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 intentions, and yet can hardly have accepted literally the poetry they devised. Glauber, contemporary with our James I. and Charles I., was one of these. According to him the symbols were invested with a special mysterious meaning. He showed them in squares, thus: and explained that the extent to which the symbol touches the four sides of the square indicates how near it approaches perfection. Gold, it will be observed, touches all four sides, silver three, and the other metals only two each.

Interpretations of these symbols have often been attempted, but they are for the most part mere guesses. Those representing the sun and moon are easy, but the others may generally be read in various ways. The sign for Jupiter is alleged to represent one of his thunderbolts; that for copper is supposed to illustrate the looking-glass of Venus; the iron sign is the shield and spear of Mars; the caduceus of Mercury and the scythe of Saturn are likewise traced in their respective signatures. It has also been fancied that the three signs of which a circle forms part—namely, those for quicksilver, copper, and