Hitchcock, in his Remarks Upon Alchymists (1855) attempted to make a case for his spiritual interpretation with his claim that the alchemists wrote about a spiritual discipline under a materialistic guise in order to avoid accusations of blasphemy from the church and state.
hˈɪtʃkɑːk, ɪn hɪz ɹᵻmˈɑːɹks əpˌɑːn ˈæltʃɪmˌɪsts wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti fˈaɪv ɐtˈɛmptᵻd tə mˌeɪk ɐ kˈeɪs fɔːɹ hɪz spˈɪɹɪtʃˌuːəl ɪntˌɜːpɹɪtˈeɪʃən wɪð hɪz klˈeɪm ðætðɪ ˈælkɪmˌɪsts ɹˈoʊt ɐbˌaʊt ɐ spˈɪɹɪtʃˌuːəl dˈɪsɪplˌɪn ˌʌndɚɹ ɐ mətˈɪɹiəlˈɪstɪk ɡˈaɪz ɪn ˈɔːɹdɚ tʊ ɐvˈɔɪd ˌækjuːzˈeɪʃənz ʌv blˈæsfəmi fɹʌmðə tʃˈɜːtʃ ænd stˈeɪt.