ABSTRACT
The theories of the philosophers who attempted to bridge the gap between nature and mind, and even of those who asserted sensation resided primarily in the mind distinct from matter, possessed elements of hermeticism. Thus, Endymion's words suggest not only the perseverance Keats often expresses within a hermetic context in his letters but also the resolute faith he places in the process of sensation and imagination that he describes in similar terms to Benjamin Bailey as the key to happiness. John Keats's conception of the Philosopher's Stone or Elixir as an orb both liquid and light is characteristic of the many designations applied to the ultimate result. The humanistic ethos of both societies required that men put their gained wisdom to use in society and project the interior lessons learned outward to benefit the world.
