§ 64. Helvetius obtains the Philosopher's Stone.
"When my strange visitor had concluded his narrative, I besought him to
give me a proof of his assertion, by performing the transmutatory
operation on some metals in my presence. He answered evasively, that he
could not do so then, but that he would return in three weeks, and that,
if he was then at liberty to do so, he would shew me something that
would make me open my eyes. He appeared punctually to the promised day,
and invited me to take a walk with him, in the course of which we
discoursed profoundly on the secrets of Nature in fire, though I noticed
that my companion was very chary in imparting information about the
Grand Arcanum. . . . At last I asked him point-blank to show me
the transmutation of metals. I besought him to come and dine with me,
and to spend the night at my house; I entreated; I expostulated; but in
vain. He remained firm. I reminded him of his promise. He retorted that
his promise had been conditional upon his being permitted to reveal the
secret to me. At last, however, I prevailed upon him to give me a piece
of his precious Stone—a piece no larger than a grain of rape seed. He
delivered it to me as if it were the most princely donation in the
world. Upon my uttering a doubt whether it would be sufficient to tinge
more than four grains of lead, he eagerly demanded it back. I complied,
in the hope that he would exchange it for a larger piece; instead of
which he divided it in two with his thumb, threw away one-half and gave
me back the other, saying: `Even now it is sufficient for you.' Then I
was still more heavily disappointed, as I could not believe that
anything could be done with so small a particle of the Medicine. He,
however, bade me take two drachms, or half an ounce of lead, or even a
little more, and to melt it in the crucible; for the Medicine would
certainly not tinge more of the base metal than it was sufficient for.
I answered that I could not believe that so small a quantity of Tincture
could transform so large a mass of lead. But I had to be satisfied with
what he had given me, and my chief difficulty was about the application
of the Tincture. I confessed that when I held his ivory box in my hand,
I had managed to extract a few crumbs of his Stone, but that they had
changed my lead, not into gold, but only into glass. He laughed, and
said that I was more expert at theft than at the application of the
Tincture. `You should
have protected your spoil with "yellow wax," then it would have been
able to penetrate the lead and to transmute it into gold.' . . .
