a hundred other marks and signs, by which certain qualities, influences or events can be recognised. The line of life by its length
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indicates the length of existence of its owner. If it is short in both hands, the life will be a short one ; if broken in one hand and weak in the other, a serious illness is denoted. If broken in both hands, it means death. If it is much chained it means delicacy. If it has a second or sister line, it shows great vitality. A black spot on the line shows illness at the time marked. A cross indicates some fatality. The line of life coming out far into the palm is a sign of long life. The line of the head, if long and well-coloured, denotes intelligence and power. If descending to the mount of the Moon it shows that the head is much influenced by the imagination. Islands on the line denote mental troubles. The head line forked at the end indicates subtlety and a facility for seeing all sides of the question. A double line of the head is an indication of good fortune. The line of the heart should branch towards the mount of Jupiter. If it should pass over the mount of Jupiter to the edge of the nand and travel round the index finger, it is called " Solo- mon's ring " and indicates ideality and romance ; it is also a sign of occult power. Points or dots in this line may show illness if b!ackt and if white love affairs ; while islands on the heart line indicate disease. The line of fate, or Saturn, if it rises from the Lunar mount and ascends towards the line of the heart is a sign of a rich marriage. If it extends into the third phalange of Saturn's finger it shows the sinister influence of that planet. A double line of fate is ominous.
In such an article as this it would be out of place to mention the very numerous lesser lines and marks which the hand contains, especially when so many excellent books of reference on the subject have recently been published. It but remains to say that practitioners of the science-of palmislrv are excceedingly numerous. Some of these work on strictly scientific lines, while others pick it up in a merely empirical way, and their forecasts of events to come are only so much " patter." Papaloi : An Obeah priest : (See West Indian Islands.) Papyri, Magical : (See Eygpt.)
Para Brahm : Deity without form. The two indestructible principles from which all creation springs. (See Kabala.) Paracelsus : In the history of alchemy there is not a more striking or picturesque figure than Aurcelus Philippus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast von Hohenheim, the illustrious physician and exponent of the hermetic philoso- phy who has chosen to go down to fame under the name of Paracelsus. He was born at Einsideln, near Zurich, in the year 1493. His father, the natural son of a prince, himself practised the " art of medicine," and was desirous that his only son. should follow the same profession. To the fulfilment of that desire was directed the early training of Paracelsus — a training which fostered his imaginative rather than his practical tenaencies, and which first cast his mind into the alchemical mould. It did not take him long to discover that the medical traditions of the time were but empty husks from which all substance had long since dried away. " I considered with myself," he says, " that if there were no teacher of medicine in the world, how would I set about to learn the art ? No otherwise than in -the great open book of nature, written with the finger of God." Having thus freed himself from the constraining Donds of an outworn medical orthodoxy, whose chief resources were bleeding, purging, and emetics, he set about ■evolving a new system to replace the old, and in order that he might study the book of nature to better advantage he travelled extensively from 1513 to 1524, visiting almost «very part of the known world, studying metallurgy, chemistry, and medicine, and consorting with vagabonds of every description. He was brought before the Cham of Tartary, conversed with the magicians of Egypt and Arabia,
and is said to have even reached India. At length his protracted wanderings came to a close, and in 1524 he settled in Basle, then a favourite resert of scholars and physicians, where he was appointed to fill the chair of medicine at the University. Never had Basle witnessed a more brilliant, erratic professor. His inflated language, his eccentric behaviour, the splendour of his conceptions flashing through a fog of obscurity, at once attracted and repelled, and gained for him friends and enemies. His antipathy to the Galenic school became ever more pro- nounced, and the crisis came when he publicly burned the works of Galen and Avicenna in a brazen vase into which he had cast nitre and sulphur. By such a proceeding he incurred the hatred of his more conservative brethren, and cut himself off for ever from the established school of medicine. He continued his triumphant career, however, till a conflict with the magistrates brought it to an abrupt close. He was forced to flee from Basle, and thereafter wandered from place to place, gaining a living as best he might. An element of mystery surrounds the manner of his death, which took place in 1541, but the best authenticated account states that he was poisoned at the instigation of the medical faculty.
But interesting as were the events of his life, it is to his work that most attention is due. Not only was he the founder of the modern science of medicine ; the magnetic theory of Mesmer, the " astral " theory of modern spiritual- ists, the philosophy of Descartes, were all foreshadowed in the fantastic, yet not always illogical, teaching of Paracel- sus. He revived the " microcosmic " theory of ancient Greece, and sought to prove the human body analogous to the Solar System, by establishing a connection between the seven organs of the body and the seven planets. He preached the doctrines of the efficacy of will-power and the imagination in such words as these : " It is possible that my spirit, without the help of my body, and through an ardent will alone, and without a sword, can stab and wound others. It is also possible that I can bring the spirit of my adversary into an image and then fold him up or lame him at my pleasure." " Resolute imagination is the beginning of all magical operations." " Because men do not perfectly believe and imagine, the result is, that arts are uncertain when they might be wholly certain." The first principle of his doctrine is the extraction of the quintessence, or philosophic mercury, from every material body. He believed that if the quintessence were drawn from each animal, plant, and mineral, the combined result would equal the universal spirit, or " astral body " in man, and that a draught of the extract would renew his youth. He came at length to the conclusion that " astral bodies " exercised a mutual influence on each other, and declared that he himself had communicated with the dead, and with living persons at a considerable distancce. He was the first to connect this influence with that of the magnet, and to use the word " magnetism " with its present application. It was on this foundation that Mesmer built his theory of magnetic influence. While Paracelsus busied himself with such problems, however, he did not neglect the study and practice of medicine. Indeed, astrology and the magnet entered largely into his treatment. When he was sought by a patient, his first care was to consult the planets, where the disease had its origin, and if the patient were a woman he took it for granted that the cause of her malady lay in the moon. His anticipation of the philosophy of Descartes, consisted in his theory that by bringing the various elements of the human body into harmony with the elements of nature — fire, light, earth, etc. — old age and death might be indefinitely postponed. His experiment in the extraction of its essential spirit from the poppy resulted in the production of laudanum, which he
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prescribed freely in the form of " three black pills." The recipes which he gives for the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of Life, and various universal remedies, are exceed- ingly obscure. He is deservedly celebrated as the first physici. n to use opium and mercury, and to recognise the value of sulphur. He applied himself also to the solution of a problem which still exercises the minds of scientific men — whether it is possible to produce life from inorganic matter. Paracelsus asserted that it was, and has, left on record a quaint recipe for a homunculus, or artificial man. By a peculiar treatment of certain " spagyric substances " — which he has unfortunately omitted to specify — he declared that he could produce a perfect human child in, miniature. Speculations such as these, medical, alchemical and philosophical, were scattered so profusely throughout his teaching that we are compelled to admit that here was a master-mind, a genius, who was a charlatan only incidently, by reason of training and temperament. Let it be remem- bered that he lived in an age when practically all scholars and physicians were wont to impose on popular ignorance, and we cannot but remark that Paracelsus displayed, under all his arrogant exterior, a curious singleness of purpose, and a real desire to penetrate the mysteries of science. He has left on record the principal points of the philosophy on which he founded his researches in his " Archidoxa Medi- cines." It contains the leading rules of the art of healing, as he practised and preached them. " I had resolved," he says, " to give ten books to the ' Archidoxa,' but I have reserved the tenth in my head. It is a treasure which men are not worthy to possess, and shall only be given to the world when they shall have abjured Aristotle, Avicenna, and Galen, and promised a perfect submission to Paracelsus." The world did not recant, but Paracelsus relented, and at the entreaty of his disciples published this tenth book, the key to the nine others, but a key which might pass for a lock, and for a lock which we cannot even pick. It is entitled the " Tenth Book of the Arch-Doctrines ; or, On the Secret Mysteries of Nature." A brief summary of it is as follows : —
He begins by supposing and ends by establishing that there is a universal spirit infused into the veins of man, forming within us a species of invisible body, of which our visible body, which it directs and governs at its will, is but the wrapping — the casket. This universal spirit is not simple — not more simple, for instance, than the number 100, which is a collection of units. Where, then, are the spiritual units of which our complex spirit is composed ? Scattered in plants and minerals, but principally in metals. There exists in these inferior productions of the earth a host of sub-spirits which sum themselves up in us, as the universe does in God. So the science of the philosopher has simply to unite them to the body — to disengage them from the grosser matter which clogs and confines them, to separate the pure from the impure.
To separate the pure from the impure is, in other words, to seize upon the soul of the heterogeneous bodies — to evolve their " predestined element," " the seminal essence of beings," " the first being, or quintessence."
To understand this latter word " quintessence," it is needful for the reader to know that every body, whatever it may be, is composed of four elements, and that the essence compounded of these elements forms a fifth, which is the soul of the mixed bodies, or, in other words, its " mercury," " I have shown," says Paracelsus, " in my book of ' Elements,' that the quintessence is the same thing as mercury. There is in mercury whatever wise men seek." That is, not the mercury of modern chemists, but a philosophical mercury of which every body has its own. " There are as many mercuries as there are things. The mercury of a vegetable, a mineral, or an animal of the
same kind, although strongly resembling each other, does not precisely resemble another mercury, and it is for this reason that vegetables, minerals, and animals of the same species are not exactly alike. . . . The true mercury of philosophers is the radical humidity of each body, and its veritable semen, or essence."
Paracelsus now sought for a plant worthy of holding in the vegetable kingdom the same rank as gold in the metallic — a plant whose " predestined element " should unite in itself the virtues of nearly all the vegetable essences. Although this was not easy to distinguish, he recognised at a glance — we know not by what signs — the supremacy of excellence in the mellssa, and first decreed to it that phar- maceutical crown which at a later period the Carmelites ought to have consecrated. How he obtained this new specific may be seen in the Life of Paracelsus, by Savarien :
" He took some balm-mint in flower, which he had taken care to collect before the rising of the sun. He pounded it in a mortar, reduced it to an impalpable dust, poured it into a long-necked vial which he sealed hermetically, and placed it to digest (or settle) for forty hours in a heap of horse-dung. This time expired, he opened the vial, and found there a matter which he reduced into a fluid by pressing it, separating it from its impurities by exposure to the slow heat of a bain-marie. The grosser parts sunk to the bottom, and he drew off the liqueur which floated on the top, filtering it through some cotton. This liqueur having been poured into a bottle he added to it the fixed salt, which he had drawn from the same plant when dried. There remained nothing more but to extract from this liqueur the first lief or being of the plant. For this purpose Paracelsus mixed the liqueur with so much ' water of salt ' (understand by this the mercurial element or radical humidity of the salt) , put it in a matrass, exposed it for six weeks to the sun, and finally, at the expiration of this term, discovered a last . residuum which was decidedly, according to him, the first life or supreme essence of the plant. But at all events, it is certain that what he found in his matrass was the genie or spirit he required ; and with the surplus, if there were any, we need not concern ourselves."
Those who may wish to know what this genie was like, are informed that it as exactly resembled, as two drops of water, the spirit of aromatic wine known to-day as absinthe Suisse. It was a liquid green as emerald, — green, the bright colour of hope and spring-time. Unfortunately, it failed as a specific in the conditions indispensable for an elixir of immortality ; but it was a preparation more than half- celestial, which almost rendered old age impossible.
By means and manipulations as subtle and ingenious as those which he employed upon the melissa, Paracelsus did not draw, but learned to extract, the " predestined element " of plants which ranked much higher in the vegetable aristocracy, — the " first life " of the gilly- flower, the cinnamon, the myrrh, the scammony, the celandine. All these supreme essences, which, according to the 5th book of "Archidoxa," unite with a mass of " magisteries " as precious as they are rude, are the base of so many specifics, equally reparative and regenerative. This depends upon the relationship which exists between the temperament of a privileged plant and the temperament of the individual who asks of it his rejuvenescence.
However brilliant were the results of his discoveries, those he obtained or those he thought he might obtain, they were for Paracelsus but the a b c of Magic. To the eyes of so consummate an alchemist vegetable life is nothing ; it is the mineral — the metallic life — which is all. So we may assure ourselves that it was in his power to seize the first life-principle of the moon, the sun, Mars, or Saturn ; that is, of silver, gold, iron, or lead. It was equally facile for
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him to grasp the life of the precious stones, the bitumens, the sulphurs, and even that of animals.
Paracelsus sets forth several methods of obtaining this great arcanum. Here is the shortest and most simple as recorded by Incola Francus : — ■
" Take some mercury, or at least the element of mercury, separating the pure from the impure, and afterwards pounding it to perfect whiteness. Then you shall sublimate it with sal-ammoniac, and this so many times as may be necessary to resolve it into a fluid. Calcine it, coagulate it, and again dissolve it, and let it strain in a pelican during 3. philosophic month, until it thickens and assumes the form of a hard substance. Thereafter this form of stone is incombustible, and nothing can change or alter it ; the metallic bodies which it penetrates become fixed and incombustible, for this material is incombustible, and ■changes the imperfect metals into metal perfect. Although I have given the process in few words, the thing itself demands a long toil, and many difficult circumstances, which I have expressly omitted, not to weary the reader, who ought to be very diligent and intelligent if he wishes to arrive at the accomplishment of this great work."
Paracelsus himself tells us in his " Archidoxa," when ■explaining his own recipe for the completion of it, and profiting by the occasion to criticise his fellow-workers.
"I omit," he writes, " what I have said in different places on the theory of the stone ; I Will say only that ■this arcanum does not consist in the blast (rouille) or flowers of antimony. It must be sought in the mercury of antimony, which, when it is carried to perfection, is nothing else than the heaven of metals ; for even as the heaven gives life to plants and minerals, so does the pure quintessence of antimony vitrify everything. This is why the Deluge was not able to deprive any substance of its virtue or properties, for the heaven being the life of all beings, there is nothing superior to it which can modify or destroy it.
" Take the antimony, purge it of its arsenical impurities in an iron vessel until the coagulated mercury of the .antimony appears quite white, and is distinguishable by the star which appears in the superficies of the regulus, or semi-metal. But although this regulus, which is the •element of mercury, has in itself a veritable hidden life, nevertheless these things are in virtue, and not actually.
" Therefore, if you wish to reduce the power to action, you must disengage the life which is concealed in it by a living fire like to itself, or with a metallic vinegar. To discover this fire many philosophers have proceeded differently, but .agreeing to the foundations of the art, have arrived at the desired end. For some with great labour have drawn forth the quintessence of the thickened mercury of the regulus of .antimony, and by this means have reduced to action the mercury of the antimony : others have considered that there was a uniform quintessence in the other minerals, as for example in the fixed sulphur of the vitriol, or the stone of the magnet, and having extracted the quintessence, have afterwards matured and exalted their heaven with it, and reduced it to action. Their process is good, and has had its result. Meanwhile this fire — this corporeal life — which they seek with toil, is found much more easily and in much greater perfection in the ordinary mercury, which appears through its perpetual fluidity — a proof that it possesses a very powerful fire and a celestial life similar to that which lies hidden in the regulus of the antimony. Therefore, he who would wish to exalt our metallic heaven, starred, to its greatest completeness, and to reduce into action its potential virtues, he must first extract from ordinary mercury its -corporeal life, which is a celestial fire ; that is to say the •quintessence of quicksilver, or, in other words, the metallic vinegar, that- has resulted from its dissolution in the water
which originally produced it, and which is its own mother ; that is to say, he must dissolve it in the arcanum of the salt I have described, and mingle it with the ' stomach of Anthion,' which is the spirit of vinegar, and in this menstruum melt and filter and consistent mercury of the antimony, strain it in the said liquor, and finally reduce it into crystals of a yellowish green, of which we have spoken in our manual."
As regards the Philosopher's Stone, he gives the following formula : —
" Take," said he, " the electric mineral not yet mature (antimony), put it in its sphere, in the fire with the iron, to remove its ordures and other superfluities, and purge it as much as you can, following the rules of chymistry, so that it may not suffer by the aforesaid impurities. Make, in a word, the regulus with the mark. This done, cause it to dissolve in the ' stomach of the ostrich ' (vitriol) , which springs from the earth and is fortified in its virtue by the ' sharpness of the eagle ' (the metallic vinegar or essence of mercury). As soon as the essence is perfected, and when after its dissolution it has taken the colour of the herb called calendule, do not forget to reduce it into a spiritual luminous essence, which resembles amber. After this, add to it of the ' spread eagle ' one half the weight of the election before its preparation, and frequently distil the ' stomach of the ostrich ' into the matter, and thus the election will become much more spiritualized. When the ' stomach of the ostrich ' is weakened by the labour of digestion, we must strengthen it and frequently distil it. Finally, when it has lost all its impurity, add as much tartarized quintessence as will rest upon your fingers, until it throws off its impurity and rises with it. Repeat this process until the preparation becomes white, and this will suffice ; for you shall see yourself as -gradually it rises in the form of the ' exalted eagle,' and with little trouble con- verts itself in its form (like sublimated mercury) ; and that is what we are seeking.
" I tell you in truth that there is no greater remedy in medicine than that which lies in this election, and that there is nothing like it in the whole world. But not to digress from my purpose, and not to leave this work imperfect, observe the manner in which you ought to operate."
" The election then being destroyed, as I have said, to arrive at the desired end (which is, to make of it a universal medicine for human as well as metallic bodies), take your election, rendered light and volatile by the method above described.
" Take of it as much as you would wish to reduce it to its perfection, and put it in a philosophical egg of glass, and seal it very tightly, that nothing of it may respire ; put it into an athanor until of itself it resolves into a liquid, in such a manner that in the middle of this sea there may appear a small island, which daily diminishes, and finally, all shall be changed to a colour black as ink. This colour is the raven, or bird which flies at night without wings, and which, through the celestial dew, that rising continually falls back by a constant circulation, changes into what is called ' the head of the raven,' and afterwards resolves into ' the tail of the peacock,' then it assumes the hue of the ' tail of a peacock,' and afterwards the colour of the ' feathers of a swan ' ; finally acquiring an extreme redness, which marks its fiery nature, and in virtue of which it expels all kinds of impurities, and strengthens feeble members. This preparation, according to all philosophers, is made in a single vessel, over a single furnace, with an equal and continual fire, and this medicine, which is more than celestial, cures all kinds of infirmities, as well in human as metallic bodies ; wherefore no one can under- stand or attain such an arcanum without the help of God : for its virtue is ineffable and divine."
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Paradise : From old Persian (Zeud) pairedaeza an enclosure, a walled-in place ; Old Persian pairi, around, dig, to mould, form, shape (hence to form a Wall of earth).
Paradise has been sought for or located in many regions of the earth. In Tartarv, Armenia, India, and China : on the banks of the Euphrates and of the Ganges ; in Meso- potamia, Syria, Persia, Arabia, Palestine, and Ethiopia, and near the mountains of Libanus and Anti-libanus. Perhaps the most noteworthy tradition is that which fixes its situation in the Island of Ceylon, the Serendib of the ancient Persians, and the Taprobane of the Greek geogra- phers. '• It is from the summit of Hamalleel or Adam's Peak," says Percival in his history of Ceylon, " that Adam took his last view of Paradise before he quitted it never to return. The spot on which his feet stood at the moment is still supposed to be found in an impression on the summit of the mountain, resembling the print of a man's foot, but more than double the ordinary size. After taking this farewell view, the father of mankind is said to have gone over to the continent of Judea, which was at that time joined to the island, but no sooner had he passed Adam's Bridge than the sea closed behind him, and cut off all hopes of return. This tradition, from whatever source it was derived, seems to be interwoven with the earliest notions of religion entertained by the Cingalese ; and it is difficult to conceive that it could have been engrafted on them without forming an original part. I have frequently had the curiosity to converse with black men of different castes concerning this tradition of Adam. All of them, with every appearance of belief, assured me that it was really true," and in support of it produced a variety of testimonies, old sayings, and prophecies, which have for ages been current among them. The origin of these traditions I do not pretend to trace ; but their connection with Scripture history is very evident, and they afford a new instance how universally the opinions with respect to the origin of man coincide." We are further informed by this writer that a large chair fixed in a rock near the summit of the mountain is said to be the workmanship of Adam. " It has the appearance of having been placed there at a very distant period, but who really placed it there, or for what purpose, it is impossible for any European to discover."
Paradise is a word of Persian origin,' adopted by the Greeks, and literally denotes an inclosure or park planted with fruit-trees, and abounding with various animals. Eden is not termed Paradise in Genesis, but simply a garden planted eastwards in the country or district so called ; and it is this apparently indefinite locality which has caused so many conjectures as to its exact site. Some place it in Judea, where is now the sea of Galilee ; others in Armenia, near Mount Ararat ; and others in Syria, towards the sources of the Orontes, the Chrysorrhoas, and Barrady. Some think that by Eden is meant the whole earth, which was of surprising beauty and fertility before the Fall ; and it is curious that a notion prevailed to a great extent among the various nations, that the Old World was under a curse, and that the earth became very barren. We are also assured that the Hindoos and Chinese believe that all nature is contaminated, and that the earth labours undre some dreadful defilement — a sentiment which could only result from obscure traditions connected with the first human pair. Josephus gravely says that the Sacred Garden was watered by one river which ran round the whole earth, and was divided into four parts ; but he appears to think Paradise was merely a figurative or allegorical locality. Some of the natives of Hindostan have traditions of a place resembling Paradise on the banks of the Ganges ; but their accounts are so completely blended with their superstitions, and with their legends respecting the Deluge and the second peopling of the
world, as to be, to a certain extent, unintelligible. A writer who had diligently studied the Indian Puranas for many years, opened a new source cf information, and placed Eden on the Imaus Mountains of India. "' It appears from Scripture," he says, '" that Adam and Eve lived in the countries to the eastward of Eden ; for at the eastern entrance of it God placed the angel with the flaming swords This is also confirmed by the Puranics, who place the progenitor of mankind on the mountainous regions between Cabul and the Ganges, on the banks of which, in the hills, they show a place where he resorted occasionally for religious purposes. It is frequented by pilgrims. At the entrance of the passes leading to the place where I suppose was the Garden of Eden, and to the eastward of it, the Hindoos have placed a destroying angel, who appears, and it is generally represented like a cherub ; I mean Garudha, or the Eagle, upon whom Vishnu and Jupiter are represented riding. Garudha is represented generally like an eagle, but in his compound character somewhat like the cherub. He is represented like a young man, with the countenance, wings, and talons of the eagle. In Scripture the Deity is represented riding upon a cherub, and flying upon the wings of the wind. Garudha is called Vahan (literally the Vehicle) of Vishnu or Jupiter, and he- thus answers to the cherub of Scripture ; for many com- mentators derive this word from the obsolete root c'harab, in the Chaldean language, a word implicitly synonymous- with the Sanscrit Vahan." We ma5' here add, that the Puranics considered the north-west part of India, about Cashmere, as the site of Paradise, and the original abode of the first human pair ; and that there, at the offering of a sacrifice Daksha was murdered by his jealous brother, who was in consequence doomed to become a fugitive on the earth.
In the fabled Meru of the Hindoo mythology, on the other hand, we have also a descriptive representation of the Mosaical Garden of Eden. Meru is a conical mountain,, the exact locality of which is not fixed ; but as the Hindoo geographers considered the earth as a flat table, and the sacred mountain of Meru rising in the middle, it became at length their decided conviction that Meru was the North Pole, from their notion that the North Pole was the highest part of the world. So firmly we are told, was this tradition believed, that although some Hindoo writers admitted that Mount Meru must be situated in the central part of Asia, yet rather than relinquish their notion of and predilection for the North Pole as the real locality of their Paradise, they actually forced the sun out of the ecliptic, and placed the Pole on the elevated plains of the Lesser Bokhara. If we, however, examine the Hindoo description of this Paradise, we shall at once be able to trace its origin and its close analogy to "the Mosaic account.
The summit of Meru is considered as a circular plain of vast extent, surrounded by a belt of hills — a celestial earth, the abode of immortals, and is designated Ida- Vratta, or the Circle of Ida. It is of four different colours towards the cardinal points, and is believed to be supported by four enormous buttresses of gold, silver, copper and iron. Yet doubts exist as to its real appearance, some alleging that its form is that of a square pyramid, others maintain that its shape is conical ; others that it resembles an inverted cone ; while others thought, that instead of a circular belt of mountains, Meru terminated in three lofty peaks. The Sawas assert that a vast river rises from the head of their deity Siva, and the Vaishnawas that it springs from beneath the feet of Vishnu, and, after passing through the circle of the moon, falls upon the summit of Meru, and divides itself into four streams, flowing towards the four cardinal points. Others believe that the four rivers of the sacred mountain spring from the roots of Jambri, a tree of immense size which, they saj'.
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conveys the most extensive and profound knowledge, and accomplishes the most desirable of human aspirations. The reader will recollect the Mosaical account of the Tree of Knowledge, which stood in the middle of the Garden, and -of the river which went out of Eden to water it, dividing itself into four branches or streams of other rivers.
The river thus rising in Meru, the Hindoos further say, flows in four opposite directions to the four cardinal points and is supposed to issue from four rocks, carved in the shape of so many different animals, one of which is a cow ; and this, they allege, is the origin of the Ganges. Some among them,' however, think that this river first flows round the sacred cit)' of Brahma, and then discharges itself into a lake called Mansarovara, from which it issues through the rocky heads of four animals to the different divisions of the globe. The cow's head, from which issues the Ganges, they place towards the south ; and towards the north is the tiger, or lion's head. The horse's head is on the west, and on the east is that of the elephant.
The traditions of Cashmere represent that country as the original site of Paradise, and the abode of the first human pair ; and the Buddhists of Thibet hold opinion respecting the mountain Meru similar to those of the Hindoos. They locate the sacred Garden, however, at the foot of the moun- tain, near the source of the Ganges ; but the four holy rivers are made to issue through the heads of the same animals, which are believed to be the guardians of the divisions of the world. The tree of knowledge, or of life, they designate Zambri, which, they say, is a celestial tree, bearing immortal fruit, and flourishes near four vast rocks, from which issue the several rivers which water the world.
The Mussulmans inhabiting the adjacent countries have adopted the popular belief that Paradise was situated in Cashmere, adding that when the first man was driven from it, he and his wife wandered separately for some time. They met at a place called Bahlaka, or Balk, so called because they they mutually embraced each other after a long absence. Two gigantic statues, which they say, are yet to be seen between Bahlaka and Bamiyan, represent Adam and Eve, and a third of smaller dimensions is that of their son Seish or Seth, whose tomb, or its site, is pointed out near Bahlaka.
Some of the writers seriously maintained that Paradise was under the North Pole, arguing upon an idea of the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians, that the ecliptic or solar way was originally at right angles to the Equator, and so passed directly over the North Pole. The opinion generally entertained by the Mahomedans that it was in one of the seven heavens, is not more ridiculous than the preceding supposition. Dr. Clarke sums up the extrava- gant theories respecting the locality of Paradise. " Some place it as follows : — In the third heaven, others in the fourth, some within the orbit of the moon, others in the moon itself, some in the middle regions of the air, or beyond the earth's attraction, some on the earth, others under the earth, and others within the earth."
Before leaving the East, it may be observed that the Orientals generally reckon four sites of Paradise in Asia : the first Ceylon, already mentioned ; the second in Chaldea ; the third in a district of Persia, watered by a river called the Nilab ; and the fourth about Damascus in Syria, and near the springs of the Jordan. This last supposed site is not peculiar to the Oriental writers, as we find it main- tained by some Europeans, especially Heidegger, Le Clerc, and Hardouin. The following are the traditions believed by the inhabitants of the city of Damascus — a city which the Emperor Julian the Apostate styled the Eye of all the East, the most sacred and most magnificent Damascus.
" I understand," says Lamartine," that Arabian tra- ditions represent this city and its neighbourhood to form
the site of the lost Paradise, and certainly I should think that no place upon earth was better calculated to answer one's ideas of Eden. The vast and fruitful plain, with the seven branches of the blue stream which irrigate it — the majestic framework of the mountains — the glittering lakes which reflect the heaven upon the earth — its geographical situation between the two seas — the perfection of the climate — every thing indicates that Damascus has at least been one of the first towns that were built by the children of men — one of the natural halts of fugitive humanity in primeval times. It is, in fact, one of those sites pointed out by the hand of God for a city — a site predestined to sustain a capital like Constantinople." According to the Orientals, Damascus stands on the site of the Sacred Garden, and without the city is the most beautiful meadow divided by the river Barrady, of the red earth of which Adam is alleged to have been formed. This field is designs - ted Ager Damascenus by the Latins, and nearly in the centre of it a pillar formerly stood, intended to mark the precise spot where the Creator breathed into the first man the breath of lifr.
The numerous traditions which existed among ancient nations of the Garden of Eden doubtless originated those curious and magnificent gardens designed and planted by the Eastern princes, such as the Golden Garden of Aristo- bulus, King of the Jews, which was consecrated by Pompey to Jupiter Capitolinus. Nor is mythology deficient in similar legends. We have the Gardens of Jupiter, of Alcinous, and of the Fortunate Islands, but especially of the Hesperides, in which not only the primeval Paradise, but traditions of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and of the original promise made to the woman, are prom- inently conspicuous. The Garden of the Hesperides pro- duced golden fruit, guarded by a dangerous serpent — that this fierce reptile encircled with its folds a mysterious tree — and that Hercules procured the fruit by encountering and killing the serpent. The story of the constellation, as related by Eratosthenes, is applicable to the Garden of Eden, and the primeval history of mankind. " This serpent," says that ancient writer, alluding to the con- stellation, " is the same as that which guarded the golden apples, and was slain by Hercules. For, when the gods offered presents to Juno on her nuptials with Jupiter, the Earth also brought golden apples. Juno, admiring their beauty, commanded them to be planted in the garden of the gods ; but finding that they, were continually plucked by the daughter of Atlas, she appointed a vast serpent to guard them. Hercules overcame and slew the monster. Hence, in this constellation the serpent is depicted, rearing its head aloft, while Hercules, placed above it with one knee bent, tramples with his foot upon its head, and brandishes a club in his right hand." The Greeks placed the Garden of the Hesperides close to Mount Atlas, and then removed it far into the regions of Western Africa ; yet all knowledge of its Asiatic site was not erased from the classical mythologists, for Apollodorus tells us that certain writers situated it not in the Libyan Atlas, but in the Atlas of the Hyperboreans ; and he adds, that the serpent had the faculty of uttering articulate sounds.
Our Teutonic ancestors believed that the world was originally a Paradise, and its first inhabitants more than human, whose dwelling was a magnificent hall, glittering with fine gold, where love, and joy, and friendship presided. The most insignificant of their utensils were made of gold, and hence the appellation of the Golden age. But this happiness was soon overthrown by certain women from the country of the giants, to whose seductions the first mortals yielded, and their innocence and integrity were lost for ever. The transgression of Eve is the obvious prototype of the fatal curiosity of Pandora ; and the arrival of women
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from the country of the giants, and their intercourse with a distinct and purer line of mortals, can scarcely fail of bringing forcibly to our recollection the marriages of the sons of Seth with the daughters of Cain, with were the principal causes of the universal depravity of the Ante- -diluvians.
The legends of Hindostan also supply us with accounts of the happiness of Paradise in the Golden Age of the classic mythology. " There can arise little doubt," says Maurice, " that by the Satya age, or Age of Perfection, the Brahmins obviously allude to the state of perfection and happiness •enjoyed by man in Paradise. It is impossible to explain what the Indian writers assert concerning the universal purity of manners, and the luxurious and unbounded plenty prevailing in that primitive era, without this -sup- position. Justice, truth, philanthrophy, were then prac- tised among all the orders and classes of mankind. There was then no extortion, .no circumvention, no fraud, used in the dealings one with another. Perpetual oblations smoked on the altars of the Deity ; every tongue uttered praises, and every heart glowed with gratitude to the Supreme Creator. The gods, in token of their approbation of the conduct of mortals, condescended frequently to become incarnate, and to hold personal intercourse with the yet undepraved race, to instruct them in arts and sciences ; to unveil their own sublime functions and pure nature ; and to make them acquainted With the economy of those celestial regions into which they were to be imme- diately translated, when the period of their terrestial probation expired."
Parama-Hamsas : (See India.)
Paraskeva, Saint : A saint of the Russian Calendar, whose feast day is August 3rd. On that day pilgrims from all parts of Russia congregate in St. Petersburg for the purpose of casting out devils. A newspaper report of the pro- ceedings as they occurred in 1913 is as follows :—
" Another St. Paraskeva's day has come and gone. The usual fanatical scenes have been enacted in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, and the ecclesiastical authorities have not protested, nor have the police intervened. Special trains have again been run to enable thousands of the lower classes to witness a spectacle, the toleration of which will •only be appreciated by those acquainted with the writings of M. Pobiedonostzeff, the late Procurator of the Holy Synod. The Church of St. Paraskeva is situated in a factory district of the city. On the exterior side of one of the walls is an image of the Saint, to whom is attributed the power of driving out devils and curing epileptics, neurotics, and others by miraculous intervention. At the same time, the day is made a popular holiday, with games and amusements of all sorts, booths and lotteries, refreshment stalls and drinking bars. The newspapers publish detailed accounts of this year's proceedings without comment, and it is perhaps significant that the Novoe Vremya, a pillar of orthodoxy, ignores them altogether. Nor is this surprising when one reads of women clad in a single undergarment with bare arms being hoisted up by stalwart peasants to the level of the image in order to kiss it, and then having impure water and unclarified oil forced down their throats. The treatment of the first sick woman is typical of the rest. One young peasant lifted her in the air, two others held her arms fully extended, while a fourth seized her loosened hair, and, dragging her head from side to side and up and down, shouted " Kiss, kiss St. Paras- .heva ! " The woman's garment was soon in tatters. She began groaning. One of the men exclaimed : " Get out ! Satan ! Say where thou art lodged ! " The woman's head was pulled back by the hair, her mouth was forced open, and mud-coloured water (said to be holy water) was poured into it. She spat the water out, and was heard to
moan, " Oh, they are drowning me ! " The young man exultantly exclaimed, " So we've got you, devil, have we ? Leave her at once or we will drown you ! " He continued pouring water into the victim's mouth, and after that unclarified oil. Her lips were held closed, so that she was obliged to swallow it. The unfortunate woman was again raised and her face pressed against the image. " Kiss it ! kiss it ! " she was commanded, and she obeyed. She was asked who was the cause of her being " possessed." " Anna," was the whispered reply. Who was Anna ? What was her village ? In which cottage did she live ? A regular inquisition. The physical and mental sufferings of the first victim lasted about an hour, at the end of which she was handed over to her relatives, after a cross had been given to her, as it was found that she did not own one. According to accounts published by the Retch, Molva, etc., many other women were treated in the same fashion, the exercises lasting a whole day and night. The men " pil- grims " would seem to have been less severely handled. It is explained that the idea of unclothing the woman is that there .should be no knot, bow, or fastening where the devil and his coadjutors could find a lodgment. And one is left with the picture of scores of women crawling around the church on their knees, invoking the aid of the Almighty for the future or His pardon for sins committed in the past."
The treatment of the " possessed " is analogous to that employed by many barbarous peoples for the casting out of devils, and notably among the Chams of Cambodia (q.v.) who force the possessed to eat. garbage in order to disgust the fiend they harbour. [See also Obsession.) Pasqually, Martinez de : (Kabalist and Mystic). [1715 P-I779]. The date of Martinez Pasqualis' birth is not known definitely while even his nationality is a matter of uncertainty. It is commonly supposed, however, that he was born about 1715, somewhere in the south of France'; while several writers have maintained that his parents were Portuguese Jews, but this theory has frequently been contested. It is said that from the outset he evinced a predilection for mysticism in its various forms, while it is certain that, in 1754, he instituted a Kabalistic rite, which Was "gleaned from Hebraic studies, and whose espousers were styled Cohens, this being simply the Hebrew for priests. He propagated this rite in divers masonic lodges of France, notably those of Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Paris ; while in 1768 we find him settled in the French capital, gathering round him many people addicted to mysticism, and impregnating them with his theories. His sojourn here was cut short eventually, nevertheless, for he heard that some property had been bequeathed to him in the island of 'St. Dominique, and he hastened thither with intent to assert his rights ; but he did not return to France, his death occurring in 1779 at Port-au-Prince, the principal town in the island aforesaid.
Pasqually is credited with having written a book, La Reintegration, but this was never published. As regards the philosophy which he promulgated, he appears to have believed partly in the inspiration of the Scriptures, the downfall of the angels, the theory of original sin, together with the doctrine of justification by faith ; but he seems to have held that man existed in an elemental state long before the creation detailed in Genesis, and was gradually evolved into his present form. In short, Pasqually was something of an anticipator of endless modern theorists ; nor did he fail to find a disciple who regarded him as a prophet and master, this being Louis Claude de St. Martin, a theosophist frequently styled in France " le philosophe inconnu," who founded the sect known as Martinistes. The reader will find some account of St. Martin in an article headed with his name.
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Path, The : Is a term which represents an important theo- sophical teaching, and it is used in different senses to denote not only the Path itself but also the Probationary Path along which a man must journey before he can enter on the former. Impelled by profound longing for the highest, for service of God and his fellows, man first begins the journey and he must devote himself wholeheartedly to this service. At his entrance on the Probationary Path, he becomes the chela or disciple of one of the Masters or Perfected men who have all finished the great journey, and he devotes himself to the acquiring of four qualifica- tions which are (i) knowledge of what only is real ; (2) rejection of what is unreal ; (3) the six mental attributes of control over thought, control over outward action, tolerance, endurance, faith and balance, these attributes -though all necessary in some degree, not being necessary in perfect degree ; and (4) the desire to be one with God. During the period of his efforts to acquire these qualifica- tions, the chela advances in many ways, for his Master imparts to him wise counsel ; he is taught by meditation to attain divine heights unthought of by ordinary man ; he •constantly works for the betterment of his fellows, usually in the hours of sleep, and striving thus and in similar directions, he fits himself for the first initiation at the entrance to the Path proper, but it may be mentioned that he has the opportunity either during his probation or afterwards to forego the heavenly life which is his due and so to allow the world to benefit by the powers which he .'has gained, and which in ordinary course, he would utilise in the heavenly life. In this case, he remains in the astral world, from whence he makes frequent returns to the physical world. Of initiations there are four, each at the beginning of a new stage on the Path, manifesting the knowledge of that stage. On the first stage there are three obstacles or, as they are commonly termed, fetters, which must be cast aside and these are the illusion of self which must be realised to be only an illusion ; doubt which must be cleared away by knowledge ; and superstition which must be cleared away by the discovery of what in truth is real. This stage traversed, the second initiation follows, and after this comes the consciousness that earthly life will now be short, that only once again will physical death be experienced, and the man begins more and more to function in his mental body. After the third initiation, the man has two other fetters to unloose — desire and aversion ; and now his knowledge becomes keen and piercing and he can gaze deep into the heart of things. After the fourth initiation, he enters on the last stage and finally frees himself of what fetters remain — the desire for life whether bodily or not, and the sense of individual difference from his fellows. He has now reached the end of his journey, and is no longer trammelled with sin or with anything that can hinder him from entering the state of supreme bliss where he is reunited with the divine con- sciousness. (See Theosophy.)
Paulicians : (See Gnostics.)
Pauline Art : (See Key of Solomon.)
Pawang : (See Malays.)
Pazzani : (See France.)
Pearls : Occult properties of. Amongst the early Greeks and Romans, the wearing of gems as an amulet or talisman, was much in vogue. For this purpose pearls were often made into crowns. Rich says : " Pope Adrian, anxious to secure all the virtues in his favour, wore an amulet com- posed of a sunbaked toad, arsenic, tormentil, pearl, coral, hyacinth, smarag, and tragacanth."
It is also said that to dream of pearls means many tears.
Their occult virtues are brought forth by being boiled
in meat, when they heal the quartan ague : bruised and
taken with milk, they are good for ulcers, and clear the
voice. They also comfort the heart and render their possessor chaste.
Pedro de Valentia : (See Spain.)
Peliades : (See Greece.)
Pentagram : (See Magical Diagram.)
Perfect Sermon : A hermetic Book. (See Hermes Trisme- gistus.)
Pernety, Antoine Joseph : Author of the Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermelique and Les Fables Egyptiennes et Grecques. According to him the Golden Fleece, in the Jason Medea legend, is symbolical. The labours of Jason represent strivings towards perfection.
Persia : (See Magi.)
Peter of Apono : Born in 1250, at Apono, near Padua, a philosopher, mathematician, and astrologer of no mean skill. He practised physic in Paris with so great success that he soon became very rich, but his wealth and attain- ments were annulled by the accusation of sorcery which was brought against him. He was said to receive instruction in the seven liberal arts from seven spirits which he kept in crystal vessels. To him was ascribed also the curious and useful facultjr of causing the money he spent to return to his own purse. His downfall was brought about by an act of revenge for which he was called to account by the Inquisition. A neighbour of his had been possessed of a spring of excellent water in his garden, from which he allowed Peter of Apono to drink at will. For some reason or another the permission was withdrawn, and Peter, with the assistance of the Devil, caused the water to leave the garden and flow uselessly in some distant street. Ere the trial was finished the unfortunate physician died, but so bitter were the inquisitors against him that they ordered his bones to be dug up and burned. This public indignity to his memory was averted by some of his friends, who, hearing of the vindictive sentence, secretly removed his remains from the burying-ground where they lay. The inquisitors thereupon satisfied their animosity by burning him in effigy.
Petetin : (See Hypnotism.)
Petra Philosophorum : (See Fioravanti.)
Phantasmagoria : An optical spectacle of the same class as the magic lantern ; dissolving views. These were formerly regarded by the ignorant as sorcery.
Philadelphian Society : (See Visions.)
Philalethes, Eirenseus : (circa, 1660) Alchemist. The life of this alchemist is wrapped in mystery, albeit a considerable mass of writing stands to his credit. The heading of this article is, of course, mere pseudonym, and, though some have tried hard to identify the writer who bore it with one Thomas Vaughan, a brother of Henry Vaughan, the " Silurist " poet, this theory is not supported by any very sound evidence. Others have striven to identify Philalethes with George Starkey, the quack doctor and author of Liquor Alchahest ; but then, Starkey died of the plague in London in 1665, whereas it is known that Eirenesus was living for some years after that date. He appears, also, to have been on intimate terms with Robert Boyle, and, though this points to his having spent a considerable time in England, it is certain on the other hand that he emigrated to America. Now Starkey, it will be remembered, was born in the Bermudas, and practised his spurious medical crafts in the English settlements in America, where, according to his contemporary biographers, he met Eirenesus Philalethes. This meeting, then, may have given rise to the identification at issue ; while it is probably Starkey to whom Eirenesus refers when, in a preface to one of his books, he tells of certain of his writings falling " into the hands of one who, I conceive, will never return them," for . in 1654 Starkey issued a volume with the title, The Marrow of Alchemy by Eirenesus Philoponus Philalethes.
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It is to these prefaces by Philalethes that we must chiefly look for any information about him, while in the thirteenth chapter of his Introitus Apertus ad Occlusum Regis Palatium (Amsterdam, 1667) he makes a few autobiographical avowals which illuminate his character and career. " For we are like Cain, driven from the pleasant society we formerly had," he writes, and this suggests that he was persecuted on account of his alchemistic predilections ; while elsewhere he heaps scorn on most of the hermetic philosophers of his day, and elsewhere, again, he vituperates the popular worship of money-getting. " I disdain, loathe, and detest the idolizing of silver and gold," he declares, " by which the pomps and vanities of the world are cele- brated. Ah ! filthy, evil, ah ! vain nothingness." That is vigorously written, and indeed nearly everything from the pen of Philalethes, whether in Latin 01 in English, pro- claims him a writer of some care, skill and taste ; while his scholarship was considerable also, and it is interesting to find that, in his preface to Ripley Revived (London, 1678), he gives some account of the authors to whom he felt himself chiefly indebted. " For my own part," he says, " I have cause to honour Bernard Txevisan, who is very ingenious, especially in the letter to Thomas of Boulogne, when I seriously confess I received the main light in the hidden secret. I do not remember that ever I learnt anything from Raymond Lully. ... I know of none like Ripley, though Flamel be eminent."
Langlet du Fresnoy, in his Histoire de la Philosophie Hermetique, refers to numerous unpublished manuscripts by Eirenceus Philalethes, but nothing is known about these to-day, and in conclusion it behoves only to cite the more important of those things by the alchemist which were issued in book form : Medulla Alchymia (London, 1664), Experimenta de Praeperatione Mercurii Scphici (Amsterdam, 1668) and Enarratio Methodica trium Gebri Medicinarum (Amsterdam, 1668.) Philosopher's Stone : A substance which enabled adepts in alchemy to compass the transmutation of metals. (See Alchemy.) It was imagined by the alchemists that some one definite substance was essential to the success of the transmutation of metals. By the application or admixture of this substance all metals might be transmuted into gold or silver. It was often designated the Powder of Projection. Zosimus, who lived at the commencement of the fifth century is one of the first who alludes to it. He says that the stone is a powder or liquor formed of diverse metals, infusioned under a favourable constellation. The Philosopher's Stone was supposed to contain the secret "not only of transmutation, but of health and life, for through its agency could be distilled the Elixir of Life. It was the touchstone of existence. The author of a Treatise on Philosophical and Hermetic Chemistry, published in Paris in 1725 says : " Modern philosophers have extracted from the interior of mercury a fiery spirit, mineral, vegetable and mutliplicative, in a humid concavity in which is found the primitive mercury or the universal quintessence. In the
midst of this spirit resides the spiritual fluid This is
the mercury of the philosophers, which is not solid like a metal, nor soft like quicksilver, but between the two. They have retained for a long time this secret, which is the commencement, the middle, and the end of their work. It is necessary then to proceed first to purge the mercury with salt and with ordinary salad vinegar, to sublime it with vitriol and saltpetre, to dissolve it in aqua-fortis, to sublime it again, to calcine it and fix it, to put away part of it in salad oil, to distill this liquor for the purpose of separating the spiritual water, air, and fire, to fix the mercurial body in the spiritual water or to distill the spirit of liquid mercury found in it, to putrefy all, and then to raise and exalt the spirit with non-odorous white sulphur —
that is to say, sal-ammoniac — to dissolve this sal-ammoniac in the spirit of liquid mercury which when distilled becomes the liquor known as the Vinegar of the Sages, to make it pass from gold to antimony three times and afterwards to reduce it by heat, lastly to steep this Warm gold in very harsh vinegar and allow it to putrefy. On the surface of the vinegar it will raise itself in the form of fiery earth of the colour of oriental pearls. This is the first operation in the grand work. For the second operation ; take in the name of God one part of gold and two parts of the spiritual water, charged with the sal-ammoniac; mix this noble con- fection in a vase of crystal of the shape of an egg : warm over a soft but continuous fire, and the fiery water will dissolve little by little the gold ; this forms a liquor which is called by the sages " chaos " containing the elementary qualities — cold, dryness, heat and humidity. Allow this composition to putrefy until it becomes black ; this black- ness is known as the ' crow's head ' and the ' darkness of the sages,' and makes known to the artist that he is on the right track. It was also known as the ' black earth.' It must be boiled once more in a vase as white as snow ; this stage of the work is called the ' swan,' and from it arises the white liquor, which is divided into two parts — one white for the manufacture of silver, the other red for the manufacture of gold. Now you have accomplished the work, and you possess the Philosopher' s Stone.
" In these diverse operations, one finds many by- products ; among these is' the ' green lion ' which is called also ' azoph,' and which draws gold from the more ignoble elements ; the ' red lion ' which converts the metal into gold ; the ' head of the crow,' called also the ' black veil of the ship of Theseus,' which appearing forty days before the end of the operation predicts its success ; the white powder which transmutes the white metals to fine silver ; the red elixir with which gold is made ; the white elixir which also makes silver, and which procures long life — it is also called the ' white daughter of the philosophers.' "
In the lives of the various alchemists we find many notices of the Powder of Projection in connection with those adepts who were supposed to have arrived at the solution of the grand arcanum. Thus in the Life of Alex- ander Seton (q.v.), a Scotsman who came from Port Seton, near Edinburgh, we find that on his various travels on the continent he employed in his alchemical experiments a blackish powder, the application of which turned any metal given him into gold. Numerous instances are on record of Seton's projections, the majority of which are verified with great thoroughness. On one occasion whilst in Holland, he went with some friends from the house at which he was residing to undertake an alchemical experi- ment at another house near by. On the way thither a quantity of ordinary zinc was purchased, and this Seton succeeded in projecting into pure gold by the application of his powder. A like phenomenon was undertaken by him at Cologne, and elsewhere throughout Germany, and the extremest torture could not wring from him the secret of the quintessence he possessed. His pupil or assistant, Sendivogius, made great efforts to obtain the secret from him before he died, but all to no purpose. However, out of gratitude Seton bequeathed him what remained of his marvellous powder, which was employed by his Polish successor with the same results as had been achieved in his own case. The wretched Sendivogius fared badly, however, when the powder at last came to an end. He had used it chiefly in liquid form, and into this he had dipped silver 'coins which immediately had become the purest gold. Indeed it is on record that one coin, of which he had only immersed the half, remained for many years as a signal instance of the claims of alchemy in a museum or collection somewhere in South Germany. The half of this doubloon
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was gold, while the undipped portion had remained silver ; but the notice concerning it is scarcely of a satisfactory- nature. When the powder gave out, Sendivogius was driven to the desperate expedient of gilding the coins, which, report says, he had heretofore transmuted by legitimate means, and this very naturally brought upon him the wrath of those who had trusted him. (See Seton.)
In the Tale of the Anonymous Adept we also find a powder in use, and indeed the powder seems to have been the favoured form of the transmuting agency. The term Philosopher's Stone probably arose from , some Eastern talismanic legend. Yet we find in Egyptian alchemy — the oldest — the idea of the black powder — the detritus or oxide of all the metals mingled. {See Egypt.)
The Philosopher's Stone had a spiritual as well as a material conception attached to it, and indeed spiritual alchemy is practically identified with it ; but we do not find the first alchemists, nor those of mediaeval times, possessed of any spiritual ideas ; their hope was to manufacture real gold, and it is only in later times that we find the altruistic idea creeping in, to the detriment of the physical one. Symbolic language was largely used by both schools, however, and we must not imagine that because an alchemical writer employs symbolical figures of speech that he is of the transcendental school, as his desire was merely to be understanded of his brother adepts, and to conserve his secret from the vulgar. (See Alchemy.)
Philosophic Summary, The : (See Hamel.)
Phreno-Magnet : Journal of Magnetism. (See Spiritualism.) .
Phreno-Mesmerism (or Phrenopathy) : An application of the principles of Mesmerism to the science of phrenology. Mesmerism and phrenology had for some time been regarded by the English mesmerists as related sciences when it was discovered that a somnambule whose " bumps " were touched by the fingers of the operator would respond to the stimulus by exhibiting every symptom of the mental trait corresponding to the organ touched. Thus signs of joy, grief, destructiveness, combativeness, and friendship might be exhibited in rapid succession by the entranced patient. Among those who claimed to have discovered the new science were Dr. Collyer, a'pupil of Dr. Elliotson's ; and the Rev. Laroy Sunderland, though the former after- wards repudiated it. As time went on enterprising phreno-mesmerists discovered many new cerebral organs as many as a hundred and fifty being found beside those already mapped out by Spurzheim and Gall. Among its supporters phreno-mesmerism numbered the distinguished hypnotist Braid, who expressed himself fully satisfied of its reality. He has recorded a number of cases in which the patient correctly indicated by his actions the organs touched, though demonstrably ignorant of phrenological laws, and inaccessible to outside information. Braid himself offers but a very halting and inadequate physiologi- cal explanation, and since he may be supposed to have been fully alive to the factors of suggestion and hyper- aesthesia, it would seem advisable to admit the possibility of mental suggestion, or telepathy, by means of which the expectation of the operator, reproducing itself in the mind of the patient, would give rise to the corresponding reactions.
Phrygian Cap : Hargrave Jennings, in his Rosicrucians. Their Rites and Mysteries, says that the Phrygian Cap, the classic Mithraic Cap, sacrificial Cap, and mitre all derive from one common ancestor. The Mithraic or Phrygian Cap is the origin of the priestly mitre in all faiths. It was worn by the priest in sacrifice. When worn by a male, it had its crest, comb, or point, set jutting forward ; when worn by a female, it bore the same prominent part of the cap in reverse, or on the nape of the neck, as in the instance of the Amazon's helmet, displayed in all old scupltures, or
that of Pallas-Athene, as exhibited in the figures of Minerva. The peak, pic, or point, of caps or hats (the term " cocked hat " is a case in point) all refer to the same idea. This point had a sanctifying meaning afterwards attributed to it, when it was called the christa, crista, or crest, which signifies a triumphal top, or tuft. The " Grenadier Cap," and the loose black Hussar Cap, derive remotely from the same sacred, Mithraic, or emblematical bonnet, or high pyramidal cap. It, in this instance, changes to black, because it is devoted to the illustration of the " fire- workers " (grenadiers) who, among modern military, succeed the Vulcanists, Cyclopes, classic " smiths," or servants of Vulcan, or Mulciber, the artful worker among the metals in the fire, or amidst the forces of nature. This idea will be found by a reference to the high cap among the Persians, or Fire-worshippers ; and to the black cap among the Bohemians, and in the East. All travellers in Eastern lands will remember that the tops of the minarets reminded them of the high-pointed black caps of the Persians.
The Phrygian Cap is a most recondite antiquarian form ; the symbol comes from the highest antiquity. It is dis- played on the head of the figure sacrificing in the cele- brated sculpture, called the " Mithraic Sacrifice " (or the Mythical Sacrifice) in the British Museum. This loose cap, with the point protruding, gives the original form from which all helmets or defensive headpieces, whether Greek or Barbarian, deduce. As a Phrygian Cap, or Symbolising Cap, it is always sanguine in its colour. It then stands as the " Cap of Liberty " a revolutionary form ; also, in another way, it is even a civic or incorporated badge. It is always masculine in its meaning. It marks the " needle " of the obelisk, the crown or tip of the phallus, whether " human " or representative. It has its origin in the rite of circumcision — unaccountable as are both the symbol and the rite.
The real meaning of the bonnet rouge, or cap of liberty, has been involved from time immemorial in deep obscurity, notwithstanding that it hag always been regarded as the most important hieroglyph or figure. It signifies the supernatural simultaneous " sacrifice " and " triumph." It has descended from the time of Abraham, and it is supposed to emblem the strange mythic rite of the " cir- cumcisio preputii," The loose Phrygian bonnet conique, or " cap of liberty," may be accepted as figuring, or stand- ing for, that detached integument or husk, separated from a certain point or knob, which has various na mes in different languages, and which supplies the central idea of this sacrificial rite — the spoil or refuse of which (absurd and unpleasant as it may seem) is borne aloft at once as a " trophy " and as the " cap of liberty." It is now a magic sign, and becomes a talisman of supposedly inexpressible power — from what particular dark reason it may be difficult to say. The whole is a sign of " initiation," and of baptism of a peculiar kind. The Phrygian Cap, ever after this first inauguration, has stood as the sign of the " Enlightened." The heroic figures in most Gnostic Gems, have caps of- this kind. The sacrificer in the sculptured group of the " Mithraic Sacrifice," among the marbles in the British Museum, has a Phrygian Cap on his head, whilst in the act of striking the bull with the poniard — meaning the office of the immolating priest. The bonnet conique is the mitre of the Doge of Venice.
Cinteotl, a Mexican god of sacrifice, wears such a cap made from the thigh-skin of an immolated virgin. This head-dress is shaped like a cock's comb.
Besides the bonnet rouge, the Pope's mitre— nay, all mitres or conical head-coverings — have their name from the terms " Mithradic," or " Mithraic," The origin of the whole class of names is Mittra, or Mithra. The cap of the
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grenadier, the shape of which is alike all over Europe, is related to the Tartar lambskin caps, which are dyed black ; and it is black also from its associations with Vulcan and the " Fire-worshippers " (Smiths). The Scotch Glengarry cap will prove on examination to be only a " cocked " Phrygian. All the black conical caps, and the meaning of this strange symbol, came from the East. The loose black fur cap derives from the Tartars.
The " Cap of Liberty " (Bonnet Rouge), the Crista or Crest (Male), and the Female (Amazon) helmet, all mean the same idea ; in the instance of the female crest the knob is, however, depressed.
Phyllorhodomaney : Divination by rose-leaves. The Greeks clapped a rose-leaf on the hand, and judged from the resulting sound the success or otherwise of their desires.
Physical World : Formerly known as the Sthula Plane — is in the theosophic scheme of things the lowest of the seven worlds, the world in which ordinary man moves and is conscious under normal conditions. It is the limit of the ego's descent into matter, and the matter which composes the appropriate physical body, is the densest of any of these worlds. Physical matter has the seven divisions of solid, liquid, gas, ether, super-ether, sub-atom and atom, in common with the matter of the other worlds. Besides the physical body, familiar to ordinary vision, there is a finer body, the etheric double, which plays a very important