The book of the magi : a complete system of occult philosophy, consisting of natural, celestial, cabalistic, and ceremonial magic ; invocations ; conjurations of spirits, &c., &c. ; biographical sketch of seventeen great philosophers and adepts.

  • Barrett, Francis, F.R.C., Prof. of Chemistry.
Date:
1896
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The book of the magi : a complete system of occult philosophy, consisting of natural, celestial, cabalistic, and ceremonial magic ; invocations ; conjurations of spirits, &c., &c. ; biographical sketch of seventeen great philosophers and adepts. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    preface, *||N this Work, which we have written chiefly for the information of || those who are curious and indefatigable in their enquiries into occult knowledge, we have, at a vast labour and expence, both of time and charges, collected whatsoever can he deemed curious and rare, in regard to the subject of our speculations in Natural Magic —the Cabala — Celestial and Ceremonial Magic—Alchymy— and Magnetism; and have divided it into two Books, sub-divided into parts: to which we have added a third Book, contain- ing a biographical account of those great men who were famous and renowned for their knowledge; shewing upon whose authority this Science of Magic is founded, and upon what principles. To which we have annexed a great variety of notes, wherein we have impartially examined the probability of the existence of Magic, both of the good and bad species, in the earliest, as well as in the latter, ages of the world. We have exhibited a vast number of rare experiments in the course of this Treatise, many of which, delivered in the beginning, are founded upon the simple application of actives to passives; the others are of a higher speculation. In our history of the lives of Philosophers, &c. we have omitted nothing that can be called interesting or satisfactory. We have taken our historical characters from those authors most deserving of credit; we have given an outline of the various reports tradition gives of them ; to which are annexed notes, drawn from the most probable appearance of truth, impartially describ- ing their characters and actions; leaning neither to the side of those who doubt every thing, nor to them whose credulity takes in every report to be circumstantially true. At this time, the abstruse sciences of Nature begin to be more investigated than for a century past, during which space they have been almost totally neglected; but men becoming more enlightened, they begin to consider the extraordinary effects that were wrought by ancient philosophers, in ages that were called dark. Many, therefore, have thought that time, nature, causes, and effects, being the same, with the additional improvements of mechanical and liberal arts, we may, with their knowledge of Nature, surpass them in the producing of wonderful effects; for which cause many men are naturally im-