The great illuminist, Rosicrucian, and Freemason who termed himself the Comte de St. Germain is one of the most baffling personalities of modern history. His activities are traceable for more than one hundred years between 1710 and 1822, leading Frederick the Great to refer to him as "the man who does not die." An outstanding scholar and linguist, a great musician and painter, as well as a chemist with skill so profound he could change base metals into gold, he was also enormously wealthy and was on intimate terms with the crowned heads of Europe. Nothing is known about the source of St. Germain's occult knowledge; he merely admitted he was obeying the orders of a power higher than himself, saying that his father was the Secret Doctrine and his mother the Mysteries.
This unusual work was prepared for the instruction of St. Germain's own disciples in the cabalistic, hermetic, and alchemical mysteries. The original manuscript is housed in the Bibliotheque de Troyes in France. Manly P. Hall's commentary will be of interest to anyone seeking to know more about this intriguing figure of our past. Illustrated.