The History of Magic

CHAPTER II. Magic of the Magi

MAGIC OF THE MAGI

The true and false Zoroaster—Doctrines of the true Zoroaster—Transcendental fire-philosophy—Electrical secrets of Numa—A transcript from Zoroaster on demons and sacrifices—Important revelations on magnetism—Initiation in Assyria—Wonders performed by the Assyrians—Du Potet in accord with Zoroaster—Danger incurred by the unwary—Power of man over animals—Downfall of the priesthood in Assyria—Magical death of Sardanapalus 53

CHAPTER III. Magic in India

MAGIC IN INDIA

The Indians as descendants of Cain—India the mother of idolatry—Doctrine of the Gymnosophists—Indian origin of Gnosticism—Some wise fables of India—Black Magic of the Oupnek’hat—Citation from J. M. Ragon—Indian Grand Secrets—The English and Indian insurrections 64

CHAPTER IV. Hermetic Magic

HERMETIC MAGIC

The Emerald Table—Other writings of Hermes—Magical interpretation of the geography of Ancient Egypt—Ministry of Joseph—Sacred alphabet—The Isiac Tablet of Cardinal Bembo—The Tarot explained by the Sepher Yetzirah—The Tarot of Charles VII—Magical science of Moses 73

CHAPTER V. Magic in Greece

MAGIC IN GREECE

Fable of the Golden Fleece—Medea and Jason—The five magical epics—Aeschylus a profaner of the Mysteries—The Orpheus of legend—Orphic Mysteries—Göetia—The sorcerers of Thessaly—Medea and Circe 82

CHAPTER VI. Mathematical Magic of Pythagoras

MATHEMATICAL MAGIC OF PYTHAGORAS

Pythagoras an heir of the traditions of Numa—Identity of Pythagoras—His doctrine concerning God—A fine utterance against anarchy—Golden Verses—Symbols of Pythagoras—His chastity—His divination—His explanation of miracles—Secret of the interpretation of dreams—The belief of Pythagoras 92

CHAPTER VII. The Holy Kabalah

THE HOLY KABALAH

Origin of the Kabalah—The horror of idolatry in Kabalism—Kabalistic definition of God—Principles of the Kabalah—The Divine Names—Four forms of Tetragrammaton—The word which accomplishes all transmutations—The Keys of Solomon—The chain of spirits—Whether human spirits return—The world of spirits according to the Zohar—Of spirits which manifest—Fluidic larvæ—The Great Magical Agent—Obscure origin of larvæ 101

BOOK II. _formation and Development of Dogmas_

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF DOGMAS

CHAPTER I

PRIMITIVE SYMBOLISM OF HISTORY

Allegory of the Earthly Paradise—The Edenic Pantacle—The Cherub—Folly of a great mind—Mysteries of Genesis—Children of Cain—Magical secrets of the Tower of Babel—Belphegor—The mediæval Sabbath—Decadence of the hierarchy—Philosophy of chance—Doctrine of Plato—An oracle of Apollo—Rationalism of Aristotle—The Cubic Stone—Summary of Neoplatonism 115

CHAPTER II. Mysticism

MYSTICISM

Inviolability of magical science—Profane and mystic schools—The Bacchantes—Materialistic reformers and anarchic mystics—Imbecile visionaries—Their horror of sages—Tolerance of the true Church—False miracles—Rites of Black Magic—Barbarous words and unknown signs—Cause of visions—A theory of hallucinations 125

CHAPTER III. Initiations and Ordeals

INITIATIONS AND ORDEALS

The Great Work—The four aspects of the Sphinx and the Shield of Achilles—Allegories of Hercules and Œdipus—The Secret Doctrine of Plato—Of Plato as Kabalist—Difference between Plato and St. John—Platonic theosophy—Fatal experiences—Homœpathy practised by the Greeks—The cavern of Trophonius—Science of Egyptian priests—Lactantius and the antipodes—The Greek hell—Ministry of suffering—The Table of Cebes and the poem of Dante—Doctrines of the Phædron—The burial of the dead—Necromancy 133

CHAPTER IV. The Magic of Public Worship

THE MAGIC OF PUBLIC WORSHIP

Magnificence of the true Cultus—Orthodox traditions—Dissent of the profane—Their calumnies against initiates—An allegory concerning Bacchus—Tyresias and Calchas—The priesthood according to Homer—Oracles of sibyls—Origin of geomancy and cartomancy 145

CHAPTER V. Mysteries of Virginity

MYSTERIES OF VIRGINITY

Of Hellenism at Rome—Institution of Vestals—Traditional virtue of virgin blood—Symbolism of Sacred Fire—Religious aspect of the history of Lucretia—Honour among Roman women—Mysteries of the Bona Dea—Numa as a hierophant—Ingenious notions of Voltaire on divination—Prophetic instinct of the masses—Erroneous opinions of Fontenelle and Kircher on oracles—Religious Calendar of Numa 152

CHAPTER VI. Superstitions

SUPERSTITIONS

Their origin and persistence—Beautiful thought of the Roman pontiff, St. Gregory—Observation of numbers and of days—Abstinence of the magi—Opinions of Porphyry—Greek and Roman superstitions—Mythological data on the secret properties of animals—A passage from Euripides—Reasons of Pythagorean abstinence—Singular excerpt from Homer—Presages, dreams, enchantments and fascinations—Magical whirlpools—Modern phenomena—Olympius and Plotinus 158

CHAPTER VII. Magical Monuments

MAGICAL MONUMENTS

The Seven Wonders of the world and the seven magical planets—The Pyramids—Thebes and its seven gates—The pantacle of the sun—The pantacle of the moon—The pantacle of the conjugal Venus—The pantacles of Mercury, Jupiter and Mars—The Temple of Solomon—Philosophical summary of ancient wisdom 166

BOOK III. _divine Synthesis and Realisation of Magia

DIVINE SYNTHESIS AND REALISATION OF MAGIA BY THE CHRISTIAN REVELATION

CHAPTER I

CHRIST ACCUSED OF MAGIC BY THE JEWS

The beginning of the Gospel according to St. John and its profound meaning—Ezekiel a Kabalist—Special character of Christianity—Accusations of the Jews against the Saviour—The Sepher Toldos Jeshu—A beautiful legend from the apocryphal gospels—The Johannites—Burning of magical books at Ephesus—Cessation of oracles—The great Pan is dead—Transfiguration of natural prodigy into miracle and of divination into prophecy 171

CHAPTER II. The Witness of Magic to Christianity

THE WITNESS OF MAGIC TO CHRISTIANITY

Absolute existence of religion—Essential distinction between science and faith—Puerile objections—Christianity proved by charity—Condemnation of Magic by the Christian priesthood—Simon the Magician—His history—His doctrine—His conference with SS. Peter and Paul—His downfall—His sect continued by Menander 176

CHAPTER III. The Devil

THE DEVIL

The question considered in the light of faith and science—Satan and Lucifer—Wisdom of the Church—The devil according to the initiates of occult science—Of possessions in the gospel—Opinions of Torreblanca-Astral perversities—The Sabbatic goat—The false Lucifer 187

CHAPTER IV. The Last Pagans

THE LAST PAGANS

The eternal miracle of God—Civilising influence of Christianity—Apollonius of Tyana—His allegorical legend—Julian the apostate—His evocations—Jamblichus and Maximus of Tyre—Birth of Secret Societies for the forbidden practices of Magic 193

CHAPTER V. Legends

LEGENDS

The legend of St. Cyprian and St. Justin—Magical prayer of St. Cyprian—The Golden Legend—Apuleius and the Golden Ass—The fable of Psyche—Curious subtlety of St. Augustine—Philosophy of the Fathers of the Church 200

CHAPTER VI. Some Kabalistic Paintings and Sacred Emblems

SOME KABALISTIC PAINTINGS AND SACRED EMBLEMS

Gnosticism and the primitive Church—Emblems of the catacombs—True and false Gnostics—Profanation of the Gnosis—Impure and sacrilegious Rites—Eucharistic sacrilege—The Arch-heretic Marcos—Women and the priesthood—Montanus and his female prophets—Tertullian—The dualism of Manes—Danger of evocations—Divagations of Kabalism—Loss of the Kabalistic Keys 208

CHAPTER VII. Philosophers of the Alexandrian School

PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL

Ammonius Saccas—Plotinus—Porphyry—Hypatia—Incautious admissions of Synesius—Writings of this initiate—More especially his tract on Dreams—The commentary of Jerome Cardan thereon—Attribution of the works of St Dionysius to Synesius—Their orthodoxy and their value 215

BOOK IV. _magic and Civilisation_

MAGIC AND CIVILISATION

CHAPTER I

MAGIC AMONG BARBARIANS

Rome conquered by the Cross—History of Philinnium and Machates—The Bride of Corinth—Philosophical considerations thereon—Germanic and Druidic theology—College of the Druids at Autun—Druidic transmigration of souls—Some Druidic practices 223

CHAPTER II. Influence of Women

INFLUENCE of WOMEN

Female influence in early France—Velleda slandered by Chateaubriand—Berthe au grand pied—The fairy Melusine—Saint Clothilde—The sorceress Fredegonde—The story of Klodswinthe—Fredegonde and Clovis—Further concerning her history 232

CHAPTER III. The Salic Laws Against Sorcerers

THE SALIC LAWS AGAINST SORCERERS

Laws attributed to Pharamond—Explanation of a Talmudic passage by Rabbi Jechiel—Belief in the immortality of the soul among the Jews—An ecclesiastical council on sorcery—The rise of Mohammed—The religious history of Charles Martel—The Reign of Pepin the Short—The Kabalist Zedekias—His fables concerning elementary spirits—An epidemic of visions 238

CHAPTER IV. Legends of the Reign of Charlemagne

LEGENDS OF THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE

Charlemagne a prince of faerie—Charlemagne and Roland—The enchanted sword and magic horn—The Enchiridion of Leo III—The tradition therein—The pantacles—The Sabbath—The Free Judges—Their foundation and purpose—Power of this Tribunal—The fate of Frederick of Brunswick—Code of the Free Judges—Laws of Charlemagne—Knight errantry—The cultus of the Blessed Virgin 246

CHAPTER V. Magicians

MAGICIANS

The pope and empire—The penalty of excommunication—Further concerning Rabbi Jechiel—The automaton of Albertus Magnus—Albertus and St. Thomas Aquinas—The legend of the automaton interpreted—Scholasticism and Aristotelian philosophy—The philosophical stone and the quintessence 256

CHAPTER VI. Some Famous Prosecutions

SOME FAMOUS PROSECUTIONS

The great religious orders and their power—The Knights Templar—Their origin—Their secret design—The Christian sect of Johannites—Their profanation of the history of Christ—Pontiffs of the Johannite sect—The Johannites and the Templars—Further concerning Templar secret doctrine—Development of the chivalry—Their projects discovered—Their suppression—The case of Joan of Arc—The history of Gilles de Laval 264

CHAPTER VII. Superstitions Relating to the Devil

SUPERSTITIONS RELATING TO THE DEVIL

Apparitions of Satan—Possessions—A philosophy of superstitions—The crime of Black Magic—Pathological states—The soul of the world—Modern phenomena—Fourier and M. de Mirville—Baron de Guldenstubbé 281

BOOK V. _the Adepts and the Priesthood_

THE ADEPTS AND THE PRIESTHOOD

CHAPTER I

PRIESTS AND POPES ACCUSED OF MAGIC

Inviolable sanctity of the priesthood—Accusations of false adepts—Groundless charges against Pope Sylvester II—Scandalous story of Polonus reproduced by Platina—The legend of Pope Joan—Its derivation from ancient Tarot cards representing Isis crowned with a tiara—Further concerning Sylvester II—Opinion of Gabriel Naudé—The Grimoire attributed to Pope Honorius III—The anti-pope Honorius II as its possible author—An excursus on the content and character of the work 291

CHAPTER II. Appearance of the Bohemian Nomads

APPEARANCE OF THE BOHEMIAN NOMADS

Their entrance into Europe early in the fifteenth century—Their name of Bohemians or Egyptians—An account of their encampment near Paris, drawn from an ancient chronicle—A citation from George Borrow—Researches of M. Vaillant—The Gipsies and the Tarot—A conclusion on this subject—Communistic Experiment in 1840 306

CHAPTER III. Legend and History of Raymund Lully

LEGEND AND HISTORY OF RAYMUND LULLY

Story of the Doctor Illuminatus on its mythical side—Raymond Lully and the Lady Ambrosia—His immortality and liberation therefrom—The historical personage—Lully as an alchemist—The Rose Nobles—His philosophical testament—Colleges for the study of languages founded by his efforts—The Great Art—He appears at the Council of Vienna—Lully a disciple of the Kabalists—But the tradition in his hands had become Christian 319

CHAPTER IV. On Certain Alchemists

ON CERTAIN ALCHEMISTS

Nicholas Flamel and the book of Abraham the Jew—Mysterious figures of the work—A tradition concerning Flamel—Bernard Trevisan—Basil Valentine—John Trithemius—Cornelius Agrippa—The pantacle of Trithemius—William Postel—Illustrations of his teaching—The story of Mother Jeanne—The renewal of Postel—An opinion of Father Desbillons—Paracelsus—His doctrines of occult medicine—Mysteries of blood—Narrative of Tavernier—The Philosophia sagax of Paracelsus 331

CHAPTER V. Some Famous Sorcerers and Magicians

SOME FAMOUS SORCERERS AND MAGICIANS

The Divine Comedy of Dante and its Kabalistic analysis—The Romance of the Rose—Luther and anarchical theology—His disputes with the devil—His sacrilegious marriage—Sorcerers during the reign Of Henry III—-Visions of Jacques Clément—Mystic symbolism of the rose—Union of the rose and the cross—The Rosicrucians—Henry Khunrath—His Amphitheatrum Sapientiæ Æternæ—It’s pantacles—Oswaldus Crollius—Alchemists of the early seventeenth century—A Rosicrucian manifesto 345

CHAPTER VI. Some Magical Prosecutions

SOME MAGICAL PROSECUTIONS

Introductory remarks—Real crime of sorcerers—Some deplorable condemnations—The case of Louis Gaufridi—The case of Urbain Grandier—The nuns of Louviers and some other processes—Interpretation of certain phenomena—Story of an apparition 360

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