Our principal business, however, is with the so-called Hermetic Philosophy, treating of vaunted methods of transmuting the base metals into gold. It is doubtful whether this particular delusion of the adepts can be referred to a date earlier than the 8th century, but even then we cannot refrain from surprise at the fallibility of the human intellect, which could be swayed by a belief in the pretended _lapis philosophorum_ for upwards of ten centuries. It was believed to be so secret and rare that its possession was never ascribed at any time to more than two or three favourite adepts, who transmitted it to some single favoured individual after his taking the sacrament, and going through certain prescribed religious ceremonies, preparatory to being entrusted with a verbal recipe for the composition of a peculiar smelling red powder, of which it was affirmed that when projected on heated mercury or any solid metal, it would at once change it into pure gold. Ashmole gravely assures us that Dr. John Dee and his associate Kelly, having in some way procured this precious substance, Kelly--to use Ashmole's own words--"made projection with one small grain thereof, in proportion no bigger than the least grain of sand, upon one ounce and a quarter of common mercury, and it produced almost an ounce of pure gold." With equal simplicity and earnestness, Ashmole asserts that this same Kelly was often seen to make these extraordinary transmutations,-- "and in particular (he adds) upon a piece of metal cut out of a warming-pan, and without touching or handling it, or melting the metal, only warming it in the fire, the elixir being put thereon, it was transmuted into pure silver. The warming-pan and this piece of it, was sent to Queen Elizabeth by her Ambassador who then lay at Prague, that by fitting the piece into the place whence it was cut, it might exactly appear to be once part of the warming-pan."