Yes, my father was a happy man, and I cannot deny that the elixir had
much to do with his good fortune, for it forced him to reveal his
innermost thoughts and to show people frankly what was passing in his
mind, thus opening up to them a sunny, pure, and beautiful world which
their dull eyes would never have discovered for themselves.
Therefore the best sought him out and made friends with him, and the more
he prospered the wiser and better he grew.
One would imagine that the man to whom the elixir had been so beneficial
would set a greater value upon it than others, and would be more careful
to preserve it for his children and grandchildren. Not so.
After I had finished my studies at the High School and matriculated at
the medical schools of the Leipsic University, my father sent for me to
come during my vacation to Rome, where he still lived, and a few weeks
before my twenty-fifth birthday I rode through the Porta del Popolo.
The evening before that anniversary my father took out the phial, showed
it to me, and asked me what I thought of the verses that he had written
on a label and attached to the bottle.
I read them, and they ran as follows:
In hearts alone where modesty resides
Is found the priceless treasure of Pure Truth.
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