,transcriber's ,notes ,obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected4 ,variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged4 ,italics are represented thus italic1 and superscripts thus yen4 ,duplicate headings of the seven ,,books have been removed4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,magic ,illustration3 ,,liphas ,l,,vi ,frontispiece ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,magic ,,including ,a ,,clear ,,and ,,precise ,,exposition ,,of ,,its ,,procedure1 ,,its ,,rites ,,and ,,its ,,mysteries ,,by ,,liphas ,l,,vi 7,,alphonse ,,louis ,,constant7 ,opus hierarchicum et catholicum 7,definition of the ,great ,work1 according to ,heinrich ,khunrath7 ,,translated1 ,,with ,a ,,preface ,,and ,,notes1 ,,by ,,arthur ,,edward ,,waite ,,the ,,original ,,illustrations ,,are ,,included ,,and ,,portraits ,,of ,,the ,,author ,second ,edition ,,london ,,william ,,rider ,,son1 ,,limited ,,cathedral ,,house1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 #aibb ,copyright ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,english ,,translation ,in several casual references scattered through periodical literature1 in the biographical sketch which preceded my rendering of ,dogme et ,rituel de la ,haute ,magie and elsewhere1 as occasion prompted1 ,i have put on record an opinion that the ,history of ,magic1 by ,alphonse ,louis ,constant1 written--like the majority of his works--under the pseudonym of liphas ,lvi1 is the most arresting1 entertaining and brilliant of all studies on the subject with which ,i am acquainted4 ,so far back as #ahif ,i said that it was admirable as a philosophical survey1 its historical inaccuracies notwithstanding1 and that there is nothing in occult literature which can suffer comparison therewith4 ,moreover1 there is nothing so comprehensive in the ,french language1 while as regards ourselves it must be said that--outside records of research on the part of folk-lore scholarship--we have depended so far on a history by ,joseph ,ennemoser1 translated from the ,german and explaining everything1 within the domain included under the denomination of ,magic1 by the phenomena of ,animal ,magnetism4 ,other texts than this are available in that language1 but they have not been put into ,english2 while none of them has so great an appeal as that which is here rendered into our tongue4 ,having certified so far regarding its titles1 it is perhaps desirable to add1 from my own standpoint1 that ,i have not translated the book merely because it is entertaining and brilliant1 or because it will afford those who are concerned with ,magic in history a serviceable general account4 ,the task has been undertaken still less in the interests of any who may have other--that is to say1 direct occult--reasons for acquaintance with 8its procedure1 its rites and its mysteries40 ,i have no object in providing unwary and foolish seekers with material of this kind1 and it so happens that the present ,history does not fulfil the promise of its sub-title in these respects1 or at least to any extent that they would term practical in their folly4 ,through all my later literary life ,i have sought to make it plain1 as the result of antecedent years spent in occult research1 that the occult sciences--in all their general understanding--are paths of danger when they are not paths of simple make-believe and imposture4 ,the importance of liphas ,lvi's account at large of the claims1 and of their story throughout the centuries1 arises from the fact 7a7 that he is the authoritative exponent-in-chief of all the alleged sciences2 7b7 that it is he who1 in a sense1 restored and placed them1 under a new and more attractive vesture1 before public notice at the middle period of the nineteenth century2 7c7 that he claimed1 as we shall see1 the very fullest knowledge concerning them1 being that of an adept and master2 but 7d7 that--subject to one qualification1 the worth of which will be mentioned--it follows from his long examination that ,magic1 as understood not in the streets only but in the houses of research concerning it1 has no ground in the truth of things1 and is of the region of delusion only4 ,it is for this reason that ,i have translated his ,history of ,magic1 as one who reckons a not too gracious task for something which leans toward righteousness1 at least in the sense of charity4 ,the world is full at this day of the false claims which arise out of that region1 and ,i have better reasons than most even of my readers can imagine to undeceive those who1 having been drawn in such directions1 may be still saved from deception4 ,it is well therefore that out of the mouth of a master we can draw the fullest evidence required for this purpose4 ,in the present prefatory words ,i propose to shew1 firstly1 the nature of liphas ,lvi's personal claims1 so that there may be no misconception as to what they were actually1 and as to the kind of voice which is speaking2 secondly1 his original statement of the claims1 nature and value of ,transcendental ,magic2 and1 thirdly1 his later evidences on its phenomenal or so-called practical side1 as established by its own history4 ,in this manner we shall obtain his canon of criticism1 and ,i regard it as valuable1 because--with all his imperfections--he had better titles of knowledge at his own day than any one1 while it cannot be said that his place has been filled since1 though many workers have risen up in the same field of inquiry and have specialised in the numerous departments which he covered generally and superficially4 ,before entering upon these matters it may be thought that ,i should speak at some length of the author's life2 but the outlines have been given already in an extended introduction prefixed to a digest of his writings which ,i published many years ago under the title of ,mysteries of ,magic1 and again1 but from another point of view1 in the preface to the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic already mentioned4 ,the latter will be made available shortly in a new annotated edition4 ,for the rest1 an authoritative life of liphas ,lvi has been promised for years in ,france1 but is still delayed1 and in its absence the salient biographical facts are not numerous1 ,in the present place it will be therefore sufficient to say that ,alphonse ,louis ,constant was born at ,paris in #ahaj1 and was the son of a shoemaker1 apparently in very poor circumstances4 ,his precocity in childhood seemed to give some promise of future ability2 he was brought to the notice of a priest belonging to his parish1 and this in its turn led to his gratuitous education at ,saint-,sulpice1 obviously with a view to the priesthood4 ,there his superiors must have recognised sufficient traces of vocation1 according to the measures of the particular place and period1 for he proceeded to minor orders and subsequently became a deacon4 ,he seems1 however1 to have conceived strange views on doctrinal subjects1 though no particulars are forthcoming1 and1 being deficient in gifts of silence1 the displeasure of authority was marked by various checks1 ending finally in his expulsion from the ,seminary4 ,such is one story at least1 but an alternative says more simply that he relinquished the sacerdotal career in consequence of doubts and scruples4 ,thereafter he must1 ,i suppose1 have supported himself by some kind of teaching1 and by obscure efforts in literature4 ,of these latter the remains are numerous1 though their value has been much exaggerated for bookselling purposes in ,france4 ,his adventures with ,alphonse ,esquiros over the gospel of the prophet ,ganneau are told in the pages that follow1 and are an interesting biographical fragment which may be left to speak for itself4 ,he was then approaching the age of thirty years4 ,i have failed to ascertain at what period he married ,mlle4 ,nomy1 a girl of sixteen1 who became afterwards of some repute as a sculptor1 but it was a runaway match and in the end she left him4 ,it is even said that she succeeded in a nullity suit--not on the usual grounds1 for she had borne him two children1 who died in their early years if not during infancy1 but on the plea that she was a minor1 while he had taken irrevocable vows4 ,saint-,sulpice is1 however1 a seminary for secular priests who are not pledged to celibacy1 though the rule of the ,latin ,church forbids them to enter the married state4 ,in or about the year #ahea ,alphonse ,louis ,constant contributed a large volume to the encyclopdic series of ,abb ,migne1 under the title of ,dictionnaire de ,littrature ,chrtienne4 ,he is described therein as ancien professeur au petit ,sminaire de ,paris1 and it is to be supposed that his past was unknown at the publishing bureau4 ,the volume is more memorable on account of his later writings than important by its own merits4 ,as a critical work1 and indeed as a work of learning1 it is naturally quite negligible1 like most productions of the series1 while as a dictionary it is disproportioned and piecemeal2 yet it is exceedingly readable and not unsuggestive in its views4 ,there is no need to add that1 as the circumstances of the case required1 it is written along rigid lines of orthodoxy and is consequently no less narrow1 no less illiberal1 than the endless volumes of its predecessors and successors in the same field of industry4 ,the doubting heart of ,saint-,sulpice had become again a convinced ,catholic1 or had assumed that mask for the purpose of a particular literary production4 ,four years later1 however1 the voice of the churchman1 speaking the characteristic language of the ,migne ,encyclopdias1 was succeeded by the voice of the magus4 ,the ,doctrine of ,transcendental ,magic appeared in #ahee1 the ,ritual in #ahef1 and henceforth ,alphonse ,louis ,constant1 under the pseudonym of liphas ,lvi1 which has become almost of ,european celebrity1 was known only as an exponent of occult science4 ,it is these works which more especially embody his claims in respect of the alleged science and in respect of his own absolute authority thereon and therein4 ,various later volumes1 which followed from his pen in somewhat rapid succession1 are very curious when compared with the ,doctrine and ,ritual for their apparent submission to church authority and their parade of sincere orthodoxy4 ,i have dealt with this question at length in my introduction to the ,mysteries of ,magic1 and ,i shall be dispensed therefore from covering the same ground in the present place4 ,such discrepancy notwithstanding1 liphas ,lvi became1 in a private as well as in a public sense1 a teacher of occult science and of ,kabalism as its primary source3 it was apparently his means of livelihood4 ,he was in ,paris during the siege which brought the ,franco-,german war to its disastrous close1 and he died in #ahge1 fortified by the last rites of the ,catholic ,church4 ,he left behind him a large sheaf of manuscripts1 many of which have been published since1 and some await an editor4 ,passing now to the subject-in-chief of this preface1 it is affirmed as follows in the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic3--7#a7 ,there is a potent and real ,magic1 popular exaggerations of which are actually below the truth4 7#b7 ,there is a formidable secret which constitutes the fatal science of good and evil4 7#c7 ,it confers on man powers apparently superhuman4 7#d7 ,it is the traditional science of the secrets of ,nature which has been transmitted to us from the ,magi4 7#e7 ,initiation therein gives empire over souls to the sage and full capacity for ruling human wills4 7#f7 ,arising apparently from this science1 there is one infallible1 indefectible and truly catholic religion which has always existed in the world1 but it is unadapted for the multitude4 7#g7 ,for this reason there has come into being the exoteric religion of apologue1 fable and wonder-stories1 which is all that is possible for the profane3 it has undergone various transformations1 and it is represented at this day by ,latin ,christianity under the obedience of ,rome4 7#h7 ,its veils are valid in their symbolism1 and it may be called valid for the crowd1 but the doctrine of initiates is tantamount to a negation of any literal truth therein4 7#i7 ,it is ,magic alone which imparts true science4 ,hereof is what may be termed the theoretical1 philosophical or doctrinal part1 the dogma of 8absolute science40 ,that which is practical follows1 and it deals with the exercise of a natural power but one superior to the ordinary forces of ,nature4 ,it is to all intents and purposes comprised in a ,grimoire of ,magic1 and is a work of ceremonial evocations--whether of elementary spirits1 with the aid of pantacles1 talismans and the other magical instruments and properties2 whether of spirits belonging ex hypothesi to the planetary sphere2 whether of the shades or souls of the dead in necromancy4 ,these works are lawful1 and their results apparently veridic1 but beyond them is the domain of ,black ,magic1 which is a realm of delusion and nightmare1 though phenomenal enough in its results4 ,by his dedications liphas ,lvi happened to be a magus of light4 ,it will be observed that all this offers a clear issue1 and--for the rest--the ,grimoire of ,transcendental ,magic1 according to liphas ,lvi1 does not differ generically from the ,key of ,solomon and its counterparts1 except in so far as the author has excised here and enlarged there1 in obedience to his own lights4 ,he had full authority for doing so on the basis of his personal claims1 which may be summarised at this point4 7#a7 ,he has discovered 8the secret of human omnipotence and indefinite progress1 the key of all symbolism1 the first and final doctrine40 7#b7 ,he is alchemist as well as magician1 and he makes public the same secret as ,raymund ,lully1 ,nicholas ,flamel and probably ,heinrich ,khunrath4 ,they produced true gold1 8nor did they take away their secret with them40 7#c7 ,and finally3 8at an epoch when the sanctuary has been devastated and has fallen into ruins1 because its key has been thrown over the hedge1 to the profit of no one1 ,i have deemed it my duty to pick up that key1 and ,i offer it to him who can take it3 in his turn he will be doctor of the nations and liberator of the world40 ,it must be said that these claims do not rest on a mere theory or practice of ceremonial evocations4 ,there is no question that for liphas ,lvi his secret doctrine of occult science is contained in a hypothesis concerning an universal medium denominated the ,astral ,light1 which is neither more nor less than the odylic force of ,baron ,reichenbach1 as the ,french writer himself admits substantially1 but it is dilated in his speculation and issues therein greatly transformed as follows4 7#a7 ,it is an universal plastic mediator1 a common receptacle for vibrations of movement and images of form3 it may be called the ,imagination of ,nature4 7#b7 ,it is that which ,god created when ,he uttered the ,fiat ,lux4 7#c7 ,it is the great medium of occult force1 but as such it is a blind force1 which can be used for good or evil1 being especially obedient to the light of grace4 7#d7 ,it is the element of electricity and lightning4 7#e7 ,the 8four imponderable fluids0 are diverse manifestations of this one force1 which is 8inseparable from the ,first ,matter0 and sets the latter in motion4 7#f7 ,it is now resplendent1 now igneous1 now electric1 now magnetic4 7#g7 ,it has apparently two modes1 which tend to equilibrium1 and to know the middle point of this equilibrium seems to be the attainment of the ,great ,work4 7#h7 ,it is 8ethereal in the infinite1 astral in stars and planets1 metallic1 specific or mercurial in metals1 vegetable in plants1 vital in animals1 magnetic or personal in men40 7#i7 ,it is extracted from animals by absorption and from men by generation4 7#aj7 ,in ,magic it is the glass of visions1 the receptacle of all reflections4 ,the seer has his visions therein1 the diviner divines by its means and the magus evokes spirits4 7#aa7 ,when the ,astral ,light is fixed about a centre by condensation it becomes the ,philosophical ,stone of ,alchemy1 in which form it is an artificial phosphorus1 containing the concentrated virtues of all generative heat4 7#ab7 ,when condensed by a triple fire it resolves into oil1 and this oil is the ,universal ,medicine4 ,it can then only be contained in glass1 this being a non-conductor4 ,again1 here is a clear issue at its value1 and ,i make this qualification because the ,astral ,light is1 as ,i have said1 a speculation1 and personally ,i neither know nor care whether such a fluid exists1 or1 in such case1 whether it is applicable to the uses indicated4 ,it is enough that liphas ,lvi has made his affirmations concerning it in unmistakable language4 ,let us pass therefore to the ,histoire de la ,magie1 though ,i have been borrowing from it already in respect of the putative universal fluid4 ,magic therein is still the science of the ancient ,magi2 it is still the exact and absolute science of ,nature and her laws1 because it is the science of equilibrium4 ,its secret1 the secret of occult science1 is that of ,god's omnipotence4 ,it comprises all that is most certain in philosophy1 all that is eternal and infallible in religion4 ,it is the ,sacerdotal ,art and the ,royal ,art4 ,its chief memorial is found in ,kabalism1 but it derives apparently from primeval ,zoroastrian doctrine1 of which ,abraham seems to have been a depositary4 ,this doctrine attained its perfection in ,egypt4 ,thereafter1 on its religious side1 the succession appears to have been3 7a7 from ,egypt to ,moses2 7b7 from ,moses to ,solomon1 through certain custodians of the secret law in ,jewry2 7c7 from the ,temple at ,jerusalem to ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 though the method of transition is obscure--as that which was affirmed previously is still maintained1 namely1 that ,rome has lost the ,kabalistic ,keys4 ,it is naturally left to our conjecture as to when the ,church possessed them--from liphas ,lvi's point of view1 perhaps in the days of ,dionysius1 perhaps in those of ,synesius1 but not from my standpoint1 and so the question remains4 ,now1 if these things do not differ specifically from the heads of the previous testimony1 on the surface and in the letter thereof1 it is no less certain that there is a marked distinction alike in general atmosphere and inward spirit4 ,about this all can satisfy themselves who will compare the two texts1 and ,i need not insist on it here4 ,what1 however1 in the ,histoire de la ,magie1 has befallen that practical side which1 after all the dreamings1 the high and decorative philosophy1 the adornments--now golden1 now meretricious--was the evidence1 term and crown of the previous work8 ,those who are reading can again check me2 but my answer is this3 whether the subject of the moment is the art of evoking spirits1 whether it is old cases of possession1 whether it is witchcraft or necromancy1 whether it is modern phenomena like direct-writing1 table-rapping and the other occurrences of spiritism1 as they were known to the writer and his period1 they have one and all fallen under the ban of unreserved condemnation4 ,it is not that they are imposture1 for liphas ,lvi does not dispute the facts and derides those who do1 but they belong to the abyss of delusion and all who practise them are workers of madness and apostles of evil only4 ,the advent of ,christianity has put a decisive period to every activity of ,magic and anathema has been pronounced thereon4 ,it is from this point of view that ,lvi takes the disciple through each century of the subject1 sometimes indeed explaining things from the standpoint of a complete sceptic1 sometimes as ,joseph ,ennemoser might himself have explained them1 but never--no1 not once--like the authorised exponent of practical ,magic who has tried the admirable and terrifying experiments1 who returns to say that they are true and real1 which is the testimony of the ,doctrine and ,ritual1 if these volumes can be held to signify anything4 ,necromancy as a science of the abyss2 spiritism as the abyss giving up every form of delusion2 sorcery1 witchcraft1 as rich indeed in testimony but to human perversity alone1 apart from intervention of diabolism belonging to the other world--,i testify with my whole heart to the truth of these accusations1 though ,i do not believe that the unseen world is so utterly cut off from the world of things manifest as liphas ,lvi considered in his own paradoxical moods4 ,but once more--what has become of ,magic8 ,what has happened to the one science which is coeval with creation itself1 to the key of all miracles and to almost omnipotent adeptship8 ,they are reduced as follows3 7a7 to that which in its palmary respects is the 8sympathetic and miraculous physics0 of ,mesmer1 who is 8grand as ,prometheus0 because of them2 7b7 to a general theory of hallucination1 when hallucination has been carried1 by self-induced delusion or otherwise1 to its ne plus ultra degree2 and 7c7 but ,i mention this under very grave reserves1 because--for the life of me--,i do not understand how or why it should remain--to the physical operations of alchemy1 which are still possible and actual under the conditions set forth in the speculation concerning the ,astral ,light4 ,it is not as such1 one would say1 a thaumaturgic process1 unless indeed the dream should rule--as it tends to do--that fulfilment depends on an electrifying power in the projected will of the adept4 ,in any case1 the ethical transliteration of alchemical symbolism is seemingly a more important aspect of this subject4 ,i need not register here that ,i disbelieve utterly in ,lvi's construction of the art of metallic transmutation1 or that ,i regard his allegorising thereon as a negligible product when it is compared with the real doctrine of ,hermetic ,mysticism2 but this is not the point at issue4 ,the possessor of the ,key of ,magic1 of the ,kabalistic ,keys1 thrown aside or lost by the ,church1 comes forward to tell us that after the advent of ,christ 8magical orthodoxy was transfigured into the orthodoxy of religion02 that 8those who dissented could be only illuminati and sorcerers02 that 8the very name of ,magic must be interpreted only according to its evil sense02 that we are forbidden by the ,church to consult oracles1 and that this is 8in its great wisdom02 that the 8fundamental dogma of transcendental science 444 attained its plenary realisation in the constitution of the ,christian world10 being the equilibrium between ,church and ,state4 ,all that is done outside the lawful hierarchy stands under an act of condemnation2 as to visions1 all fools are visionaries2 to communicate with the hierarchy of unseen intelligence1 we must seek the natural and mathematical revelations set forth in ,tarot cards1 but it cannot be done without danger and crime2 while mediums1 enchanters1 fortune-tellers1 and casters of spells 8are generally diseased creatures in whom the void opens40 ,finally1 as regards the philosophical side of ,magic1 its great doctrine is equilibrium2 its great hypothesis is analogy2 and in the moral sense equilibrium is the concurrence of science and faith4 ,what has happened to a writer who has thus gone back on his own most strenuous claims8 ,one explanation is--and long ago ,i was inclined to it on my own part--that liphas ,lvi had passed through certain grades of knowledge in a secret school of the ,instituted ,mysteries2 that he was brought to a pause because of disclosures contained in his earlier books2 and that he had been set to unsay what he had affirmed therein4 ,i know now by what quality of school--working under what titles--this report was fabricated1 and that it is the last with which ,i am acquainted to be accepted on its own statements1 either respecting itself or any points of fact4 ,an alternative is that liphas ,lvi had spoken originally as a ,magus might be supposed to speak when trafficking in his particular wares1 which is something like a quack doctor describing his nostrums to a populace in the market-place1 and that his later writings represent a process of retrenchment as to the most florid side of his claims4 ,this notion is apart from all likelihood1 because it offers no reason for the specific change in policy1 while--if it be worth while to say so--,i do not regard ,lvi as comparable to a quack doctor4 ,i think that he had been a student of occult literature and history for a considerable period1 in a very particular sense2 that he believed himself to have discovered a key to all the alleged phenomena2 that he wrote the ,doctrine and ,ritual in a mood of enthusiasm consequent thereupon2 that between the appearance of these volumes and that of the ,histoire de la ,magie he had reconsidered the question of the phenomena1 and had come to the conclusion that so far from being veridic in their nature they were projected hallucinations variously differentiated and in successively aggravated grades2 but that he still regarded his supposed universal fluid as a great provisional hypothesis respecting thaumaturgic facts1 and that he still held to his general philosophy of the subject1 being the persistence of a secret tradition from remote times and surviving at the present day 7#a7 in the tenets of ,kabalism and 7#b7 in the pictorial symbols of the ,tarot4 ,it is no part of my province in the present connection to debate his views either on the fact of a secret tradition or on the alleged modes of its perpetuation3 my standpoint is known otherwise and has been expressed fully elsewhere4 ,but in the explanation just given ,i feel that ,i have saved the sincerity of one who has many titles to consideration1 who is still respected by many1 and for whom my own discriminating sympathy has been expressed frequently in no uncertain way3 ,i have saved it so far at least as can be expected4 ,one does not anticipate that a ,frenchman1 an occultist and a magus is going to retract distinctly under the eye of his disciples1 more especially when he has testified so much4 ,i feel further that ,i have justified the fact of the present translation of a work which is memorable in several respects1 but chiefly as the history of a magic which is not ,magic1 as a testimony which destroys indeed the whole imputed basis of its subject4 ,it does not follow that ,lvi's explanation of physical phenomena1 especially of the modern kind1 is always or generally correct2 but some of it is workable in its way1 and my purpose is more than served if those who are drawn toward the science of the mystics may be led hereby to take warning as to some of the dangers and false-seemings which fringe that science4 ,a few things remain to be said4 ,readers of his ,history must be prepared for manifold inaccuracies1 which are to be expected in a writer like liphas ,lvi4 ,those who know anything of ,egypt--the antiquities of its religion and literature--will have a bad experience with the chapter on ,hermetic ,magic2 those who know eastern religion on its deeper side will regard the discourse on ,magic in ,india as title-deeds of all incompetence2 while in respect of later ,jewish theosophy ,i have had occasion in certain annotations to indicate that ,lvi had no extensive knowledge of those ,kabalistic texts on the importance of which he dwells so much and about which he claims to speak with full understanding4 ,he presents1 however1 some of their lesser aspects4 ,as regards the religion of his childhood1 ,i feel certainly that it appealed to him strongly through all his life1 and in the revulsion which seems to have followed the ,doctrine and ,ritual he was drawn back towards it1 but rather as to a great hierarchic system and a great sequence of holy pageants1 of living symbolism4 ,respecting the root-matter of its teachings1 probably he deceived himself better than he fooled his readers4 ,in a multitude of statements and in the spirit of the text throughout1 it is certain that the ,histoire de la ,magie offers 8negation of dogma0 on its absolute side4 ,we obtain a continual insight into free sub-surface opinions1 ill-concealed under external conformity to the ,church1 and we get also useful side-lights on the vanity of the author's sham submissions4 ,in this manner1 we know exactly what quality of sentiment led him to lay all his writings at the foot of the seat of ,peter1 for ,peter to decide thereon4 ,it is needless to add that his constructions of doctrine throughout are of the last kind that would be commended to the custodians of doctrine4 ,at the same time there is very little doubt that he believed genuinely in the necessity of a hierarchic teaching2 that1 in his view1 it reposed from a very early period in certain sanctuaries of initiation2 that the existence of these is intimated in the records of the ,mosaic dispensation2 that they were depositaries of science rather than revelation2 that ,kabalistic literature is one of their witnesses2 but that the sanctuaries were everywhere in the world1 ,egypt and ,greece included4 ,of all these the ,church of ,christ is the heir1 and though it may have lost the keys of knowledge1 though it mistakes everywhere the sign for the thing signified1 it is--from his standpoint--entitled to our respect as a witness and at least to qualified obedience4 ,i think that liphas ,lvi has said true things and even great things on the distinctions and analogies between science and faith1 but the latter he understood as aspiration1 not as experience4 ,a long essay on the mystics1 which is perhaps his most important contribution to the ,dictionnaire de ,littrature ,chrtienne1 indicates that he was thinly acquainted with the mind of ,suso1 ,st4 ,john of the ,cross1 ,st4 ,teresa and ,st4 ,francis of ,sales4 ,accordingly he has a word here and there on the interior life and its secrets1 but of that which remains for the elect in the heights of sanctity he had no consciousness whatever4 ,for him the records of such experience are literature and mystic poetry2 and as he is far from the term herein1 so is he remote also when he discourses of false mystics1 meaning ,gnostic sects1 ,albigensian sects1 illuminati so-called and members of secret heretical societies representing reformed doctrine4 ,as the religion of the mystics is my whole concern in literature1 let me add that the true idea of religion is not constituted by 8universal suffrage0 7see text1 p4 #eag71 but by the agreement of those who have attained in the ,divine experience that which is understood by attainment4 ,in conclusion1 after we have set aside1 on the warrants of this ,history1 the phenomenal side of ,magic1 that which may be held to remain in the mind of the author is ,transcendental ,magic--referred to when ,i spoke of a qualification earlier in these remarks2 but by this is to be understood so much of the old philosophical systems as had passed within his consciousness and had been interpreted therein4 ,it will be unacceptable to most readers at this day1 but it has curious aspects of interest and may be left to stand at its value4 ,a4 ,e4 ,,waite4 ,illustration3 ,,portrait ,,of ,,liphas ,l,,vi1 ,,taken ,,after ,,death ,,contents ,,page ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,english ,,translation v ,,introduction ,false definition of ,magic--,it is not to be defined at hazard--,explanation of the ,blazing ,star--,existence of the absolute--,absolute nature of magical science--,errors of ,dupuis--,profanation of the science--,prediction of ,count ,joseph de ,maistre--,extent and import of the science--,the ,divine ,justice--,power of the adept--,the devil and science--,existence of demons--,false idea of the devil--,conception of the ,manicheans--,crimes of sorcerers--,the ,astral ,light--,the so-called ,imagination of ,nature--,of what is to be understood hereby--,the effects hereof--,definition of magnetism--,agreement between reason and faith--,jachin and ,boaz--,principle of the hierarchy--,religion of ,kabalists--,images of ,god--,theory of the light--,mysteries of sexual love--,antagonism of forces--,the mythical ,pope ,joan--,the ,kabalah as an explanation and reconciliation of all--,why the ,church condemns ,magic--,dogmatic ,magic an explanation of the philosophy of history--,culpable curiosity regarding ,magic--,plan of the present work--,the author's submission to the established order #a ,,book ,i ,,the ,,derivations ,,of ,,magic ,,chapter ,i ,,fabulous ,,sources ,the ,book of ,enoch concerning the ,fall of the ,angels--,meaning of the ,legend--,the ,book of the ,penitence of ,adam--,the ,personality of ,enoch--,the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,methodius--,children of ,seth and of ,cain--,rationale of occultism--,error of ,rousseau--,traditions of ,jewry--,the glory of ,christianity--,the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 ,zohar and ,apocalypse--,opening of the ,zohar #ci ,,chapter ,,ii ,,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 #ec ,,chapter ,,iii ,,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 ,j4 ,m4 ,ragon--,indian ,grand ,secrets--,the ,english and ,indian insurrections #fd ,,chapter ,,iv ,,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 #gc ,,chapter ,v ,,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--,getia--,the sorcerers of ,thessaly--,medea and ,circe #hb ,,chapter ,,vi ,,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 #ib ,,chapter ,,vii ,,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 larv--,the ,great ,magical ,agent--,obscure origin of larv #aja ,,book ,,ii ,,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 medival ,sabbath--,decadence of the hierarchy--,philosophy of chance--,doctrine of ,plato--,an oracle of ,apollo--,rationalism of ,aristotle--,the ,cubic ,stone--,summary of ,neoplatonism #aae ,,chapter ,,ii ,,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 #abe ,,chapter ,,iii ,,initiations ,,and ,,ordeals ,the ,great ,work--,the four aspects of the ,sphinx and the ,shield of ,achilles--,allegories of ,hercules and dipus--,the ,secret ,doctrine of ,plato--,of ,plato as ,kabalist--,difference between ,plato and ,st4 ,john--,platonic theosophy--,fatal experiences--,hompathy 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 ,phdron--,the burial of the dead--,necromancy #acc ,,chapter ,,iv ,,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 #ade ,,chapter ,v ,,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 #aeb ,,chapter ,,vi ,,superstitions ,their origin and persistence--,beautiful thought of the ,roman pontiff1 ,st4 ,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--,presages1 dreams1 enchantments and fascinations--,magical whirlpools--,modern phenomena--,olympius and ,plotinus #aeh ,,chapter ,,vii ,,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 ,mercury1 ,jupiter and ,mars--,the ,temple of ,solomon--,philosophical summary of ancient wisdom #aff ,,book ,,iii ,,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 ,st4 ,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 #aga ,,chapter ,,ii ,,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 ,,ss4 ,peter and ,paul--,his downfall--,his sect continued by ,menander #agf ,,chapter ,,iii ,,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 #ahg ,,chapter ,,iv ,,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 #aic ,,chapter ,v ,,legends ,the legend of ,st4 ,cyprian and ,st4 ,justin--,magical prayer of ,st4 ,cyprian--,the ,golden ,legend--,apuleius and the ,golden ,ass--,the fable of ,psyche--,curious subtlety of ,st4 ,augustine--,philosophy of the ,fathers of the ,church #bjj ,,chapter ,,vi ,,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 #bjh ,,chapter ,,vii ,,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 #bae ,,book ,,iv ,,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 #bbc ,,chapter ,,ii ,,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 #bcb ,,chapter ,,iii ,,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 #bch ,,chapter ,,iv ,,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 #bdf ,,chapter ,v ,,magicians ,the pope and empire--,the penalty of excommunication--,further concerning ,rabbi ,jechiel--,the automaton of ,albertus ,magnus--,albertus and ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas--,the legend of the automaton interpreted--,scholasticism and ,aristotelian philosophy--,the philosophical stone and the quintessence #bef ,,chapter ,,vi ,,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 #bfd ,,chapter ,,vii ,,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 ,m4 de ,mirville--,baron de ,guldenstubb #bha ,,book ,v ,,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 ,naud--,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 #bia ,,chapter ,,ii ,,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 ,paris1 drawn from an ancient chronicle--,a citation from ,george ,borrow--,researches of ,m4 ,vaillant--,the ,gipsies and the ,tarot--,a conclusion on this subject--,communistic ,experiment in #ahdj #cjf ,,chapter ,,iii ,,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 #cai ,,chapter ,,iv ,,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 #cca ,,chapter ,v ,,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 ,clment--,mystic symbolism of the rose--,union of the rose and the cross--,the ,rosicrucians--,henry ,khunrath--,his ,amphitheatrum ,sapienti tern--,it's pantacles--,oswaldus ,crollius--,alchemists of the early seventeenth century--,a ,rosicrucian manifesto #cde ,,chapter ,,vi ,,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 #cfj ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,magical ,,origin ,,of ,,freemasonry ,its appearance in ,europe--,its allegorical and real end--,the ,legend of ,hiram--,its meaning--,mission of the ,rites of ,masonry--,its profanations #chb ,,book ,,vi ,,magic ,,and ,,the ,,revolution ,,chapter ,i ,,remarkable ,,authors ,,of ,,the ,,eighteenth ,,century ,important discoveries in ,china--,the ,y-,kim of ,fo-hi--,legend of its origin--,connection with the ,zohar--,an example of absolute philosophy--,opinion of ,leibnitz--,emmanuel ,swedenborg--,his system and its ,kabalistic derivation--,the discovery of ,mesmer--,its theory and its great importance--,a comparison between ,voltaire and ,mesmer #cia ,,chapter ,,ii ,,thaumaturgic ,,personalities ,,of ,,the ,,eighteenth ,,century ,the ,comte de ,saint-,germain--,unpublished particulars of his life--,the report of ,madame de ,genlis--,the ,order of ,saint ,jakin--,a pretended initiation--,further concerning the ,rosicrucians--,an appreciation of ,saint-,germain--,his alleged identity with the mysterious ,althotas--,the alchemist ,lascaris--,count ,cagliostro--,an agent of the ,templars--,a successor of ,mesmer--,explanation of his seal and ,kabalistic name--,his secret of physical regeneration--,his trial by the ,inquisition--,he is said to be still alive #djj ,,chapter ,,iii ,,prophecies ,,of ,,cazotte ,the school of ,martinists--,the supper of ,cazotte--,the romance of ,le ,diable ,amoureux--,its interpretation according to the ,kabalah--,lilith and ,nehamah--,initiation of ,cazotte--,the ,mystic ,mountain--,cazotte and the ,revolutionary ,tribunal #daf ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,french ,,revolution ,the reveries of ,rousseau and their fatal consequences--,the tomb of ,jacques de ,molay--,the ,lodge in ,rue ,platrire--,the doom of ,louis ,,xvi--,a genius of massacre--,mademoiselle de ,sombreuil--,madame ,elizabeth--,the ,church of the ,jacobins--,vengeance of the ,templars--,further concerning the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,methodius--,the prophecies of ,abb ,joachim #dbb ,,chapter ,v ,,phenomena ,,of ,,mediomania ,an obscure sect of ,johannite mystics--,visions of ,loiseaut--,dom ,gerle and ,catherine ,thot--,a visit from ,robespierre--,the prophecy of ,catherine--,her fate and that of ,dom ,gerle--,the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii--,martin de ,gallardon--,eugne ,vintras--,nandorff #dbg ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,german ,,illuminati ,the adept ,steinert--,an account of ,eckartshausen--,schroepfer and ,lavater--,the spirit ,gablidone--,his prophecies--,stabs and ,napoleon--,carl ,sand and ,kotzebue--,the ,mopses and their mysteries--,the magical drama of ,faust #dce ,,chapter ,,vii ,,empire ,,and ,,restoration ,predictions relative to ,napoleon--,mademoiselle ,lenormand--,etteilla and cartomancy--,madame ,bouche and the ,czar ,alexander--,madame de ,krudener--,further concerning the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii--,visions of ,martin de ,gallardon #ddc ,,book ,,vii ,,magic ,,in ,,the ,,nineteenth ,,century ,,chapter ,i ,,magnetic ,,mystics ,,and ,,materialists ,infectious follies of ,fourier--,the dogma of hell--,an evocation in the ,church of ,notre ,dame--,lesser prophets and divinities--,ganneau1 ,auguste ,comte and ,wronski--,sale of the ,absolute #dec ,,chapter ,,ii ,,hallucinations ,yet again concerning the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii--,singular hallucination of ,eugne ,vintras--,his prophecies and pretended miracles--,the sect of ,vintras--,its condemnation by ,gregory ,,xvi--,pontificate of ,vintras--,his dreams and visions #dfa ,,chapter ,,iii ,,mesmerists ,,and ,,somnambulists ,the ,church and the abuse of somnambulism--,baron ,du ,potet--,his secret work on ,magic--,table-turning--,a table burnt for heresy--,experiences of ,victor ,hennequin--,a magical melodrama #dga ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,fantastic ,,side ,,of ,,magical ,,literature ,alphonse ,esquiros invents a romanesque ,magic--,henri ,delaage continues the work--,his gifts of enchantment--,his orthodoxy--,le ,comte ,d',ourches--,baron de ,guldenstubb--,his miraculous writings--,their explanation--,exhumation of a fakir--,history of a vampire--,the cartomancist ,edmond #dgg ,,chapter ,v ,,some ,,private ,,recollections ,,of ,,the ,,writer ,the author is presented by the magician ,alphonse ,esquiros to the divinity ,ganneau--,eccentric doctrines of the ,mapah--,another ,louis ,,xvii--,a fatal result of this visit--,secret cause of the ,revolution of #ahdh--,the wife of ,ganneau #die ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,occult ,,sciences ,a synthesis in summary--,recapitulation of principles--,the search after the absolute #ejj ,,chapter ,,vii ,,summary ,,and ,,conclusion ,the enigma of the sphinx and its solution--,paradoxical questions and their answers--,knowledge and faith--,the communion of faith--,the temporal power of the pope--,the science of moral equilibrium--,consequences of its recognition--,a citation from the ,blessed ,vincent de ,lerins--,another from ,comte ,joseph de ,maistre--,an axiom of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas--,the liberation of ,magic--,purpose of this work #ejc ,,appendix #ebf ,,index #ebi ,,illustrations ,,plate ,i4 ,portrait of liphas ,lvi in the ,robe of a ,magus ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,,ii4 ,portrait of liphas ,lvi taken after death xxii ,,iii4 ,the ,pentagram of the ,absolute #b ,,iv4 ,the ,great ,symbol of ,solomon1 reconstructed according to the ,zohar #bj ,v4 ,the ,magical ,head of the ,zohar #dj ,,vi4 ,the ,great ,kabalistic ,symbol of the ,zohar #ej ,,vii4 ,the ,mystery of ,universal ,equilibrium1 according to ,indian and ,japanese ,mythology1 together with the ,pantomorphic lynx1 or ,twenty-,first ,primitive ,egyptian ,tarot ,key #fd ,,viii4 ,the ,bembine ,tablet #gh ,,ix4 ,pantacle of ,kabalistic ,letters1 being the ,key of the ,tarot1 ,sepher ,yetzirah and the ,zohar #ajb ,x4 ,the ,seal of ,cagliostro1 ,seal of the ,samian ,juno1 ,apocalyptic ,seal1 ,twelve ,seals of the ,cubic ,stone in ,masonry1 with the ,twenty-,first ,tarot ,key in the centre of all #abj ,,xi4 ,egyptian ,symbols of ,typhon1 illustrating ,getia and ,necromancy4 ,typhon is depicted performing the renewal of the empire of darkness4 ,from the ,temple of ,hermoutis4 ,the smaller figures are from the ,zodiac of ,esne and the top is a bas relief in the same temple #abh ,,xii4 ,the ,seven ,wonders of the ,world #aff ,,xiii4 ,a ,public ,disputation between ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul on the one side and ,simon the ,magician on the other4 ,ascent and fall of ,simon4 ,from an engraving of the fifteenth century #ahd ,,xiv4 ,hermetic ,magic4 ,reproduced from an ancient ,manuscript #bbd ,,xv4 ,the ,philosophical ,cross1 or plan of the ,third ,temple1 as prophesied by ,ezekiel and planned in the building scheme of the ,knights ,templar #bfd ,,xvi4 ,two occult ,seals are shewn in the left compartment2 the first represents the ,great ,work2 the second is that of ,black ,magic4 ,both are from the ,grimoire of ,honorius4 ,the right hand compartment contains primitive ,egyptian ,tarots--the #b of ,cups at the top and beneath this1 specimens of the ,ace of ,cups #bih ,,xvii4 ,the ,seven ,planets and their ,genii1 according to the ,magic of ,paracelsus #cdj ,,xviii4 ,the ,great ,hermetic ,arcanum1 according to ,basil ,valentine #cid ,,xix4 ,a general plan of ,kabalistic ,doctrine #ded ,,xx4 ,apocalyptic ,key3 the ,seven ,seals of ,st4 ,john #ejb ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,magic ,,introduction ,magic has been confounded too long with the jugglery of mountebanks1 the hallucinations of disordered minds and the crimes of certain unusual malefactors4 ,there are otherwise many who would promptly explain ,magic as the art of producing effects in the absence of causes2 and on the strength of such a definition it will be said by ordinary people--with the good sense which characterises the ordinary1 in the midst of much injustice--that ,magic is an absurdity4 ,but it can have no analogy in fact with the descriptions of those who know nothing of the subject2 furthermore1 it is not to be represented as this or that by any person whomsoever3 it is that which it is1 drawing from itself only1 even as mathematics do1 for it is the exact and absolute science of ,nature and her laws4 ,magic is the science of the ancient magi2 and the ,christian religion1 which silenced the counterfeit oracles and put a stop to the illusions of false gods1 does1 this notwithstanding1 revere those mystic kings who came from the ,east1 led by a star1 to adore the ,saviour of the world in ,his cradle4 ,they are elevated by tradition to the rank of kings1 because magical initiation constitutes a true royalty2 because also the great art of the magi is characterised by all adepts as the ,royal ,art1 as the ,holy ,kingdom--,sanctum ,regnum4 ,the star which conducted the pilgrims is the same ,burning ,star which is met with in all initiations4 ,for alchemists it is the sign of the quintessence1 for magicians it is the ,great ,arcanum1 for ,kabalists the sacred pentagram4 ,our design is to prove that the study of this pentagram did itself lead the magi to a knowledge of that ,new ,name which was to be exalted above all names and to bend the knees of all beings who were capable of adoration4 ,magic1 therefore1 combines in a single science that which is most certain in philosophy1 which is eternal and infallible in religion4 ,it reconciles perfectly and incontestably those two terms1 so opposed on the first view--faith and reason1 science and belief1 authority and liberty4 ,it furnishes the human mind with an instrument of philosophical and religious certitude as exact as mathematics1 and even accounting for the infallibility of mathematics themselves4 ,an ,absolute exists therefore in the realms of understanding and faith4 ,the lights of human intelligence have not been left by the ,supreme ,reason to waver at hazard4 ,there is an incontestable truth2 there is an infallible method of knowing that truth2 while those who attain this knowledge1 and adopt it as a rule of life1 can endow their will with a sovereign power which can make them masters of all inferior things1 all wandering spirits1 or1 in other words1 arbiters and kings of the world4 ,if such be the case1 how comes it that so exalted a science is still unrecognised8 ,how is it possible to assume that so bright a sun is hidden in a sky so dark8 ,the transcendental science has been known always1 but only to the flowers of intelligence1 who have understood the necessity of silence and patience4 ,should a skilful surgeon open at midnight the eyes of a man born blind1 it would still be impossible to make him realise the nature or existence of daylight till morning came4 ,science has its nights and its mornings1 because the life which it communicates to the world of mind is characterised by regular modes of motion and progressive phases4 ,it is the same with truths as it is with radiations of light4 ,nothing which is hidden is lost1 but at the same time nothing that is found is absolutely new4 ,the seal of eternity is affixed by ,god to that science which is the reflection of ,his glory4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,pentagram ,,of ,,the ,,absolute ,the transcendental science1 the absolute science is assuredly ,magic1 though the affirmation may seem utterly paradoxical to those who have never questioned the infallibility of ,voltaire--that marvellous smatterer who thought that he knew so much because he never missed an opportunity for laughter instead of learning4 ,magic was the science of ,abraham and ,orpheus1 of ,confucius and ,zoroaster1 and it was magical doctrines which were graven on tables of stone by ,enoch and by ,trismegistus4 ,moses purified and re-veiled them--this being the sense of the word reveal4 ,the new disguise which he gave them was that of the ,holy ,kabalah--that exclusive heritage of ,israel and inviolable secret of its priests4#a ,the mysteries of ,eleusis and of ,thebes preserved among the ,gentiles some of its symbols1 but in a debased form1 and the mystic key was lost amidst the apparatus of an ever-increasing superstition4 ,jerusalem1 murderer of its prophets and prostituted over and over again to false ,assyrian and ,babylonian gods1 ended by losing in its turn the ,sacred ,word1 when a ,saviour1 declared to the magi by the holy star of initiation1 came to rend the threadbare veil of the old temple1 to endow the ,church with a new network of legends and symbols--ever concealing from the profane and always preserving for the elect that truth which is the same for ever4 ,it is this that the erudite and ill-starred ,dupuis should have found on ,indian planispheres and in tables of ,denderah2 he would not have ended by rejecting the truly catholic or universal and eternal religion in the presence of the unanimous affirmation of all ,nature1 as well as all monuments of science throughout the ages4#b ,it was the memory of this scientific and religious absolute1 of this doctrine summarised in a word1 of this word alternately lost and recovered1 which was transmitted to the elect of all antique initiations4 ,whether preserved or profaned in the celebrated ,order of the ,temple1 it was this same memory handed on to secret associations of ,rosicrucians1 ,illuminati and ,freemasons which gave a meaning to their strange rites1 to their less or more conventional signs1 and a justification above all to their devotion in common1 as well as a clue to their power4 ,that profanation has befallen the doctrines and mysteries of ,magic we have no intention to deny2 repeated from age to age1 the misuse itself has been a great and terrible lesson for those who made secret things unwisely known4 ,the ,gnostics caused the ,gnosis to be prohibited by ,christians1 and the official sanctuary was closed to high initiation4 ,the hierarchy of knowledge was thus compromised by the intervention of usurping ignorance1 while the disorders within the sanctuary were reproduced in the state1 for1 willingly or otherwise1 the king always depends from the priest1 and it is towards the eternal adytum of divine instruction that earthly powers will ever look for consecration and for energy to insure their permanence4 ,the key of science has been thrown to children2 as might have been expected1 it is now1 therefore1 mislaid and practically lost4 ,this notwithstanding1 a man of high intuitions and great moral courage1 ,count ,joseph de ,maistre1 who was also a resolute catholic1 acknowledging that the world was void of religion and could not so remain1 turned his eyes instinctively towards the last sanctuaries of occultism and called1 with heartfelt prayers1 for that day when the natural affinity which subsists between science and faith should combine them in the mind of a single man of genius4 8,this will be grand10 said he2 8it will finish that eighteenth century which is still with us4444 ,we shall talk then of our present stupidity as we now dilate on the barbarism of the ,middle ,ages40 ,the prediction of ,count ,joseph de ,maistre is in course of realisation2 the alliance of science and faith1 accomplished long since1 is here in fine made manifest1 though not by a man of genius4 ,genius is not needed to see the sun1 and1 moreover1 it has never demonstrated anything but its rare greatness and its lights inaccessible to the crowd4 ,the grand truth demands only to be found1 when the simplest will be able to comprehend it and to prove it also at need4 ,at the same time that truth will never become vulgar1 because it is hierarchic and because anarchy alone humours the bias of the crowd4 ,the masses are not in need of absolute truths2 were it otherwise1 progress would be arrested and life would cease in humanity2 the ebb and flow of contrary ideas1 the clash of opinions1 the passions of the time1 ever impelled by its dreams1 are necessary to the intellectual growth of peoples4 ,the masses know it full well1 and hence they desert so readily the chair of doctors to collect about the rostrum of mountebanks4 ,some even who are assumed to be concerned in philosophy1 and that perhaps especially1 too often resemble the children playing at charades1 who hasten to turn out those who know the answer already1 lest the game should be spoiled by depriving the puzzle of the questions of all its interest4 8,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god0 has been said by ,eternal ,wisdom4 ,purity of heart therefore purifies intelligence1 and rectitude of will makes for precision in understanding4 ,whosoever prefers truth and justice before all things shall have justice and truth for his reward1 because supreme ,providence has endowed us with freedom in order that we may attain life2 and very truth1 all its exactitude notwithstanding1 intervenes only with mildness1 never does outrage to tardiness or violence to the errors of our will when it is beguiled by the allurements of falsehood4 ,it remains1 however1 according to ,bossuet1 that antecedent to anything which may please or repel our senses1 there is a truth1 and it is by this that our conduct should be governed1 not by our appetites4 ,the ,kingdom of ,heaven is not the empire of caprice1 either in respect of man or ,god4 8,a thing is not just because it is willed by ,god10 said ,st4 ,thomas1 8but ,god wills it because it is just40 ,the ,divine ,balance rules and necessitates eternal mathematics4 8,god has made all things with number1 weight and measure0--here it is the ,bible speaking4#c ,measure an angle of creation1 make a proportionally progressive multiplication1 and all infinity shall multiply its circles1 peopled by universes1 passing in proportional segments between the extending symbolical arms of your compass4 ,suppose now that1 from whatever point of the infinite above you1 a hand holds another compass or square1 then the lines of the celestial triangle will meet of necessity those of the compass of science and will form therewith the mysterious star of ,solomon4#d 8,with what measure you mete1 it shall be measured to you again10 says the ,gospel4 ,god does not strive with man that ,he may crush man by ,his grandeur1 and ,he never places unequal weights in ,his balance4 ,when ,he would test the strength of ,jacob1 ,he assumes the form of man2 the patriarch withstands the onset through an entire night2 at the end there is a blessing for the conquered and1 in addition to the glory of having sustained such a struggle1 he is given the national title of ,israel1 being a name which signifies--,strong against ,god4#e ,we have heard ,christians more zealous than instructed hazarding a strange explanation of the dogma concerning eternal punishment by suggesting that ,god may avenge infinitely an offence which itself is finite1 because if the offender is limited the grandeur of the offended being is not4 ,an emperor of the world might1 on the strength of a similar pretext1 sentence to death some unreasoning child who had soiled accidentally the hem of his purple4 ,far otherwise are the prerogatives of greatness1 and ,st4 ,augustine understood them better when he said that 8,god is patient because ,he is eternal40 ,in ,god all is justice1 seeing that all is goodness2 ,he never forgives after the manner of men1 for ,he is never angered like them2 but evil being1 by its nature1 incompatible with good1 as night is with day1 as discord is with harmony1 and the liberty of man being furthermore inviolable1 all error is expiated and all evil punished by suffering proportioned thereto4 ,it is vain to invoke the help of ,jupiter when our cart is stuck in the mud2 unless we take pick and shovel1 like the waggoner in the fable1 ,heaven will not draw us out of the rut4 ,help yourself and ,god will help you4 ,in such a reasonable and wholly philosophical way is explained the possible and necessary eternity of punishment1 with still a narrow way open for man to escape therefrom--being that of toil and repentance4#f ,it is by conformity with the rules of eternal power that man may unite himself to the creative energy and become creator and preserver in his turn4 ,god has not limited narrowly the number of rounds on ,jacob's ladder of light4 ,whatsoever ,nature has constituted inferior to man is thereby to him made subject3 it is for man to extend his domain in virtue of continual ascent4 ,length and even perpetuity of life1 the field of air and its storms1 the earth and its metallic veins1 light and its wondrous illusions1 darkness and the dreams thereof1 death and its ghosts--all these do therefore obey the royal sceptre of the magi1 the shepherd's staff of ,jacob and the terrible wand of ,moses4 ,the adept becomes king of the elements1 transmuter of metals1 interpreter of visions1 controller of oracles1 master of life in fine1 according to the mathematical order of ,nature and conformably to the will of the ,supreme ,intelligence4 ,this is ,magic in all its glory4 ,but is there anyone who in these days will dare to give credence to such words8 ,the answer is--those who will study loyally and attain knowledge frankly4 ,we make no attempt to conceal truth under the veil of parables or hieroglyphical signs2 the time has come when everything should be told1 and we propose to tell everything4 ,it is our intention1 in short1 to unveil that ever secret science which1 as we have indicated1 is hidden behind the shadows of ancient mysteries1 which the ,gnostics betrayed clumsily1 or rather disfigured unworthily1 which is recognised dimly under the darkness shrouding the pretended crimes of ,templars1 which is met with once again beneath the now impenetrable enigmas of ,high-,grade ,masonic ,rites4 ,we purpose further to bring into open day the fantastic ,king of the ,sabbath1 to expose the very roots of ,black ,magic and its frightful realities1 long since surrendered to the derision of the grand-children of ,voltaire4 ,for a great number of readers ,magic is the science of the devil--even as the science of light is identified with that of darkness4 ,we confess boldly at the outset that we are not in terror of the devil4 8,my fear is for those who fear him10 said ,st4 ,teresa4 ,but we testify also that he does not prompt our laughter and that the ridicule of which he is often the object seems to us exceedingly misplaced4 ,however this may be1 it is our intention to bring him before the light of science4 ,but the devil and science--the apposition of two names so strangely incongruous--must seem to have disclosed the whole intent in view4 ,if the mystic personification of darkness be thus dragged into light1 is it not to annihilate the phantom of falsehood in the presence of truth8 ,is it not to dispel in the day all formless monsters of the night8 ,superficial persons will think so and will condemn without hearing4 ,ill-instructed ,christians will conclude that we are sapping the fundamental dogma of their ethics by decrying hell2 and others will question the utility of combating error in which1 as they imagine1 no one believes longer4 ,it is1 therefore1 important to enunciate our object clearly and establish our principles solidly4 ,we say1 therefore1 to ,christians that the author of this book is a ,christian like yourselves4 ,his faith is that of a catholic strongly and deeply convinced2 for this reason he does not come forward to deny dogmas1 but to combat impiety under its most pernicious forms1 which are those of false belief and superstition4 ,he comes to drag from the darkness the black successor of ,ahriman1 in order to expose in broad day his colossal impotence and redoubtable misery4 ,he comes to make subject the age-long problem of evil to the solutions of science1 to uncrown the king of hell and to bow down his head at the foot of the cross4 ,is not virginal and maternal science--that science of which ,mary is the sweet and luminous image--destined like her to crush the head of the old serpent8 ,the author1 on the other hand1 would say to pretended philosophy3 ,why seek to deny that which you cannot understand8 ,is not the unbelief which affirms in the face of the unknown more precipitate and less consoling than faith8 ,does the dreadful form of personified evil only prompt you to smile8 ,hear you not the ceaseless sobbing of humanity which writhes and weeps in the crushing folds of the monster8 ,have you never heard the atrocious laugh of the evil-doer who is persecuting the just man8 ,have you never experienced in yourselves the opening of those infernal deeps which the genius of perversity furrows in every soul8 ,moral evil exists--such is the unhappy truth2 it reigns in certain spirits2 it incarnates in certain men2 it is therefore personified1 and thus demons exist2 but the most wicked of these demons is ,satan4 ,more than this ,i do not ask you to admit1 and it will be difficult for you to grant me less4 ,let it be otherwise and clearly understood that science and faith render mutual support to one another only in so far as their respective realms remain inviolably distinct4 ,what is it that we believe8 ,that which we do not know absolutely1 though we may yearn for it with all our strength4 ,the object of faith is not more than an indispensable hypothesis for science2 the things which are in the domain of knowledge must never be judged by the processes of faith1 nor1 conversely1 the things of faith according to the measures of science4 ,the end of faith is not scientifically debatable4 8,i believe because it is absurd10 said ,tertullian2 and this utterance--paradoxical on the surface as it is--belongs to the highest reason4 ,as a fact1 beyond all that we can suppose rationally there is an infinite towards which we aspire with unquenchable thirst1 and it eludes even our dreams4 ,but is not the infinite itself an absurdity for our finite appreciation8 ,we feel all the same that it is2 the infinite invades us1 overflows us1 renders us dizzy at its abysses and crushes us by its awful height4 ,scientifically probable hypotheses are one and all the last half-lights or shadows of science2 faith begins where reason falls exhausted4 ,beyond human reason there is that ,reason which is ,divine--for my weakness a supreme absurdity1 but an infinite absurdity which confounds me1 and in which ,i believe4 ,the good alone is infinite2 evil is not2 and hence if ,god be the eternal object of faith1 then the devil belongs to science4 ,in which of the catholic creeds is there any question concerning him8 ,would it not be blasphemy to say that we believe in him8 ,in ,holy ,scripture he is named but not defined4 ,genesis makes no allusion to a reputed revolt of angels2 it ascribes the fall of ,adam to the serpent1 as to the most subtle and dangerous of living beings4 ,we are acquainted with ,christian tradition on this subject2 but if that tradition is explicable by one of the greatest and most diffused allegories of science1 what can such solution signify to the faith which aspires only to ,god1 which despises the pomps and works of ,lucifer8 ,lucifer--,light-,bearer--how strange a name1 attributed to the spirit of darkness6 ,is it he who carries the light and yet blinds feeble souls8 ,the answer is yes1 unquestionably2 for traditions are full of divine disclosures and inspirations4 8,satan himself is transformed into an angel of light10 says ,st4 ,paul4 ,and ,christ ,himself said3 8,i beheld ,satan as lightning fall from heaven40 ,so also the prophet ,isaiah3 8,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 son of the morning40 ,lucifer is then a fallen star--a meteor which is on fire always1 which burns when it enlightens no longer4 ,but is this ,lucifer a person or a force1 an angel or a strayed thunderbolt8 ,tradition supposes that it is an angel1 but the ,psalmist says3 8,who maketh his angels spirits2 his ministers a flaming fire40 ,the word angel is applied in the ,bible to all messengers of ,god--emissaries or new creations1 revealers or scourges1 radiant spirits or brilliant objects4 ,the shafts of fire which the ,most ,high darts through the clouds are angels of ,his wrath1 and such figurative language is familiar to all readers of eastern poetry4 ,having been the world's terror through the period of the middle ages1 the devil has become its mockery4#g ,heir to the monstrous forms of all false gods cast down successively from their thrones1 the grotesque scarecrow has turned into a mere bugbear through very deformity and hideousness4 ,yet observe as to this that those only dare to laugh at the devil who know not the fear of ,god4 ,can it be that for many diseased imaginations he is ,god's own shadow1 or is he not often the idol of degenerate souls who only understand supernatural power as the exercise of cruelty with impunity8 ,but it is important to ascertain whether the notion of this evil power can be reconciled with that of ,god--in a word1 whether the devil exists1 and in such case what he is4 ,there is no longer any question of superstition or of ridiculous invention2 it is a question of religion alone and hence of the whole future1 with all the interests1 of humanity4 ,strange reasoners indeed are we3 we call ourselves strong-minded when we are indifferent to everything except material advantages1 as1 for example1 money2 and we leave to their own devices the ideas which are mothers of opinions and may1 or at least can1 by their sudden veering1 upset all fortunes4 ,a conquest of science is much more important than the discovery of a gold mine4 ,given science1 gold is utilised in the service of life2 given ignorance1 wealth furnishes only destroying weapons4 ,for the rest1 it is to be understood absolutely that our scientific revelations pause in the presence of faith1 that--as ,christian and ,catholic--our work is submitted entirely to the supreme judgment of the ,church4 ,this said1 to those who question the existence of a devil1 we would point out that whatsoever has a name exists2 speech may be uttered in vain1 but in itself it cannot be vain1 and it has a meaning invariably4 ,the ,word is never void1 and if it be written that it is in ,god1 as also that it is ,god1 this is because it is the expression and the proof of being and of truth4 ,the devil is named and personified in the ,gospel1 which is the ,word of truth2 he exists therefore and can be considered as a person4 ,but here it is the ,christian who defers3 let science or reason speak2 these two are one4#h ,evil exists2 it is impossible to doubt it2 we can work good or evil4 ,there are beings who work evil knowingly and willingly4 ,the spirit which animates these beings and prompts them to do ill is bewrayed1 turned aside from the right road1 and thrown across the path of good as an obstacle2 this is the precise meaning of the ,greek word diabolos1 which we render as devil4 ,the spirits who love and perform evil are accidentally bad4 ,there is therefore a devil who is the spirit of error1 wilful ignorance1 vertigo2 there are beings under his obedience who are his envoys1 emissaries1 angels2 and it is for this reason that the ,gospel speaks of an eternal fire which is prepared1 and in a sense predestined1 for the devil and his angels4 ,these words are themselves a revelation1 so let us search their meaning1 giving1 in the first place1 a concise definition of evil4 ,evil is the absence of rectitude in being4 ,moral evil is falsehood in action1 as the lie is a crime in speech4 ,injustice is of the essence of lying1 and every lie is an injustice4 ,when that which we utter is just1 there is no falsity4 ,when that which we do is equitable and true in mode1 there is no sin4 ,injustice is the death of moral being1 as lying is the poison of intelligence4 ,the false spirit is therefore a spirit of death4 ,those who hearken to him become his dupes and are by him poisoned4 ,but if we had to take his absolute personification seriously1 he would be himself absolutely dead and absolutely deceived1 which means that the affirmation of his existence must imply a patent contradiction4 ,jesus said that the devil is a liar like his father4 ,who then is the father of the devil8 ,whosoever gives him a personal existence by living in accordance with his inspirations2 the man who diabolises himself is the father of the incarnate spirit of evil4 ,but there is a rash1 impious and monstrous conception1 traditional like the pride of the ,pharisees1 and in fine there is a hybrid creation which armed the paltry philosophy of the eighteenth century with an apparent defence4 ,it is the false ,lucifer of the heterodox legend--that angel proud enough to think that he was ,god1 brave enough to buy independence at the price of eternal torment1 beautiful enough to worship himself in the plenary ,divine ,light2 strong enough to reign still in darkness and in dole and to make a throne of his inextinguishable fire4 ,it is the ,satan of the heretical and republican ,milton1 the pretended hero of black eternities1 calumniated by deformity1 bedecked with horns and talons which would better become his implacable tormentor4 ,it is the devil who is king of evil1 as if evil were a kingdom1 who is more intelligent than the men of genius that fear his wiles4 ,it is 7a7 that black light1 that darkness with eyes1 that power which ,god has not willed but which no fallen creature could create2 7b7 that prince of anarchy served by a hierarchy of pure spirits2#i 7c7 that exile of ,god who on earth seems1 like ,him1 everywhere1 but is more tangible1 is more for the majority in evidence1 and is served better than ,god himself2 7d7 that conquered one1 to whom the victor gives his children that he may devour them2 7e7 that artificer of sins of the flesh1 to whom flesh is nothing1 and who therefore can be nothing to flesh1 unless indeed he be its creator and master1 like ,god2 7f7 that immense1 realised1 personified and eternal lie2 7g7 that death which cannot die2 7h7 that blasphemy which the ,word of ,god will never silence2 7i7 that poisoner of souls whom ,god tolerates by a contradiction of ,his omnipotence or preserves as the ,roman emperors guarded ,locusta among the trophies of their reign2 7k7 that executed criminal1 living still to curse his ,judge and still have a cause against him1 since he will never repent2 7l7 that monster accepted as executioner by the ,sovereign ,power1 and who1 according to the forcible expression of an old catholic writer1 may term ,god the ,god of the devil by describing himself as a devil of ,god4 ,such is the irreligious phantom which blasphemes religion4 ,away with this idol which hides our ,saviour4 ,down with the tyrant of falsehood1 the black god of ,manicheans1 the ,ahriman of old idolaters4 ,live ,god and ,his ,word incarnate1 who saw ,satan fall from heaven4 ,and live ,mary1 the ,divine ,mother1 who crushed the head of the infernal serpent4 ,so cry with one voice the traditions of saints1 and so cry faithful hearts4 ,the attribution of any greatness whatsoever to a fallen spirit is a slander on ,divinity2 the ascription of any royalty whatsoever to the rebel spirit is to encourage revolt and be guilty1 at least in thought1 of that crime which the horror of the middle ages termed sorcery4 ,for all the offences visited with death on the old sorcerers were real crimes and were indeed the greatest of all4 ,they stole fire from heaven1 like ,prometheus2 they rode winged dragons and the flying serpent1 like ,medea2 they poisoned the breathable air1 like the shadow of the manchineel tree2 they profaned sacred things and even used the body of the ,lord in works of destruction and malevolence4 ,how is all this possible8 ,because there is a composite agent1 a natural and divine agent1 at once corporeal and spiritual1 an universal plastic mediator1 a common receptacle for vibrations of movement and images of form1 a fluid and a force which may be called1 in a sense at least1 the imagination of ,nature4 ,by the mediation of this force every nervous apparatus is in secret communication together2 hence come sympathy and antipathy1 hence dreams1 hence the phenomena of second sight and extra-natural vision4 ,this universal agent of ,nature's works is the ,od of the ,jews and of ,reichenbach1 the ,astral ,light of the ,martinists1#aj which denomination we prefer as the more explicit4 ,the existence and possible employment of this force constitute the great secret of ,practical ,magic2 it is the ,wand of ,thaumaturgy and the ,key of ,black ,magic4 ,it is the ,edenic serpent who transmitted to ,eve the seductions of a fallen angel4 ,the ,astral ,light warms1 illuminates1 magnetises1 attracts1 repels1 vivifies1 destroys1 coagulates1 separates1 breaks and conjoins everything1 under the impetus of powerful wills4 ,god created it on the first day1 when ,he said3 8,let there be light40 ,this force of itself is blind but is directed by ,egregores1 that is1 by chiefs of souls1 or1 in other words1 by energetic and active spirits4#aa ,herein is the complete explanatory theory of prodigies and miracles4 ,how1 as a fact1 could good and bad alike compel ,nature to reveal her hidden forces1 how could there be divine and diabolical miracles1 how could the reprobate and bewrayed spirit have more power in certain ways and cases than the just spirit1 which is in truth so powerful in simplicity and wisdom1 unless we postulate an instrument which all can use1 upon certain conditions1 but some for the great good and others for the great evil8 ,pharaoh's magicians accomplished at first the same miracles as ,moses4 ,the instrument which they used was therefore the same2 the inspiration alone differed2 when they confessed themselves conquered1 they proclaimed that1 for them1 human powers had reached their limit1 and that there must be something superhuman in ,moses4#ab ,this took place in ,egypt1 that mother of magical initiations1 that land where it was all occult science1 hierarchic and sacred instruction4 ,was it1 however1 more difficult to make flies appear than frogs8 ,no1 assuredly2 but the magicians knew that the fluidic projection by which the eyes are biologised cannot proceed beyond certain bounds1 and these had been passed already by ,moses4#ac ,a particular phenomenon occurs when the brain is congested or overcharged by ,astral ,light2 sight is turned inward1 instead of outward2 night falls on the external and real world1 while fantastic brilliance shines on the world of dreams2 even the physical eyes experience a slight quivering and turn up inside the lids4 ,the soul then perceives by means of images the reflection of its impressions and thoughts4 ,this is to say that the analogy subsisting between idea and form attracts in the ,astral ,light a reflection representing that form1 configuration being the essence of the vital light2 it is the universal imagination1 of which each of us appropriates a lesser or greater part according to our grade of sensibility and memory4 ,therein is the source of all apparitions1 all extraordinary visions and all the intuitive phenomena peculiar to madness or ecstasy4 ,the appropriation or assimilation of the light by clairvoyant sensibility is one of the greatest phenomena which can be studied by science4 ,it may be understood in a day to come that seeing is actually speaking and that the consciousness of light is a twilight of eternal life in being4 ,the word of ,god ,himself1 ,who creates light1 and is uttered by all intelligence that conceives of forms and seeks to visualise them4 8,let there be light40 ,light in the mode of brightness exists only for eyes which look thereon1 and the soul enamoured with the pageant of universal beauty1 and fixing its attention on that luminous script of the endless book which is called things manifest1 seems to cry on its own part1 as ,god at the dawn of the first day1 the sublime and creative words3 ,fiat lux4 ,we do not all see with the same eyes1 and creation is not for all the same in colour and form4 ,our brain is a book printed within and without1 and with the smallest degree of excitement1 the writing becomes blurred1 as occurs continually in cases of intoxication and madness4 ,dream then triumphs over real life and plunges reason in a sleep which knows no waking4 ,this condition of hallucination has its degrees2 all passions are intoxications2 all enthusiasms are comparative and graduated manias4 ,the lover sees only infinite perfections encompassing that object by which he is fascinated4 ,but1 unhappy infatuation of voluptuaries1 to-morrow this odour of wine which allures him will become a repugnant reminiscence1 causing a thousand loathings and a thousand disgusts4 ,to understand the use of this force1 but never to be obsessed and never overcome thereby1 is to trample on the serpent's head1 and it is this which we learn from the ,magic of ,light2 in such secrets are contained all mysteries of magnetism1 which name can indeed be applied to the whole practical part of antique ,transcendental ,magic4 ,magnetism is the wand of miracles1 but it is this for initiates only2 for rash and uninstructed people1 who would sport with it or make it subserve their passions1 it is as dangerous as that consuming glory which1 according to the allegorical fable1 destroyed the too ambitious ,semele in the embraces of ,jupiter4 ,one of the great benefits of magnetism is that it demonstrates by incontestable facts the spirituality1 unity and immortality of the soul2 and these things once made certain1 ,god is manifested to all intelligences and all hearts4 ,thereafter1 from the belief in ,god and from the harmonies of creation1 we are led to that great religious harmony which does not exist outside the miraculous and lawful hierarchy of the ,catholic ,church1 for this alone has preserved all traditions of science and faith4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,symbol ,,of ,,solomon ,the primal tradition of the one and only revelation has been preserved under the name of ,kabalah by the priesthood of ,israel4 ,kabalistic doctrine1 which is that of ,transcendental ,magic1 is contained in the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 the ,zohar and the ,talmud4#ad ,according to this doctrine1 the absolute is ,being1 and therein is the ,word1 which expresses the reason of ,being and of life4 ,the principle therefore is that ,being is being1 4 ,in the beginning the ,word was1 which means that it is1 has been and shall be2 and this is reason which speaks4 ,in the beginning was the ,word4 ,the ,word is the reason of belief1 and therein also is the expression of that faith which gives life to science4 ,the ,word1 or ,logos1 is the wellspring of logic4 ,jesus is the ,incarnate ,word4 ,the concord of reason with faith1 of science with belief1 of authority with liberty1 has become in these modern days the real enigma of the sphinx4 ,coincidentally with this great problem there has come forward that which concerns the respective rights of man and woman4 ,this was inevitable1 for between the several terms of a great and supreme question1 there is a constant analogy1 and the difficulties1 like the correspondences1 are invariably the same4 ,the loosening of this ,gordian knot of philosophy and modern politics is rendered apparently paradoxical1 because in order to effect an agreement between the terms of the required equation1 there is always a tendency to confuse the one with the other4 ,if there is anything that deserves to be called supreme absurdity1 it is to inquire how faith becomes a reason1 reason a belief and liberty an authority2 or reciprocally1 how the woman becomes a man and the man a woman4 ,the definitions themselves intervene against such confusion1 and it is by maintaining a perfect distinction between the terms1 and so only1 that we can bring them into agreement4 ,the perfect and eternal distinction between the two primal terms of the creative syllogism1 for the demonstration of their harmony in virtue of the analogy of opposites1 is the second great principle of that occult philosophy veiled under the name of ,kabalah and indicated by all sacred hieroglyphics of the old sanctuaries1 as by the rites1 even now understood so little1 of ancient and modern ,masonry4 ,we read in ,scripture that ,solomon erected two brazen columns before the door of his ,temple1 one of them being called ,jachin and the other ,boaz1 meaning the strong and the weak4#ae ,these two pillars represented man and woman1 reason and faith1 power and liberty1 ,cain and ,abel1 right and duty4 ,they were pillars of the intellectual and moral world1 the monumental hieroglyphic of the antinomy inevitable to the grand law of creation4 ,the meaning is that every force postulates a resistance on which it can work1 every light a shadow as its foil1 every convex a concave1 every influx a receptacle1 every reign a kingdom1 every sovereign a people1 every workman a first matter1 every conqueror something to overcome4 ,affirmation rests on negation1 the strong can only triumph because of weakness1 the aristocracy cannot be manifested except by rising above the people4 ,for the weak to become strong1 for the people to acquire an aristocratic position1 is a question of transformation and of progress1 but it is without prejudice to the first principles2 the weak will be ever the weak and it matters nothing if they are not always the same persons4 ,the people in like manner will ever remain the people1 the mass which is ruled and is not capable of ruling4 ,in the vast army of inferiors1 every personal emancipation is an automatic desertion1 which1 happily1 is imperceptible because it is replaced1 also automatically2 a king-nation or a people of kings would presuppose the slavery of the world and anarchy in a single city1 outside all discipline1 as at ,rome in the days of its greatest glory4 ,a nation of sovereigns would be inevitably as anarchic as a class of experts or of scholars who deemed that they were masters2 there would be none to listen2 all would dogmatise and all give orders at once4 ,the radical emancipation of womanhood falls within the same category4 ,if1 integrally and radically1 the woman leaves the passive and enters the active condition1 she abdicates her sex and becomes man1 or rather1 as such a transformation is impossible physically1 she attains affirmation by a double negation1 placing herself outside both sexes1 like a sterile and monstrous androgyne4 ,these are strict consequences of the great ,kabalistic dogma respecting that distinction of contraries which reaches harmony by the analogy of their proportions4 ,this dogma once recognised1 and the application of its results being made universally by the law of analogies1 will mean a discovery of the greatest secrets concerning maternal sympathy and antipathy2 it will mean also a discovery of the science of government in things political1 in marriage1 in all branches of occult medicine1 whether magnetism1 homopathy1 or moral influence4 ,moreover1 and as it is intended to explain1 the law of equilibrium in analogy leads to the discovery of an universal agent which was the ,grand ,secret of alchemists and magicians in the middle ages4 ,it has been said that this agent is a light of life by which animated beings are rendered magnetic1 electricity being only its accident and transient perturbation1 so to speak4 ,the practice of that marvellous ,kabalah to which we shall turn shortly1 for the satisfaction of those who look1 in the secret sciences1 after emotions rather than wise teachings1 reposes entirely in the knowledge and use of this agent4 ,the religion of the ,kabalists is at once hypothesis and certitude1 for it proceeds from known to unknown by the help of analogy4 ,they recognise religion as a need of humanity1 as an evident and necessary fact1 and it is this alone which for them is divine1 permanent and universal revelation4 ,they dispute about nothing which is1 but they provide the reason for everything4 ,so also their doctrine1 by distinguishing clearly the line of demarcation which must exist for ever between science and faith1 provides a basis for faith in the highest reason1 guaranteeing its incontestable and permanent duration4 ,after this come the popular forms of doctrine1 which alone can vary and alone destroy one another2 the ,kabalist is not only undisturbed by trivialities of this kind1 but can provide on the spot a reason for the most astonishing formul4 ,it follows that his prayer can be joined to that of humanity at large1 to direct it by illustrations from science and reason and draw it into orthodox channels4 ,if ,mary be mentioned1 he will revere the realisation in her of all that is divine in the dreams of innocence1 all that is adorable in the sacred enthusiasm of every maternal heart4 ,it is not he who will refuse flowers to adorn the altars of the ,mother of ,god1 or white banners for her chapels1 or even tears for her ingenuous legends4 ,it is not he who will mock at the new-born ,god weeping in the manger or the wounded victim of ,calvary4 ,he repeats nevertheless1 from the bottom of his heart1 like the sages of ,israel and the faithful believers of ,islam3 ,there is no ,god but ,god4 ,for the initiates of true science1 this signifies3 ,there is but one ,being1 and this is ,being4 ,but all that is expedient and touching in beliefs1 but the splendour of rituals1 the pageant of divine creations1 the grace of prayers1 the magic of heavenly hopes--are not these the radiance of moral life in all its youth and beauty8 ,could anything alienate the true initiate from public prayers and temples1 could anything raise his disgust or indignation against religious forms of all kinds1 it would be the manifest unbelief of priests or people1 want of dignity in the ceremonies of the cultus--in a word1 the profanation of holy things4 ,god is truly present when ,he is worshipped by recollected souls and feeling hearts2 ,he is absent1 sensibly and terribly1 when discussed without light or zeal--that is to say1 without understanding or love4 ,the adequate conception of ,god according to instructed ,kabalism is that which was revealed by ,st4 ,paul when he said that to attain ,god we must believe that ,he is and that ,he recompenses those who seek ,him out4 ,so is there nothing outside the idea of being1 in combination with the idea of goodness and justice3 these alone are absolute4 ,to say that there is no ,god or to define what ,he is1 constitutes equal blasphemy4 ,every definition of ,god hazarded by human intelligence is a recipe of religious empiricism1 out of which superstition will subsequently extract a devil4 ,in ,kabalistic symbolism the representation of ,god is always by a duplicated image--one erect1 the other reversed2 one white1 and the other black4#af ,in such manner did the sages seek to express the intelligent and vulgar conceptions of the same idea--that of the ,god of light and the ,god of shadow4 ,to the miscomprehension of this symbol must be referred the ,persian ,ahriman--that black but divine ancestor of all demons4 ,the dream of the infernal king is but a false notion of ,god4 ,light in the absence of shadow would be invisible for our eyes1 since it would produce an overpowering brilliance equal to the greatest darkness4 ,in the analogies of this physical truth1 understood and considered adequately1 a solution will be found for one of the most terrible of problems1 the origin of evil4 ,but to grasp it fully1 together with all its consequences1 is not meant for the multitude1 who must not penetrate so readily into the secrets of universal harmony4 ,it was only after the initiate of the ,eleusinian mysteries had passed victoriously through all the tests1 had seen and touched the holy things1 that1 if he were judged strong enough to withstand the last and most dreadful secret1 a veiled priest passed him at flying pace and uttered in his ear the enigmatic words3 ,osiris is a black god4 ,so was ,osiris--of whom ,typhon is the oracle--and so was the divine religious sun of ,egypt1 eclipsed suddenly1 becoming the shadow of that grand1 indefinable ,isis who is all that has been and shall be1 and whose eternal veil has no one lifted4 ,light is the active principle for ,kabalists1 while darkness is analogous to the passive principle1 for which reason they regarded the sun and moon as emblems of the two divine sexes and the two creative forces4 ,so also they attributed to woman the first temptation and sin1 and subsequently the first labour--the maternal labour of redemption3 it is from the bosom of the dark itself that light is reborn4 ,the void attracts the plenum1 and thus the abyss of poverty and wretchedness1 pretended evil1 seeming nothingness and the ephemeral rebellion of creatures1 attracts eternally an ocean of being1 wealth1 mercy and love4 ,this interprets the symbol of the ,christ descending into hell after pouring out upon the cross all immensities of the most marvellous forgiveness4 ,by the same law of harmony in the analogy of opposites the ,kabalists explain also all mysteries of sexual love4 ,why is this passion more permanent between two unequal natures and two contrary characters8 ,why is there in love one always who immolates and one who is victim8 ,why are the most obstinate passions those the satisfaction of which would seem impossible8 ,by this law also they would have decided once and for ever the question of precedence between the sexes1 as brought forward in all seriousness by the ,saint-,simonism of our own day4 ,the natural strength of woman being that of inertia or resistance1 they would have ruled that modesty is the most imprescriptible of her rights1 and hence that she must neither perform nor desire anything demanding a species of masculine boldness4 ,nature has otherwise provided to this end by giving her a soft voice1 not to be heard in large assemblies1 unless raised to a ridiculously discordant pitch4 ,she who would aspire to the functions of the opposite sex must forfeit thereby the prerogatives of her own4 ,we know not to what point she may arrive in the ruling of men1 but it is certain at least that in reaching it she will lose the love of men and1 that which will be more cruel for her1 the love of children4 ,the conjugal law of the ,kabalists#ag furnishes further1 by analogy1 a solution of the most interesting and difficult problem of modern philosophy1 being the agreement between reason and faith1 authority and liberty of conscience1 science and belief4 ,if science be the sun1 belief is the moon--a reflection of day amidst night4 ,faith is the supplement of reason in the darkness left by science before and behind it4 ,it emanates from reason but can neither be confounded therewith nor bring it to confusion4 ,the trespasses of reason upon faith or of faith upon reason are eclipses of sun or moon4 ,when they come about1 both source and reflector of light are rendered useless4 ,science perishes on account of systems which are no other than beliefs and faith succumbs to reason4 ,in order to sustain the edifice1 the two pillars of the temple must be parallel and separate4 ,when they are brought by force together1 as ,samson brought them1 they are thrown down1 and the whole building collapses on the blind zealot or revolutionary1 whose personal or national resentment has destined him beforehand to death4 ,the struggles between the spiritual and temporal powers at all periods of humanity have been quarrels over domestic management4 ,the papacy has been a jealous mother1 seeking to supplant a husband in the temporal power1 and she has lost the confidence of her children1 while the temporal power in its usurpation of the priesthood is not less ridiculous than a man who should pretend to know better than a mother how to manage the home and nursery4 ,the ,english1 for example1 from the moral and religious point of view1 are like children swaddled by men1 as we may appreciate by their spleen and dulness4 ,if religious doctrine is comparable to a nurse's story1 on the understanding that it is ingenious and beneficial morally1 it is perfectly true for the child1 and the father would be very foolish to contradict it4 ,give therefore to mothers a monopoly in tales of faerie1 in songs and household solicitudes4 ,maternity is a type of the priesthoods1 and it is because the ,church must be a mother only that the catholic priest renounces the right of man and transfers in advance to herself his claim on fatherhood4 ,it must never be forgotten that the papacy is either nothing or that it is the universal mother4 ,it may be even that ,pope ,joan1 out of which protestants have constructed a tale of scandal1 is only an ingenious allegory1 and when sovereign pontiffs have ill-used ,emperors and ,kings1 it has been ,pope ,joan trying to beat her husband1 to the great scandal of the ,christian world4 ,so also schisms and heresies have been other conjugal quarrels2 the ,church and ,protestantism speak evil one of another1 lament one another1 make a show of avoiding and being weary one of another1 like spouses living apart4 ,it is by the ,kabalah1 and this alone1 that all is explained and reconciled4 ,all other doctrines are vivified and made fruitful thereby2 it destroys nothing but1 on on the contrary1 gives reason to all that is4 ,so all the forces of the world are at the service of this one and supreme science1 while the true ,kabalist can make use at his pleasure1 without hypocrisy and without falsehood1 of the science possessed by the wise and the zeal of believers4 ,he is more catholic than ,m4 de ,maistre1 more protestant than ,luther1 more ,jewish than the chief rabbi1 and a prophet more than ,mahomet4 ,is he not above systems and the passions which darken truth8 ,can he not at will bring together their scattered rays1 so variously reflected in all the fragments of that broken mirror which is universal faith--fragments which are taken by men for so many opposite beliefs8 ,there is one being1 one law and one faith1 as there is only one race of man-- 4 ,on such intellectual and moral heights it will be understood that the human mind and heart enter into the deep peace4 8,peace profound1 my brethren0--such was the master-word of ,high-,grade ,masonry1 being the association of ,kabalistic initiates4#ah ,the war which the ,church has been forced to make against ,magic was necessitated by the profanations of false ,gnostics1 but the true science of the ,magi is catholic essentially1 basing all its realisation on the hierarchic principle4 ,now1 the only serious and absolute hierarchy is found in the ,catholic ,church1 and hence true adepts have always shewn for it the deepest respect and obedience4 ,henry ,khunrath alone was a resolute protestant1 but in this he was a ,german of his period rather than a mystic citizen of the eternal ,kingdom4#ai ,the essence of anti-christianity is exclusion and heresy2 it is the partition of the body of ,christ1 according to the beautiful expression of ,st4 ,john3 ,omnis spiritus qui solvit ,christum hic ,antichristus est4 ,the reason is that religion is charity and that there is no charity in anarchy4 ,magic had also its anarchists1 its makers and adherents of sects1 its thaumaturgists and sorcerers4 ,our design is to vindicate the legality of the science from the usurpations of ignorance1 fraud and folly2 it is in this respect more especially that our work will stand to be useful1 as it will be also entirely new4 ,so far the ,history of ,magic has been presented as annals of a thing prejudged1 or as chronicles--less or more exact--of a sequence in phenomena1 seeing that no one believed that ,magic belonged to science4 ,a serious account of this science in its rediscovery1 so to speak1 must set forth its developments or progress4 ,we are walking in open sanctuary instead of among ruins1 and we find that the ,holy ,places1 so long buried under the dbris of four civilisations1 have been preserved more wonderfully than the mummified cities which excavation has unearthed1 in all their dead beauty and desolate majesty1 beneath the lava of ,vesuvius4 ,bossuet in his magnificent work has shewn us religion bound up everywhere with history2 but what would he have said had he known that a science which1 in a sense1 was born with the world1 provides an explanation of primeval dogmas1 belonging to the one and universal religion1 in virtue of their combination with the most incontestable theorems of mathematics and reason8 ,dogmatic ,magic is the key of all secrets as yet unfathomed by the philosophy of history1 while ,practical ,magic alone opens the ,secret ,temple of ,nature to that power of human will which is ever limited1 yet ever progressive4 ,we are far from any impious pretence of explaining the mysteries of religion by means of ,magic1 but our intention is to indicate after what manner science is compelled to accept and revere those mysteries4#bj ,it shall be said no longer that reason must humble itself in the presence of faith2 on the contrary1 it must do honour to itself by believing1 since it is faith which saves reason from the horrors of the void on the brink of the abyss1 and it is its bond of union with the infinite4 ,orthodoxy in religion is respect for the hierarchy as the sole guardian of unity4 ,let us therefore not fear to repeat that ,magic is essentially the ,science of the ,hierarchy1 remembering clearly that1 before all things else1 it condemns anarchic doctrines1 while it demonstrates1 by the very laws of ,nature1 that harmony is inseparable both from power and authority4 ,the chief attraction of ,magic for the great number of curious persons is that they see therein an exceptional means for the satisfaction of their passions4 ,the unbeliever's horizon is of the same order4 ,the avaricious would deny that there is any secret of ,hermes corresponding to the transmutation of metals1 for otherwise they would buy it and so enjoy wealth4 ,but they are fools who believe that such a secret is sold4 ,of what use would be money to those who could make gold8 ,that is true1 says the sceptic1 but if you1 liphas ,lvi1 possessed it1 would you not be richer than we are8 ,who has told you that ,i am poor8 ,have ,i asked for anything at your hands8 ,where is the sovereign in the world who can boast that he has acquired from me any secret of science8 ,where is the millionaire whom ,i have given reason to believe that ,i would set my fortune against his8 ,when we look at earthly wealth from beneath it1 we may yearn for it as the sovereign felicity1 but it is despised when we consider it from above and when one realises how little temptation there can be to recover that which has been dropped as if it were hot iron4 ,but apart from this1 a young man will exclaim that if magical secrets were true1 he would attain them that he might be loved by all women4 ,nothing of the sort2 a day will come1 poor child1 when it will be too much to be loved by one of them1 for sensual desire is a dual orgie1 the intoxication of which causes disgust to supervene quickly1 after which anger and separation follow4 ,there was once an old idiot who would have liked to have become a magician in order to upset the world4 ,but if you were a magician1 my hero1 you would not be an imbecile1 and before the tribunal of your conscience you would find no extenuating circumstances1 did you become a criminal4 ,the ,epicurean1 on his part1 demands the recipes of ,magic1 that he may enjoy for ever and suffer nothing at all4 ,in this case the science itself intervenes and says1 as religion also says3 ,blessed are those who suffer4 ,but that is the reason why the ,epicurean has lost faith in religion4 8,blessed are those who mourn0--but the ,epicurean scoffs at the promise4 ,hear now what is said by experience and by reason4 ,sufferings test and awaken generous sentiments2 pleasures promote and fortify base instincts4 ,sufferings arm against pleasure2 enjoyment begets weakness in suffering4 ,pleasure squanders2 pain ingarners4 ,pleasure is man's rock of peril2 the pain of motherhood is woman's triumph4 ,pleasure fertilises and conceives but pain brings forth4#ba ,woe to him who cannot and will not suffer2 he shall be overwhelmed by pain4 ,nature drives unmercifully those who will not walk2 we are cast into life as into an open sea3 we must swim or drown4 ,such are the laws of ,nature1 as taught by ,transcendent ,magic4 ,and now reconsider whether one can become a magician in order to enjoy everything and suffer nothing4 ,yet the world will ask3 ,in such case1 what profits ,magic8 ,what would the prophet ,balaam have replied to his she-ass had the patient brute asked him what profits intelligence8 ,what would ,hercules have answered to a pigmy if he had inquired what profits strength8 ,we do not compare worldly people to pigmies and still less to ,balaam's ass3 it would be wanting in politeness and good taste4 ,we say therefore1 with all possible graciousness1 to such brilliant and amiable people1 that for them ,magic is absolutely useless1 it being understood further that they will never take it seriously4 ,our work is addressed to souls that toil and think4 ,they will find an explanation therein of whatsoever has remained obscure in our ,doctrine and ,ritual4 ,on the pattern of the ,great ,masters1 we have followed the rational order of sacred numbers in the plan and division of our works1 for which reason this ,history of ,magic is arranged in seven books1 having seven chapters in each4 ,the first book is dedicated to the ,sources of ,magic2 it is the genesis of that science1 and we have provided it with a key in the letter ,aleph expressing ,kabalistically the original and primal unity4 ,the second book contains historical and social formul of the magical word in antiquity2 its seal is the letter ,beth1 symbolising the duad as an expression of the word which realises1 the special character of the ,gnosis and occultism4 ,the third book is concerned with the realisations of antique science in ,christian society4 ,it shews after what manner1 even for science itself1 the word takes flesh4 ,the number three is that of generation1 of realisation1 and the key of this book is the letter ,gimel1 a hieroglyph of birth4 ,we are introduced in the fourth book to the civilising power of ,magic among barbarous races1 to the natural productions of this science amidst peoples still in their childhood1 to the mysteries of ,druids and their miracles1 to the legends of bards1 and it is shewn after what manner these things concurred in the formation of modern societies1 thus preparing a brilliant and permanent victory for ,christianity4 ,the number four expresses ,nature and force1 while the letter ,daleth1 which stands for it in the ,hebrew alphabet1 is represented in that of the ,kabalists by an emperor on his throne4 ,the fifth book is consecrated to the sacerdotal era of the middle ages1 and we are present at the dissensions and struggles of science1 the formation of secret societies1 their unknown achievements1 the secret rites of grimoires1 the mysteries of the ,divine ,comedy1 the divisions within the sanctuary which must lead later on to a glorious unity4 ,the number five is that of the quintessence1 religion and the priesthood2 its character is the letter ,he1 represented in the magical alphabet by the symbol of a high priest4 ,the sixth book exhibits the intervention of ,magic in the work of the ,revolution4 ,the number six is that of antagonism and strife in preparation for universal synthesis1 and the corresponding letter is ,vau1 symbol of the creative lingam and the reaper's sickle4 ,the seventh book is synthetic1 containing an exposition of modern workings and discoveries1 new theories on light and magnetism1 the revelation of the great ,rosicrucian secret1 the explanation of mysterious alphabets1 the science of the word and its magical works1 in fine1 the summary of the science itself1 including an appreciation of what has been accomplished by contemporaneous mystics4 ,this book is the complement and the crown of the work1 as the septenary is the crown of numbers1 uniting the triangle of idea to the square of form4 ,its corresponding letter is ,zain1 and the ,kabalistic hieroglyphic is a victor mounted on a chariot1 drawn by two sphinxes4#bb ,far from us be the ridiculous vanity of posing as a ,kabalistic victor2 it is the science alone which should triumph2 and that which we expose before the intelligent world1 mounted on the cubic chariot and drawn by sphinxes1 is the ,word of ,light1 the ,divine ,fulfiller of the ,mosaic ,kabalah1 the human ,sun of the ,gospel1 that man-,god who has come once as ,saviour and will manifest soon as ,messiah1 that is1 as definitive and absolute king of temporal institutions4 ,it is this thought which animates our courage and sustains our hope4 ,but now it remains to submit all our conceptions1 all our discoveries and all our labours to the infallible judgment of the hierarchy4 ,to the authorised men of science be that which belongs to science1 but the things which connect with religion are set apart to the ,church alone and to that one hierarchic ,church1 the preserver of unity1 which has been catholic1 apostolic and ,roman from the days of ,christ ,jesus to our own4 ,to scholars our discoveries1 to bishops our aspirations and beliefs4 ,woe to the child who believes himself wiser than his parents1 to the man who acknowledges no masters1 to that dreamer who thinks and prays by himself4 ,life is an universal communion and in such communion do we find immortality4 ,he who isolates himself is given over to death thereby and an eternity of isolation would be eternal death4 ,,liphas ,l,,vi4 ,,book ,i ,,the ,,derivations ,,of ,,magic --,,aleph ,,chapter ,i ,,fabulous ,,sources ,the apocryphal ,book of ,enoch says that there were angels who consented to fall from heaven that they might have intercourse with the daughters of earth4#bc 8,for in those days the sons of men having multiplied1 there were born to them daughters of great beauty4 ,and when the angels1 or sons of heaven1 beheld them1 they were filled with desire2 wherefore they said to one another3 #8,come1 let us choose wives from among the race of man1 and let us beget children4' ,their leader1 ,samyasa1 answered thereupon and said3 #8,perchance you will be wanting in the courage needed to fulfil this resolution1 and then ,i alone shall be answerable for your fall4' ,but they swore that they would in no wise repent and that they would achieve their whole design4 ,now there were #bjj who descended on ,mount ,armon1 and it was from this time that the mountain received its designation1 which signifies ,mount of the ,oath4 ,hereinafter follow the names of those angelic leaders who descended with this object3 ,samyasa1 chief among all1 ,urakabarameel1 ,azibeel1 ,tamiel1 ,ramuel1 ,danel1 ,azkeel1 ,sarakuyal1 ,asael1 ,armers1 ,batraal1 ,anane1 ,zavebe1 ,samsaveel1 ,ertrael1 ,turel1 ,jomiael1 ,arazial4 ,they took wives1 with whom they had intercourse1 to whom also they taught ,magic1 the art of enchantment and the diverse properties of roots and trees4 ,amazarac gave instruction in all secrets of sorcerers2 ,barkaial was the master of those who study the stars2 ,akibeel manifested signs2 and ,azaradel taught the motions of the moon40 ,this legend of the ,kabalistic ,book of ,enoch is a variant account of the same profanation of ,mysteries which we meet with under another form of symbolism in the history of the sin of ,adam4 ,those angels1 the sons of ,god1 of whom ,enoch speaks1 were initiates of ,magic1 and it was this that they communicated to profane men1 using incautious women as their instruments4 ,they split upon the rock of sense-attraction1 becoming enamoured of the female sex1 and the secrets of royalty and priesthood were extracted from them unawares4 ,primitive civilisation collapsed as a consequence1 and the giants1 who typified brute force and unbridled appetite1 fought together for the world1 which escaped only by immersion in the waters of the deluge1 wherein all traces of the past were effaced4 ,this deluge symbolised that universal confusion into which humanity is brought of necessity when it ignores and does outrage to the harmonies of ,nature4#bd ,there is kinship between the fall of ,samyasa and that of ,adam2 the lure of sense seduced both2 both profaned the ,tree of ,knowledge2 and both were driven far away from the ,tree of ,life4 ,it is needless here to discuss the views1 or rather the simplicity1 of those who take everything literally and believe that knowledge and life were once manifested under the form of trees2 let us confess rather and only to the deep meaning of sacred symbols4 ,the ,tree of ,knowledge does actually inflict death when its fruit is eaten2 that fruit is the adornment of this world2 those golden apples are the glitter of earth4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,magical ,,head ,,of ,,the ,,zohar ,in the ,arsenal ,library there is a very curious manuscript entitled ,the ,book of the ,penitence of ,adam1 and herein ,kabalistic tradition is presented under the guise of legend to the following effect3 8,adam had two sons--,cain1 who signifies brute force1 and ,abel1 the type of intelligence and mildness4 ,agreement was impossible between them2 they perished at each other's hands2 and their inheritance passed to a third son1 named ,seth40 ,here is the conflict of two opposing forces diverted to the advantage of a synthetic and united force4 8,now ,seth1 who was just1 was permitted to approach as far as the entrance of the ,earthly ,paradise1 without being threatened by the ,kerub and his flaming sword40 ,in other words1 ,seth represented primeval initiation4 8,it came to pass in this manner that ,seth beheld the ,tree of ,knowledge and the ,tree of ,life1 incorporated together after such a manner that they formed but a single tree0--signifying the harmony of science and religion in the transcendental ,kabalah4 8,and the angel gave him three seeds containing the vital power of the said tree40 ,the reference is here to the ,kabalistic triad4 8,when ,adam died1 ,seth1 in obedience to the directions of the angel1 placed the three seeds in the mouth of his father1 as a token of eternal life4 ,the saplings which sprang up from these1 became the ,burning ,bush1 in the midst of which ,god communicated to ,moses his ,eternal ,name-- signifying ,he ,who is and is to come4 ,moses plucked a triple branch of the sacred bush and used it as his miraculous wand4 ,although separated from its root1 the branch continued to live and blossom1 and it was subsequently preserved in the ,ark4#be ,king ,david planted the branch on ,mount ,zion1 and ,solomon took wood from each section of the triple trunk to make the two pillars1 ,jachin and ,boaz1 which were placed at the entrance of the ,temple4 ,they were covered with bronze1 and the third section was inserted at the threshold of the chief gate4 ,it was a talisman which hindered things unclean from entering within4 ,but certain nefarious ,levites removed during the night this obstacle to their unholy freedom and cast it1 loaded with stones1 at the bottom of the ,temple reservoir4 ,from this time forward an angel of ,god troubled the waters of the pool1 imparting to them a miraculous value1 so that men might be distracted from seeking the tree of ,solomon in its depths4 ,in the days of ,jesus ,christ the pool was cleansed and the ,jews1 finding the beam of wood1 which in their eyes seemed useless1 carried the latter outside the town and threw it across the brook ,cedron4 ,it was over this bridge that our ,saviour passed after his arrest at night in the ,garden of ,olives4 ,his executioners cast him from it into the water2 and then in their haste to prepare the instrument-in-chief of ,his passion1 they took the beam with them1 which was made of three kinds of wood1 and formed the cross therewith40#bf ,this allegory embodies all the great traditions of the ,kabalah and the secret ,christian doctrine of ,st4 ,john1 which is now utterly unknown4 ,it follows that ,seth1 ,moses1 ,david1 ,solomon and ,christ obtained from the same ,kabalistic ,tree their royal sceptres and pontifical crooks4 ,we can understand in this manner why the ,christ was adored in ,his manger by the ,magi4 ,let us recur1 however1 to the ,book of ,enoch1 as greater authority attaches to it than can be attributed to an unknown manuscript2 the former is cited in the ,new ,testament by the ,apostle ,st4 ,jude4 ,tradition refers the invention of letters to ,enoch1 and it is to him that we must therefore trace back the teachings embodied in the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 which is the elementary work of the ,kabalah1 its compiler--according to the ,rabbins--being the patriarch ,abraham1 as the heir of the secrets of ,enoch and as the father of initiation in ,israel4 ,enoch would seem in this manner to be identical with the ,egyptian ,hermes ,trismegistus1 while the famous ,book of ,thoth1 written throughout in hieroglyphics and in numbers1 would be that occult ,bible1 anterior to the book of ,moses and full of mysteries1 to which the initiated ,william ,postel alludes so frequently throughout his works1 under the title of the ,genesis of ,enoch4#bg ,the ,bible says that ,enoch did not die1 but that ,god translated him from one life to another4 ,he is to return and confound ,anti-,christ at the end of time1 when he will be one of the last martyrs1 or witnesses of truth1 mentioned in the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john4 ,that which is said of ,enoch in this respect has been said also of all the great initiators recorded in ,kabalism4 ,st4 ,john himself1 according to the primitive ,christians1 was saved from death1 and it was long thought that he could be seen breathing in his tomb4#bh ,the explanation is that the absolute science of life preserves against death1 as the instinct of the people has always led them to divine4 ,however this may be1 the extant memorials of ,enoch are contained in two books1 one of which is hieroglyphic and the other of the nature of allegory4 ,the first comprises the hieratic keys of initiation1 while the second is the history of a great profanation which caused the destruction of the world and the reign of chaos after that of the giants4 ,st4 ,methodius1 a bishop in the early days of ,christianity1 whose writings are found in the collection of the ,fathers of the ,church1 has left a prophetic ,apocalypse which unfolds the world's history in a series of visions4 ,it is not included among the saint's acknowledged writings1 but it was preserved by the ,gnostics and has been printed in the ,liber ,mirabilis under the assumed name of ,bermechobus1 which illiterate compositors have substituted in place of ,bea-,methodius1 an abbreviation of ,beatus ,methodius4#bi ,this book corresponds in several respects with the allegorical treatise entitled ,the ,penitence of ,adam4 ,it tells how ,seth migrated eastward with his family and so reached a mountain in the vicinity of the ,earthly ,paradise4 ,this was the country of initiates1 whilst the posterity of ,cain invented a spurious or debased ,magic in ,india1 the land of fratricide1 and put witchcraft into the hands of the reckless4 ,st4 ,methodius predicts in a later place the struggles and successive predominance of the ,ishmaelites1 being the name given in his apocalypse to those who conquered the ,romans2 of the ,franks1 who overcame the ,ishmaelites2 and then of a great race from the ,north whose invasion will precede the personal reign of ,anti-,christ4 ,an universal kingdom will be founded thereafter and will fall into the hands of a ,french prince1 after which there will be the reign of justice for a long period of years4 ,we are not concerned with prophecy in the present place1 but it is desirable to note the distinction between good and evil ,magic1 between the ,sanctuary of the ,sons of ,seth and the profanation of science by the descendants of ,cain4#cj ,transcendental knowledge1 as a fact1 is reserved for those who are masters of their passions1 and virgin ,nature does not deliver the keys of her nuptial chamber to adulterers4 ,there are two classes--freemen and slaves2 man is born in the bondage of his passions1 but he can reach emancipation through intelligence4 ,between those who are free already and those who as yet are not there is no equality possible4 ,the part of reason is to rule and of instinct to obey4 ,on the other hand1 if you impose on the blind the office of leading the blind1 both will end in the abyss4 ,we should never forget that liberty does not consist in the licence of passion emancipated from law1 which licence would prove the most hideous of tyrannies2 liberation consists in willing obedience to law2 it is the right to do ones duty1 and only just men can be called free4 ,now1 those who are in liberation should govern those who are in bondage1 and slaves are called to be released1 not from the government of the free but from the yoke of brutal passions1 as a consequence of which they cannot exist without masters4 ,confess with us now for a moment to the truth of the transcendental sciences4 ,suppose that there does actually exist a force which can be mastered and by which the miracles of ,nature are made subservient to the will of man4 ,tell us1 in such case1 whether the secrets of wealth and the bonds of sympathy can be entrusted to brutal greed2 the art of fascination to libertines2 the supremacy over other wills to those who cannot attain the government of their proper selves4 ,it is terrifying to reflect upon the disorders which would follow from such a profanation2 some cataclysm is needed to efface the crimes of earth when all are steeped in slime and blood4 ,now1 it is this state of things that is indicated by the allegorical history of the fall of the angels1 according to ,the ,book of ,enoch2 it is this which was the sin of ,adam1 and hereof are its fatal consequences4 ,of such also was the ,deluge and its wreckage2 of such at a later period the malediction of ,canaan4 ,the revelation of occult secrets is typified by the insolence of that son who exposes his fathers nakedness4 ,the intoxication of ,noah is a lesson for the priesthood of all ages4 ,woe to those who lay bare the secret of divine generation to the impure gaze of the crowd4 ,keep the sanctuary shut1 all ye who would spare your sleeping father the mockery of the imitators of ,ham4#ca ,such is the tradition of the children of ,seth respecting the laws of the human hierarchy2 but the latter were not acknowledged by the family of ,cain4 ,the ,cainites of ,india invented a genesis to consecrate the oppression of the strong and to perpetuate the ignorance of the weak4 ,initiation became an exclusive privilege of the high castes1 and entire races of humanity were doomed to unending servitude on the pretence of inferior birth3 they issued1 as it was said1 from the feet or knees of ,brahma4 ,now1 ,nature engenders neither slaves nor kings1 but all men indifferently are born to labour4 ,he who pretends that man is perfect at birth but is degraded and perverted by society is the wildest of anarchists1 though he may be the most poetic of maniacs4 ,but in vain was ,jean ,jacques a sentimentalist and dreamer2 his deep implicit of misanthropy1 when explicated by the logic of fanatical partisans1 bore fruits in hate and destruction4 ,the consistent architects of the ,utopia imagined by the susceptible philosopher of ,geneva were ,robespierre and ,marat4 ,society is no abstract personality that can be rendered responsible separately for the stubbornness of man2 society is the association of men2 it is defective by reason of their vices and sublime in respect of their virtues2 but in itself it is holy1 like the religion which is bound up inseparably therewith4 ,is not religion1 as a fact1 an association of the highest aspirations and the most generous endeavours8 ,after this manner does the blasphemy of anti-social equality and of right in the teeth of duty give answer to the lie about castes privileged by ,nature2 ,christianity alone has solved the problem by assigning supremacy to self-sacrifice and by proclaiming him as the greatest who offers up his pride for society and his appetites for the sake of the law4 ,though they were the depositaries of the tradition of ,seth1 the ,jews did not preserve it in all its purity1 and were infected by the unjust ambitions of the posterity of ,cain4 ,believing that they were a chosen people1 they deemed that ,god had allotted them truth as a patrimony rather than as a security held in trust for humanity at large4#cb ,side by side with the sublime traditions of the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 we meet with very curious revelations among the ,talmudists4 ,for example1 they do not shrink from ascribing the idolatry of the ,gentiles to the patriarch ,abraham himself2 they say that to the ,israelites he bequeathed his inheritance1 namely1 the knowledge of the true ,divine ,names2 in a word1 the ,kabalah was the lawful and hereditary property of ,isaac2 but the patriarch gave1 as they tell us1 certain presents to the children of his concubines2 and by such presents they understand veiled dogmas and cryptic names1 which became materialised speedily1 and were transformed into idols4#cc ,false religions and their absurd mysteries1 oriental superstitions1 with all their horrible sacrifices--what a gift from a father to his disowned family4 ,was it not sufficient to drive ,hagar with her son into the desert8 ,to their one loaf and their pitcher of water must he add the burden of falsehood1 as a torment and poison in their exile8 ,the glory of ,christianity is that it called all men to truth1 without distinction of races and castes1 though not without distinction in respect of intelligence and of virtue4 8,cast not your pearls before swine10 said the ,divine ,founder of ,christianity1 8lest treading them under foot1 they turn and rend you40 ,the ,apocalypse or ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 which comprises all the ,kabalistic secrets concerning the doctrine of ,christ ,jesus1 is a book no less obscure than the ,zohar4 ,it is written hieroglyphically in the language of numbers and images1 and the ,apostle appeals frequently to the knowledge of initiates4 8,let him understand who has knowledge--let him who understands compute0--he says frequently1 after reciting an allegory or giving a mystic number4 ,st4 ,john1 the beloved disciple and depositary of all the secrets of the ,saviour1 did not therefore write to be understood by the multitude4 ,the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 the ,zohar and the ,apocalypse are the masterpieces of occultism2 they contain more meanings than words2 their method of expression is figurative1 like poetry1 and exact1 like numerical formul4 ,the ,apocalypse summarises1 completes and surpasses all the science of ,abraham and ,solomon1 as we will prove by explaining the ,keys of the transcendent ,kabalah4 ,it is not less astonishing to observe at the beginning of the ,zohar#cd the profundity of its notions and the sublime simplicity of its images4 ,it is said as follows3 8,the science of equilibrium is the key of occult science4 ,unbalanced forces perish in the void4 ,so passed the kings of the elder world1 the princes of the giants4 ,they have fallen like trees without roots1 and their place is found no more4 ,through the conflict of unbalanced forces1 the devastated earth was void and formless1 until the ,spirit of ,god made for itself a place in heaven and reduced the mass of waters4 ,all the aspirations of ,nature were directed then towards unity of form1 towards the living synthesis of equilibrated forces2 the face of ,god1 crowned with light1 rose over the vast sea and was reflected in the waters thereof4 ,his two eyes were manifested1 radiating with splendour1 darting two beams of light which crossed with those of the reflection4 ,the brow of ,god and ,his eyes formed a triangle in heaven1 and its reflection formed a second triangle in the waters4 ,so was revealed the number six1 being that of universal creation40 ,the text1 which would be unintelligible in a literal version1 is translated here by way of interpretation4 ,the author makes it plain that the human form which he ascribes to ,deity is only an image of his meaning and that ,god is beyond expression by human thought or representation by any figure4 ,pascal said that ,god is a circle1 of which the centre is everywhere and the circumference nowhere4 ,but how is one to imagine a circle apart from its circumference8 ,the ,zohar adopts the antithesis of this paradoxical image and in respect of the circle of ,pascal would say rather that the circumference is everywhere1 while that which is nowhere is the centre4 ,it is however to a balance and not to a circle that it compares the universal equilibrium of things4#ce ,it affirms that equilibrium is everywhere and so also is that central point where the balance hangs in suspension4 ,we find that the ,zohar is thus more forcible and more profound than ,pascal4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,kabalistic ,,symbol ,,of ,,the ,,zohar ,its author continues as follows his sublime dream4 ,that synthesis of the word1 formulated by the human figure1 ascended slowly and emerged from the water1 like the sun in its rising4 ,when the eyes appeared1 light was made2 when the mouth was manifested1 there was the creation of spirits and the word passed into expression4 ,the entire head was revealed1 and this completed the first day of creation4 ,the shoulders1 the arms1 the breast arose1 and thereupon work began4 ,with one hand the ,divine ,image put back the sea1 while with the other it raised up continents and mountains4 ,the ,image grew and grew2 the generative organs appeared1 and all beings began to increase and multiply4 ,the form stood at length erect1 having one foot upon the earth and one upon the waters4 ,beholding itself at full length in the ocean of creation1 it breathed on its own reflection and called its likeness into life4 ,it said3 ,let us make man--and thus man was made4 ,there is nothing so beautiful in the masterpiece of any poet as this vision of creation accomplished by the prototype of humanity4 ,hereby is man but the shadow of a shadow1 and yet he is the image of divine power4 ,he also can stretch forth his hands from ,east to ,west2 to him is the earth given as a dominion4 ,such is ,adam ,kadmon1 the primordial ,adam of the ,kabalists4 ,such is the sense in which he is depicted as a giant2 and this is why ,swedenborg1 haunted in his dreams by reminiscences of the ,kabalah1 says that entire creation is only a titanic man and that we are made in the image of the universe4 ,the ,zohar is a genesis of light2 the ,sepher ,yetzirah is a ladder of truth4 ,therein are expounded the two-and-thirty absolute symbols of speech--being numbers and letters4 ,each letter produces a number1 an idea and a form1 so that mathematics are applicable to forms and ideas1 even as to numbers1 in virtue of an exact proportion and a perfect correspondence4 ,by the science of the ,sepher ,yetzirah the human mind is rooted in truth and in reason2 it accounts for all progress possible to intelligence by means of the evolution of numbers4 ,thus does the ,zohar represent absolute truth1 while the ,sepher ,yetzirah furnishes the method of its acquisition1 its discernment and application4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,magic ,,of ,,the ,,magi ,it is within probability that ,zoroaster is a symbolical name1 like that of ,thoth or ,hermes4 ,according to ,eudoxus and ,aristotle1 he flourished #fjjj years before the birth of ,plato1 but others say that he antedated the siege of ,troy by about #ejj years4 ,he is sometimes represented as a king of the ,bactrians1 but the existence of two or three distinct ,zoroasters is also one of the speculations4#cf ,eudoxus and ,aristotle alone would seem to have realised that his personality was magical1 and this is why they have placed the ,kabalistic epoch of an entire world between the birth of his doctrine and the theurgic reign of ,platonic philosophy4 ,as a fact1 there are two ,zoroasters1 that is to say1 two expounders of mysteries1 one being the son of ,ormuzd and the founder of an enlightened instruction1 the other being the son of ,ahriman and the author of a profanatory unveiling of truth4 ,zoroaster is the incarnate word of the ,chaldeans1 the ,medes and the ,persians2 his legend reads like a prophecy concerning that of ,christ1 and hence it must be assumed that he had also his ,anti-,christ1 in accordance with the magical law of universal equilibrium4 ,to the false ,zoroaster must be referred the cultus of material fire and that impious doctrine of divine dualism which produced at a later period the monstrous ,gnosis of ,manes and the false principles of spurious ,masonry4 ,the ,zoroaster in question was the father of that materialised ,magic which led to the massacre of the ,magi and brought their true doctrine at first into proscription and then oblivion4 ,ever inspired by the spirit of truth1 the ,church was compelled to condemn--under the names of ,magic1 ,manicheanism1 ,illuminism and ,masonry--all that was in kinship1 remote or approximate1 with the primitive profanation of the mysteries4 ,one signal example is the history of the ,knights ,templar1 which has been misunderstood to this day4 ,the doctrines of the true ,zoroaster are identical with those of pure ,kabalism1 and his conceptions of divinity differ in no wise from those of the fathers of the ,church4 ,it is the names only that vary2 for example1 the triad of ,zoroaster is the ,trinity of ,christian teaching1 and when he postulates that ,triad as subsisting without diminution or division in each of its units1 he is expressing in another manner that which is understood by our theologians as the circumincession of the ,divine ,persons4 ,in his multiplication of the ,triad by itself1 ,zoroaster arrives at the absolute reason of the number #i and the universal key of all numbers and forms4 ,but those whom we term the three ,divine ,persons1 are called the three depths by ,zoroaster4 ,the first1 or that of the ,father1 is the source of faith2 the second1 being that of the ,word1 is the well of truth2 while the third1 or creative action1 is the font of love4 ,to check what is here advanced1 the reader may consult the commentary of ,psellus on the doctrine of the ancient ,assyrians3 it may be found in the work of ,franciscus ,patricius on ,philosophical ,magic p4 #bd of the ,hamburg edition1 which appeared in #aeic4 ,zoroaster established the celestial hierarchy and all the harmonies of ,nature on his scale of nine degrees4 ,he explains by means of the triad whatsoever emanates from the idea and by the tetrad all that belongs to form1 thus arriving at the number #g as the type of creation4 ,here ends the first initiation and the scholastic hypotheses begin2 numbers are personified and ideas pass into emblems1 which at a later period become idols4 ,the ,synoches1 the ,teletarch and the ,fathers1 ministers of the triple ,hecate2 the three ,amilictes and the threefold visage of ,hypezocos--all these intervene2 the angels follow in their order1 the demons and lastly human souls4 ,the stars are images and reflections of intellectual splendours2 the material sun is an emblem of the sun of truth1 which itself is a shadow of that first source whence all glory springs4 ,this is why the disciples of ,zoroaster saluted the rising day and so passed as sun-worshippers among barbarians4 ,such were the doctrines of the ,magi1 but they were the possessors in addition of secrets which gave them mastery over the occult powers of ,nature4 ,the sum of these secrets might be termed transcendental pyrotechny1 for it was intimately related to the deep knowledge of fire and its ruling4 ,it is certain that the ,magi were not only familiar with electricity but were able to generate and direct it in ways that are now unknown4 ,numa1 who studied their rites and was initiated into their mysteries1 possessed1 according to ,lucius ,pison1 the art of producing and controlling the lightning4 ,this sacerdotal secret1 which the ,roman initiator would have reserved to the kings of ,rome1 was lost by ,tullus ,hostilius1 who mismanaged the electrical discharge and was destroyed4 ,pliny relates these facts on the authority of an ancient ,etruscan tradition and mentions that ,numa directed his battery with success against a monster named ,volta1 which was ravaging the district about ,rome4 ,in reading this story1 one is almost tempted to think that ,volta1 the discoverer1 is himself a myth and that the name of ,voltaic piles goes back to the days of ,numa4 ,all ,assyrian symbols connect with this science of fire1 which was the great secret of the ,magi2 on every side we meet with the enchanter who slays the lion and controls the serpents4 ,that lion is the celestial fire1 while the serpents are the electric and magnetic currents of the earth4 ,to this same great secret of the ,magi are referable all marvels of ,hermetic ,magic1 the extant traditions of which still bear witness that the mystery of the ,great ,work consists in the ruling of fire4 ,the learned ,patricius published in his ,philosophical ,magic the ,oracles of ,zoroaster1 collected from the works of ,platonic writers--from ,proclus on ,theurgy1 from the commentaries on the ,parmenides1 commentaries of ,hermias on the ,phdrus and from the notes of ,olympiodorus on the ,philebos and ,phaidon4#cg ,these ,oracles are firstly a clear and precise formulation of the doctrine here stated and secondly the prescriptions of magical ritual expressed in such terms as follow4 ,,demons ,,and ,,sacrifices ,we are taught by induction from ,nature that there are incorporeal dmons and that the germs of evil which exist in matter turn to the common good and utility4 ,but these are mysteries which must be buried in the recesses of thought4 ,for ever agitated and ever leaping in the atmosphere1 the fire can assume a configuration like that of bodies4 ,let us go further and affirm the existence of a fire which abounds in images and reflections4 ,term it1 if you will1 a superabundant light which radiates1 which speaks1 which goes back into itself4 ,it is the flaming courser of light1 or rather it is the stalwart child who overcomes and breaks in that heavenly steed4 ,picture him as vested in flame and emblazoned with gold1 or think of him naked as love and bearing the arrows of ,eros4 ,but if thy meditation prolongeth itself1 thou wilt combine all these emblems under the form of the lion4 ,thereafter1 when things are no longer visible1 when the ,vault of ,heaven and the expanse of the universe have dissolved1 when the stars have ceased to shine and the lamp of the moon is veiled1 when the earth trembles and the lightning plays around it1 invoke not the visible phantom of ,nature's soul1 for thou must in no wise behold it until thy body has been purified by the holy ordeals4 ,enervators of souls1 which they distract from sacred occupations1 the dog-faced demons issue from the confines of matter and expose to mortal eyes the semblances of illusory bodies4 ,labour round the circles described by the rhombus of ,hecate4 ,change thou nothing in the barbarous names of evocation1 for they are pantheistic titles of ,god2 they are magnetised by the devotion of multitudes and their power is ineffable4 ,when after all the phantoms thou shalt behold the shining of that incorporeal fire1 that sacred fire the darts of which penetrate in every direction through the depths of the world--hearken to the words of the fire4#ch ,these astonishing sentences1 which are taken from the ,latin of ,patricius1 embody the secrets of magnetism and of things far deeper1 which it has not entered into the heart or people like ,du ,potet and ,mesmer to conceive4 ,we find 7a7 the ,astral ,light described perfectly1 together with its power of producing fluidic forms1 of reflecting language and echoing the voice2 7b7 the will of the adept signified by the stalwart child mounted on a white horse--a symbol met with in an ancient ,tarot card preserved in the ,bibliothque ,nationale2#ci 7c7 the dangers of hallucination arising from misdirected magical works2 7d7 the raison d'tre of enchantments accomplished by the use of barbarous names and words2 7e7 the magnetic instrument termed rhombos1#dj which is comparable to a child's humming top2 7f7 the term of magical practice1 which is the stilling of imagination and of the senses into a state of complete somnambulism and perfect lucidity4#da ,it follows from this revelation of the ancient world that clairvoyant extasis is a voluntary and immediate application of the soul to the universal fire1 or rather to that light--abounding in images--which radiates1 which speaks and circulates about all objects and every sphere of the universe4 ,this application is operated by the persistence of will liberated from the senses and fortified by a succession of tests4 ,herein consisted the beginning of magical initiation4 ,having attained the power of direct reading in the light1 the adept became a seer or prophet2 then1 having established communication between this light and his own will1 he learned to direct the former1 even as the head of an arrow is set in a certain direction4 ,he communicated at his pleasure either strife or peace to the souls of others2 he established intercourse at a distance with those fellow-adepts who were his peers2 and1 in fine1 he availed himself of that force which is represented by the celestial lion4 ,herein lies the meaning of those great ,assyrian figures which hold vanquished lions in their arms4 ,the ,astral ,light is otherwise represented by gigantic sphinxes1 having the bodies of lions and the heads of ,magi4 ,considered as an instrument made subject to magical power1 the ,astral ,light is that golden sword of ,mithra used in his immolation of the sacred bull4 ,and it is the arrow of ,phbus which pierced the serpent ,python4 ,let us now reconstruct in thought the great metropolitan cities of ,assyria1 ,babylon and ,nineveh2 let us restore to their proper place the granite colossi2 let us formulate the massive temples1 held up by elephants and sphinxes2 let us raise once more those obelisks from which dragons look down with shining eyes and wings outspread4 ,temples and palaces tower above these wondrous piles4 ,for ever concealed1 but manifested also for ever by the fact of their miracles1 the priesthood and the royalty1 like visible divinities of earth1 abide therein4 ,the temple is surrounded with clouds or glows with supernatural brilliance at the will of the priests2 now it is dark in the daylight and again the night is enlightened2 the lamps of the temple spring of themselves into flame2 the gods are radiant2 the thunders roll2 and woe to that impious person who may have invoked on his own head the malediction of initiates4 ,the temples protect the palaces and the king's retainers do battle for the religion of the ,magi4 ,the monarch himself is sacred2 he is a god on earth2 the people lie prone as he passes2 and the maniac who would attempt to cross the threshold of his palace falls dead immediately1 by the intervention of an invisible hand1 and without stroke of mace or sword4 ,he is slain as if by the bolt1 blasted by fire from heaven4 ,what religion and what power4 ,how mighty are the shadows of ,nimrod1 of ,belus1 of ,semiramis4 ,what can surpass these almost fabulous cities1 where such mighty royalties were enthroned--these capitals of giants1 capitals of magicians1 of personalities identified by tradition with angels and still termed sons of ,god or princes of heaven4 ,what mysteries have been put to sleep in these sepulchres of past nations2 and are we better than children when we exalt our enlightenment and our progress1 without recalling these startling memorials8 ,in his work on ,magic1#db ,m4 ,du ,potet affirms1 with a certain timidity1 that it is possible to overwhelm a living being by a current of magnetic fluid4 ,magical power extends beyond this limit1 but it is not confined within the measures of the putative magnetic fluid4 ,the ,astral ,light as a whole1 that element of electricity and of lightning1 can be placed at the disposition of human will4 ,what must be done1 however1 to acquire this formidable power8 ,zoroaster has just told us2 we must know those mysterious laws of equilibrium which subjugate the very powers of evil to the empire of good4 ,we must have purified our bodies by sacred trials1 must have conquered the phantoms of hallucination and taken hold bodily of the light1 imitating ,jacob in his struggle with the angel4 ,we must have vanquished those fantastic dogs which howl in the world of dreams4 ,in a word1 and to use the forcible expression of the ,oracle1 we must have heard the light speak4 ,we are then its masters and can direct it1 as ,numa did1 against the enemies of the ,holy ,mysteries4 ,but if in the absence of perfect purity and if under the government of some animal passion1 by which we are still subjected to the fatalities of tempestuous life1 we proceed to this kind of work1 the fire which we kindle will consume ourselves2 we shall fall victims to the serpent which we unloose and shall perish like ,tullus ,hostilius4 ,it is not in conformity with the laws of ,nature for man to be devoured by wild beasts4 ,god has armed him with the power of resistance2 his eyes can fascinate them1 his voice restrain1 his sign bring them to a pause4 ,we know indeed1 as a literal fact1 that the most savage animals quail before a steady human glance and seem to tremble at the human voice4 ,the explanation is that they are paralysed and awe-stricken by projections of the ,astral ,light4 ,when ,daniel was accused of imposture and false ,magic1 both he and his accusers were subjected by the king of ,babylon to an ordeal of lions4 ,such beasts attack those only who fear them or of whom they are themselves afraid4 ,it is utterly certain that the tiger will recede before the magnetic glance of a brave man1 although the latter may be disarmed4 ,the ,magi utilised this power and the kings of ,assyria kept tigers1 leopards and lions in their gardens1 in a state of docility4 ,others were reserved in vaults beneath the temples for use in the ordeals of initiation4 ,the symbolic bas-reliefs are the proof2 they depict trials of strength between men and animals1 and the adept1 clothed in his priestly garb1 controls the brutes by a glance of his eye and stays them with his hand4 ,when such animals are depicted in one of the forms ascribed to the sphinx1 they are doubtless symbolical1 but in other representations the brute is of the natural order1 and then the struggle seems to illustrate a theory of actual enchantment4 ,magic is a science2 to abuse is to lose it1 and it is also to destroy oneself4 ,the kings and priests of the ,assyrian world were too great to be free from this danger1 if ever they fell2 as a fact1 pride did come upon them and they did therefore fall4 ,the great magical epoch of ,chaldea is anterior to the reigns of ,semiramis and ,ninus4 ,at this time religion had begun already to materialise and idolatry to prevail4 ,the cultus of ,astarte succeeded that of the heavenly ,venus and royalty arrogated to itself divine attributes under the names of ,baal and of ,bel1 or ,belus4 ,semiramis made religion subservient to politics and conquests1 replacing the old mysterious temples by ostentatious and ill-advised monuments4 ,this notwithstanding1 the magical idea continued to prevail in art and science1 sealing the constructions of that epoch with the characteristics of inimitable power and grandeur4 ,the palace of ,semiramis was a building synthesis of entire ,zoroastrian dogma1 and we shall recur to it in explaining the symbolism of those seven masterpieces of antiquity which are called the wonders of the world4 ,the priesthood became secondary to the empire as the result of an attempt to materialise its own power4 ,the fall of the one was bound to involve the other1 and it came to pass under the effeminate ,sardanapalus4 ,this prince1 abandoned to luxury and indolence1 reduced the science of the ,magi to the level of one of his courtesans4 ,what purpose did marvels serve if they failed in ministration to pleasure8 ,compel1 ,o enchanters1 compel the winter to produce roses2 double the savour of wine2 apply your power over the light to make the beauty of women shine like that of divinities4 ,the ,magi obeyed and the king passed from intoxication to intoxication4 ,but it came about that war was declared and that the enemy was already on the march4 ,that enemy might signify little to the sybarite steeped in his pleasures4 ,but it was ruin1 it was infamy1 it was death4 ,now ,sardanapalus did not fear death1 since for him it was an endless sleep1 and he knew how to avoid the toils and humiliations of servitude4 ,the last night came2 the victor was already upon the threshold2 the city could stand out no longer2 the kingdom of ,assyria must end on the morrow4 ,the palace of ,sardanapalus was illuminated and blazed with such splendour that it lightened all the consternated city4 ,amidst piles of precious stuffs1 amidst jewels and golden vessels1 the king held his final orgie4 ,his women1 his favourites1 his accomplices1 his degenerate priests surrounded him2 the riot of drunkenness mingled with the music of a thousand instruments2 the tame lions roared2 and a smoke of perfumes1 going up from the vaults of the palace1 enveloped the whole edifice in a heavy cloud4 ,but tongues of fire began to penetrate the cedar panelling2 the frenzied songs were replaced by cries of terror and groans of agony4 ,the magic which1 in the hands of its degraded adepts1 could not safeguard the empire of ,ninus1 did at least mingle its marvels to emblazon the terrible memories of this titanic suicide4 ,a vast and sinister splendour1 such as the night of ,babylon had never seen1 seemed suddenly to set back and enlarge the vault of heaven2 a noise1 like all the thunders of the world pealing together1 shook the earth1 and the walls of the city collapsed4 ,thereafter a deeper night descended2 the palace of ,sardanapalus melted1 and when the morrow came his conqueror found no trace of its riches1 no trace even of the king's body and all his luxuries4 ,so ended the first empire of ,assyria1 and the civilisation founded of old by the true ,zoroaster4 ,thus also ended ,magic1 properly so called1 and the reign of the ,kabalah began4 ,abraham on coming out from ,chaldea carried its mysteries with him4 ,the people of ,god increased in silence1 and we shall meet before long with ,daniel confounding the miserable enchanters of ,nebuchadnezzar and ,belshazzar4#dc ,,chapter ,,iii ,,magic ,,in ,,india ,we are told by ,kabalistic tradition that ,india was peopled by the descendants of ,cain1 and thither at a later period migrated the descendants of ,abraham and ,keturah2 in any case it is1 above all others1 the country of ,getia and illusionary wonders4 ,black ,magic has been perpetuated therein1 as well as the original traditions of fratricide imposed by the powerful on the weak1 continued by the dominant castes and expiated by the pariahs4 ,it may be said of ,india that she is the wise mother of all idolatries4 ,the dogmas of her gymnosophists would be keys of highest wisdom if they did not open more easily the gates leading to degradation and death4 ,the astounding wealth of ,indian symbolism seems to suggest that it is anterior to all others1 and this is supported by the primeval freshness of its poetic conceptions4 ,but the root of its tree seems to have been devoured by the infernal serpent4 ,that deification of the devil against which we have already entered an energetic protest is displayed in all its grossness4 ,the terrible ,trimurti of the ,brahmans comprises a ,creator1 a ,destroyer and a ,preserver4 ,their ,adhi-nari1 who represents the ,divine ,mother1 or ,celestial ,nature1 is called also ,bohani1 to whom the thugs or stranglers make votive offerings of their murders4 ,vishnu1 the preserver1 incarnates only to destroy an inferior devil1 who is always brought back to life by the intervention of ,siva or ,rudra1 the god of death4 ,one is conscious that ,siva is the apotheosis of ,cain1 but there is nothing in all this mythology which recalls the mildness of ,abel4 ,the mysteries of ,india are notwithstanding grandiose in their poetry and singularly profound in their allegories2 but they are the ,kabalah in profanation1 and hence so far from sustaining the soul and leading it to supreme wisdom1 ,brahminism1 with its learned theories1 plunges it into gulfs of madness4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,indian ,,and ,,japanese ,,mystery ,,of ,,universal ,,equilibrium ,,and ,,the ,,egyptian ,,pantomorphic ,,iyinx ,it was from the false ,kabalism of ,india that the ,gnostics borrowed their reveries--by turns horrible and obscene2 it is also ,indian ,magic1 manifesting on the threshold of the occult sciences with a thousand deformities1 which terrifies reasonable minds and provokes the anathemas of all the understanding churches4 ,it is this false and dangerous knowledge1 so often confounded by the ignorant and by smatterers with true science1 which has involved all that bears the name of occultism in a general condemnation1 to which the author of these pages himself subscribed sincerely before he had attained the key of the magical sanctuary4 ,for theologians of the ,vedas1 ,god manifests as force only2 all progress and all revelations are determined by conquest2 ,vishnu incarnates in monstrous leviathans of the sea and in enormous wild boars1 which mould the primeval earth with their snouts4 ,still it is a marvellous pantheistic genesis and the authors of its fables are lucid at least in their somnambulism4 ,the ten ,avatars of ,vishnu correspond numerically to the ,sephiroth of the ,kabalah4 ,the god in question assumed successively three animal or elementary forms of life1 after which he became a sphinx and then a human being4 ,he appeared next as ,brahma and in a guise of assumed humility possessed the whole earth4 ,he was a child on another occasion1 and as such the consoling angel of the patriarchs4 ,after this he assumed the mask of a warrior and gave battle to the oppressors of the world4 ,again he was embodied as diplomacy1 opposing it to violence1 and seems at this point to have abandoned the human form to assume the agility of the monkey4 ,diplomacy and violence consumed one another1 and the world awaited some intellectual and moral redeemer4 ,vishnu thereupon incarnated as ,krishna4 ,he was proscribed even in his cradle1 beside which there watched the symbolical ass4 ,he was carried far away to save him from the power of his enemies2 he attained manhood and preached the doctrine of mercy and good works4 ,he descended into hell1 bound the infernal serpent and returned gloriously to heaven4 ,his annual festival is in ,august1 under the sign of the ,virgin4 ,here is astonishing intuition concerning ,christian mysteries and so much the more impressive when we remember that the sacred books of ,india passed into writing many centuries before the ,christian era4 ,to the revelation of ,krishna succeeded that of ,buddha1 who married the purest religion to philosophy of the highest kind4 ,the happiness of the world was thus held to be secured and there was nothing further to expect1 pending the tenth and final incarnation1 when ,vishnu will return in his proper form1 leading the horse of the last judgment--that dread steed whose fore foot is raised always and when it is set down the world will be strewn in atoms4 ,we may note herein the presence of the sacred numbers and prophetic calculations of the ,magi4 ,gymnosophists and ,zoroastrian initiates drew from the same sources1 but it was the false and black ,zoroaster who remained master of theology in ,india4 ,the final secrets of this degenerate doctrine are pantheism and its legitimate consequence1 being absolute materialism masquerading as the absolute negation of matter4 ,but what1 it may be asked1 does it signify whether spirit is materialised or matter spiritualised so long as the equality and identity of the two terms are postulated8 ,but the consequence of such pantheism is1 however1 mortal to ethics3 there are neither crimes nor virtues in a world where all is ,god4 ,we may expect after such teachings a progressive degradation of the ,brahmans into a fanatical quietism2 but as yet the end was not reached4 ,it remained for their great magical ritual1 the ,indian book of occultism1 otherwise the ,oupnek'hat1 to furnish the physical and moral means of consummating the work of their stupefaction and arriving by a graduated method at that raving madness termed by their sorcerers the ,divine ,state4 ,the work in question is the progenitor of all grimoires and the most curious among the antiquities of ,getia4 ,it is divided into fifty sections and is a darkness spangled with stars4 ,sublime maxims are blended with false oracles4#dd ,at times it reads like the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 as1 for example1 in the following extracts from the eleventh and forty-eighth sections4 8,the angel of creative fire is the word of ,god1 which word produced the earth and the vegetation that issues therefrom1 together with the heat which ripens it4 ,the word of the ,creator is itself the ,creator and is also ,his only ,son40 ,now1 on the other hand1 the reveries are worthy only of the most extravagant arch-heretics3 8,matter being only a deceptive appearance1 the sun1 the stars and the very elements are genii1 while animals are demons and man is a pure spirit deceived by the illusions of forms40 ,we are perhaps sufficiently edified by these extracts in respect of doctrinal matters and may proceed to the ,magical ,ritual of the ,indian enchanters4 8,in order to become ,god1 the breath must be retained--that is to say1 it must be inhaled as long as possible1 till the chest is well distended--and in the second place1 the divine ,,om must be repeated inwardly forty times while in this state4 ,expiration1 in the third place1 follows very slowly1 the breath being mentally directed through the heavens to make contact with the universal ether4 ,those who would succeed in this exercise must be blind1 deaf and motionless as a log of wood4 ,the posture is on knees and elbows1 with the face turned to the ,north4 ,one nostril is stopped with a finger1 the air is inhaled by the other1 which is then also closed1 the action being accompanied by dwelling in thought on the idea that ,god is the ,creator1 that ,he is in all animals1 in the ant even as in the elephant4 ,the mind must be absorbed in these thoughts4 ,,om is at first recited twelve times and afterwards twenty-four times during each inspiration1 and then as rapidly as possible4 ,this regimen must be continued for three months--without fear1 without remission1 eating and sleeping little4 ,in the fourth month the ,devas will manifest2 in the fifth you will have acquired all qualities of the ,devatas2 in the sixth you will be saved and will have become ,god40 ,what seems certain is that in the sixth month the fanatic who is sufficiently imbecile to persevere in such a practice will be dead or insane4 ,if1 however1 he should really survive this exercise in mystic breathing1 the ,oupnek'hat does not leave him in the happy position mentioned but makes him pass to other experiences4 8,with the end of one finger close the anus1 and then draw the breath from below upwards on the right side2 make it circulate three times round the second centre of the body2 thence bring it to the navel1 which is the third centre2 then to the fourth1 which is the middle of the heart2 subsequently to the throat1 which is the fifth2 and finally to the sixth1 which is the root of the nose4 ,there retain the breath3 it has become that of the universal soul40 ,this seems simply an auto-hypnotic method of inducing a certain cerebral congestion4 ,but the author of the treatise continues3 8,think therefore of the great ,,om1 which is the name of the ,creator and is that universal1 pure and indivisible voice which fills all things4 ,this voice is the ,creator ,himself1 ,who becomes audible to the contemplative after ten manners4 ,the first sound is like that of a little sparrow2 the second is twice the first in volume2 the third is like the sound of a cymbal2 the fourth is as the murmur of a great shell2 the fifth is comparable to the song of the ,indian lyre2 the sixth is like the sound of the instrument called tal2 the seventh resembles the sound of a bacabou flute1 held close to the ear2 the eighth is like that of the instrument called ,pakaoudj1 which is struck with the hand2 the ninth is like the sound of a little trumpet and the tenth like that of a thunder cloud4 ,at each of these sounds the contemplative passes through different states1 and at the tenth he becomes ,god4 ,at the first sound the hairs of his whole body rise erect2 at the second1 his limbs become torpid2 at the third1 he feels through all his frame the kind of exhaustion which follows the intercourse of love2 at the fourth1 his head swims and he is as one intoxicated2 at the fifth1 the life-force flows back into his brain2 at the sixth1 this force descends into him and he is nourished thereon2 at the seventh1 he becomes the master of vision1 can see into the hearts of others1 and hears the most distant voices2 at the ninth he becomes so ethereal that he can pass wheresoever he will and can see without being seen1 like the angels2 at the tenth1 he becomes the universal and indivisible voice4 ,he is the great creator1 the eternal being1 exempt from all and1 having become the perfect peace1 he dispenses peace to the world40 ,what is noticeable in these most curious extracts is their exhaustive description of phenomena which characterise lucid somnambulism combined with a complete practice of auto-hypnosis2 it is the art of inducing ecstasy by tension of the will and fatigue of the nervous system4 ,we recommend therefore to mesmerists a careful study of the mysteries of the ,oupnek'hat4 ,the graduated use of narcotics and of a scale of coloured discs will produce effects analogous to those described by the ,indian sorcerer4 ,m4 ,ragon has provided the recipe in his work on ,la ,maonnerie ,occulte4#de ,the ,oupnek'hat gives a simpler method of losing consciousness and arriving at ecstasy2 it is to look with both eyes at the end of the nose and to maintain this act1 or rather this grimace1 until paralysis of the optic nerve supervenes4 ,all such practices are equally painful1 dangerous and ridiculous2 we are far from recommending them to anyone2 but we do not question that in a shorter or longer time1 according to the sensibility of the subjects1 they will induce ecstasy1 catalepsy and even a dead swoon4 ,in order to obtain vision and the phenomena of second sight1 a state must be reached which is akin to that of sleep1 death and madness4 ,it is in this that the ,indians excel and it is perhaps to their secrets that we must refer the strange power of certain ,american mediums4 ,black ,magic may be defined as the art of inducing artificial mania in ourselves and in others2 but it is also and above all the science of poisoning4 ,what is however generally unknown1 and the discovery in our days is due to ,m4 ,du ,potet1 is that it is possible to destroy life by the sudden congestion or withdrawal of the ,astral ,light4 ,this may take place when1 through a series of almost impossible exercises1 similar to those described by the ,indian sorcerer1 our nervous system1 having been habituated to all tensions and fatigues1 has become a kind of living galvanic pile1 capable of condensing and projecting powerfully that light which intoxicates or destroys4 ,we are not1 however1 at the end of the ,oupnek'hat and its magical wonders2 there is a final arcanum which the darksome hierophant entrusts to his initiates as the supreme secret of all2 it is actually the shadow and reverse side of the great mystery of ,transcendent ,magic4 ,now1 the latter is the absolute in morality and consequently in the direction of activity and in freedom4 ,on the other hand1 that of the ,oupnek'hat is the absolute in immorality1 in fatality and in deadly quietism3 it is expressed as follows by the author of the ,indian work3 8,it is lawful to lie in order to facilitate marriages1 to exalt the virtues of a ,brahman or the good qualities of a cow4 ,god is truth1 and in ,him shadow and light are one4 ,whosoever is acquainted with this truth never lies1 for his very falsehood turns true4 ,whatever sin he commits1 whatever evil he performs1 he is never guilty2 if he committed a double parricide2 if he killed a ,brahman initiated into the mysteries of the ,vedas2 in a word1 whatever he did1 his light would not be impaired1 for ,god says3 ,i am the ,universal ,soul2 in ,me are good and evil1 which are moderated one by the other2 he who knows this cannot sin1 for he is universal even as ,myself40 ,such doctrines are incompatible with civilisation1 and furthermore1 by stereotyping its social hierarchy1 ,india has imbedded anarchy in the castes1 whereas social life is a question of exchange4 ,now1 exchange is impossible when everything belongs to a few and nothing to others4 ,what do social gradations signify in a putative civil state wherein no one can fall or rise8 ,herein is the long-delayed punishment of the fratricide2 it is one which involves his entire race and condemns it to death4 ,should some alien1 proud and egotistic nation intervene1 it will sacrifice ,india--even as oriental legends tell us that ,cain was killed by ,lamech4 ,woe1 notwithstanding to the murderer of ,cain--so say the sacred oracles of the ,bible4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,hermetic ,,magic ,it is in ,egypt that ,magic attains the grade of completion as an universal science and is formulated as a perfect doctrine4 ,as a summary of all the dogmas which obtained in the ancient world1 nothing surpasses and indeed nothing equals those few paragraphs graven on precious stone by ,hermes and denominated the ,emerald ,tablet4 ,unity of being and unity in the harmony of things1 according to the ascending and descending scales2 progressive and proportional evolution of the ,word2 immutable law of equilibrium and graduated progress of universal analogies2 correspondence between the idea and its expression providing a measure of likeness between ,creator and created2 essential mathematics of the infinite1 proved by the dimensions of a single angle in the finite3 all this is expressed by the one proposition3 8that which is above is like that which is below1 and that which is below is like that which is above1 for the fulfilment of the wonders of the one thing40 ,hereunto are added the revelation and illuminating description of the creative agent1 the pantomorphic fire1 the great medium of occult force--in a word1 the ,astral ,light4 8,the sun is its father and the moon its mother2 the wind has borne it in the belly thereof40 ,it follows that this light has emanated from the sun and has received form and rhythmical movement from the influences of the moon1 while the atmosphere is its receptacle and prison4 8,the earth is its nurse0--that is to say1 it is equilibrated and set in motion by the central heat of the earth4 8,it is the universal principle1 the ,,telesma of the world40 ,hermes goes on to set forth in what manner this light1 which is also a force1 can be applied as a lever1 as an universal dissolvent and as a formative and coagulative agent2 how also this light must be extracted from the bodies in which it lies latent in order to imitate all the artifices of ,nature by the aid of its diverse manifestations as fire1 motion1 splendour1 radiant gas1 scalding water or finally igneous earth4 ,the ,emerald ,tablet contains all ,magic in a single page4#df ,the other works attributed to ,hermes1#dg such as the ,divine ,pymander1 ,asclepius1 ,minerva of the ,world1 c4 are generally regarded by critics as productions of the ,school of ,alexandria2 but they contain notwithstanding the ,hermetic traditions which were preserved in theurgic sanctuaries4 ,for those who possess the keys of symbolism the doctrines of ,hermes can never be lost2 amidst all their ruin1 the monuments of ,egypt are as so many scattered leaves which can be collected and the book of those doctrines thus reconstructed entirely4 ,in that vast book the capital letters are temples and the sentences are cities punctuated with obelisks and by the sphinx4 ,the physical division of ,egypt was itself a magical synthesis1 and the names of its provinces corresponded to the ciphers of sacred numbers4 ,the realm of ,sesostris was divided into three parts2 of these ,upper ,egypt1 or the ,thebaid1 was a type of the celestial world and the land of ecstasy2 ,lower ,egypt was the symbol of earth2 while ,middle or ,central ,egypt was the land of science and of high initiation4 ,each of these parts was subdivided into ten provinces1 called ,nomes1 and was placed under the particular protection of a god4 ,there were therefore #cj gods and they were grouped by threes1 giving symbolical expression in this manner to all possible conceptions of the triad within the decad1 or otherwise to the threefold material1 philosophical and religious significance of absolute ideas attached primitively to numbers4 ,we have thus the triple unity or the first triad1 the triple binary#dh formed by the first triad and its reflection1 being the ,star of ,solomon2 the triple triad or the complete idea under each of its three forms2 the triple quaternary1 being the cyclic number of astral revolutions1 and so onward4 ,the geography of ,egypt under ,sesostris is therefore a pantacle or symbolical summary of the entire magical dogma originating with ,zoroaster and rediscovered or formulated more precisely by ,hermes4 ,in this manner did the land of ,egypt become as a great volume and the instructions contained therein were multiplied by translation into pictures1 sculptures1 architecture through the length and breadth of the towns and in all temples4 ,the very desert had its eternal teachings1 and its word of stone was set squarely on the foundations of the pyramids4 ,the pyramids themselves stood like boundaries of the human intelligence1 in the presence of which the colossal sphinx meditated age after age1 sinking by insensible degrees into the desert sand4 ,even at this day its head1 defaced by the work of time1 still emerges from its sepulchre1 as if waiting expectantly the signal for its complete entombment at the coming of a human voice revealing to a new world the problem of the pyramids4 ,egypt from our standpoint is the cradle of science and of wisdom1 for it clothed with images the antique dogma of the first ,zoroaster more exactly and more purely1 if not more richly1 than those of ,india4 ,the ,sacerdotal ,art and the ,royal ,art made adepts by initiation in ,egypt1 and such initiation was not restricted within the egotistic limits of caste4 ,we know that a ,jewish bondsman himself attained not only initiation but the rank of minister in chief1 perhaps even of ,grand ,hierophant1 for he espoused the daughter of an ,egyptian priest1 and there is evidence that the priesthood in that country tolerated no misalliance4 ,joseph realised in ,egypt the dream of communism2 he established the priesthood and the state as sole proprietors and thus sole arbiters of labour and wealth4 ,in this way he abolished distress and turned the whole of ,egypt into a patriarchal family4 ,it is a matter of common knowledge that his elevation was due to skill in the interpretation of dreams1 a science which even devout ,christians now refuse to credit1 though they recognise that the ,bible1 which narrates the wonderful divinations of ,joseph1 is the word of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the science of ,joseph was none other than a comprehension of the natural analogies which subsist between ideas and images1 or between the ,word and its symbols4 ,he knew that the soul when immersed by sleep in the ,astral ,light1 perceives the reflections of its most secret thoughts and even of its presentiments2 he knew further that the art of translating the hieroglyphics of sleep is the key of universal lucidity1 seeing that all intelligent beings have revelations in dreams4 ,the basis of absolute hieroglyphical science was an alphabet in which deities were represented by letters1 letters represented ideas1 ideas were convertible into numbers1 and numbers were perfect signs4 ,this hieroglyphical alphabet was the great secret which ,moses enshrined in his ,kabalah2 its ,egyptian origin is commemorated in the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 in which it is referred to ,abraham4 ,now this alphabet is the famous ,book of ,thoth1 and it was divined by ,court de ,gebelin that it has been preserved to our own day in the form of ,tarot cards4 ,it passed later on into the hands of ,etteilla1 who interpreted it in the wrong sense1 for even a study extending over thirty years could not atone for his want of common sense or supply deficiencies in his education4 ,the record exists still among the drift and waste of ,egyptian monuments2 and its most curious1 most complete key is found in the great work on ,egypt by ,athanasius ,kircher4 ,it is the copy of an ,isiac tablet which belonged to the celebrated ,cardinal ,bembo4 ,the tablet in question is of copper with figures in enamel1 and it has been unfortunately lost4 ,the copy supplied by ,kircher is1 however1 exact4#di ,the learned ,jesuit divined that it contained the hieroglyphic key of sacred alphabets1 though he was unable to develop the explanation4 ,it is divided into three equal compartments2 above are the twelve houses of heaven and below are the corresponding distributions of labour throughout the year1 while in the middle place are twenty-one sacred signs answering to the letters of the alphabet4 ,in the midst of all is a seated figure of the pantomorphic ,,iynx1 emblem of universal being#ej and corresponding as such to the ,hebrew ,yod1 or to that unique letter from which all other letters were formed4 ,the ,,iynx is encircled by the ,ophite triad1 answering to the ,three ,mother ,letters of the ,egyptian and ,hebrew alphabets4#ea ,on the right are the ibimorphic and serapian triads2 on the left are those of ,nepthys and ,hecate1 representing active and passive1 fixed and volatile1 fructifying fire and generating water4 ,each pair of triads in conjunction with the centre produces a septenary1 and a septenary is contained in the centre4 ,the three septenaries furnish the absolute number of the three worlds1 as well as the complete number of primitive letters1 to which a complementary sign is added1 like zero to the nine numerals4 ,the ten numbers and the twenty-two letters are termed in ,kabalism the ,thirty-two ,paths of ,wisdom1 and their philosophical description is the subject of that venerated primval book known as the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 the text of which will be found in the collection of ,pistorius and elsewhere4#eb ,the alphabet of ,thoth is the original of our ,tarot only in an indirect manner1 seeing that the latter is of ,jewish origin in the extant copies and that its pictures are not older than the reign of ,charles ,,vii4 ,the cards of ,jacquemin ,gringonneur are the first ,tarots of which we have any knowledge1 but they reproduce symbols belonging to the highest antiquity4 ,the game in its modern form was an experiment on the part of astrologers to restore the king1 who has been mentioned1 to reason4#ec ,the oracles of the ,tarot give answers as exact as mathematics and measured as the harmonies of ,nature4 ,such answers result from the varied combination of the different signs4 ,but it requires a considerable exercise of reason to make use of an instrument belonging to reason and to science2 the poor king1 in his childish condition1 saw only the playthings of an infant in the artist's pictures and he turned the mysterious ,kabalistic alphabet#ed into a game of cards4 ,illustration3 ,,explanatory ,,diagram ,,of ,,the ,,astronomical ,,and ,,alphabetical ,,tablet ,,of ,,bembo ,we are told by ,moses that the ,israelites carried away the sacred vessels of the ,egyptians when they came out of the land of bondage4 ,the account is allegorical1 for the great prophet would scarcely have encouraged his people in an act of theft2 the sacred vessels in question were the mysteries of ,egyptian knowledge1 acquired by ,moses himself at the court of ,pharaoh4 ,we are by no means suggesting that the miracles of this man of ,god are referable to ,magic2 but we know on the authority of the ,bible that ,jannes and ,mambres1 who were the magicians of ,pharaoh and consequently grand hierophants of ,egypt1 began by performing in virtue of their art wonders which were similar to those of ,moses4 ,they transformed wands into serpents and serpents again into wands1 which might be explicable by prestige or fascination2 they changed water into blood2 they produced a swarm of frogs in a moment2 but they could not cause flies to appear or other parasitic insects1 for reasons which we have explained already1 as also the manner in which they were forced to confess themselves vanquished4 ,moses triumphed and led the ,israelites out of the land of bondage4 ,it was at this period that true science became lost to ,egypt1 for the priests1 abusing the implicit confidence of the people1 allowed that knowledge to degenerate into brutalising idolatry4 ,such is the rock of peril for esoteric science2 the truth must be veiled1 yet not hidden from the people2 symbolism must not be disgraced by a lapse into absurdity2 the sacred veil of ,isis must be preserved in its beauty and dignity4 ,it was over this that the ,egyptian priesthood failed2 the vulgar and the foolish understood the hieroglyphic forms of ,isis and ,hermanubis as real things1 so that ,osiris was understood to be an ox1 while the wise ,hermes was a dog4 ,the transformed ,osiris masqueraded in the fantastic guise of the bull of ,apis1 nor did the priests hinder the people from adoring flesh intended for their kitchens4 ,it was time to save the holy traditions2 ,moses established a new nation and forbade all worship of images2 but the people unfortunately had dwelt long among idolaters and memories of the bull of ,apis remained with them in the desert4 ,we know the history of that ,golden ,calf to which the children of ,israel have been always a little addicted4 ,moses1 however1 did not wish the sacred hieroglyphics to pass out of memory1 and he sanctified them by their consecration to the purified worship of the true ,god4 ,we shall see how all objects which entered into the cultus of ,jehovah were symbolic in character and recalled the venerable signs of primval revelation4 ,but we must first finish with the ,gentiles and follow through pagan civilisation the story of materialised hieroglyphics and of ancient rites degenerated4 ,,chapter ,v ,,magic ,,in ,,greece ,we pass now to the period when the exact sciences of ,magic assumed their natural external form1 being that of beauty4 ,we have seen in the ,zohar how the human prototype rose in heaven and was reflected below in the waters of being4 ,this ideal man1 this shadow of the pantomorphic god1 this virile phantom of perfect form was not destined to dwell alone in the world of symbolism4 ,there was given to him a companion under the beneficent sky of ,hellas4 ,the celestial ,venus1 the chaste and fruitful ,venus1 the triple mother of the three ,graces1 rose in her turn1 no longer from the sleeping deeps of chaos1 but from the living and flowing waves of that echoing archipelago of poetry1 where islands embroidered with green trees and flowers seem as the vessels of gods4 ,the magical septenary of ,chaldea passes into music on the seven strings of the ,orphic lyre4 ,it is harmony which transforms the woods and wildernesses of ,greece4 ,to the melody of the songs of ,orpheus1 the rocks are smoothed1 the oaks sway in measures and the wild beasts become subject to man4 ,by such magic did ,amphion raise up the walls of ,thebes--that wisdom-city of ,cadmus1 the city of initiation1 itself a pantacle like the seven wonders of the world4 ,as ,orpheus gave life to numbers1 so ,cadmus bound thought to the sigils of letters4 ,the one established a nation dedicated to all things beautiful1 and for that nation the other provided a native land1 corresponding to its genius and its love4 ,in the ancient ,greek traditions1 ,orpheus is numbered among the heroes of the ,golden ,fleece1 who were the primeval conquerors of the ,great ,work4 ,the ,golden ,fleece is the vesture of the sun itself2 it is light in application to the needs of man2 it is the grand secret of magical works2 it is in fine1 initiation as this should be understood essentially2 and it was the quest of these or this which carried the allegorical heroes into a mystic ,asia4 ,on the other hand1 ,cadmus was a voluntary exile from the glorious ,thebes of ,egypt2 he brought into ,greece the knowledge of letters and that harmony of which they are images4 ,the new ,thebes1 the typical city of wisdom1 was built to the measures of that harmony1 for science consists in the rhythmic correspondence between hieroglyphical1 phonetic and numeral characters1 the inherent motion of which follows the eternal laws of mathematics4 ,thebes is circular and its citadel is square2 like the sky of ,magic1 it has seven gates1 and its legend was destined to become the epic of occultism and the foreshadowed history of human genius4 ,all these mysterious allegories1 all these inspired traditions1 are the soul of ,greek civilisation2 but we must be dissuaded from seeking the real history of their poetic heroes otherwise than in the transformations of oriental history carried into ,greece by unknown hierophants4 ,it was only the history of ideas which was written by the great of those days1 and they were at little pains to acquaint us with the human struggles belonging to the birth of empires4 ,homer followed in their path1 marshalling the gods1 who are the immortal types of thought2 it was in this sense that a world's upheaval followed on the frown of ,jupiter4 ,if ,greece carried fire and sword into ,asia1 it was to avenge the profanations of science and virtue in their sacrifice to lust2 it was to restore the empire of the world to ,minerva and ,juno1 in despite of that sensuous ,venus who ruined her devoted lovers4 ,such is the sublime mission of poetry1 which substitutes gods for men1 or causes in place of effects and eternal concepts for the sorry incarnations of greatness on earth4 ,ideas raise up and they also cast down empires2 a faith of some kind is at the root of all grandeur1 and in order that faith may be poetry1 or in other words creative1 it must be founded on truth4 ,the only history which is worthy to occupy the wise is that of the light which is victorious over darkness for ever4 ,that which is called a civilisation is one great day of this sun4 ,the fable of the ,golden ,fleece connects ,hermetic ,magic with ,greek initiations4 ,the ,golden ,fleece of the solar ram1 which must be obtained by those or by him who would possess universal sovereignty1 is figurative of the ,great ,work4 ,the ,argonautic vessel1 built of timber from the prophetic oaks of ,dodona1 the speaking vessel1 is the ship of the mysteries of ,isis1 the ark of life-force and renewal1 the coffer of ,osiris1 the egg of divine regeneration4 ,the adventurer ,jason is he who is prepared for initiation1 but he is a hero in his valour only2 he has all the inconstancy and all the weakness of humanity1 but he takes with him the personifications of all power4 ,hercules1 who signifies brute force1 has no real part in the work1 for he goes astray from the path in pursuit of his unworthy loves4 ,the others arrive in the land of initiation1 of ,colchis1 where the remnant of ,zoroastrian secrets is still preserved4 ,the question is how to obtain the key of these mysteries1 and science is once again betrayed by a woman4 ,medea delivers to ,jason the arcana of the ,great ,work1 with the kingdom and the life of her father2 for it is a fatal law of the occult sanctuary that the revelation of its secrets entails death upon him who has proved unable to preserve them4 ,medea informs ,jason of the monsters with which he must do battle and of that which will ensure his victory4 ,there is firstly the winged serpent of earth1 the astral fluid which must be seized and fixed2 its teeth must be drawn and sown in a waste place1 which has been previously ploughed by the bulls of ,mars4 ,the dragon's teeth are those acids#ee which dissolve the metallic earth after its preparation by a double fire and by the earth's magnetic forces4 ,a fermentation follows1 comparable to a great battle2 the impure is devoured by the impure1 and the splendid ,fleece is the reward of the adept4 ,so ends the magical romance of ,jason and that of ,medea follows1 for ,greek antiquity sought to include in this history the complete epic of occult science4 ,hermetic ,magic is succeeded by getia1 parricide1 fratricide1 infanticide1 sacrificing all to its passions but never enjoying the harvest of its crimes4 ,medea betrays her father like ,ham and assassinates her brother like ,cain4 ,she stabs her children1 poisons her rival and reaps the hatred of him whose love she has coveted4 ,it may be surprising on the surface that ,jason does not gain in wisdom by the mastery of the ,golden ,fleece1 but it must be remembered that he owes the discovery of its secrets to treason only4 ,he is a ravisher after the manner of ,prometheus and not an adept like ,orpheus2 he is in search of wealth and power rather than of knowledge4 ,hence he perishes miserably1 for the inspiring and sovereign virtues of the ,golden ,fleece will be never understood except by the disciples of ,orpheus4 ,prometheus1 the ,golden ,fleece1 the ,thebaid1 the ,iliad and the ,odyssey--these five great epics1 full of the mysteries of ,nature and human destinies1 constitute the bible of ancient ,greece1 a cyclopean monument1 a ,pelion piled upon an ,ossa1 masterpiece over masterpiece1 form on form1 beautiful as light itself and throned upon eternal thoughts1 sublime in truth4 ,it was however at their proper risk and peril that the hierophants of poetry committed to the ,greek people these marvellous fictions in which truth was shrined4 ,aeschylus who dared to depict the ,titanic struggles1 superhuman woes and divine hopes of ,prometheus--,aeschylus1 the awe-inspiring poet of the family of dipus--was accused of betraying and profaning the mysteries and escaped with difficulty a severe condemnation4 ,we are unable at this day to realise his whole intent1 which was a dramatic trilogy embracing the entire symbolic history of ,prometheus4 ,it follows that he exhibited to the assembled people how ,prometheus was delivered by ,alcides and how ,jupiter was cast from his throne4 ,the omnipotence of genius in its suffering and the decisive victory of patience over power are fine no doubt1 but the crowd might see therein the future triumph of impiety and anarchy4 ,prometheus overcoming ,jupiter might be understood as the people destined to be liberated one day from their priests and kings2 and guilty hopes might count for much in the prodigal applause accorded to him who unveiled this prospect imprudently4 ,to the leanings of dogma towards poetry we owe the masterpieces in question1 and we are not therefore to be counted among the austere initiates who would wish1 like ,plato1 to crown and then exile the poets2 for the true poets are ambassadors of ,god on earth and those who cast them forth deserve no blessing from heaven4 ,the great ,greek initiator and he who civilised it first was also its first poet1 for even in allowing that ,orpheus was a mystical or fabulous personality1 we must believe in the existence of ,musus and attribute to him the verses which pass under the name of his master4#ef ,it matters little to us otherwise whether one of the ,argonauts was called ,orpheus or not1 for the poetic creator has done more than live2 he lives in immortality for ever4 ,the ,orphic fable is a complete dogma1 a revelation of priestly destinies1 a new ideal form of the worship of beauty4 ,the regeneration and redemption of love are indicated already therein4 ,orpheus descends into hell1 seeking ,eurydice and must bring her back without seeing her2 so must the pure man create his companion1 raise her to himself by devotion and not by desire of her4 ,it is in renouncing the object of passion that we deserve to possess the object of true love4 ,we are already in the atmosphere of the pure dreams of ,christian chivalry4 ,but the hierophant is still a man2 he falters1 questions and looks4 ,ab miseror ,eurydicem4 ,she is lost1 the error is committed1 the expiation must now begin4 ,orpheus is widowed and remains as such in purity2 the marriage with ,eurydice had not attained consummation1 and as the widower of one who was a virgin he rested himself in virginity4 ,the poet is not two-hearted and children of the race of gods love once and once alone4 ,paternal inspirations1 yearnings for an ideal which shall be found beyond the tomb1 widowhood made holy in its consecration to the sacred muse4 ,what a revelation in advance of inspirations yet to come4 ,orpheus1 bearing in his heart a wound that nothing but death shall heal1 becomes a doctor of souls and bodies2 he dies at length1 the victim of his chastity--the death which he suffers is that of initiators and prophets4 ,he perishes proclaiming the unity of god and the unity also of love3 this at a later period was the root of the ,orphic ,mysteries4 ,having shewn himself raised so far above his own epoch1 ,orpheus earned in due course the reputation of a sorcerer and enchanter4 ,to him1 as to ,solomon1 were attributed the knowledge of simples and minerals1 of celestial medicine and the philosophical stone4 ,with these he was doubtless acquainted1 since he personifies primitive initiation1 fall and reparation in his legend--the three divisions of the great work of humanity4 ,orphic initiation may1 according to ,ballanche1 be summarised in the following manner3 8,made subject in the first place to the influence of the elements1 man's own influence must afterwards govern these4 ,creation is the act of a divine magism which is continuous and eternal4 ,true being resides for man in self-knowledge4 ,responsibility is for him a conquest and the very penalty of sin is another occasion for victory4 ,all life is founded on death1 and palingenesis is the law of reparation4 ,marriage is the reproduction in humanity of the great cosmogonical mystery4 ,it should be one1 as ,god and ,nature are one4 ,it is the unity of the ,tree of ,life1 while debauch is division and death4 ,astrology is a synthesis1 because the ,tree of ,life is a single tree and because its branches--spread through heaven and bearing flowers of stars--are in correspondence with its roots1 which are hidden in earth4 ,the knowledge of the medical and magical virtues resident in plants1 metals and bodies endowed with varying degrees of life1 is also a synthetic knowledge4 ,the capacities for organisation in their various grades are revealed by a synthesis4 ,the aggregations and affinities of metals1 like the vegetative soul of plants and like all powers of assimilation1 are also made known by a synthesis40 ,it has been said that the beautiful is the splendour of the true1 and it is therefore to this great light of ,orpheus that we must ascribe the perfection of form which was manifested for the first time in ,greece4 ,to him also--as to a source--is referable the school of divine ,plato1 that pagan father of all high ,christian philosophy4 ,from him did ,pythagoras and the illuminati of ,alexandria alike derive their mysteries4 ,initiation does not suffer vicissitude2 it is one and the same1 wheresoever we meet with it through the ages4 ,the last disciples of ,martines de ,pasqually are still the children of ,orpheus2 but they adore the ,realiser of antique philosophy1 ,who is the incarnate ,word of ,christians4 ,we have said that the first part of the fable concerning the ,golden ,fleece embodies the secrets of ,orphic ,magic and that the second part is dedicated to judicious warnings against the abuses of ,getia or the ,magic of darkness4 ,false or ,getic ,magic1 known at the present day under the name of sorcery1 can never rank as a science3 it is the empiricism of fatality4 ,all excessive passion produces a factitious force of which will cannot be the master1 but that force is obedient to the tyranny of passion4 ,this is why ,albertus ,magnus counsels us to curse no one in our wrath4 ,it is the story of the malediction of ,hippolytus by ,theseus4 ,excessive passion is real madness1 and the latter in its turn is an intoxication or congestion of ,astral ,light4 ,this is why madness is contagious and why passions in general operate as a veritable witchcraft4 ,women are superior to men in sorcery because they are more easily transported by excess of passion4 ,the word sorcerer clearly designates victims of chance and1 so to speak1 the poisonous mushrooms of fatality4 ,greek sorcerers1 but especially those of ,thessaly1 put horrible precepts to the proof and were given over to abominable rites4 ,they were mostly women wasted by desires which they could no longer satisfy1 antiquated courtesans1 monsters of immorality and ugliness4 ,jealous of love and life1 those wretched creatures found lovers only in the tombs1 or rather they violated sepulchres to devour with foul caresses the icy bodies of young men4 ,they stole children and stifled their cries by pressing them to their dangling breasts4 ,they were known as lami1 stryges1 empus2 children were the objects of their envy and thus of their hatred1 and they sacrificed them for this reason4 ,some1 like that ,canidia who is mentioned by ,horace1 buried them as far as the head and left them to die of hunger1 surrounded with food which they could not reach2 others cut off the heads1 hands and feet1 boiled their fat and grease1 in copper basins1 to the consistence of an ointment1 which they afterwards mixed with the juice of henbane1 belladonna and black poppies4 ,with this unguent they anointed the organ which was irritated unceasingly by their detestable desires2 they rubbed also their temples and arm-pits1 and then fell into a lethargy full of unbridled and luxurious dreams4 ,there is need to speak plainly--these are the origins and this is the traditional practice of ,black ,magic2 these are the secrets which were handed down to the middle ages2 and such in fine are the pretended innocent victims whom public execration1 far more than the sentence of inquisitors1 condemned to the flames4 ,it was in ,spain and in ,italy above all that the race of stryges1 lami and empus abounded1 even at a late period2 those who doubt should consult the most experienced criminologists of these countries1 digested by ,franciscus ,torreblanca1#eg ,royal ,advocate of the ,chancelry of ,granada1 in his ,epitome ,delictorum4 ,medea and ,circe are the types of ,malefic ,magic among the ,greeks4 ,circe is the vicious female who bewitches and debases her lovers2 ,medea is the brazen poisoner who dares everything and makes ,nature itself the abettor of her crimes4 ,there are actually creatures who enchant like ,circe and whose proximity defiles4 ,they can inspire nothing but brutal passions2 they exhaust and then disdain you4 ,they must be treated according to the policy of ,ulysses1 by compelling them to obedience through fear and by being able to leave them in the end without regret4 ,they are beautiful1 heartless monsters and their vanity is their whole life4 ,they were depicted by antiquity in the form of syrens4 ,as to ,medea1 she is perversity incarnate1 willing and working evil4 ,she is capable of love and does not yield to fear1 but her love is more terrible than her hate4 ,she is a bad mother and the destroyer of children2 she loves the night and under the rays of the moon she gathers noxious herbs for the brewing of poisons4 ,she magnetises the air1 brings dole to earth1 infects water and makes even the fire venomous4 ,reptiles provide her with their skins2 she mutters frightful words2 the track of blood follows her2 and mutilated limbs fall from her hands4 ,her counsels madden1 her caresses beget horror4 ,such is the woman who has sought to rise beyond the duties of her sex by familiarity with forbidden sciences4 ,men avoid her1 children hide when she passes4 ,she is devoid of reason1 devoid of true love1 and the stratagems of ,nature in revolt against her are the ever-renewing torment of her pride4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,mathematical ,,magic ,,of ,,pythagoras ,he who initiated ,numa1 and of whose proficiency in ,magic something has been said already1 was a personage known as ,tarchon1 himself the disciple of a ,chaldean named ,tages4 ,science had then its apostles who went to and fro in the world1 making priests and kings therein4 ,not infrequently persecution itself was overruled to fulfil the designs of ,providence1 and so it came about toward the seventy-second ,olympiad1 or four generations after the reign of ,numa4 ,pythagoras of ,samos sought a refuge in ,italy from the tyranny of ,polycrates4 ,the great promoter of the philosophy of numbers had visited all the sanctuaries of the world and had even been in ,juda1 where he suffered circumcision#eh as the price of his admission into the mysteries of the ,kabalah1 communicated to him1 though not without a certain reserve1 by the prophets ,ezekiel and ,daniel4 ,subsequently1 but again not without difficulty1 he obtained ,egyptian initiation1 being recommended by the ,king ,amasis4 ,the capacities of his own genius supplemented the imperfect revelations of the hierophants1 so that he became himself a master and one who expounded the mysteries4 ,pythagoras defined ,god as a living and absolute truth clothed in light2 he defined the ,word as number manifested by form2 and he derived all things from the ,tetractys--that is to say1 the tetrad4 ,he said also that ,god is supreme music1 the nature of which is harmony4 ,religion was1 according to him1 the highest expression of justice2 medicine was the most perfect practice of science2 the beautiful was harmony2 force1 reason2 felicity1 perfection2 while truth in application consisted in distrusting the weakness and perversity of men4 ,when he made his dwelling at ,crotona1 the magistrates of that city1 seeing that he exercised so great an influence over minds and hearts1 were at first in some anxiety concerning him2 but ultimately they sought his advice4 ,pythagoras counselled them to cultivate the muses and maintain the most perfect accord among themselves1 because feuds between masters fomented rebellion among servants4 ,thereafter he imparted to them his grand religious1 political and social precept3 ,there is no evil which is not to be preferred before anarchy--an axiom of universal application and almost infinite depth1 though one which even our own age is not as yet sufficiently enlightened to understand4 ,outside the traditions of his life1 the remains of ,pythagoras are his ,golden ,verses and his ,symbols1 of which the former have passed into commonplaces of popular morality1 so great has been their success through the ages4 ,they have been rendered as follows3#ei-- 8,first worship the immortal gods1 as they are established and ordained by the ,law4 ,reverence the oath and next the heroes1 full of goodness and light4444 ,honour likewise thy parents1 and those most nearly related to thee4 ,of all the rest of mankind1 make him thy friend who distinguishes himself by his virtue4 ,always give ear to his mild exhortations1 and take example from his virtuous and useful actions4 ,avoid as much as possible hating thy friend for a slight fault4 ,understand that power is a near neighbour to necessity4444 ,overcome and vanquish these passions--gluttony1 sloth1 sensuality1 and anger4 ,do nothing evil1 neither in the presence of others nor privately1 and above all things respect thyself4 ,in the next place1 observe justice in thy actions and in thy words4444 ,the goods of fortune are uncertain2 as they may be acquired1 so may they likewise be lost4 ,always make this reflection1 that it is ordained by destiny that all men shall die4444 ,support with patience thy lot1 be it what it may1 and never repine at it2 but endeavour what thou canst to remedy it4 ,consider that fate does not send the greatest portion of these misfortunes to good men4444 ,let no man by his words1 or by his deeds seduce thee2 nor entice thee to say or to do what is not profitable for thyself4 ,consult and deliberate before thou act1 that thou mayst not commit foolish actions4 ,for it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection4 ,but do that which will not afflict thee afterwards1 nor oblige thee to repentance4 ,never do anything which thou dost not understand2 but learn all that thou oughtest to know1 and by that means thou wilt lead a very pleasant life4 ,in no wise neglect the health of thy body2 but give it drink and meat in due measure1 and also the exercise of which it has need4444 ,accustom thyself to a way of living that is neat and decent without luxury4444 ,do only the things which cannot hurt thee1 and deliberate before thou dost them4 ,never suffer sleep to close thy eyelids1 after thy going to bed1 till thou hast examined by thy reason all thy actions of the day4 ,wherein have ,i done amiss8 ,what have ,i done8 ,what have ,i omitted that ,i ought to have done80 ,up to this point the ,golden ,verses seem to be only the instructions of a schoolmaster4 ,they bear however a very different construction4 ,they are the preliminary laws of magical initiation1 which constitute the first part of the ,great ,work1 that is to say1 the creation of the perfect adept4 ,this is proved by the following verses3 8,i swear by him who has transmitted into our souls the ,sacred ,quaternion1 the source of nature1 whose cause is eternal4 ,never begin to set thy hand to any work1 till thou hast prayed the gods to accomplish what thou art going to begin4 ,when thou hast made this habit familiar to thee1 thou wilt know the constitution of the ,immortal ,gods and of men4 ,even how far the different beings extend1 and what contains and binds them together 4441 and nothing in this world shall be hid from thee4444 ,o ,jupiter1 our ,father6 if thou wouldst deliver men from all the evils that oppress them1 shew them of what daimon they make use4 ,but take courage2 the race of men is divine4444 ,when1 having divested thyself of thy mortal body1 thou arrivest at the most pure ther1 thou shalt be a god1 immortal1 incorruptible1 and death shall have no more dominion over thee40 ,pythagoras said otherwise3 8,as there are three divine concepts and three intelligible realms1 so is there a triple word1 because hierarchic order is ever manifested by the triad4 ,there are 7a7 simple speech1 7b7 hieroglyphical speech and 7c7 symbolical speech4 ,in other terms1 there is the word which expresses1 there is the concealing word and1 finally1 there is the word that signifies3 all hieratic intelligence is in the perfect science of these three degrees40 ,after this manner he enshrined doctrine in symbols1 but eschewing personifications and images which1 in his opinion1 begot idolatry sooner or later4 ,he has been even charged with detestation of poets1 but it was the makers of bad verses to whom he forbade the art3 8,thou who hast no harp1 seek not to sing in measures10 he says in his symbols4 ,a man so great as he could never disregard the exact correspondence between sublime thoughts and beautiful figurative expressions2 indeed his own symbols are full of poetry3 8,do not scatter the flowers of which crowns are made40 ,in such terms he exhorts his disciples never to diminish glory and never to flout that which it seems good for the world to honour4 ,pythagoras was chaste1 but far from commanding celibacy to his disciples he married on his own part and had children4 ,a beautiful saying of his wife has remained in memory3 she had been asked whether purification was not requisite in a woman after intercourse with a man1 and in such case after what lapse of time she might regard herself as sufficiently purified to approach holy things4 ,she replied3 8,immediately1 if it be with her husband2 but if it be with another1 never40 ,the same severity of principles1 the same purity of manners1 qualified in the school of ,pythagoras for initiation into the mysteries of ,nature and so was attained that empire over self by which the elementary powers could be governed4 ,pythagoras possessed the faculty which by us is termed second sight and was known then as divination4 ,being with his disciples one day on the seashore1 a vessel appeared on the horizon4 8,master10 said one of the companions1 8would it mean wealth if they gave me the cargo carried by that ship80 8,to you it would be more than useless10 ,pythagoras answered4 8,in such case ,i would keep it for my heirs40 8,would you wish to bequeathe them two corpses80 ,the vessel came into port and proved to be bearing the body of a man who desired to be buried in his own country4 ,it is related furthermore that beasts were obedient to ,pythagoras4 ,once in the middle of the ,olympic ,games1 he signalled to an eagle winging its way through heaven2 the bird descended1 wheeling circle-wise1 and again took rapid flight at the master's token of dismissal4 ,there was also a great bear1 ravaging in ,apulia2 ,pythagoras brought it to his feet and told it to leave the country4 ,it disappeared accordingly and when asked to what knowledge he owed such a marvellous power1 he answered3 8,to the science of light40 ,animated beings are1 in fact1 incarnations of light4 ,out of the darkness of ugliness forms emerge and move progressively towards the splendours of beauty2 instincts are in correspondence with forms2 and man who is the synthesis of that light whereof animals may be termed the analysis1 is created to command them4 ,it has come about1 however1 that in place of ruling as their master1 he has become their persecutor and destroyer1 so that they fear and have rebelled against him4 ,in the presence of an exceptional will which is at once benevolent and directing they are completely magnetised1 and a host of modern phenomena both can and should enable us to understand the possibility of miracles like those of ,pythagoras4 ,physiognomists have observed that the majority of men have a certain facial resemblance to one or another animal4 ,it may be a matter of imagination only1 produced by the impression to which various physiognomies give rise1 and revealing some prominent personal characteristics4 ,a morose man is thus reminiscent of a bear1 a hypocrite has the look of a cat1 and so of the rest4 ,these kinds of judgments are magnified in the imagination and exaggerated still further in dreams1 when people who have affected us disagreeably during the waking state transform into animals and cause us to experience all the agonies of nightmare4 ,now1 animals--as much as ourselves and more even than we--are under the rule of imagination1 while they are devoid of that judgment by which we can check its errors4 ,hence they are affected towards us according to the sympathies or antipathies which are excited by our own magnetism4 ,they are1 moreover1 unconscious of that which underlies the human form and they regard us only as other animals by whom they are dominated1 the dog taking his master for a dog more perfect than himself4 ,the secret of dominion over animals lies in the management of this instinct4 ,we have seen a famous tamer of wild beasts fascinate his lions by exhibiting a terrible countenance and acting himself as if he were a lion enraged4 ,here is a literal application of the popular proverb which tells us to howl with the wolves and bleat with the sheep4 ,it must also be realised that every animal form manifests a particular instinct1 aptitude or vice4 ,if we suffer the character of the beast to predominate within us1 we shall tend to assume its external guise in an ever-increasing degree and shall even come to impress its perfect image on the ,astral ,light2 more even than this1 when we fall into dreams or ecstasy1 we shall see ourselves as ecstatics and somnambulists would see us and as we must appear undoubtedly in the eyes of animals4 ,let it happen in such cases that reason be extinguished1 that persistent dreams change into madness1 and we shall be turned into beasts like ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,this explains those stories of were-wolves1 some of which have been legally established4 ,the facts were beyond dispute1 but the witnesses were not less hallucinated than the were-wolves themselves4#fj ,cases of coincidence and correspondence in the dream-state are neither rare nor extraordinary4 ,persons in the state of magnetic ecstasy can see and talk to one another from opposite ends of the earth4 ,we ourselves may meet someone for the first time and he or she will seem to be an old acquaintance because we have encountered frequently in dream4 ,life is full of these curious occurrences and as regards the transformation of human beings into animals1 the evidences are on every side4 ,how many aged courtesans and gluttonous females1 reduced almost to idiocy after threading all sewers of existence1 are nothing but old she-cats egregiously enamoured of their tom4 ,pythagoras believed above all things in the soul's immortality and in the perpetuity of life4 ,the endless succession of summer and winter1 day and night1 sleeping and waking1 illustrated amply for him the phenomenon of death4 ,for him also the particular immortality of human souls consisted in persistence of memory4 ,he is said to have been conscious of his previous incarnations and if the report is true1 it was something suggested by his reminiscences1 for such a man as he could have been neither impostor nor fool4#fa ,it is probable that he came upon former memories in his dreams1 while simple speculation and hypothesis have been constructed as positive affirmation on his part4 ,however this may be1 his thought was great1 for the real life of our individuality consists in memory alone4 ,those waters of ,lethe pictured by the ancients were the true philosophical type of death4 ,the ,bible appears to impart a divine sanction to this idea when it is said in the ,book of ,psalms that 8the just shall be in everlasting remembrance40#fb ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,holy ,,kabalah ,let us now have recourse to the origin of true science by recurring to the ,holy ,kabalah1 or tradition of the children of ,seth1 taken from ,chaldea by ,abraham1 communicated by ,joseph to the ,egyptian priesthood1 ingarnered by ,moses1 concealed by symbols in the ,bible1 revealed by the ,saviour to ,st4 ,john1 and embodied in its fulness in hieratic images1 analogous to those of all antiquity1 in the ,apocalypse of this ,apostle4 ,whatsoever was in kinship with idolatry was held in detestation by the ,kabalists1 which notwithstanding1 ,god is represented by them under a human figure1 but it is purely hieroglyphical4 ,for them ,he is the intelligent1 the loving1 the living infinite4 ,he is neither the totality of all beings1 nor being in abstraction1 nor a being who is philosophically definable4 ,he is in all things1 being more and greater than all4 ,his very name is ineffable1 and yet this name gives expression only to the human ideal of ,his divinity4#fc ,it is not possible for man to understand ,god in ,himself4 ,he is the absolute of faith1 but the absolute of reason is ,being4 ,being is self-existent and is because it is4 ,the cause of ,being is ,being itself4 ,it is matter of legitimate speculation why this or that exists1 but it would be absurd to inquire why ,being is1 for it would be to postulate ,being as antecedent to ,being4 ,it is demonstrated by reason and science that the modes of existence in ,being are equilibrated in accordance with harmonious and hierarchic laws4 ,now the hierarchy is graduated on an ascending scale1 becoming more and more monarchic4 ,at the same time reason cannot pause in the presence of one absolute chief without being overwhelmed by the heights which it discerns above this supreme king2 it takes refuge therefore in silence and gives place to adoring faith4 ,that which is certain1 for science and for reason alike1 is that the idea of ,god is the grandest1 most holy and most serviceable of all aspirations in man2 that morality and its eternal sanction repose on this belief4 ,in humanity it is therefore the most real phenomenon of being1 and if it were false therefore1 ,nature would formulate the absurd1 the void would affirm life1 and it might be said at one and the same time that there was ,god and there was no ,god4 ,it is to this philosophical and incontestable reality1 or otherwise the notion of ,deity1 that the ,kabalists give a name1 and all other names are contained therein4#fd ,the ciphers of this name produce all numbers and the hieroglyphical forms of its letters give expression to all laws of ,nature1 with all that is therein4 ,we shall not recur in this place to that which has been dealt with already as regards the divine ,tetragram in the ,doctrine of ,transcendental ,magic2 but it may be added that the ,kabalists inscribe it in four chief ways3 7#a7 as 1 ,,jhvh1 which is spelt but not pronounced4 ,the consonants are ,,yod1 ,,he1 ,,vau1 ,,he1 and they are rendered as ,,jehovah by us in opposition to all analogy1 for the ,tetragrammaton so disfigured is composed of six letters4#fe 7#b7 1 ,,adni1 meaning ,lord and pronounced by us ,,adonai4#ff 7#c7 ,,ahih1 which signifies ,being and is pronounced by us ,,eieie4#fg 7#d7 1 ,,agla1 pronounced as it is written and comprising hieroglyphically all mysteries of the ,kabalah4#fh ,illustration3 ,,pantacle ,,of ,,kabalistic ,,letters ,the letter ,aleph1 1 is the first of the ,hebrew alphabet1 and expressing as it does unity1 it represents hieroglyphically the dogma of ,hermes3 that which is above is analogous to that which is below4 ,in consonance with this the letter has two arms1 one of which points to earth and the other to heaven with an identical gesture4 ,the letter ,gimel1 1 is third in the alphabet2 it expresses the triad numerically1 and hieroglyphically it signifies childbirth1 fruitfulness4 ,lamed1 1 is the twelfth letter and is an expression of the perfect cycle4 ,considered as a hieroglyphical sign it represents the circulation of the perpetual movement and the relation of the radius to the circumference4 ,the duplicated ,aleph represents the synthesis4 ,therefore the name ,,agla signifies3 7#a7 unity1 which accomplishes by the triad the cycle of numbers1 leading back to unity4 7#b7 ,the fruitful principle of ,nature1 which is one therewith4 7#c7 ,the primal truth which fertilises science and restores it to unity4 7#d7 ,syllepsis1 analysis1 science and synthesis4 7#e7 ,the ,three ,divine ,persons ,who are one ,god2 the secret of the ,great ,work1 which is the fixation of the ,astral ,light by a sovereign act of will and is represented by the adepts as a serpent pierced with an arrow1 thus forming the letter ,aleph4 7#f7 ,the three operations of dissolution1 sublimation and fixation1 corresponding to the three essential substances1 ,salt1 ,sulphur and ,mercury--the whole being expressed by the letter ,gimel4 7#g7 ,the twelve keys of ,basil ,valentine1 represented by ,lamed4 7#h7 ,finally1 the ,work accomplished in conformity with its principle and reproducing the said principle4 ,herein is the origin of that ,kabalistic tradition which comprises all ,magic in a single word4 ,to know how this word is read and how also it is pronounced1 or literally to understand its mysteries and translate the knowledge into action1 is to have the key of miracles4 ,in pronouncing the word ,,agla it is said that one must turn to the ,east1 which means union of intention and knowledge with oriental tradition4 ,it should be remembered further that1 according to ,kabalah1 the perfect word is the word realised by acts1 whence comes that expression which recurs frequently in the ,bible3 facere verbum1 to make a word--that is1 in the sense of performing an act4 ,to pronounce the word ,,agla ,kabalistically is therefore to pass all tests of initiation and accomplish all its works4#fi ,it has been said in the ,doctrine of ,transcendental ,magic that the name ,jehovah resolves into seventy-two explicatory names1 called ,shemahamphorash4#gj ,the art of employing these seventy-two names and discovering therein the keys of universal science is the art which is called by ,kabalists the ,keys of ,solomon4 ,as a fact1 at the end of the collections of prayers and evocations which bear this title1 there are found usually seventy-two magical circles1 making thirty-six talismans1 or four times nine1 being the absolute number multiplied by the tetrad4 ,each of these talismans bears two of the two-and-seventy names1 the sign emblematical of their number and that of the four letters of ,tetragrammaton to which they correspond4 ,from this have originated the four emblematical ,tarot suits3 the ,wand1 representing the ,yod2 the ,cup1 answering to the ,he2 the ,sword1 referable to the ,vau2 and the ,pentacle1 in correspondence with the final ,he4 ,the complement of the denary has been added in the ,tarot1 thus repeating synthetically the character of unity4#ga ,the popular traditions of ,magic affirm that he who possesses the ,keys of ,solomon can communicate with spirits of all grades and can exact obedience on the part of all natural forces4 ,these ,keys1 so often lost and as often again recovered1 are no other than the talismans of the seventy-two names and the mysteries of the thirty-two hieroglyphical paths1 reproduced by the ,tarot4 ,by the aid of these signs and by their infinite combinations1 which are like those of numbers and letters1 it is possible to arrive at the natural and mathematical revelation of all secrets of ,nature1 and it is in this sense that communication is established with the whole hierarchy of intelligence4 ,the ,kabalists in their wisdom were on their guard against the dreams of imagination and hallucinations of the waking state4 ,therefore they avoided in particular all unhealthy evocations which disturb the nervous system and intoxicate reason4 ,makers of curious experiments in phenomena of extra-atural vision are no better than the eaters of opium and hasheesh4 ,they are children who injure themselves recklessly4 ,it may happen that one is overtaken by intoxication2 we may even so far forget ourselves voluntarily as to seek the experience of drunkenness1 but for the man who respects himself1 a single instance suffices4 ,count ,joseph de ,maistre says that one of these days we shall deride our present stupidity1 much as we deride the barbarity of the middle ages4 ,what would he think1 did he see our table-turners or listen to makers of hypotheses concerning the world of spirits8 ,poor creatures that we are1 we escape from one absurdity by rushing over to its opposite4 ,the eighteenth century thought that it protested against superstition by denying religion and we in return testify to the impiety of that period by believing in old wives' fables4 ,is it impossible to be a better ,christian than ,voltaire and still not believe in ghosts8 ,the dead can no more revisit this earth which they have quitted than a child can return into the womb of its mother4#gb ,that which we call death is birth into a new life4 ,nature does not repeat what it has once done in the order of necessary progression through the scale of existence1 and she cannot bely her own fundamental laws4 ,limited by its organs and served by these1 the human soul can enter into communication with things of the visible world only by the intermediation of these organs4 ,the body is an envelope adjusted to the physical environments in which the soul abides here4 ,by confining the action of the soul it makes her activity possible4 ,in the absence of body the soul would be everywhere1 and yet in so attenuated a sense that it could act nowhere1 but1 lost in the infinite1 would be swallowed up and annihilated in ,god4#gc ,imagine a drop of fresh water shut up in a globule and cast in the sea2 as long as that sheath is preserved intact1 the drop of water will subsist in its separate form1 but let the globule be broken and where shall we look for the drop in the vast sea8 ,in creating spirits1 ,god could endow them with self-conscious personality only by their restriction in an envelope1 so to centralise their action and by restriction save it from being lost4 ,when the soul separates from the body it changes environment of necessity1 since it changes the envelope4#gd ,it goes forth clothed only in the astral form1 or vehicle of light1 ascending in virtue of its nature above the atmosphere1 as air rises from the water in escaping from a broken vessel4 ,we say that the soul ascends because the vehicle ascends and because action and consciousness are both attached thereto4#ge ,the atmospheric air becomes solid for luciform bodies which are infinitely rarer than itself1 and they could only come down by assuming a grosser vehicle4 ,where would they obtain this in the region above our atmosphere8 ,they could only return to earth by means of another incarnation1 and such return would be a lapse1 for they would be renouncing the state of free spirit and renewing their novitiate4 ,the possibility of such a return is not admitted1 moreover1 by the catholic religion4 ,the doctrine here set forth is formulated by the ,kabalists in a single axiom3 ,the spirit clothes itself to come down and unclothes itself to go up4 ,the life of intelligence is ascensional4 ,in the body of its mother1 the child has a vegetative life and draws nourishment through a cord to which it is attached1 as the tree is attached to the earth by its root and is also nourished thereby4 ,when the child passes from vegetative to instinctive and animal life1 the cord breaks and henceforth he has free motion4 ,when the child becomes man1 he escapes from the trammels of instinct and can act as a reasonable being4 ,when the man dies1 he is liberated from the law of gravitation1 by which he has been previously bound to earth4 ,when the soul has expiated its offences1 it grows strong enough to emerge from the exterior darkness of the terrestrial atmosphere and mount towards the sun4#gf ,the unending ascent of the sacred ladder begins therein1 for the eternity of the elect cannot be a state of idleness2 they pass from virtue to virtue1 from bliss to bliss1 from victory to victory1 from glory to glory4 ,there is no break in the chain1 and those of the superior degrees can still exercise an influence on those who are below1 but it is in harmony with the hierarchic order and after the same way that a king who rules wisely does good to the humblest of his subjects4 ,from stage to stage1 the prayers arise and the graces pour down1 never mistaking the path4 ,but spirits who have once gone up cannot again come down1 for in proportion to their ascent the zones solidify below them4 ,the great gulf is fixed1 says ,abraham1 in the parable of the rich man1 so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot4#gg ,ecstasy may so exalt the powers of the star-body that it can draw the material body after it1 thus proving that the destiny of the soul is to ascend4 ,the stories of aerial levitation are possible1 but there is no instance of a man being able to live under the earth or in water4 ,it would be not less impossible for a soul in separation from the body to subsist for a single moment in the density of our atmosphere4 ,therefore departed beings are not about us1 as spiritists suppose4 ,those whom we love may see us and to us may still manifest1 but only by mirage and reflection in the common mirror of the ,astral ,light4 ,furthermore they can take interest no longer in mortal things2 they hold to us only by that which is highest in our feelings and is in correspondence with their eternal mode4#gh ,such are the revelations of ,kabalism as imbedded in the mysterious book of the ,zohar2 for science they are of course hypothetical1 but they rest on a series of exact inductions and these inductions are drawn from facts uncontested by science4 ,we are brought at this point into touch with one of the most dangerous secrets in the domain of ,magic1 being the more than probable hypothesis concerning the existence of those fluidic larv known in ancient theurgy under the name of elementary spirits4 ,something has been said upon the subject in ,the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 and the ill-starred ,abb de ,villars1 who jested with these terrible revelations1 paid for his imprudence with his life4#gi ,the reason that the secret is dangerous is because it verges on the great magical arcanum4 ,the truth is that the evocation of elementary spirits implies power to coagulate fluids by a projection of the ,astral ,light1 and this power1 so directed1 can produce only disorders and misfortunes1 as will be shewn at a later stage4 ,meanwhile1 the grounds of the hypothesis and the evidence of its probability follow3 ,spirit is everywhere1 and is that which animates matter2 it overcomes the force of gravity by perfecting the vehicle which is its form4 ,we see everywhere around us how form develops with instincts1 till intelligence and beauty are attained3 these are efforts of the light attracted by the charm of the spirit2 they are part of the mystery of progressive and universal generation4 ,the light is the efficient agent of forms and life1 because it is both motion and heat4 ,when fixed and polarised about a centre1 it produces a living being and draws thereafter the plastic substance needed to perfect and preserve it4 ,this plastic substance is1 in the last analysis1 formed of earth and water and1 with good reason1 is denominated slime of the earth in the ,bible4 ,but this light is in nowise spirit1 as believed by the ,indian hierophants and all schools of ,getia3 it is only the spirit's instrument4 ,nor is it the body of the protoplastes1 though so regarded by theurgists of the school of ,alexandria4 ,it is the first physical manifestation of the ,divine ,breath4 ,god creates it eternally and man1 who is in the image of ,god1 modifies and seems to multiply it4#hj ,prometheus1 says the classical fable1 having stolen fire from heaven1 gave life thereby to images formed of earth and water1 for which crime he was blasted and chained by ,jupiter4 ,elementary spirits1 say the ,kabalists in their most secret books1 are children of the solitude of ,adam1 born of his dreams when he yearned for the woman who as yet had not been given to him by ,god4#ha ,according to ,paracelsus1 the blood lost at certain regular periods by the female sex and the nocturnal emissions to which male celibates are subject in dream people the air with phantoms4#hb ,the hypothetical origin of larv1 according to the masters1 is here indicated with sufficient clearness and further explanation may be spared4 ,such larv have an aerial body formed from vapour of blood1 for which reason they are attracted towards spilt blood and in older days drew nourishment from the smoke of sacrifices4 ,they are those monstrous offspring of nightmare which used to be called incubi and succubi4 ,when sufficiently condensed to be visible1 they are as a vapour tinged by the reflection of an image2 they have no personal life1 but they mimic that of the magus who evokes them1 as the shadow images the body4 ,they collect above all about idiots and those immoral creatures whose isolation abandons them to irregular habits4 ,the cohesion of parts being very slight in their fantastic bodies1 they fear the open air1 a great fire and above all the point of a sword4 ,they become1 in a manner1 as vapourous appendages to the real bodies of their parents1 since they live only by drawing on the life either of those who have created them or those who appropriate them by their evocation4 ,it may come about in this manner that if these shadows of bodies be wounded1 their parent may be maimed in real earnest1 even as the unborn child may be hurt and disfigured by the imaginations of its mother4 ,the world is full of such phenomena2 they justify these strange revelations and can only be explained thereby4 ,such larv draw the vital heat of persons in good health and they drain those who are weak rapidly4 ,hence come the histories of vampires1 things of terrific reality which have been substantiated from time to time1 as it is well known4 ,this explains also why in the neighbourhood of mediums1 who are persons obsessed by larv1 one is conscious of a cooling in the atmosphere4 ,seeing that their existence is due to the illusions of imagination and divagation of the senses1 such creatures never manifest in the presence of a person who can unveil the mystery of their monstrous birth4 ,,book ,,ii ,,formation ,,and ,,development ,,of ,,dogmas --,,beth ,,chapter ,i ,,primitive ,,symbolism ,,of ,,history ,to explain ,holy ,scripture from the religious and dogmatic standpoint forms no part of our warrant4 ,subject above all things to the hierarchic order1 we surrender theology to the doctors of the ,church and we render to human science whatsoever is included in the domain of experience and reason4 ,therefore on those occasions when we may appear to be risking a new application of some biblical passage1 it is always with proper respect for ecclesiastical decisions4 ,we do not dogmatise on our own part1 and we submit our observations and researches to the lawful authorities4 ,on reading the earliest history of the human race in the sacred work of ,moses1 that which strikes one at once is the description of the ,earthly ,paradise1 which is summarised in the figure of a perfect pantacle4 ,it is circular or square1 since it is watered equally by four rivers arranged in the form of a cross1 while in the centre are found two trees representing knowledge and life1 stable intelligence and progressive motion1 wisdom and creation4#hc ,the serpent of ,asclepios and ,hermes is coiled about the ,tree2 beneath its shadow are the man and woman1 active and passive1 intelligence and love4 ,the serpent1 symbolising the primal attraction and the central fire of the earth1 tempts her who is the weaker1 and she causes the man to succumb2 yet to the serpent she yields only in order that she may overcome it subsequently3 one day she will crush the head of it by giving a ,saviour to the world4 ,all science is represented in this admirable scene4#hd ,the man abdicates the realm of intelligence by yielding to the solicitations of the sensitive part2 he profanes the fruit of knowledge1 which should be the sustenance of the soul1 by applying it to the uses of unjust and material satisfaction2 he loses in consequence the sense of harmony and of truth4 ,he is clothed thereafter with the skin of a beast1 because the physical form takes shape sooner or later1 and invariably1 in correspondence to moral dispositions4 ,he is cast out of the circle which is watered by the four rivers of life1 and a cherub1 armed with an ever-moving1 burning sword1 prevents his return into the domain of unity4 ,as we have observed in the ,doctrine of ,magic1 ,voltaire discovered that the ,hebrew word for cherub signifies a bull and was highly amused at the story4 ,he might have been less entertained1 had he recognised in the angel with the head of a bull1 the image of an obscure symbolism and in the revolving sword of fire those flashes of ill-understood and illusory truth which provided1 after the ,fall1 a pretext to the idolatry of nations4 ,the burning sword typified also that light which man knew no longer how to direct1 so that1 instead of governing its force1 he was made subject to its fatal influence4 ,the great magical work1 understood in an absolute sense1 is the conquest and direction of the burning sword1 and the cherub is the angel or soul of the earth1 represented invariably under the figure of a bull in the ,ancient ,mysteries4 ,hence in ,mithraic symbolism1 the master of light is seen vanquishing the bull of earth and plunging into his flank that sword which sets free the life1 represented by drops of blood4 ,the first consequence of ,eve's sin is the death of ,abel4 ,by separating love from understanding she separated it also from power1 and this1 reduced to blindness and in the bondage of earthly desires1 became jealous of love and slew it4 ,the children of ,cain perpetuated the crime of their father2 the daughters whom they brought into the world were disastrously beautiful but1 being void of love1 they were born for the damnation of angels#he and for the scandal of the descendants of ,seth4 ,after the deluge and as a sequel to the prevarication of ,ham1 some part of the mystery of which has been already indicated1 the children of men attempted to realise an insensate project1 by constructing an universal pantacle and palace4 ,it was a vast experiment in socialistic equality1 and the phalansterium of ,fourier is a sorry conception in comparison with the tower of ,babel4#hf ,the latter was an active protestation against the hierarchy of knowledge1 a citadel built against floods and tempests1 a promontory from the elevation of which the deified people would soar above the atmosphere and its commotions4 ,but one does not ascend to knowledge on ladders of stone2 the hierarchic degrees of the spirit are not built with mortar like the stories of a tower4 ,against such a materialised hierarchy anarchy itself protested1 and men ceased to understand one another--a fatal lesson and one misinterpreted utterly by those who in our own days have dreamed of another ,babel4 ,the negations of equality give answer to doctrines which are hierarchic only in the sense of brutality and materialism4 ,whenever the human race builds such a tower1 the summit will be contested and the multitude will desert the base4 ,to satisfy all ambitions1 the summit must be broader than the base and the result an unstable edifice which will collapse at the smallest shock4 ,the scattering of men was the first result of the curse pronounced against the profane descendants of ,ham1 but the race of ,canaan bore in a particular manner the burden of the malediction in question1 which at a later period made all their posterity anathema4#hg ,that chastity which is the guardian of the family is also the distinctive character of hierarchic initiations2 profanation and revolt are always unclean2 they tend to promiscuity and infanticide4 ,desecration of the mysteries of birth and destruction of children were the basis of the religions of ancient ,palestine1 given over to the horrible rites of ,black ,magic2 the black god of ,india1 the monstrous priapic ,rutrem1 reigned therein under the name of ,belphegor4 ,the ,talmudists and the ,platonic ,jew ,philo recite things so shameful respecting the worship of this idol1 that they appeared incredible to the learned lawyer ,seldenus4 ,it is said to have been a bearded image1 with gaping mouth and a tongue like a gigantic phallus2 the worshippers exposed themselves without shame in the presence of such a visage and presented offerings of excrement4 ,the idols of ,moloch and ,chamos were murderous machines which sometimes crushed unfortunate little children against their brazen breasts and sometimes consumed them in their red-hot arms4 ,there was dancing to the sound of trumpets and tambourines1 so that the cries of the victims were stifled1 and these dances were led by the wretched mothers4 ,incest1 sodomy and bestiality were the authorised practices among these infamous people1 and even formed part of the sacred rites4 ,such is the fatal consequence of doing violence to universal harmony2 one does not sin against truth with impunity4 ,in revolt against ,god1 man is driven to the outrage of ,nature1 despite himself4 ,identical causes ever produce the same effects1 and the ,sabbath of the ,sorcerers in the middle ages was but a repetition of the festivals of ,chamos and ,belphegor4 ,it is against such crimes that a decree of eternal death is pronounced by ,nature itself4 ,worshippers of black gods1 apostles of promiscuity1 preachers of public wantonness1 enemies of the family and hierarchy1 anarchists in religion and politics are enemies of ,god and humanity2 not to isolate them from the world is to consent that the world shall be poisoned1 or such at least was the view of inquisitors2 but we are far on our own part from desiring to re-establish the cruel executions of the middle ages4 ,in proportion as society shall become more truly ,christian it will realise more fully that we must heal those who are diseased and not destroy them2 now1 criminal instincts are surely the most appalling of mental maladies4 ,it must not be forgotten that transcendental ,magic is called the ,sacerdotal ,art and the ,royal ,art2 in ,egypt1 ,greece and ,rome it shared the grandeur and decadence of the kingdom and the priesthood4 ,every philosophy which is at issue with the cultus and its mysteries is baneful to the great political powers1 for these1 in the eyes of the multitude1 lose in grandeur if they cease to be symbols of ,divine power4 ,every crown is broken which comes into collision with the tiara4 ,the eternal dream of ,prometheus is to steal fire from heaven and cast down the gods therefrom4 ,the popular ,prometheus1 unbound on ,caucasus by ,hercules1 who typifies labour1 will ever bear about with him his rivets and chains2 he will carry his undying vulture1 fastened on his gaping wound1 till he shall learn obedience at the feet of ,him1 who1 being born the ,king of kings and ,god of gods1 has elected in ,his turn to be nailed in hands and feet and pierced in the side for the conversion of all rebellious spirits4 ,by opening the career of power to intrigue1 republican institutions endangered the principles of the hierarchy4 ,the task of forming ,kings was confided no longer to the hierarchy and was either replaced by right of inheritance--which abandons the throne to the unequal chances of birth--or by popular election--which sets aside religious influence to establish the monarchy on a basis of republican principles4 ,those governments which presided successively over the triumphs and humiliations of ,greek and ,roman states were formed in this manner4 ,the science reserved to the sanctuaries fell into neglect1 and men of boldness or genius1 who had not been accepted by those who dispense initiation1 devised another science in opposition to that of the priests1 substituting doubt or denial for the secrets of the temple4 ,in the excess of their adventurous imagination1 such philosophers were landed quickly in absurdity and laid upon ,nature the blame which belonged to their own systems4 ,heraclitus fell a-weeping1 ,democritus took refuge in laughter1 and the one was a fool like the other4 ,pyrrhon ended by believing in nothing1 which can scarcely exonerate him for the fact that he knew nothing4 ,into this philosophical chaos ,socrates brought a certain light and good sense1 by affirming the existence of pure and simple morality4 ,but what does morality profit in the absence of religion8 ,the abstract ,deism of ,socrates was interpreted by the people as atheism4 ,it came about1 however1 that ,plato1 the disciple of ,socrates1 attempted to supply that system of doctrine which was wanting in the latter and of which indeed he had never dreamed4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,twenty-,,first ,,key ,,of ,,the ,,tarot1 ,,surrounded ,,by ,,mystic ,,and ,,masonic ,,seals ,the doctrine of ,plato was epoch-making in the history of human genius1 but it was not his own invention1 for1 realising that there is no truth apart from religion1 he went to consult the priests of ,memphis and to obtain initiation into their ,mysteries4 ,he is even credited with a knowledge of the ,jewish sacred books4#hh ,in ,egypt1 however1 his initiation could have been imperfect only1 for the priests by that time had forgotten themselves the import of their primeval hieroglyphics1 as is indicated by the history of that priest who spent three days in deciphering a hieratic inscription found in the tomb of ,alcmene and sent by ,agesilaus1 ,king of ,sparta4 ,cornuphis1 who was doubtless the most learned among the hierophants1 consulted the old collections of signs and characters2 in the end he found that the inscription was in the script of proteus1 being the ,grecian name of the ,book of ,thoth1 consisting of movable hieroglyphics1 capable of variations as numerous as there are possible combinations of characters1 numbers and elementary figures4 ,but the ,book of ,thoth1 being the key of oracles and the elementary work on science1 should not have involved such long research before its signs were identified1 if ,cornuphis had been really proficient in the ,sacerdotal ,art4 ,another proof that primeval truths were obscured at this period is the fact that the oracles which registered their protest on the subject were in a style that was understood no longer4 ,after his return from ,egypt1 ,plato was journeying with ,simmias on the confines of ,caria when he was met by some men of ,delos1 who begged him to interpret an oracle of ,apollo4 ,it declared that to make an end of the woes in ,greece the cubic stone must be doubled4 ,the attempt had been made with a stone kept in the temple of ,apollo2 but the work of doubling it on every side resulted in a polyhedron having twenty-five surfaces2 to restore the cubic form they had to increase it twenty-six times the original volume of the stone1 by a process of successive doubling4 ,plato sent back the emissaries to the mathematician ,eudoxus1#hi saying that the oracle had counselled the study of geometry4 ,whether he did not himself understand the deep sense of the symbol or disdained to unveil it to the ignorant are points which must be left to conjecture2 but that which is certain is that the cubic stone and its multiplication explains all secrets of sacred numbers1 including the mystery of perpetual motion1 hidden by adepts and pursued by fools under the name of squaring the circle4#ij ,by this cubic agglomeration of twenty-six cubes about a single central cube1 the oracle indicated to the ,delians not only the elements of geometry but the key of creative harmonies1 explained by the inter-relation of forms and numbers4 ,the plan of all great allegorical temples throughout antiquity is found in the multiplication 7a7 of the cube by the cross1 7b7 about which a circle is described1 and then 7c7 the cubic cross moving in a globe4 ,these notions1 which are rendered more intelligible by a diagram1 have been handed on to our own days in ,masonic initiations1 and they are a perfect justification of the name attributed to the modern societies in question1 for they are also the root-principles of architecture and the science of building4 ,the ,delians thought to answer the geometrical question by reducing their multiplication by half1 but they had already obtained eight times the volume of their cubic stone4 ,for the rest1 the number of their experiments may be extended at will1 for the story itself is probably a problem set to his disciples by ,plato4 ,if the utterance of the oracle has to be taken as a fact1 we can find a still deeper meaning in it2 to double the cubic stone is to extract the duad from unity1 form from idea1 action from thought4 ,it is to realise in the world the exactitude of eternal mathematics1 to establish politics on the basis of exact sciences1 to harmonise religious dogma with the philosophy of numbers4 ,plato has more eloquence but less depth than ,pythagoras2 he aspires to reconcile the philosophy of logicians with the immutable dogmas of seers2 he does not seek to vulgarise but would reconstruct science4 ,so was his philosophy destined at a later date to provide dawning ,christianity with theories prepared beforehand and with vivifying doctrines4 ,notwithstanding1 however1 that he based his theorems on mathematics1 ,plato was poet rather than geometrician2 he was rich in harmonious forms and was prodigal of marvellous hypotheses4 ,aristotle1 who was a calculating genius exclusively1 referred everything to debate in the schools2 he made everything subject to the demonstrations of numeral evolutions and the logic of calculations4 ,excluding the faith of ,platonism1 he sought to prove all and likewise to comprehend all in his categories2 he turned the triad into syllogism and the binary into enthymeme4 ,for him the chain of being became a sorites4 ,he reduced everything to an abstraction and reasoned on everything2 being itself passed into an abstraction in his process and was lost amidst the hypotheses of ontology4 ,plato was destined to inspire the ,fathers of the ,church2 ,aristotle to be the master of medival scholastics2 ,god knows what clouds gathered about this logic which had no faith in anything and yet set out to explain all4 ,a second ,babel was in plan and another confusion of tongues was at no far distance4 ,being is being and in being is the reason of being4 ,in the beginning is the ,word and the ,word1 or ,logos1 is logic formulated in speech1 or spoken reason4 ,the ,word is in ,god and the ,word is ,god ,himself manifested to intelligence4 ,but this is precisely a truth which exceeds all philosophies and is that1 also precisely1 which must be believed1 under the penalty of knowing nothing and falling back into the irrational doubt of ,pyrrho4 ,as guardian of faith1 the priesthood rests entirely on this ground of science1 and we are compelled to salute in its teaching the ,divine principle of the ,eternal ,word4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,mysticism ,the legitimacy of ,divine ,right is so rooted in the priesthood that true priesthood does not exist apart from it4 ,initiation and consecration are a veritable heritage4 ,so is the sanctuary inviolable on the part of the profane and so also it cannot be seized by sectarians4 ,for the same reason the glorious lights of divine revelation are diffused in accordance with supreme reason1 because they come down in order and harmony4 ,god does not enlighten the world by means of meteors and flashes1 but ,he causes every planetary system to gravitate about its particular sun4 ,it is this very harmony which vexes certain souls1 who have grown impatient with duty1 and it is thus that people come forward to pose as reformers of morals1 having failed in coercing revelation to concur with their vices4 ,like ,rousseau1 they exclaim3 8,if ,god has spoken1 why have ,i heard nothing80 ,and then presently they add3 8,he has spoken1 but it is to me40 ,such is their dream1 and they end by believing it themselves4 ,so do the makers of sects begin1 and these are fomenters of religious anarchy3 we would by no means condemn them to the flames1 but it is certainly desirable to intern them as sufferers from contagious folly4 ,it is precisely in this manner that those mystic schools were founded which brought about the profanation of science4 ,we have seen how the ,indian fakirs attained their so-called uncreated light1 that is to say1 by the help of erethism and cerebral congestion4 ,egypt had also its sorcerers and enchanters1 while ,thessaly1 in the days of ,greece1 swarmed with conjurations and witchcraft4 ,to enter into direct communication with deities is to suppress the priesthood and subvert the basis of the throne--a fact which is realised keenly by the anarchic instinct of pretended illuminism4 ,it was by the allurement of licence that such conspirators looked to recruit disciples1 giving absolution beforehand to every scandal in manners1 on the condition of strictness in revolt and energy in protestation against sacerdotal legitimacy4#ia ,the ,bacchantes1 who dismembered ,orpheus1 believed themselves inspired by a god1 and they sacrificed the great hierophant to their deified drunkenness4 ,the orgies of ,bacchus were mystical tumults2 the apostles of mania have always had recourse to disordered movements1 frenetic agitations and horrible convulsions4 ,from the effeminate priesthood of ,bacchus to the ,gnostics2 from whirling dervishes to epileptics at the tomb of ,paris the deacon2 the characteristics of superstition and fanatic exaltation have been always the same4 ,it has been invariably under the pretext of purifying doctrine and in the name of an exaggerated spiritualism that the mystics of all times have materialised the symbols of the cultus4 ,it has been the same precisely with those who have profaned the science of the ,magi1 for transcendental ,magic1 as it is needful to remember1 is the primeval priestly art4 ,it condemns all that is done outside the lawful hierarchy1 and it justifies the condemnation--though not the torture--of sectarians and sorcerers4 ,the two classes are here connected intentionally1 because all heretics have been evokers of spirits and phantoms1 whom they have foisted upon the world as gods2 all have arrogated to themselves the power of working miracles in support of their falsehoods4 ,on these evidences they were all practisers of ,getic1 that is to say1 of ,black ,magic4 ,anarchy being the point of departure and the palmary characteristic of dissident mysticism1 religious concord is impossible between sectarians1 and yet they are in astonishing unanimity upon a single point1 being the hatred of hierarchic and lawful authority4 ,this in reality is the whole root of their religion1 as it is the sole bond which links them one to another4 ,it is ever the crime of ,ham1 contempt of the family principle and outrage offered to the father1 whose nakedness and shame they expose with sacrilegious mirth4 ,all the anarchic mystics confuse the ,intellectual with the ,astral ,light2 they worship the serpent instead of doing honour to that dutiful and pure wisdom which crushes its head4 ,so are they intoxicated by vertigo and so fall inevitably into the abyss of folly4 ,all fools are visionaries and may no doubt believe sincerely that they work wonders2 indeed hallucination is contagious and things inexplicable occur1 or seem to occur1 frequently enough in their vicinity4 ,moreover1 the phenomena of the ,astral ,light in the excess of its attraction or projection are themselves of a kind to confuse those who are half-educated4 ,it is centralised in bodies and1 as the result of violent molecular distention1 it imparts to them so high a degree of elasticity that bones may be twisted and muscles stretched out of all measure4 ,it forms whirlpools and waterspouts1 so to speak1 which levitate the heaviest bodies and can sustain them in the air for a length of time proportionate to the force of the projection4 ,the sufferers feel on the point of bursting and cry for compression or percussion to relieve them4 ,the most violent blows and the utmost constriction1 being counterpoised by the fluidic tension1 cause neither bruises nor wounds and relieve instead of crushing the patient4 ,as fools hold physicians in horror1 so the hallucinated mystics detest wise men2 they flee them in the first place and afterwards persecute them blindly1 as if against their own will4 ,in so far as they are mild and indulgent1 it is in respect of vices2 towards reason in submission to authority they are implacable2 the most tolerant of heretics in appearance will be seized with fury and hatred1 if conformity and the hierarchy are mentioned4 ,hence heresies have led to disturbances invariably4 ,the false prophet must slay if he cannot pervert4 ,he clamours for tolerance towards himself but takes good care in what sense it shall be extended to others4 ,protestants were loud in their outcries against the faggots and pyres of ,rome at the very time that ,john ,calvin1 on the warrant of his private judgment1 condemned ,servetus to be burnt4 ,the crimes of the ,donatists1 ,circumcisionists1 and others too many for enumeration1 drove ,catholic rulers into excess and caused the ,church to abandon those who were guilty to the secular arm4 ,would it not be thought that ,vaudois1 ,albigensians and ,hussites were lambs if one gave heed to the groans of irreligion8 ,where was the innocence of those darksome ,puritans of ,scotland and ,england who brandished the dagger in one hand and their ,bible in the other1 while preaching the extermination of ,catholics8 ,one only ,church in the midst of so many reprisals and horrors has always postulated and in principle at least has maintained its hatred of blood3 this is the hierarchic and legitimate ,church4#ib ,illustration3 ,,egyptian ,,symbols ,,of ,,typhon ,now1 in admitting the possibility and actuality of diabolical miracles1 that ,church recognises the existence of a natural force which can be applied for good or evil2 and hence it has decided in its great wisdom that although sanctity of doctrine can legalise miracle1 the latter of itself can never authorise novelties in religious teaching4 ,to say that ,god1 ,whose laws are perfect and never falsify themselves1 makes use of a natural instrument to produce effects which to us seem supernatural--this is to affirm the supreme reason and immutable power of ,god2 it is to exalt our notion of ,his providence2 and sincere ,catholics should realise that such view by no means challenges ,his intervention in those marvels which operate in favour of truth4 ,the false miracles caused by astral congestions have invariably an anarchic and immoral tendency1 because disorder invokes disorder4 ,so also the gods and familiars of heretics are athirst for blood and commonly extend their protection at the price of murder4 ,the idolaters of ,syria and ,judea drew oracles from the heads of children torn from the bodies of the poor little victims4 ,they dried these heads and1 having placed beneath the tongues a golden lamen bearing unknown characters1 they fixed them in the hollows of walls1 built up a kind of body beneath them composed of magical plants secured by bands1 lighted a lamp at the foot of the frightful idols1 burnt incense before them and proceeded to their religious consultation4 ,they believed that the heads spoke1 and the anguish of the last cries had doubtless distracted their imaginations2 moreover1 as said already1 blood attracts larv4 ,the ancients1 in their infernal sacrifices1 were accustomed to dig a pit1 which they filled with warm and smoking blood2 then from all the deep places of the night they beheld feeble and pallid shadows ascending1 descending1 creeping and swarming about the cavity4 ,with a sword's point steeped in the same blood1 they traced the circle of evocation and kindled fire of laurel1 alder and cypress wood1 on altars crowned with asphodel and vervain4 ,the night seemed to grow colder and still more dark2 the moon was hidden behind clouds2 and they heard the feeble rustling of phantoms crowding about the circle1 while dogs howled piteously over the countryside4 ,all must be dared in order to achieve all--such was the axiom of enchantments and their associated horrors4 ,the false magicians were banded together by crime and believed that they could intimidate others when they had contrived to terrify themselves4 ,the rites of ,black ,magic have remained revolting like the impious worships it produced2 this was the case indifferently in the association of criminals who conspired against the old civilisations and among the barbaric races4 ,there was always the same passion for darkness2 there were the same profanations1 the same sanguinary processes4 ,anarchic ,magic is the cultus of death4 ,the sorcerer devotes himself to fatality1 abjures reason1 renounces the hope of immortality1 and then sacrifices children4 ,he forswears marriage and is given over to barren debauch4 ,on such conditions he enjoys the plenitude of his mania1 is made drunk with iniquity till he believes that evil is omnipotent and1 converting his hallucinations into reality1 he thinks that his mastery has power to evoke at pleasure all death and ,hades4 ,barbarian words and signs unknown1 or even utterly unmeaning1 are the best in ,black ,magic4#ic ,hallucination is insured more readily by ridiculous practices and imbecile evocations than by rites or formul which keep intelligence in a waking state4 ,du ,potet says that he has tested the power of certain signs on ecstatics1 and those which are published in his occult book1 with precaution and mystery1 are in analogy1 if not absolutely identical1 with pretended diabolical signatures found in old editions of the ,grand ,grimoire4#id ,the same causes always produce the same effects1 and there is nothing that is new beneath the moon of sorcerers1 any more than under the sun of sages4 ,the state of permanent hallucination is death or abdication of consciousness1 and one is then surrendered to all the chances comprised by the fatality of dreams4 ,every remembrance begets its own reflection1 every evil desire creates an image1 every remorse breeds a nightmare4 ,life becomes that of an animal1 but of a peevish and tormented animal2 the sense of morality and of time is alike absent2 realities exist no longer2 it is a general dance in the whirlpool of insensate forms4 ,sometimes an hour seems protracted over centuries1 and again years may fly with an hour's swiftness4 ,rendered phosphorescent by the ,astral ,light1 our brains swarm with innumerable reflections and images4 ,we close our eyes1 and it may happen that some brilliant1 sombre or terrific panorama will unroll beneath our eyelids4 ,he who is sick of a fever will scarcely close them through the night without being dazzled by an intolerable brightness4 ,our nervous system--which is a perfect electrical apparatus--concentrates the light in the brain1 being the negative pole of that apparatus1 or projects it by the extremities which are points designed for the circulation of our vital fluid4 ,when the brain attracts powerfully some series of images analogous to any passion which has disturbed the equilibrium or the machine1 the interchange of light stops1 astral respiration ceases and the misdirected light coagulates1 so to speak1 in the brain4 ,it comes about for this reason that the sensations of hallucinated persons are of the most false and perverse order4 ,some find enjoyment in lacerating the skin with thongs and in roasting their flesh slowly2 others eat and relish things unfit for sustenance4 ,doctor ,brierre de ,boismont has collected a great series of instances1 and many of them are extremely curious4#ie ,all excesses in life--whether through the misconstruction of good or through the non-resistance of evil--may overstimulate the brain and occasion the stagnation of light therein4 ,overweening ambition1 proud pretence of sanctity1 a continence full of scruples and desires1 the indulgence of shameful passions notwithstanding repeated warnings of remorse--all these lead to syncope of reason1 to morbid ecstasy1 hysteria1 vision1 madness4 ,the learned doctor goes on to observe that a man is not mad because he is subject to visions but because he believes in his visions rather than in ordinary sense4 ,hence it is obedience and authority that alone can save the mystics2 if they have obstinate self-confidence there is no cure2 they are excommunicated already by reason and by faith3 they are the aliens of universal charity4 ,they think themselves wiser than society2 they dream of founding a religion1 but they stand alone2 they believe that they have secured for their private use the secret keys of life1 but their intelligence is plunged already in death4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,initiations ,,and ,,ordeals ,that which adepts have distinguished as the ,great ,work is not only the transmutation of metals but also and above all the ,universal ,medicine--that is to say1 the remedy for all ills1 including death itself4 ,now1 the process which produces the ,universal ,medicine is the moral regeneration of man4 ,it is that second birth alluded to by our ,saviour in ,his discourse to ,nicodemus1 a doctor of the law4 ,nicodemus did not understand1 and ,jesus said3 8,are you a master in ,israel and know not these things80--as if intending to intimate that they belonged to the fundamental principles of religious science1 of which no professor could dare to be ignorant4#if ,the great mystery of life and its ordeals is represented in the celestial sphere and in the annual succession of the seasons4 ,the four aspects of the sphinx correspond to these seasons and to the four elements4 ,the symbolical figures on the shield of ,achilles--according to the description of ,homer--are analogous in their meaning to the ,twelve ,labours of ,hercules4 ,like ,hercules1 ,achilles must die1 after having conquered the elements and even done battle with the gods4 ,hercules1 on his part1 triumphant over all the vices1 represented by the monsters whom he fought1 succumbs for a moment to love1 the most dangerous of all4 ,but he tears from his body the burning tunic of ,dejanira1 though the flesh comes with it from the bones2 he leaves her guilty and vanquished1 to die on his own part--but as one liberated and immortal4 ,every thinking man is an dipus called to solve the enigma of the sphinx or1 this failing1 to die4 ,every initiate must become a ,hercules1 who1 achieving the cycle of a great year of toil1 shall1 by sacrifices of heart and life1 deserve the glory of apotheosis4 ,orpheus is not king of the lyre and of sacrifices till he has successively won and has learned how to lose ,eurydice4 ,omphale and ,dejanira are jealous of ,hercules3 one would debase him1 the other yields to the counsels of an abandoned rival1 and so is induced to poison him who has emancipated the world2 but in the act she cures him of a far more fatal poison1 which is her own unworthy love4 ,the flame of the pyre purifies his too susceptible heart2 he perishes in all his vigour and is seated victorious close to the throne of ,jupiter4 ,so also ,jacob was not appointed the great patriarch of ,israel till he had wrestled with an angel through the length of an entire night4 ,ordeal is the great word of life1 and life itself is a serpent which brings forth and devours unceasingly4 ,we must escape from its folds2 we must set our foot upon its head4 ,hermes duplicated the serpent1 setting it against itself1 and in an eternal equilibrium1 he converted it into the talisman of his power1 into the glory of his caduceus4 ,the great ordeals of ,memphis and ,eleusis were designed to form kings and priests by entrusting science to strong and valiant men4 ,the price of admission to such tests was the surrender of body1 soul and life into the hands of the priesthood4 ,the candidate descended thereafter through dark subterranean regions1 wherein he traversed successively among flaming pyres1 passed through deep and rapid floods1 over bridges thrown across abysses1 holding in his hand a lamp which must not be extinguished4 ,he who trembled1 he whom fear overcame never returned to the light2 but he who surmounted every obstacle intrepidly was received among the myst1 which meant initiation into the ,lesser ,mysteries4 ,he had yet to vindicate his fidelity and silence2 it was only at the end of several years that he became an epopt1 being a title equivalent to that of adept4#ig ,philosophy1 in competition with the priesthood1 imitated these practices1 and put its disciples to the proof4 ,pythagoras exacted silence and abstinence for five years4 ,plato opened his schools to none but geometricians and those skilled in music2 furthermore1 he reserved part of his instruction to initiates1 so that his philosophy had its mysteries4#ih ,he attributed the creation of the world to demons and represented man as the progenitor of all animals4 ,but the demons of ,plato signify the ,elohim of ,moses1 being those powers by the combination and harmony of which the ,supreme ,principle created4 ,when he represents beasts as begotten by humanity he means that they are the analysis of that living form1 the synthesis of which is man4 ,it was ,plato who first proclaimed the divinity of the ,word1 and he appeared to foresee the approaching incarnation of this creative ,word on earth2 he proclaimed the sufferings and execution of the perfect just man1 condemned by the iniquity of the world4 ,this sublime philosophy of the ,word is part of the pure ,kabalah1 whence ,plato was in no wise its inventor4#ii ,he makes no secret of this and he proclaims that in any science only that must be received which is in harmony with eternal truths and with the oracles of ,god4 ,dacier1 from whom this quotation comes1 adds that 8by these eternal truths ,plato signified an ancient tradition which he supposes primeval humanity to have received from ,god and transmitted to later generations40 ,it would be impossible to speak more clearly without actually naming the ,kabalah3 it is definition instead of name2 in a sense1 it is something more precise than the name itself4 ,plato says otherwise that 8the root-matter of this great knowledge is not to be found in books2 we must seek in ourselves by means of deep meditation1 discovering the sacred fire in its proper source4444 ,this is why ,i have written nothing concerning these revelations and shall never even speak about them4 ,whosoever shall undertake to popularise them will find the attempt futile1 for1 except in the case of a very small number of men who have been endowed with understanding from ,god to discern these heavenly truths within themselves1 it will render them contemptible to some1 while filling others with vain and rash self-confidence1 as if they were depositaries of marvels which they do not understand all the same40#ajj ,to the younger ,dionysius he wrote3 8,i must bear witness to ,archedemus concerning that which is far more precious1 more divine by far1 and that which you desire earnestly to know1 having sent him to me expressly4 ,he gives me to understand that in your view ,i have not explained to you sufficiently what ,i hold as to the nature of the ,first ,principle4 ,i can only write in enigmas1 so that if my letter be intercepted on land or water1 he who may read it shall understand nothing3 all things encompass their king1 from whom they draw their being1 he being the source of all good things--second for those which are second and third for those which are third40 ,these few words are a complete summary of sephirotic theology4#aja ,the ,king is ,ensoph--,supreme and ,absolute ,being4 ,all radiates from this centre1 which centre is everywhere1 but we regard it after three especial manners and in three distinct spheres4 ,in the ,divine world1 which is that of the ,first ,cause1 the ,king is one and first4 ,in the world of science1 which is that of secondary causes1 the influence of the ,first ,principle is felt1 but is conceived only as first of the said causes4 ,therein the ,king manifests by the duad1 which is the passive creating principle4 ,finally1 in the third world1 which is that of forms1 he is revealed as perfect form1 the incarnate ,word1 supreme goodness and beauty1 created perfection4 ,the ,king is therefore1 at one and the same time1 the first1 second and third1 seeing that ,he is all in all1 centre and cause of all4 ,let us be silent on the genius of ,plato1 recognising only the exact knowledge of the initiate4 ,let it therefore be said no longer that our great apostle ,st4 ,john borrowed from the philosophy of ,plato the promium of his gospel4 ,it is ,plato1 on the contrary1 who drew from the same sources as ,st4 ,john2 but he had not received that spirit which makes alive4 ,the philosophy of him who expounded the greatest of human revelations might aspire towards the ,word made man1 but the gospel alone could give that ,word to the world4 ,the ,kabalah taught by ,plato to the ,greeks assumed at a later period the name of ,theosophy and ended by embracing the whole of magical doctrine4#ajb ,it is to this sum total of secret doctrine that all discoveries of research gravitated successively4 ,the ambition was to pass from theory to practice and to find the realisation of words in works4 ,the dangerous experiences of divination taught science how it might dispense with the priesthood2 the sanctuary was betrayed1 and men who had no mission dared to make the gods speak4 ,it is for this reason that theurgy shared in the anathemas pronounced against ,black ,magic and was suspected of imitating its crimes because it could not exculpate itself from a share in its impiety4 ,the veil of ,isis is not lifted with impunity1 and curiosity blasphemes faith when ,divine things are concerned4 8,blessed are those who have not seen and have believed10 says the ,great ,master4 ,the experiments of theurgy and necromancy are always fatal for those who are abandoned to their practice4 ,to set foot upon the threshold of the other world spells death1 and it follows often in a strange and terrible manner4 ,vertigo supervenes1 catalepsy and madness finish the work4 ,it is unquestionable that in the presence of certain persons a disturbance takes place in the air1 wainscots split1 doors shake and creak4 ,fantastic signs and even stains1 as of blood1 seem to impress themselves on virgin-parchment or on linen4 ,the nature of these signatures is always the same and they are classified by experts under the name of diabolical writings4 ,the mere sight of such characters sends sufferers from magnetic hysteria into convulsions or ecstasy2 they believe that they behold spirits1 and ,satan1 or the genius of error1 is transfigured for them into an angel of light4 ,the pretended spirits require1 as the condition of their manifestation1 some kind of contact between the sexes1 the putting of hand in hand1 foot to foot1 breathing face to face and even immodest embraces4 ,devotees are besotted by this kind of intoxication2 they think that they are elected by ,god1 that they are interpreters of heaven1 and they regard obedience to the hierarchy in the light of fanaticism4 ,they are the successors of the ,indian race of ,cain1 victims of hasheesh and fakirs4 ,they profit by no warnings1 and they perish by their own act and will4 ,to restore sufferers of this kind the ,greek priests resorted to a species of homopathy2 they terrified the patients by exaggerating the disease itself1 and for this purpose they put them to sleep in the cave of ,trophonius4#ajc ,the preparation for this experience was by fastings1 lustrations and vigils2 the patients were then taken down into the vault and shut up in total darkness4 ,intoxicating gases1 like those in the ,grotto of the ,dog near ,naples1 filled the cavern1 and the visionary was overcome speedily4 ,incipient asphyxia induced frightful dreams1 from which the victim was rescued in time and carried forth palpitating all over1 pale and with hair on end4 ,in this condition he or she was seated on a tripod and prophetic utterances preceded complete awakening4 ,experiences of this sort so distracted the nervous system that their subjects never recalled them without trembling and in future did not dare to mention evocations or phantoms4 ,some of them never smiled again or felt the impulse of gaiety2 the general impression was so melancholy that it passed into a proverb1 and it was said of anyone who did not unbend3 8,he has slept in the cave of ,trophonius40#ajd ,for the remanents of science and the recovery of its mysteries we must have recourse to the religious symbolism of antiquity rather than to the works of its philosophers4 ,the priests of ,egypt were better acquainted than ourselves with the laws of motion and of life4 ,they could temper or promote action by reaction1 and they foresaw without difficulty the realisation of effects the cause of which they had postulated4 ,the pillars of ,seth1 ,hermes1 ,solomon1 ,hercules symbolised in magical traditions this universal law of equilibrium1 while the science of equilibrium led the initiates to that of universal gravitation about centres of life1 heat and light4 ,so in the ,egyptian sacred calendars1 where it is known that each month was placed under the protection of three decani or genii of ten days1 the first decanate in the sign of ,leo is represented by a human head with seven rays2 the body has a scorpio-tail and the sign of ,sagittarius is under the chin4 ,beneath the head is the name of ,,iao1 and the figure was called ,khnoubis1 an ,egyptian word which signifies gold and light4 ,thales and ,pythagoras learned in the ,egyptian sanctuaries that the earth gravitated round the sun1 but they did not seek to publish the fact generally because it would have involved the revelation of a great templesecret1 being the dual law of attraction and radiation1 of fixity and movement1 which is the principle of creation and the unfailing cause of life4#aje ,so also the ,christian writer ,lactantius1 who had heard of this magical tradition1 but as an effect in the absence of a cause1 scoffed loudly at theurgical dreamers who believed in the motion of the earth and in antipodes1 the result of which would be the fact that we walked on our heads with the feet upward1 though our heads appeared to be erect4 ,furthermore1 as he added1 with the logic of children1 in such case we should infallibly fall head downwards through the heaven below us4 ,so philosophers reasoned1 while priests1 without answering or even smiling at their blunders1 continued to write in creative hieroglyphics concerning all dogmas1 all forms of poetry and all secrets of truth4 ,in their allegorical description of ,hades1 the ,greek hierophants concealed the palmary secrets of ,magic4 ,we find four rivers therein1 even as in the ,earthly ,paradise1 plus a fifth1 which wound seven times round the others4 ,there was a river of sorrows and silence1 called ,cocytus2 there was a river of forgetfulness1 or ,lethe2 and then there was a swift and irresistible river which carried all before it1 flowing in an opposite course to yet another river of fire4 ,the two last were named ,acheron and ,phlegethon1 one being the negative and one the positive fluid1 flowing eternally each in each4 ,the black and icy waters of ,acheron smoked with the warmth of ,phlegethon1 while the liquid flames of the latter were covered with thick vapours by the former4 ,larv and lemures1 shadowy images of bodies which have lived and of those which have yet to come1 issued from these vapours by myriads2 but whether they drank or not from the flood of sorrows1 all desired the waters of oblivion1 to bring them youth and peace4 ,the wise alone do not seek to forget1 for memory is their reward already2 so also they only are truly deathless1 since they only are conscious of their immortality4 ,the tortures of ,tenarus are truly divine pictures of the vices and their eternal chastisement4 ,the greed of ,tantalus1 the ambition of ,sisyphus1 will never be expiated1 since they can never be satisfied4 ,tantalus is athirst in the water1 ,sisyphus rolls a stone towards the top of a mountain1 hoping to take his seat thereon1 but it falls back continually and drags him down into the abyss4 ,ixion1 unbridled in licence1 would have violated the queen of heaven and was scourged by infernal furies4 ,he did not consummate his crime1 for he embraced only a phantom4 ,the phantom may have condescended in appearance to his love and may have ministered to his passion1 but when he disowned duty1 when his satisfaction was at the price of sacrilege1 that which he thought was love proved hatred in a mask of flowers4 ,it is not from beyond the tomb1 it is rather in life itself that we must seek the mysteries of death4 ,salvation or condemnation begin here below1 and this earth has also its heaven and hell4 ,virtue is ever rewarded1 vice is ever punished2 if the wealth of the wicked incline us at times to think that they enjoy impunity1 that instrument of good and evil seeming to be given them by chance1 there is woe notwithstanding to the unjust2 they may possess the key of gold1 but for them it opens only the gate of the tomb and hell4 ,all true initiates have recognised the immense value of toil and suffering4 ,a ,german poet tells us that sorrow is the dog of that unknown shepherd which leads the flock of humanity4 ,learn how to suffer and learn also to die--such are the gymnastics of eternity and such is the immortal novitiate4 ,this is the moral lesson of ,dante's ,divine ,comedy1 and it was outlined in the allegorical ,table of ,cebes1 which belongs to the time of ,plato4 ,an account of it has been preserved and many painters of the middle ages reconstructed the picture therefrom4 ,it is at once a philosophical and magical monument1 a perfect moral synthesis1 and moreover the most audacious demonstration ever attempted of that ,great ,arcanum or ,secret1 the revelation of which must subvert heaven and earth4 ,our readers will unquestionably expect us to furnish its explanation1 but he who has solved this enigma knows that it is inexplicable by its nature and is a sentence of death to those who take it by surprise1 even as to those who reveal it4#ajf ,this secret is the royalty of the sage and the crown of that initiate who is represented coming down as a victor from the mount of ordeal in the beautiful allegory of ,cebes4 ,the ,great ,arcanum has made him master of gold and light1 which fundamentally are one thing2 he has solved the quadrature of the circle2 he directs perpetual motion2 and he possesses the ,philosophical ,stone4 ,those who are adepts will understand me4 ,there is neither interruption in the process of ,nature nor a blank space in its work4 ,the harmonies of heaven are in correspondence with those of earth1 and eternal life fulfils its evolutions in accordance with the same laws which rule in the life of a day4 ,the ,bible says that ,god disposes all things according to weight1 number and measure1 and this luminous doctrine was also that of ,plato4 ,in the ,phdon he represents ,socrates as discoursing on the destinies of the soul in a manner which is quite in conformity with ,kabalistical traditions4 ,spirits purified by trial are emancipated from the laws of weight1 and they soar above the atmosphere of tears2 others grovel in darkness and are those who manifest to the weak or criminal4 ,all who are liberated from the miseries of material life come back no more to contemplate its crimes or share its errors3 once is truly enough4 ,the care taken by the ancients over the burial of the dead protested strongly against necromancy1 and those who disturbed the sleep of the grave were always regarded as impious4 ,to call back the dead would condemn them to a second death1 and the dread of earnest people1 belonging to old religions1 lest they should remain without burial after death1 was in view of the possibility that the corpse might be profaned by stryges and used in witchcraft4 ,after death the soul belongs to ,god and the body to the common mother1 which is earth4 ,woe to those who dare to invade these asylums4 ,when the sanctuary of the tomb was disturbed1 the ancients offered sacrifices to the angry manes and a holy thought lay at the root of this practice4 ,as a fact1 were it permitted anyone to attract1 by means of conjurations1 the souls floating in darkness but aspiring towards the light1 such a person would be begetting retrograde and posthumous children1 whom he must nourish with his own blood and with his own soul4 ,necromancers are makers of vampires1 and they deserve no pity if they die devoured by the dead4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,magic ,,of ,,public ,,worship ,forms are the product of ideas1 and they in their turn reflect and reproduce ideas4 ,so far as sentiments are concerned1 these are multiplied by association in the union of those who share them1 so that all are charged with the enthusiasm common to all4 ,it comes about in this manner that if one or another individual be deceived easily on questions of the just and the beautiful1 the people at large will1 this notwithstanding1 continue to exalt in their minds whatsoever things are sublime1 and they will do it with a longing which is itself sublime4 ,these two great laws of ,nature were known to the ancient ,magi and led them to see the necessity of a public worship which should be one in its nature1 imposed on all1 hierarchic and symbolic in character1 like all religion1 splendid as truth1 rich and varied as ,nature1 starry as heaven1 odoriferous as earth--a worship in fact of the kind established afterwards by ,moses1 realised in all its glory by ,solomon1 and1 once again transfigured1 centralised to-day in the great metropolis of ,st4 ,peter at ,rome4 ,humanity as a fact has never known more than one religion and one worship4 ,this universal light has had its uncertain reflections and its shadows1 but ever after the dark night of error we behold it emerge1 one and pure like the sun4 ,the magnificence of the cultus is the life of religion1 and if ,christ chose poor ministers1 his sovereign divinity did not demand poor altars4 ,protestants have failed to understand that ritual constitutes an instruction and that a sordid or negligible god must not be created in the imagination of the multitude4 ,the ,english1 who lavish so much wealth on their own homes1 who also affect to prize the ,bible highly1 would find their particular churches exceedingly cold and bare if they remembered the unparalleled pomp of ,solomon's ,temple4 ,but that which withers their forms of worship is the dryness of their own hearts2 and with a cultus devoid of magic1 splendour and pathos1 how shall their hearts be ever informed with life8 ,look at their meeting-houses1 which resemble town-halls1 and look at those honest ministers--dressed like ushers or clerks--and who can do otherwise in their presence than regard religion as formalism and ,god as a justice of the peace8 ,orthodoxy is the absolute character of ,transcendental ,magic4 ,when truth is born into the world the star of science announces the fact to the ,magi1 and they come to adore the infant creator of futurity4 ,initiation is obtained by understanding in respect of the hierarchy1 as also by the practice of obedience1 and he who is initiated truly will never turn sectarian4 ,the orthodox traditions were carried from ,chaldea by ,abraham2 in combination with the knowledge of the true ,god1 they reigned in ,egypt at the period of ,joseph4 ,koung-,tseu sought to establish them in ,china1 but the imbecile mysticism of ,india1 under the idolatrous form of the ,fo cultus1 was destined to prevail in that great empire4 ,as by ,abraham out of ,chaldea so was orthodoxy taken out of ,egypt by ,moses1 and in the secret traditions of the ,kabalah we find a theology at once complete1 perfect1 unique and comparable to our own at its grandest1 when seen under the light of its interpretation by the fathers and doctors of the ,church--a perfect whole1 including lights which it is not given to the world yet to understand4 ,the ,zohar1 which is the head and crown of the ,kabalistic sacred books1 unveils furthermore all depths and enlightens all obscurities of ancient mythologies and of sciences concealed in the sanctuaries of eld4 ,it is true that we must know the secret of its meaning in order to make use of it1 and it is further true that the keenest intellects which are not acquainted with the secret will find the ,zohar beyond all understanding and even unreadable4 ,it is to be hoped that careful students of our works on ,magic will attain the secret for themselves1 that they will come in their turn to decode and thus be able to read the book which explains so many mysteries4#ajg ,initiation being the necessary consequence of that hierarchic principle which is the basis of realisation in ,magic1 it follows that the profane1 after striving vainly to force the doors of the sanctuary1 have been driven to raise altar against altar and to oppose ignorant disclosures of schism to the reticence of orthodoxy4 ,horrible histories were circulated concerning the ,magi2 sorcerers and vampires cast upon them the responsibility of their own crimes2 they were represented as feasting on infants and drinking human blood4 ,such attacks of presumptuous ignorance against the prudence of science have invariably met with success sufficient to perpetuate their use4 ,has not some miserable creature set forth1 in ,i know not what pamphlet1 how he has heard with his own ears1 and within the precincts of a club1 the author of this book demanding the blood of the wealthy to make it into puddings for the nourishment of starving people8 ,the more monstrous the calumny1 the greater the impression that it produces in the minds of fools4 ,those who slandered the ,magi committed themselves the enormities of which they accused them and were abandoned to all the excesses of shameless sorcery4 ,there was everywhere the rumour of apparitions and prodigies1 and the gods themselves came down in visible forms to authorise orgies4 ,the maniacal circles of pretended illuminati go back to the bacchantes who murdered ,orpheus4 ,since the days of those fanatical and clandestine circles where promiscuity and assassination were combined with ecstasies and prayers1 a luxurious and mystical pantheism increased continually4 ,but the fatal destinies of this consuming and destroying dogma are recorded in one of the finest fables of ,greek mythology4 ,certain pirates of ,tyre surprised ,bacchus in his sleep and carried him on board their vessel1 thinking that the god of inspiration had so become their slave2 but on a sudden1 in the open sea1 their ship was transfigured1 the masts became vine-stocks1 the rigging branches2 satyrs were seen everywhere1 dancing with lynxes and panthers2 the crew were seized with frenzy1 they felt themselves changed into goats and cast themselves into the sea4 ,bacchus subsequently landed in ,botia and repaired to ,thebes1 the city of initiation1 where he found that ,pentheus had usurped the supreme power4 ,the latter in his turn attempted to imprison the god1 but the dungeon opened of itself and the captive came forth triumphant4 ,pentheus was enraged and the daughters of ,cadmus1 transformed into ,bacchantes1 tore him in pieces1 thinking that they were immolating a young bull4#ajh ,pantheism can never form a synthesis1 but must be disintegrated by the sciences1 which the daughters of ,cadmus typify4 ,after ,orpheus1 ,cadmus1 dipus and ,amphiaras1 the great fabulous symbols of magical priesthood in ,greece are ,tiresias and ,calchas2 but the first of these was an undiscerning or faithless hierophant4 ,meeting on a day with two interlaced serpents1 he thought that they were fighting and separated them by a stroke of his wand4 ,he did not understand the emblem of the caduceus1 and hence sought to divide the forces of ,nature1 to separate science from faith1 intelligence from love1 man from woman4 ,he mistook their union for warfare1 wounded them in the act of separation1 and so lost his own equilibrium4 ,he became alternately male and female1 but neither in a perfect way1 for the consummation of marriage was forbidden him4#aji ,the mysteries of universal equilibrium and creative law are revealed fully herein4 ,generation is in fact a work of the human androgyne2 in their division man and woman remain sterile1 as religion without science and conversely1 as mildness without force and force apart from mildness1 justice in the absence of mercy and mercy divorced from justice4 ,harmony results from the analogy of things in opposition2 they must be distinguished with a view to unite them and not separated1 so that we may choose between them4 ,it is said that man shifts incessantly from black to white in his opinions and ever deceives himself4 ,it is so of necessity1 for visible and real form is black and white2 it manifests itself by an alliance of light and shadow which does not confuse them together4 ,so are all contraries in ,nature married1 and he who would part them risks the punishment of ,tiresias4 ,others say that he was smitten with blindness because he had surprised ,minerva naked--that is to say1 he had profaned the ,mysteries4 ,this is another allegory1 but it is always the same thing symbolised4 ,bearing no doubt this profanation in mind1 ,homer depicts the shade of ,tiresias wandering in ,cymmerian darkness and seeking amidst other hapless shades and larv to quench his thirst with blood when ,ulysses consulted spirits1 using a ceremonial which was magical and terrific after another manner than the contortions of our own mediums1 or the harmless precipitated missives of our modern necromancers4 ,the priesthood is almost silent in ,homer1 for ,calchas the diviner is neither a sovereign pontiff nor a great hierophant4 ,he seems to be in the service of kings1 with an eye to their possible wrath1 and he dares not speak unwelcome truths to ,agamemnon till he has besought the protection of ,achilles4 ,thus he sows division between these chiefs and brings disasters on the army4 ,all the narratives of ,homer contain important and profound lessons1 and he sought in the present case to impress upon ,greece the need for divine ministry to be independent of temporal influences4 ,the priestly caste should be responsible only to the supreme pontificate1 and the high priest is incapacitated if one crown be wanting in his tiara4 ,that he may be on equality with earthly sovereigns he must be himself a temporal king2 he must be king in understanding and science1 king also by his divine mission4 ,homer seems to tell us in his wisdom that failing such a priesthood there is something wanting to the equilibrium of empires4 ,theoclymenes1 another diviner1 who appears in the ,odyssey1 fills almost the part of a parasite1 purchasing a not too friendly hospitality from the suitors of ,penelope by a useless warning and prudently withdrawing before the disturbance which he foresees4 ,there is a gulf between these good and bad fortune-tellers and the sibyls dwelling unseen in their sanctuaries1 which are approached in fear and trembling4 ,this notwithstanding1 the successors of ,circe yield only to daring2 force or subtlety must be used to enter their retreat2 they must be seized by the hair1 threatened with the sword and dragged to the fatal tripod4 ,then1 crimsoning and whitening by turn1 shuddering and with hair on end1 they utter disconnected words1 escape in a fury1 scribble on the leaves of trees detached sentences forming prophetic verses when collected1 and casting these leaves to the wind1 they shut themselves up in their refuge and ignore any further calls4 ,the oracle thus produced had as many meanings as the modes of its possible combination varied4 ,had the leaves borne hieroglyphical signs instead of words the interpretations would have been multiplied further1 while destiny could have been also consulted by their chance combination1 a method followed subsequently in the divinations of geomancers by means of numbers and geometrical figures4#aaj ,it is followed also at this day by adepts of cartomancy who make use of the great magical ,tarot alphabets1 for the most part1 without being acquainted with their values4 ,in such operations accident only chooses the signs on which the interpreter depends for inspiration1 and in the absence of exceptional intuition and second sight1 the phrases indicated by the combinations of sacred letters or the revelations of the combined figures prophesy according to chance4 ,it is insufficient to combine letters2 one must know how to read4 ,cartomancy in its proper understanding is a literal consultation of spirits1 without necromancy or sacrifices3 but it postulates a good medium2 it is otherwise dangerous and we do not recommend it to any one4 ,is the memory of our bygone misfortunes not enough to embitter the sufferings of to-day1 and must we then overload them with all the anxiety of the future1 by partaking in advance of the catastrophes which it is impossible to avoid8 ,,chapter ,v ,,mysteries ,,of ,,virginity ,the ,roman ,empire was but the ,greek in transfiguration4 ,italy was a ,greater ,greece1 and when ,hellenism had perfected its dogmas and mysteries1 the education of the children of the wolf was the next task before it3 ,rome was already on the scene4 ,the particular feature of the initiation conferred on the ,romans by ,numa was the typical importance ascribed to woman1 following the lead of ,egypt1 which worshipped the ,supreme ,divinity under the name of ,isis4 ,the ,greek god of initiation is ,iacchos1 the conqueror of ,india1 the splendid androgynous being wearing the horns of ,ammon1#aaa the ,pantheus holding the sacrificial cup and pouring therefrom the wine of universal life--,iacchos1 the son of thunder1 the conqueror of tigers and lions4 ,when the bacchantes dismembered ,orpheus1 the ,mysteries of ,iacchos were profaned2 and under the ,roman name of ,bacchus he was only the god of intoxication4 ,it was from ,egeria1 goddess of mystery and solitude1 a sage and discreet divinity1 that ,numa sought his inspiration4 ,his devotion was rewarded2 he was instructed by ,egeria as to the honour which should be paid to the mother of the gods4 ,under this dedication he erected a circular temple beneath a cupola1 and a fire was burnt therein which was never suffered to go out4 ,it was maintained by four virgins1 who were termed vestals and so long as they were faithful to their trust1 they were surrounded with strange honours1 while1 on the other hand1 their failure was punished with exceptional rigour4 ,the maid's honour is that also of the mother1 and the sanctity of every family depends on the recognition of virginal purity as a possible and glorious thing4 ,herein already woman is emancipated from the old bondage2 she is no more an oriental slave1 but a domestic divinity1 guardian of the hearth1 the honour of father and spouse4 ,rome in this manner became a sanctuary of morality1 and on such condition was also queen of the nations and metropolis of the world4 ,the magical tradition of all ages attributes a certain supernatural and divine quality to the virgin state4 ,prophetic inspirations adorn it1 while it is the hatred of innocence and virginity which prompted ,getic ,magic to sacrifice children1 whose blood was regarded notwithstanding as having a sacred and expiatory virtue4 ,to withstand the allurement of generation is to graduate in the conquest of death1 and supreme chastity was the most glorious crown set before hierophants4#aab ,to expend life in human embraces is to strike roots in the grave4 ,chastity is a flower which is so loosely bound to earth that1 when the sun's caresses draw it upwards1 it is detached without effort and takes flight like a bird4 ,the sacred fire of the vestals was a symbol of faith and of pure love4 ,it was an emblem also of that universal agent1 the terrible and electric nature of which ,numa could produce and direct4 ,if by culpable negligence the vestals allowed their fire to die out1 it could only be rekindled by the sun's rays or by lightning4 ,it was renewed and consecrated at the beginning of each year1 a custom perpetuated and observed among us on ,easter ,eve4 ,christianity has been wrongly accused of taking over all that was beautiful in anterior forms of worship2 it is the last transfiguration of universal orthodoxy1 and as such it has preserved whatsoever belonged to it1 while rejecting dangerous practices and idle superstitions4 ,furthermore1 the sacred fire represented love of country and the religion of the hearth4 ,to this religion1 and to the inviolability of the conjugal sanctuary1 ,lucretia offered herself in sacrifice4 ,lucretia personifies all the majesty of ancient ,rome2 she could doubtless have escaped outrage by abandoning her memory to slander1 but good repute is a noblesse qui oblige4 ,in the matter of honour a scandal is more deplorable than an indiscretion4 ,lucretia raised her dignity as a virtuous woman to the height of the priesthood by suffering an assault so that she might expiate and avenge it afterwards4 ,it was in memory of this illustrious ,roman lady that high initiation in the cultus of the fatherland and the hearth was entrusted to women1 men being excluded4 ,it was for them to learn in this manner that true love is that which inspires the most heroic sacrifices4 ,they were taught that the real beauty of man is heroism and grandeur2 that the woman capable of betraying or forsaking her husband blasts both her past and future and is branded on the forehead with the ineffaceable stain of a retrospective prostitution1 aggravated further by perjury4 ,to cease loving him to whom the flower of her youth has been given1 is the greatest woe which can afflict the heart of a virtuous woman2 but to publish it abroad is to falsify past innocence1 to renounce probity of heart and integrity of honour2 it is the last and most irreparable shame4 ,such was the religion of ,rome2 to the magic of such a moral code she owed all her greatness1 and when marriage ceased to be sacred in her eyes1 her decadence was at hand4 ,in the days of ,juvenal the mysteries of the ,bona ,dea are said to have been mysteries of impurity1 which it may perhaps be possible to question1 seeing that as women alone were admitted to these pretended orgies they must have betrayed themselves2 but on the assumption that the charge is true1 because anything seems possible after the reigns of ,nero and ,domitian1 we can only conclude that the clean reign of the mother of the gods was over and was giving place to the popular1 universal and purer worship of ,mary1 the ,mother of ,god4 ,initiate of magical laws1 and knowing the magnetic influences of communal life1 ,numa instituted colleges of priests and augurs1 living under prescribed rules4 ,this was the first idea of conventual institutions1 which are one of the great powers of religion4 ,long anterior to this1 the ,jewish prophets were joined in sympathetic bonds1 having prayer and inspiration in common4 ,it would seem that ,numa was acquainted with the traditions of ,judea2 his flamines and salii worked themselves into a state of exaltation by evolutions and dances recalling the performance of ,david before the ark4 ,numa did not establish new oracles intended to rival those of ,delphos1 but he instructed his priests especially in the art of auguries1 which means that he acquainted them with a certain theory of presentiments and second sight1 determined by secret laws of ,nature4 ,we despise nowadays the art of soothsaying and portents1 because we have lost the profound science of light and the universal analogies of its reflections4 ,in his charming tale of ,zadig1 ,voltaire delineates1 with light and unserious touch1 a purely natural science of divination1 but it is not for that less wonderful1 presupposing as it does an exceptional fineness of observation and that power of deduction which escapes habitually the limited logic of the vulgar4 ,it is said that ,parmenides1 the master of ,pythagoras1 having tasted the water of a certain spring1 predicted an approaching earthquake4 ,the circumstance is not extraordinary1 for the presence of a bituminous and sulphureous flavour in water may well have advised the philosopher of subterranean activities in the district4 ,even the water itself may have been unusually disturbed4 ,however this may be1 the flight of birds is still considered premonitory of severe winters1 and it may be possible to foresee some atmospheric influences by inspecting the digestive and respiratory apparatus of animals4 ,now1 physical disturbances of the air have not infrequently a moral cause4 ,revolutions are translated therein by the phenomena of great storms2 the deep breathing of nations moves heaven itself4 ,success proceeds coincidently with electric currents1 and the hues of the living light reflect the motions of thunder4 8,there is something in the air10 says the crowd1 with its particular prophetic instinct4 ,soothsayers and augurs knew how to read the characters which the light inscribes everywhere and how to interpret the sigils of astral currents and revolutions4 ,they knew why birds wing their flight in isolation or in flocks1 under what influences they turn to ,north or ,south1 to ,east or ,west1 which is just what we cannot explain1 though we scoff now at the augurs4 ,it is so very easy to scoff and it is so difficult to learn thoroughly4 ,it was owing to such predetermined disparagement and to denial of what is not understood that men of parts1 like ,fontenelle1 and men of learning1 as ,kircher1 have written such intemperate things concerning the ancient oracles4 ,everything is craft and jugglery for strong minds of this order4 ,they suppose automatic statues1 concealed speaking-trumpets and artificial echoes in the vaults of every temple4 ,why this eternal slander of the sanctuary8 ,has there been nothing but roguery in the priesthoods8 ,would it have been impossible to find men of uprightness and conviction among the hierophants of ,ceres or ,apollo8 ,or were these deceived like the rest8 ,and in such case how did it happen that the impostors continued their traffic for centuries without ever betraying themselves1 individual rogues not being gifted with immortality8 ,recent experiments have shewn us that thoughts can be transferred1 translated into writing and printed by the unaided force of the ,astral ,light4 ,mysterious hands still write on our walls1 as at the feast of ,belshazzar4 ,let us not forget the wise observation of a scholar who assuredly cannot be accused either of fanaticism or credulity3 8,outside pure mathematics10 said ,arago1 8he who pronounces the word impossible is wanting in caution40 ,the religious calendar of ,numa is based upon that of the ,magi2 it is a sequence of feasts and mysteries1 recalling throughout the secret doctrine of initiates and perfectly adapting the public enactments of the cultus to the universal laws of ,nature4 ,its arrangement of months and days has been preserved by the conservative influence of ,christian regeneration4 ,even as the ,romans under ,numa1 we still hallow by abstinence the days consecrated to the commemoration of birth and death2 but for us the day of ,venus is sanctified by the expiations of ,calvary4 ,the gloomy day of ,saturn is that during which our incarnate ,god sleeps in ,his tomb1 but ,he will rise up1 and the life which ,he promises will blunt the scythe of ,kronos4 ,that month which ,romans dedicated to ,maia1 the nymph of youth and flowers1 the young mother who smiles upon the year's first-fruits1 is consecrated by us to ,mary1 the mystical rose1 the lily of purity1 the heavenly mother of the ,saviour4 ,so are our religious observances ancient as the world1 our feasts are like those of our forefathers1 for the ,redeemer of ,christendom came to suppress none of the symbolic and sacred beauties of old initiation4 ,he came1 as ,he said ,himself1 in reference to the figurative ,law of ,israel1 to realise and fulfil all things4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,superstitions ,superstitions are religious forms surviving the loss of ideas4 ,some truth no longer known or a truth which has changed its aspect is the origin and explanation of all4 ,their name1 from the ,latin superstes1 signifies that which survives2 they are the dead remanents of old knowledge or opinion4 ,ever governed by instinct rather than by thought1 the common people cleave to ideas through the mediation of forms1 and it is with difficulty that they modify their habits4 ,the attempt to destroy superstitions impresses them always as an attack on religion itself1 and hence ,st4 ,gregory1 one of the greatest popes in ,christendom1 did not seek to suppress the old practices4 ,he recommended his missionaries to purify and not destroy the temples1 saying that 8so long as a people have their old places of worship they will frequent them by force of habit and will thus be led more easily to the worship of the true ,god40 ,he said also3 8,the ,bretons have fixed days for feasts and sacrifices2 leave them their feasts and do not restrain their sacrifices2 leave them the joy of their festivals1 but from the state of paganism draw them gently and progressively into the estate of ,christ40 ,it came about in this manner that older pious observances were replaced by holy mysteries with scarcely a change of name4 ,there was1 for example1 the yearly banquet called ,charistia1 to which ancestral spirits were invited1 so making an act of faith in universal and immortal life4 ,the ,eucharist1 or supernal ,charistia1 has replaced that of antiquity1 and we communicate ,easter by ,easter with all our friends in heaven and on earth4#aac ,far from maintaining the old superstitions by such adaptations1 ,christianity has breathed soul and life into the surviving signs of universal beliefs4 ,that science of ,nature which is in such close consanguinity with religion1 seeing that it initiates men into the secrets of ,divinity1 that forgotten science of ,magic1 still lives undivided in hieroglyphical signs and1 to some extent1 in the living traditions or superstitions which it has left outwardly untouched4 ,for example1 the observation of numbers and days is a blind reminiscence of primitive magical dogma4 ,as a day consecrated to ,venus1 ,friday was always considered unlucky1 because it signified the mysteries of birth and death4 ,no enterprise was undertaken on ,friday by the ,jews1 but they completed thereon the work which belonged to the week1 seeing that it preceded the ,sabbath1 or day of compulsory rest4 ,the number #ac1 being that which follows the perfect cycle of #ab1 also represents death1 succeeding the activities of life2 and in the ,jewish ,symbolum the article relating to death is numbered thirteen4 ,the partition of the family of ,joseph into two tribes brought thirteen guests to the first ,passover of ,israel in the ,promised ,land1 meaning thirteen tribes to share the harvests of ,canaan4 ,one of them was exterminated1 being that of ,benjamin1 youngest of the children of ,jacob4 ,hence comes the tradition that when there are thirteen at table the youngest is destined to die quickly4#aad ,the ,magi abstained from the flesh of certain animals and touched no blood4 ,moses raised this practice into a precept1 on the ground that it is unlawful to partake of the soul of animals1 which soul is in the blood4 ,it remains therein after their slaughter1 like a phosphorus of coagulated and corrupted ,astral ,light1 which may be the germ of many diseases4 ,the blood of strangled animals digests with difficulty and predisposes to apoplexy and nightmare4 ,the flesh of carnivora is also unwholesome on account of the savage instincts with which it has been associated and because it has already absorbed corruption and death4 8,when the soul of an animal is separated violently from its body10 says ,porphyry1 8it does not depart1 but1 like that of human beings which have died in the same way1 it remains in the neighbourhood of the body4 ,it is so retained by sympathy and cannot be driven away4 ,such souls have been seen moaning by their bodies4 ,it is the same with the souls of men whose bodies have not been interred4 ,it is to these that the operations of magicians do outrage1 by enforcing their obedience1 so long as the operators are masters of the dead body in whole or in part4 ,theosophers who are familiar with these mysteries1 with the sympathy of animal souls for the bodies from which they are separated1 and with their pleasure in approaching these1 have rightly forbidden the use of certain meats1 so that we may not be infected by alien souls40 ,porphyry adds that prophecy may be acquired by feeding on the hearts of ravens1 moles and hawks2 here the ,alexandrian theurgist betakes himself to the processes of the ,little ,albert1 but though he lapses so quickly into superstition it is by entering a wrong path1 for his point of departure was science4#aae ,to indicate the secret properties of animals1 the ancients said that at the epoch of the war of the giants1 various forms were assumed by the gods with a view to concealment1 and that they resumed these subsequently at pleasure4 ,thus1 ,diana changed into a she-wolf2 the sun into a bull1 lion1 dragon and hawk2 ,hecate into a horse1 lioness and bitch4 ,the name of ,pherebates was1 according to several theosophers1 assigned to ,proserpine because she lived upon turtle-doves1 and these birds were the usual offering which the priestesses of ,maia made to that goddess1 who is the ,proserpine of earth1 daughter of the fair ,ceres1 and foster-mother of the human race4 ,the initiates of ,eleusis abstained from domestic birds1 fish1 beans1 peaches and apples2 they abstained also from intercourse with a woman in child-bed1 as well as during her normal periods4 ,porphyry1 from whom this information is derived1 adds as follows3 8,whosoever has studied the science of visions knows that one must abstain from all kinds of birds in order to be liberated from the bondage of terrestrial things and find a place among the celestial gods40 ,but the reason he does not give4 ,according to ,euripides1 the initiates of the secret cultus of ,jupiter in ,crete touched no flesh-meat2 in the chorus addressed to ,king ,minos1 the priests in question are made to speak as follows3 8,son of a ,phnician ,tyrian woman1 descendant of ,europa and great ,jupiter1 ,king of the ,isle of ,crete1 famous through an hundred cities1 we come unto thee1 forsaking temples built of oak and cypress fashioned with knives2 leaders of a pure life1 behold1 we come4 ,since ,i was made a priest of ,jupiter-,idus1 ,i take no part in the nocturnal feasts of ,bacchanals1 ,i eat no half-cooked meats2 but ,i offer tapers to the mother of the gods4 ,i am a priest among the ,curetes clothed in white2 ,i keep far from the cradles of men2 ,i shun also their tombs2 and ,i eat nothing which has been animated by the breath of life40 ,the flesh of fish is phosphorescent and hence is aphrodisiacal4 ,beans are heating and cause absence of mind4 ,for every form of abstinence1 including the most irregular forms1 a deep reason1 apart from all superstition1 can probably be found4 ,there are certain combinations of foods which are opposed to the harmonies of ,nature4 8,thou shalt not seethe the kid in his mother's milk10 said ,moses--a prescription which is touching as an allegory and wise on the ground of hygiene4 ,the ,greeks like the ,romans1 but not to the same extent1 were believers in presages2 it was good augury when serpents tasted the sacred offerings2 it was favourable or the reverse when it thundered on the right or the left hand4 ,there were presages in the ways of sneezing and in other natural weaknesses which may be left here to conjecture4 ,in the ,hymn of ,mercury1 ,homer narrates that when the god of thieves was still in his cradle he stole the oxen of ,apollo1 who took the youngster and shook him1 to make him confess the larceny3 ,mercure s'avisant d'un trange miracle1 ,de ses flancs courroucs fit entendre l'oracle2 ,jusqu'au grand ,apollon la vapeur en monta4#aaf ,it was all presage with the ,romans--a stone against which the foot struck1 the cry of a screech-owl1 the barking of a dog1 a broken vase1 an old woman who was first to look at you4 ,all such idle terrors had for their basis that grand magical science of divination which neglects no token but from an effect overlooked by the vulgar ascends through a sequence of interlinked causes4 ,this science knows1 for example1 that those atmospheric influences which cause the dog to howl are fatal for certain sufferers1 that the appearance and the wheeling of ravens mean the presence of unburied bodies--which is always of sinister augury2 localities of murder and execution are frequented by these fowl4 ,the flight of other birds prognosticates hard winters1 while yet others1 by their plaintive cries over the sea1 give the signal of coming storms4 ,on that which science discerns ignorance remarks and generalises2 the first sees useful warnings everywhere2 the other distresses and frightens itself at everything4 ,the ,romans furthermore were great observers of dreams2 the art of their interpretation belongs to the science of the vital light1 to the understanding of its direction and reflections4 ,men versed in transcendental mathematics are well aware that there can be no image in the absence of light1 be it direct1 reflected or refracted2 and by the direction of the ray1 the return under the fold of which they know how to find1 they arrive by an exact calculation1 and invariably1 at the source of light and can estimate its universal or relative force4 ,they take into account also the healthy or diseased state of the visual mechanism1 external or internal1 and attribute thereto the apparent deformity or rectitude of images4 ,for such persons1 dreams are a complete revelation1 since dream is a semblance of immortality during that nightly death which we call sleep4 ,in the dream-state we share in the universal life1 unconscious of good or evil1 time or space4 ,we leap over trees1 dance on water1 breathe upon prisons and they fall2 or alternatively1 we are heavy1 sad1 hunted1 chained up--according to the state of our health and often that of our conscience4 ,all this is useful to observe1 and unquestionably1 but what can be inferred therefrom by those who know nothing and are without the wish to learn8 ,the all-powerful action of harmony1 in exalting the soul and giving it rule over the senses1 was well known to the ancient sages2 but that which they employed to soothe was wrested by enchanters to excite and intoxicate4 ,the sorceresses of ,thessaly and of ,rome believed that the moon could be dragged from the sky by the barbarous verses which they recited and that it fell pale and bleeding to the earth4 ,the monotony of their recitations1 the sweep of their magical wands2 their circumambulations about circles1 magnetised1 excited1 and led them by stages to fury1 to ecstasy1 even to catalepsy itself4 ,in this kind of waking state1 they fell into dream1 saw tombs open1 the air overcast by clouds of demons1 the moon falling from heaven4 ,the ,astral ,light is the living soul of the earth1 a material and fatal soul1 controlled in its productions and movements by the eternal laws of equilibrium4 ,this light1 which environs and permeates all bodies1 can also suspend their weight and make them revolve about a powerfully absorbent centre4 ,phenomena which have been so far insufficiently examined1 though they are being reproduced in our own days1 prove the truth of this theory4 ,to the same natural law must be ascribed those magical whirlpools in the centre of which enchanters located themselves4 ,it explains the fascination exercised on birds by certain reptiles and on sensitive natures by others which are negative and absorbent4 ,mediums are generally diseased creatures in whom the void opens and who thus attract the light1 as abysses draw the water of whirlpools4 ,the heaviest bodies can then be lifted like straws and are carried away by the current4 ,such negative and unbalanced natures1 whose fluidic bodies are formless1 can project their force of attraction1 delineating by this means supplementary and fantastic members in the air4 ,when the celebrated medium ,home makes hands without bodies appear in his vicinity1 his own hands are dead and frozen4 ,it may be said that mediums are phenomenal beings in whom death struggles visibly against life4 ,as much may be concluded in the case of enchanters1 fortune-tellers1 those with the evil eye and casters of spells4 ,consciously or unconsciously1 they are vampires1 who draw the life which they lack and thus disturb the balance of the light4 ,when this is done consciously1 they are criminals who should be punished1 and when otherwise they are still exceedingly dangerous subjects1 from whom delicate and nervous people should be carefully isolated4 ,porphyry tells the following story in his life of ,plotinus4 8,among those who professed philosophy1 there was a certain ,olympius1 who was of ,alexandria and for a time disciple of ,ammonius4 ,he treated ,plotinus with disdain1 being ambitious to surpass him in repute4 ,he sought also to injure him by magical ceremonies1 but having found that the attempt re-acted on himself he admitted to his friends that the soul of ,plotinus must be one of great power1 since it could turn back on his enemies their own evil designs4 ,plotinus was conscious of the hostile attempts of ,olympius1 and there were times when he said suddenly3 #8,now he is having convulsions4' ,this kind of thing being repeated1 and finding that he was afflicted himself with the evils which he would have wrought on ,plotinus1 ,olympius ceased to persecute40 ,equilibrium is the great law of the vital light2 projected with force and repelled by a nature more balanced than our own1 it comes back upon ourselves with equal violence4 ,woe therefore to those who would employ natural powers in the service of injustice1 since ,nature is just and her reactions are terrible4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,magical ,,monuments ,we have said that ,egypt of old was itself a pantacle1 and as much might be affirmed concerning the elder world at large4 ,in proportion as the great hierophants were at pains to conceal their absolute science1 they sought more and more to extend and multiply its symbols4 ,the triangular pyramids1 with their square bases1 represented metaphysics grounded on the science of ,nature2 and the symbolical key of this science assumed the gigantic form of that wonderful sphinx which1 in its age-long vigil at the foot of the pyramids1 has hollowed for itself so deep a bed in the sand4 ,those seven great monuments called the wonders of the world were sublime commentaries on the pyramids and on the seven mysterious gates of ,thebes4 ,at ,rhodes there was the ,pantacle of the ,sun1 in which the god of light and truth was symbolised under a human form clothed with gold2 he raised in his right hand the torch of intelligence and in his left held the shaft of activity4 ,his feet were fixed on moles representing the eternal equilibrating forces of ,nature1 necessity and liberty1 active and passive1 fixed and volatile--in a word1 the ,pillars of ,hercules4 ,at ,ephesus was the ,pantacle of the ,moon1 which was the ,temple of ,diana ,panthea1 made in the likeness of the universe4 ,it was a dome surmounting a cross1 with a square gallery and a circular precinct recalling the shield of ,achilles4 ,the tomb of ,mausoleus was the ,pantacle of the ,chaste and ,conjugal ,venus2 in form it was after the manner of a lingam1 having a square elevation and a circular precinct4 ,in the middle place of the square rose a truncated pyramid1 on which was a chariot with four horses1 harnessed so as to form a cross4 ,the ,pyramids were the ,pantacle of ,hermes or of ,mercury4 ,the ,olympian ,jupiter was the ,pantacle of that god4 ,the walls of ,babylon and the citadel of ,semiramis were ,pantacles of ,mars4 ,in fine1 the ,temple of ,solomon--that universal and absolute pantacle destined to replace the others--was for the ,gentile world the terrible ,pantacle of ,saturn4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,seven ,,wonders ,,of ,,the ,,world ,the philosophical septenary of initiation1 according to the mind of the ancients1 may be summarised as three absolute principles1 reducible to a single principle1 and four elementary forms1 which are one form only1 the whole constituting an unity composed of form and idea4 ,the three principles are as follows3 7#a7 ,being is being2 in philosophy this signifies the identity of the idea and that which is1 or truth2 in religion it is the first principle1 the ,father4 7#b7 ,being is real2 this means in philosophy the identity of knowledge and of that which is1 or reality2 in religion it is the ,logos of ,plato1 the ,demiourgos1 the ,word4 7#c7 ,being is logical2 in philosophy this signifies the identity of reason and reality2 in religion it is ,providence1 or the ,divine ,action by which the good is realised1 the mutual love of the true and the good1 called the ,holy ,spirit in ,christianity4 ,the four elementary forms were the expression of two fundamental laws3 resistance and motion2 the fixed state1 or that inertia which resists1 and active life1 or the volatile2 in other and more general terms1 matter and spirit-matter being that nothingness which is formulated by passive affirmation1 spirit being the principle of absolute necessity in that which is true4 ,the negative action of material nothing on spirit was termed the evil principle2 the positive action of spirit on this same nothingness1 so that it might be filled with creation and with light1 was called the good principle4 ,to these conceptions there corresponded1 on the one hand1 humanity and1 on the other1 the rational and saving life1 redeeming those who are conceived in sin--that is to say1 in nothingness--because of their material generation4 ,such was the doctrine of secret initiation1 such the admirable synthesis that the spirit of ,christianity came to vivify1 enlightening by its splendour1 establishing divinely by its dogma and realising by its sacraments4 ,under the veil which was intended to preserve it1 this synthesis has vanished4 ,it is destined to be recovered by man in all its primitive beauty and all its maternal fecundity4 ,,book ,,iii ,,divine ,,synthesis ,,and ,,realisation ,,of ,,magia ,,by ,,the ,,christian ,,revelation --,,gimel ,,chapter ,i ,,christ ,,accused ,,of ,,magic ,,by ,,the ,,jews ,at the beginning of the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john there is one sentence which is never uttered by the ,catholic ,church except in the bending of the knees2 that sentence is3 8,the ,word was made flesh40 ,the plenary revelation of ,christianity is comprised therein4 ,so also elsewhere the ,evangelist furnishes the criterion of orthodoxy1 which is the confession of ,jesus ,christ manifested in flesh--that is to say1 in visible and human reality4 ,after emblazoning in his visions the pantacles and hieroglyphs of esoteric science2 after exhibiting wheels revolving within wheels2 after picturing living eyes turning to all the spheres2 after deploying the beating wings of the four mysterious living creatures--,ezekiel1 the most profound ,kabalist of the ancient prophets1 beholds nothing but a plain strewn with dry bones4 ,at his word they are covered with flesh and so is form restored to them4 ,a pitiful beauty invests these remnants of death1 but that beauty is cold and lifeless4 ,of such were the doctrines and mythologies of the elder world1 when a breath of love descended upon them from heaven4 ,then the dead shapes rose up2 the wraiths of philosophy gave place to men of true wisdom2 the ,word was incarnate and alive2 it was no longer the day of abstractions but one of reality4 ,that faith which is proved by works replaced the hypotheses which ended in nothing but fables4 ,magic was transformed into sanctity1 wonders became miracles1 the common people--excluded by ancient initiation--were called to the royalty and priesthood of virtue4 ,realisation is thus of the essence of ,christian religion1 and its doctrine gives a body even to the most obvious allegories4 ,the house of the young man who had great possessions is still shewn in ,jerusalem1 and it might be in no sense impossible for careful research to discover a lamp which1 by a similar tradition1 once belonged to one of the foolish virgins4 ,such ingenuous credulities are fundamentally not very dangerous2 indeed they prove only the living and realising power of the ,christian faith4 ,the ,jews accused that faith of having materialised belief and idealised earthly things4 ,in our ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic we have recited the scandalous parable of the ,sepher ,toldos ,jeshu which was invented to support the accusation4 ,it is related in the ,talmud that ,jesus ben ,sabta1 or the son of the divorced woman1 having studied profane mysteries in ,egypt1 set up a false stone in ,israel and led the people into idolatry4 ,it was acknowledged notwithstanding that the ,jewish priesthood did wrong when it cursed him with both hands1 and it is in this connection that we find in the ,talmud one beautiful precept which is destined hereafter to unite ,christendom and ,israel3 8,never curse with both hands1 so that one of them may always be free to forgive and to bless40 ,as a fact1 the priesthood was guilty of injustice towards that peace-bringing ,master who counselled his disciples to obey the constituted hierarchy4 8,they are in the seat of ,moses10 the ,saviour said2 8,do therefore that which they tell you but not as they do themselves40 ,on another occasion he commanded ten lepers to shew their persons to the priests1 and they were cured on the road3 what touching abnegation in the ,divine ,worker of miracles1 ,who thus ascribed to ,his most deadly enemies the very honour of ,his miracles4 ,for the rest1 were those who accused ,christ of setting up a spurious corner-stone acquainted themselves with the true one8 ,had not the ,jews in the days of the ,pharisees lost the science of that which is at once the corner-stone1 the cubic stone1 the philosophical stone--in a word1 the fundamental stone of the ,kabalistic ,temple1 square at the base and triangular above like the pyramids8 ,by impeaching ,jesus as an innovator did they not proclaim that they had themselves forgotten antiquity8 ,was not that light which ,abraham saw and rejoiced extinguished for the unfaithful children of ,moses1 and was it not recovered by ,jesus1 ,who made it shine with a new splendour8 ,to be quite certain on the subject1 the ,gospel and ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john must be compared with the mysterious doctrines of the ,sepher ,yetzirah and ,zohar4 ,it will then be realised that ,christianity1 so far from being a heresy in ,israel1 was the true orthodox tradition of ,jewry1 while it was the ,scribes and ,pharisees who were sectarians4 ,furthermore1 ,christian orthodoxy is proved by the consent of the world at large and by the suspension of the sovereign priesthood1 together with the perpetual sacrifice1 in ,israel--the two indisputable marks of a true religion4 ,judaism without a temple1 without a ,high ,priest and without a sacrifice survives only as a dissident persuasion2 certain persons are still ,jews1 but the ,temple and ,altar are ,christian4 ,there is a beautiful allegorical exposition in the apocryphal gospels of this criterion of certitude in respect of ,christianity3 its evidence is that of realisation4 ,some children were amusing themselves by fashioning birds of clay1 and among them was the child ,jesus4 ,each little artist praised his own work1 and only ,jesus said nothing2 but when ,he had moulded ,his birds1 ,he clapped ,his hands1 telling them to fly1 and they flew4 ,so did ,christian institutions shew their superiority over those of the ancient world2 the latter are dead1 but ,christianity is alive4 ,considered as the fully realised and vital expression of the ,kabalah--that is to say1 of primitive tradition--,christianity is still unknown1 and hence that ,kabalistic and prophetic book called the ,apocalypse yet remains to be explained1 being incomprehensible without the ,kabalistic ,keys4 ,the traditional interpretation was long preserved by the ,johannites1 or disciples of ,st4 ,john2 but the ,gnostics intervened--to the total confusion and loss of everything1 as will be made clear at a later stage4#aag ,we read in the ,acts of the ,apostles that ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus collected all the books which treated of things curious and burnt them in public4 ,the reference is no doubt to the old ,getic texts1 or works of necromancy4 ,the loss is regrettable assuredly1 since even from the memorials of error there may shine some rays of truth1 while information may consequently be derived which will prove precious to science4#aah ,it is a matter of general knowledge that at the advent of ,christ ,jesus the oracles were silenced everywhere1 and a voice went wailing over the sea1 crying3 8,great ,pan is dead40 ,a pagan writer1 who takes exception to the report1 declares on his own part that the oracles did not cease1 but in a little while no one was found to consult them4 ,the rectification is valuable1 for such an attempted justification is more conclusive than the pretended calumny4 ,much the same thing should be said concerning the works of wonder1 which fell into contempt in the presence of real miracles4 ,as a fact1 if the higher laws of ,nature are obedient to true moral superiority1 miracles become supernatural like the virtues which produce them4 ,this theory detracts nothing from the power of ,god1 while the fact that the ,astral ,light is obedient to the superior ,light of ,grace signifies in reality for us that the old serpent of allegory places its vanquished head beneath the foot of the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,witness ,,of ,,magic ,,to ,,christianity ,magic1 being the science of universal equilibrium and having the truth1 reality and reason of being for its absolute principle1 accounts for all the antinomies and reconciles all actualities which are in conflict one with another by the one generating principle of every synthesis--that harmony results from the analogy of opposites4 ,for the initiate of this science religion is not in doubt because it exists1 and we do not deny what is4 ,being is being-- 4 ,the apparent opposition of religion and reason is the strength of both1 establishing each in its distinct domain and fructifying the negative side of each by the positive side of the other3 as we have just said1 it is the attainment of agreement by the correspondence between things that are contrary4 ,the cause of all religious errors and confusions is that1 in ignorance of this great law1 it has been sought to make religion a philosophy and philosophy in its turn a religion1 subjecting matters of faith to the processes of science1 which is no less ridiculous than the subjection of science to the blind obedience of faith4 ,it is no more the province of a theologian to affirm a mathematical absurdity or reject the demonstration of a theorem than it is the province of a man of learning1 in the name of science1 to oppose or maintain the mysteries of dogma4 ,if we inquire of the ,academy of ,sciences whether it is mathematically true that there are ,three ,persons in one ,god and whether1 on the basis of physiology1 it can be certified that ,mary1 the ,mother of ,god1 was conceived immaculate1 the ,academy of ,sciences will decline to judge thereon1 and it will be right4 ,scholarship has no title to pronounce1 as the questions belong to the realm of faith4 ,an article of faith is believed or is not believed1 but in either case it is not a matter of discussion3 it is of faith precisely because it eludes examination by science4 ,when ,joseph de ,maistre assures us that one of these days we shall speak in terms of wonder about our actual stupidity1 he is referring1 no doubt1 to those people of pretended strong mind who daily inform us that they will believe in the truth of a dogma when it has been proved scientifically4 ,this is equivalent to saying that they will believe when nothing is left for believing1 when dogma as such is destroyed1 having become a scientific theorem4 ,it is another way of suggesting that we shall confess to the infinite when it has been explained1 determined1 circumscribed1 defined1 or1 in a word1 changed into the finite4 ,we will believe in the infinite when we are quite certain that it does not exist2 we will admit the immensity of the ocean when we see it put into bottles4 ,but then1 my friends1 that which has been proved to you and brought within your comprehension is henceforth a matter of knowledge and not of faith4 ,on the other hand1 if you are informed that the ,pope has decided that two and two are not four and that the square of the hypotenuse is not equal to the squares drawn on the two other sides of a right-angled triangle1 you would be justified in replying that the ,pope has not so decided because he has no title2 these things do not concern him and he may not meddle therein4 ,here a disciple of ,rousseau will exclaim that this is all very well1 but the ,church does require us to believe in things which are in formal opposition to mathematics4 ,all mathematical science tells us that the whole is greater than the part2 this notwithstanding1 when ,jesus ,christ communicates with his disciples1 ,he must hold ,his entire body in ,his hand and put ,his head in ,his own mouth4 ,the miserable pleasantry in question occurs textually in ,rousseau4 ,it is easy to answer that the sophist is confounding science with faith and the natural order with that which is supernatural or divine4 ,were it claimed by religion that in the communication of the ,eucharist our ,saviour had two natural bodies of the same form and size1 and that one was eaten by the other1 science would be entitled to protest4 ,but religion lays down that the body of the ,master is divinely and sacramentally contained under the natural sign or appearance of a fragment of bread4 ,once more1 it is a question of believing or not believing3 whosoever reasons thereon1 and discusses the thing scientifically1 deserves to be classed as a fool4#aai ,truth in science is proved by exact demonstrations2 truth in religion is proved by unanimity of faith and holiness of works4 ,we have authority in the ,gospel to recognise that he who could say to the paralytic3 8,take up thy bed and walk10 had the right to forgive sins4 ,religion is true if it is the realisation of perfect morality4 ,works are the proof of faith4 ,it is permissible to ask science whether ,christianity has constituted a vast association of men for whom the hierarchy is a principle1 obedience the rule and charity a law4 ,if science answers1 on the basis of historical documents1 that this is the case but that the association of ,christians has failed in the matter of charity1 then ,i take it at its own word1 which admits the existence of charity1 since it recognises that there can be deficiency therein4 ,charity is at once a great word and a great thing2 it is a word which did not exist prior to ,christianity and that which it stands for is the sum total of religion4 ,is not the spirit of charity the ,divine ,spirit made visible on earth8 ,has not this ,spirit manifested its sensible existence by acts1 institutions1 monuments and by immortal works8 ,to be brief1 we do not understand how a sceptic1 who is a man of good faith1 can see a daughter of ,st4 ,vincent de ,paul without wishing to kneel and pray4 ,the spirit of charity--this indeed is ,god2 it is immortality in the soul2 it is the hierarchy1 obedience1 the forgiveness of injuries1 the simplicity and integrity of faith4 ,the separated sects are death-struck at the root because in separating they were wanting in charity1 while in trying to reason on faith they were wanting in simple good sense4 ,it is in the sects that dogma is absurd because it is pseudo-reasonable4 ,as such it must be a scientific theorem or nothing4 ,now1 in religion we know that the letter kills and that the spirit alone gives life2 but what is the spirit in question unless it be that of charity8 ,the faith which moves mountains and withstands martyrdom1 the generosity which gives all1 the eloquence which speaks with the tongue of men and angels--all this1 says ,st4 ,paul1 is nothing without charity4 ,he adds that knowledge may vanish away and prophecy may cease1 but charity is eternal4 ,charity and its works--hereof is the reality in religion3 now true reason never denies reality1 for it is the demonstration of that being which is truth4 ,it is in this manner that philosophy extends a hand to religion1 but without ever wishing to usurp its domain1 and1 on this condition1 religion blesses1 encourages and enlightens philosophy by its loving splendours4 ,charity is the mysterious bond which1 according to the dream of ,greek initiates1 must reconcile ,eros and ,anteros4 ,it is that coping of the door of ,solomon's ,temple which unites the two pillars ,jachin and ,boaz2 it is the common guarantee between rights and duties1 between authority and liberty1 between the strong and weak1 between the people and the government1 man also and woman4 ,it is the divine sentiment which is requisite for life in human science2 it is the absolute of good1 as the triple principle ,being-,reality-,reason is the absolute of the true4 ,these elucidations have been necessary for the proper interpretation of that beautiful symbol of the ,magi adoring the ,saviour in the manger4 ,the kings are three--one white1 one tawny and one black2 they offer gold1 frankincense and myrrh4 ,the reconciliation of opposites is expressed by this double triad1 and it is precisely that which we have just been seeking to explain4 ,christianity1 as expected by the ,magi1 was in effect the consequence of their secret doctrine2 but this ,benjamin of ancient ,israel caused1 by the fact of its birth1 the death of its mother4 ,the ,magic of ,light1 that of the true ,zoroaster1 of ,melchisedek and ,abraham came to an end with the advent of the ,great ,fulfiller4 ,henceforth1 in a world of miracles1 mere prodigies could be nothing more than a scandal and magical orthodoxy was transfigured into the orthodoxy of religion4 ,those who dissented could be only illuminati and sorcerers2 the very name of ,magic could be interpreted only according to its evil sense1 and it is under this inhibition that we shall follow hereafter its manifestations through the centuries4 ,the first arch-heretic mentioned in the traditions of the ,church was ,simon the ,magician2 his legend embodies a multitude of marvels2 it is an integral part of our subject and we shall endeavour to separate its basis from the cloud of fables by which it is surrounded4 ,simon was by nationality a ,jew and is believed to have been born in the ,samaritan town of ,gitton4#abj ,his master in ,magic was a sectarian named ,dositheus1 who gave out that he was sent by ,god and was the ,messiah foretold by the prophets4#aba ,under his tuition1 ,simon not only acquired the illusory arts but also certain natural secrets which belong really to the tradition of the ,magi4 ,he possessed the science of the ,astral ,fire and could attract great currents thereof1 making himself seem impassible and incombustible4 ,he had also the power to rise and remain in the air4 ,feats of this kind have been performed frequently1 in the absence of science and1 so to speak1 accidentally1 by enthusiasts intoxicated with ,astral ,light1 as for example the convulsionaries of ,st4 ,mdard2 and the phenomena recur at the present day in the mediumistic state4 ,simon magnetised at a distance those who believed in him and appeared to them under various figures4 ,he produced images and visible reflections--e4g41 everyone1 on a certain occasion1 thinking that they could see fantastic trees in a bare country4 ,moreover1 objects which are normally inanimate were moved in his vicinity1 as furniture is now moved within the atmosphere of ,home1 the ,american2 and1 finally1 when he intended to enter or leave a house the doors creaked1 shook and ended by opening of their own accord4 ,simon performed these wonders before the chief people of ,samaria1 and as his actual achievements were in due course exaggerated1 the thaumaturgist passed for a divine being4 ,it came about also that as he owed his power to states of excitement by which reason is disturbed1 so he came to regard himself as such an exceptional being that he did not hesitate to claim divine honours and dreamed modestly of usurping the worship of the whole world4 ,his crises or ecstasies produced extraordinary physical results4 ,sometimes he appeared pale1 withered1 broken1 like an old man at the point of death2 sometimes the luminous fluid revitalised his blood1 so that his eyes shone1 his skin became smooth and soft1 and he appeared regenerated and renewed suddenly4 ,the easterns have great capacity for the amplification of wonders2 they claimed to have seen ,simon passing from childhood to decrepitude and again at his will returning from decrepitude into childhood4 ,his miracles were noised abroad everywhere1 till he became not only the idol of ,jewish ,samaria but also of the neighbouring countries4 ,however1 the worshippers of marvels are generally hungry for new emotions and they did not fail to get weary of that which at first had astonished them4 ,the ,apostle ,st4 ,philip having reached ,samaria1 to preach the gospel therein1 a new current of enthusiasm was thus started1 with the result that ,simon lost all his prestige4 ,he was conscious1 moreover1 that his abnormal states had ceased1 as he thought through loss of power2 he believed that he was surpassed by magicians more learned than himself1 and the course which he took was to attach himself to the apostles in the hope of studying1 discovering or buying their secret4 ,simon was certainly not an initiate of ,transcendental ,magic1 which would have told him that wisdom and sanctity are needful for those who would direct the secret forces of ,nature without being broken thereby2 that to play with such terrible weapons without understanding them was the act of a fool2 and that swift and terrible death awaits those who profane the ,sanctuary of ,nature4 ,simon was consumed by an unquenchable thirst1 like that of a drunkard2 the suspension of his ecstasy was the loss of all his happiness1 and made ill by past excesses1 he thought to regain health in renewed intoxication4 ,one does not willingly come back to the state of a simple mortal after posing as a god4 ,to recover that which he had lost ,simon submitted therefore to all the rigours of apostolic austerity2 he watched1 he prayed1 he fasted1 but the wonders did not return4 ,then he reflected that between ,jews it might be possible to reach an understanding1 and he offered money to ,st4 ,peter4 ,the chief of the apostles drove him indignantly away2 and he who received so willingly the contributions of his disciples was now at the end of his resources2 he abandoned forthwith the society of men who had shewn such disinterestedness1 and with the money which ,st4 ,peter disdained he purchased a female slave named ,helena4#abb ,mystical vagaries are always akin to debauch4 ,simon became passionately enamoured of his servant2 that passion1 at once weakening and exalting1 restored his cataleptic states and the morbid phenomena which he termed his gift of wonders4 ,a mythology full of magical reminiscences1 combined with erotic dreams1 issued fully armed from his brain2 he undertook pilgrimages like the apostles1 carrying ,helena with him1 dogmatising and shewing himself to those who were willing to worship and doubtless also to pay him4 ,according to ,simon1 the first manifestation of ,god was by means of a perfect splendour which produced its reflection immediately4 ,he was himself this sun of souls and the reflection was ,helena1 whom he affected to call ,selene1 being the name of the moon in ,greek4 ,now the moon of ,simon came down at the beginning of the ages on that earth which the magus had mapped out in his perpetual dreams4 ,there she became a mother1 impregnated by the thought of his sun1 and she brought into the world angels1 whom she reared by herself without speaking of them to their father4 ,the angels rebelled against her and imprisoned her in a mortal body4 ,it was then that the splendour of ,god was compelled to descend in its turn that it might redeem ,helena1 and so the ,jew ,simon was manifested on earth4 ,there he had to overcome death and carry his ,helena through the air1 followed by the triumphant choir of the elect1 while the rest of mankind was abandoned on earth to the eternal tyranny of the angels4 ,thus the arch-heretic1 imitating ,christianity but in the reverse sense1 affirmed the eternal reign of revolt and evil1 represented the world as created or at least completed by demons1 destroyed the order and the hierarchy1 to pose alone with his concubine as the way1 the truth and the life4 ,here was the doctrine of ,antichrist1 and it was not to perish with ,simon1 for it has been perpetuated to our own days4 ,indeed prophetic traditions of ,christianity speak of his transitory reign and triumph to come as heralding the most terrible calamities4 ,simon claimed the title of saint and1 by a curious coincidence1 the chief of a modern ,gnostic sect which recalls all the sensuous mysticism of the first arch-heretic--the inventor of the 8free woman0--is also named ,saint-,simon4 ,cainism is the name which might be given to all the false revelations issued from this impure source4 ,they are dogmas of malediction and of hatred against universal harmony and social order2 they are disordered passions affirming license in the place of duty1 sensual love instead of chaste and devoted love1 the prostitute in place of the mother1 and ,helena1 concubine of ,simon1 in place of ,mary1 the mother of the ,saviour4 ,simon became a notoriety and repaired to ,rome1 where the emperor1 attracted by all extraordinary spectacles1 was disposed to welcome him3 this emperor was ,nero4 ,the illuminated ,jew astonished the crowned fool by a trick which is common in jugglery4 ,he was decapitated1 but afterwards saluted the emperor1 his head being restored to his shoulders4 ,he caused furniture to move and doors to open2 in a word1 he acted as a veritable medium and became sorcerer in ordinary at the orgies of ,nero and the banquets of ,trimalcyon4 ,according to the legend makers1 it was to rescue the ,jews of ,rome from the doctrine of ,simon that ,st4 ,peter himself visited that capital of the world4 ,nero1 by means of his inferior spies1 was informed speedily that a new worker of ,israelitish wonders had arrived to make war on his own enchanter1 and he resolved to bring them together for his amusement4 ,petronius and ,tigellinus were perhaps at this feast4#abc 8,may peace be with you10 said the prince of apostles on entering4 8,we have nothing to do with your peace10 answered ,simon4 8,it is by war that truth is discovered4 ,peace between adversaries is the victory of one and the defeat of the other40 ,illustration3 ,,disputation ,,between ,,simon ,,the ,,magician ,,and ,,ss4 ,,peter ,,and ,,paul ,st4 ,peter answered3 8,why do you reject peace8 ,the vices of men have created war1 but peace ever abides with virtue40 8,virtue is power and skill10 said ,simon4 8,for myself ,i face the fire1 ,i rise in the air1 ,i restore plants1 ,i change stones into bread2 and you1 what do you do80 8,i pray for you10 said ,st4 ,peter1 8that you may not perish the victim of your enchantments40 8,keep your prayers2 they will not ascend to heaven as quickly as myself40 ,and behold the magician passing out by a window and rising in the air outside4 ,whether this was accomplished by means of some aerostatic apparatus concealed under his long robes or whether he was lifted up1 like the convulsionaries of ,paris the ,deacon1 owing to an exaltation of the ,astral ,light1 we are unable to say2 but during this phenomenon ,st4 ,peter was praying on his knees1 and ,simon fell suddenly with a great cry1 to be raised with his thighs broken4 ,nero imprisoned ,st4 ,peter1 who seemed a far less diverting magician than ,simon2 the latter died of his fall4 ,the whole of this history1 which belongs to the popular rumours of the period1 is now relegated1 though perhaps wrongly1 to the region of apocryphal legends4#abd ,on such account it is not less remarkable or less worthy to be preserved4 ,the sect of ,simon did not end with himself1 and his successor was one of his disciples1 named ,menander4#abe ,he did not pose as a god1 being contented with the role of a prophet2 but when he baptized proselytes1 a visible fire came down upon the water4 ,he also promised immortality of soul and body as the result of this magical immersion1 and in the days of ,st4 ,justin1 there were still followers of ,menander who firmly believed themselves immortal4 ,the deaths which occurred among them by no means disabused the others1 for those who died were excommunicated forthwith1 on the ground that they had been false brethren4 ,for these believers death was an actual apostasy and their immortal ranks were filled up by enrolling new proselytes4 ,those who understand the extent of human folly will not be surprised to hear that in this present year1 being #aheh1 there exists in ,america and ,france a fanatical sect in continuation of that of ,menander4#abf ,the qualification of magician added to the name of ,simon rendered ,magic a thing of horror to ,christians2 but they did not on this account cease to honour the memory of the ,magi-,kings who adored the ,saviour in ,his cradle4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,devil ,by its clear formulation of concepts respecting the ,divine1 ,christianity leads us to the understanding of ,god as the most absolute and the most purest love1 while it defines1 not less clearly1 the spirit which is opposed to ,god1 the spirit of revolt and hatred3 hereof is ,satan4 ,but this spirit is not a personality and is not to be regarded as a kind of black god3 it is a perversity which is common to all extralineal intelligences4 8,my name is legion10 says ,satan in the ,gospel1 8for we are many40 ,the birth of intelligence may be compared to the ,star of the ,morning and1 after it has shone for an instant1 if it fall of its own accord into the void of darkness1 we may apply to it that apostrophe which was uttered by ,isaiah to the king of ,babylon3 8,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 ,son of the ,morning80 ,but does this mean that the celestial ,lucifer1 the ,morning ,star of intelligence1 has been changed into a brand of hell8 ,can the name of ,light-bearer be applied justly to the angel of trespass and of darkness8 ,we think not1 more especially if it be understood1 as we understand1 who have the magical tradition behind us1 that the hell personified by ,satan1 and symbolised by the old serpent1 is that central fire which encompasses the earth1 consuming all that it produces and devouring its own tail1 like the serpent of ,kronos--in a word1 that ,astral ,light of which the ,almighty spoke to ,cain when ,he said3 8,if thou doest evil1 sin shall be straightway at thy gates0--that is to say1 disorder will take possession of all thy senses2 8yet unto thee ,i have made subject the lust of death1 and it is for thee to rule it40#abg ,the royal and almost divine personification of ,satan is a blunder which goes back to the false ,zoroaster1 or otherwise1 to the sophisticated doctrine of the later and materialistic ,magi of ,persia2 it was they who represented the two poles of the intellectual world as deities1 making a divinity out of passive force in contradistinction to that force which is active4 ,we have indicated that the same grave error was made by ,indian mythology4 ,ahriman or ,siva is the father of the demon1 as the latter is understood by superstitious makers of legend1 and hence it was said by our ,saviour3 8,the devil is a liar like his father40 ,on this question the ,church rests satisfied with the ,gospel texts and has published no dogmatic decisions1 having the definition of the devil as their object4 ,good ,christians avoid even naming him1 while religious moralists recommend the faithful to take no concern regarding him1 seeking to resist his arts by thinking only of ,god4 ,we cannot but admire this wise reserve on the part of priestly teaching4 ,why indeed should the light of doctrine be reflected on him who is intellectual obscurity and darkest night of the heart8 ,let the spirit which would distract us from the knowledge of ,god remain unknown by us4 ,it is assuredly not of our intention to perform what the ,church has omitted2 we certify on such a subject only as to the secret instruction of initiates in the occult sciences4 ,they have said that the ,great ,magical ,agent--accurately termed ,lucifer because it is the vehicle of light and the receptacle of all forms--is a mediating force diffused throughout creation2 that it serves for creation and destruction2 that the fall of ,adam was an erotic intoxication which made his race subject to that fatal light2 that all amorous passion which invades the senses is a whirlpool of this light1 seeking to draw us down into the gulf of death2 that madness1 hallucinations1 visions1 ecstasies constitute an exceedingly dangerous exaltation of this interior phosphorus2 finally1 that the light in question is of the nature of fire1 that it is warming and vivifying in its prudent use1 but that it burns1 dissolves and destroys in its excess4 ,over this light man is called1 on the one hand1 to assume a sovereign empire1 so earning his immortality1 but1 on the other1 he is menaced by the intoxication1 absorption and eternal destruction thereof4 ,in its devouring1 avenging and fatal aspect1 the ,astral ,light may be called the fire of hell1 the serpent of legend1 while the tormented sin which abounds therein1 the tears and the gnashing of teeth on the part of the abortions that it consumes1 the phantom of life which escapes them and seems to insult their misery--all this may be termed the devil or ,satan4 ,among the pomps and works of hell may be included1 in fine1 those actions1 those illusionary images of pleasure1 wealth and glory which are misdirected by the vertigo of this light4 ,father ,hilarion ,tissot regards certain nervous diseases which are accompanied by hallucinations and delirium as diabolical possessions and1 understood in the sense of the ,kabalists1 he is right assuredly4 ,whatsoever delivers our soul to the fatality of vertigo is truly infernal1 since heaven is the eternal reign of order1 intelligence and liberty4 ,the possessed people of the ,gospel fled away from ,jesus ,christ2 the oracles were silenced in the presence of the ,apostles2 while those who are prey to the disease of hallucination have ever manifested an invincible repugnance for initiates and sages4 ,the suspension of oracles and obsessions proved the triumph of human liberty over fatality4 ,when astral diseases reappear1 it is an ominous sign of spiritual enervation1 and manifestations of this kind are followed invariably by fatal disorders4 ,the disturbances here referred to continued till the ,french ,revolution1 and the fanatics of ,saint-,mdard were the prophets of its sanguinary calamities4 ,the famous criminologist ,torreblanca1 who had gone to the root of ,diabolical ,magic1 describes accurately all the phenomena of astral disturbance1 when classifying the works of the demon4 ,here are some extracts from the #aeth chapter of his work on ,operative ,magic3#abh 7#a7 ,the demon is endeavouring continually to lead us into error4 7#b7 ,he deludes the senses by disturbing the imagination1 though he cannot change its nature4 7#c7 ,when things abnormal are manifested to the eye of man1 an imaginary body assumes shape in the mind and so long as that phantom remains therein1 the phenomena continue4 7#d7 ,the demon destroys equilibrium in the imagination by a disturbance of the vital functions1 whether by irregularity in health or actual disease4 7#e7 ,when some morbid cause has destroyed this equilibrium1 and that also of reason1 waking dream becomes possible and that which has no existence assumes the semblance of reality4 7#f7 ,the mental perception of images in this manner makes sight unworthy of trust4 7#g7 ,visions are bodied forth1 but they are merely thought-forms4 7#h7 ,the ancients distinguished two orders of disease1 one of them being the perception of imaginary forms1 which was termed frenzy1 and the other corybantism1 or the hearing of voices and other sounds which have no existence4 ,it follows from these statements1 which are curious in several respects1 that disease is attributed by ,torreblanca to the demon1 who indeed is disease itself1 with which we should agree entirely--if permitted by dogmatic authority4 ,the recurring efforts of the ,astral ,light to disintegrate and absorb entities are part of its nature2 its ceaseless currents have a wearing effect like water and it consumes even as fire1 for it is the very essence and dissolving force of fire4 ,the spirit of perversity and the love of destruction which characterise those whom it governs are instincts of this force4 ,they are further consequent on the suffering of the soul1 which is conscious of incomplete life and feels torn in opposite directions4 ,the soul yearns to make an end of itself1 yet fears to die alone1 and therefore would include all creation in its destruction4 ,such astral perversity assumes frequently the form of the hatred of children2 an unknown power impels certain subjects to kill them1 and imperious voices seem to demand their death4 ,dr4 ,brierre de ,boismont cites terrible examples of this mania1 recalling the crimes of ,papavoine and ,henriette ,cornier4 ,sufferers from astral perversion are malevolent1 and they are jealous at the joy of others2 they are especially inimical to hope1 and even when offering consolation they choose the most desperate and heartrending figures of speech4 ,the explanation is that their life is synonymous with suffering and that they have been whirled into the dance of death4 ,it is1 moreover1 astral perversion and the lust of death which abuses the act of generation1 leading to its perversion or dishonour by sacrilegious mockeries and shameful pleasantries4 ,obscenity is a blasphemy against life4 ,each of these vices is personified by a black idol or by a demon1 which is the negative and distorted reflection of the divinity who communicates life3 these are idols of death4 ,moloch is the fatality which devours infants4 ,satan and ,nisroch are gods of hatred1 fatality and despair4 ,astarte1 ,lilith1 ,nehamah1 ,ashtaroth are idols of debauchery and abortion4 ,adramelech is the god of murder1 while ,belial is that of eternal revolt and anarchy4 ,such are the monstrous conceptions of reason1 when it pauses on the verge of extinction and slavishly worships its destroyer1 so that it may reach the end of its torment by the destroyer absorbing it4 ,according to the ,kabalists1 the true name of ,satan is that of ,jehovah reversed1 for ,satan is not a black god but the negation of ,deity4 ,he is the personification of atheism and idolatry4 ,the devil is not a personality for initiates but a force created with a good object1 though it can be applied to evil3 it is really the instrument of liberty4 ,they represented this force1 which presides over physical generation1 under the mythological figure of the horned god ,pan1 and hence comes the goat of the ,sabbath1 brother of the old serpent1 the light-bearer or phosphorus1 converted by poets into the false ,lucifer of legend4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,last ,,pagans ,the eternal miracle of ,god is the unchangeable order of ,his providence in the harmonies of ,nature2 prodigies are derangements and are attributable only to degeneration in the creature4 ,divine miracle is thus a providential reaction for the restoration of the broken order4 ,when ,jesus cured the possessed ,he calmed them and suspended the marvels which they produced2 when the apostles subdued the exaltation of the pythonesses they put an end to divination4 ,the spirit of error is a spirit of agitation and subversion2 the spirit of truth brings tranquillity and peace in its path4 ,such was the civilising influence of ,christianity at its dawn2 but those passions which are friends of disturbance did not1 without a struggle1 leave it in possession of the palm of easy victory4 ,expiring polytheism drew powers from the ,magic of the old sanctuaries2 to the mysteries of the ,gospel it still opposed those of ,eleusis4 ,apollonius of ,tyana was set up as a parallel to the ,saviour of the world1 and ,philostratus undertook to construct a legend on the subject of this new deity4 ,thereafter came the ,emperor ,julian1 who would have been himself deified if the javelin which slew him had not also struck the last blow at ,csarian idolatry4 ,the enforced and decrepit rebirth of a religion which was dead in its forms was a literal abortion1 and ,julian1 who attempted it1 was doomed to perish with the senile offspring which he strove to bring into the world4 ,this notwithstanding1 ,apollonius and ,julian were two curious1 even great personalities1 and their history is epoch-making in the ,annals of ,magic4 ,allegorical legends were in fashion at that period4 ,those who were masters embodied their doctrine in their personality1 and those who were initiated disciples wrote fables which combined the secrets of initiation4 ,the history of ,apollonius by ,philostratus1 too absurd if it be taken literally1 becomes memorable when its symbolism is examined according to the data of science4 ,it is a kind of pagan gospel1 opposed to that of ,christianity2 it is a secret doctrine at large1 and we are in a position to reconstruct and explain it4 ,in the third book of ,philostratus1 the initial chapter contains an account of ,hyphasis1 a wonderful river which rises in a certain plain and is lost in unapproachable regions4 ,that river represents magical knowledge1 which is simple in its first principles but difficult to deduce accurately in respect of final consequences4#abi ,philostratus tells us in this connection that marriages are not fruitful unless consecrated by the balsam of trees which grow on the banks of ,hyphasis4 ,the fish of this river are sacred to ,venus2 their crest is blue1 the scales are of many colours and their tail is golden3 they can raise the tail at will4 ,in the river there is also an animal resembling a white worm1 the stewing of which produces an inflammable oil that can be kept in glass only4 ,the animal is reserved only for the king's service1 as it has power to overthrow walls4 ,when the grease of it is exposed to the air it ignites1 and there is then nothing in the whole world with which the flame can be extinguished4 ,by the fish of the river ,hyphasis1 ,apollonius signifies universal configuration which magnetic experiments have recently proved to be blue on one side1 golden on that which is opposite and of many colours at the centre4 ,the white worm is the ,astral ,light1 which resolves into oil when condensed by a triple fire1 and such oil is the universal medicine4 ,it can only be contained by glass1 this being a non-conductor for the ,astral ,light1 its porousness being inappreciable4 ,this secret is reserved to the king1 which means an initiate of the first order1 for it is truly concerned with a force by which cities can be destroyed4 ,some important secrets are here indicated with great clearness4 ,in the next chapter ,philostratus speaks of unicorns and says that the horn of these animals can be fashioned into drinking-cups which are a safeguard against all poisons4 ,the single horn of the symbolical creature represents hierarchic unity1 and hence ,philostratus adds1 on the authority of ,damis1 that the cups in question are also exclusive to kings4 8,happy10 says ,apollonius1 8is he who is never intoxicated but in drinking out of such a goblet40 ,damis narrates further that ,apollonius met with a woman who was white from feet to breasts but black in the upper region4 ,his disciples were alarmed at the prodigy1 but the master gave her his hand1 for he knew her4 ,he told them that she was the ,indian ,venus1 whose colours are those of the bull ,apis1 adored by the ,egyptians4 ,this harlequin female is magical science1 the white limbs--or created forms--of which reveal the black head1 or that supreme cause which is unknown to man at large4 ,but ,philostratus and ,damis knew1 and it was under emblems like these that they gave expression in concealment to the doctrine of ,apollonius4 ,the secret of the ,great ,work is contained in the fifth to the tenth chapters of this third book1 and the form of symbolism adopted is that of dragons defending the entrance to a palace of the wise4#acj ,there are three species of dragons --dwellers respectively of marshes1 plains and mountain4 ,the mountain is ,sulphur1 the marsh ,mercury and the plain is the ,salt of the ,philosophers4 ,the dragons of the plain are pointed on the back1 like a saw-fish1 referring to the acid potency of salt4 ,those of the mountains have golden scales and a golden beard1 while the sound of their creeping movement is like the tinkling of copper4 ,in their head is a stone by which all miracles can be worked4 ,they bask on the shores of the ,red ,sea and they are caught by the help of a red cloth embroidered with golden letters2 on these enchanted letters they lay their head and fall asleep1 and they are then decapitated with an axe4 ,who does not recognise here the ,stone of the ,philosophers1 the ,magistery at the ,red and the famous regimen of fire1 represented by golden letters8 ,under the name of ,citadel of the ,wise1 ,philostratus goes on to describe the ,athanor as a hill surrounded by a mist but open on the southern side4 ,it has a well four paces in breadth1 from which an azure vapour rises1 drawn up by the warmth of the sun and displaying all colours of the rainbow4 ,the bottom of the well is sanded with red arsenic4 ,in its vicinity is a basin filled with fire and thence rises a livid flame1 odourless and smokeless1 and never higher or lower than the basin-edge4 ,there are also two reservoirs of black stone1 in one of which rain is stored and in the other wind4 ,the rain-cistern is opened when there is excessive drought and then clouds come forth which water the whole country4 ,it would be difficult to describe more exactly the ,secret ,fire of the ,philosophers and that which they term their ,balneum ,mari4 ,it follows from this account that the ancient alchemists employed electricity1 magnetism and steam in their ,great ,work4 ,philostratus speaks subsequently of the ,philosophical ,stone itself1 which he calls indifferently a ,stone and ,light4 8,the profane are not permitted to discover it1 because it vanishes if not laid hold of according to the processes of the ,art4 ,it is the wise only who1 by means of certain verbal formul and rites1 can attain the ,pantarba4 ,this is the name of the ,stone which at night has the appearance of fire1 being flaming and sparkling1 while in the day it dazzles by its brightness4 ,this light is a subtle matter of admirable virtue1 for it attracts all that is near it4#aca ,the above revelation concerning the secret doctrines of ,apollonius proves that the ,philosophical ,stone is no other than an universal magnet1 formed of the ,astral ,light condensed and fixed about a centre4 ,it is an artificial phosphorus containing the concentrated virtues of all generative heat1 and the multitude of allegories and traditions extant concerning it are as testimonies to its certain existence4#acb ,the entire life of ,apollonius1 as recorded by ,philostratus1 following ,damis the ,assyrian1 is a tissue of apologues and parables1 the concealed doctrine of great masters of initiation being written in this manner at the period1 as already intimated4 ,we know therefore why the recital embodies fables and underneath the text of these fables we should expect to find1 and may even look to understand1 the secret knowledge of the hierophants4 ,his great science and conspicuous virtues notwithstanding1 ,apollonius was not a successor in the hierarchic school of the ,magi4 ,his initiation had ,india as its source and he was addicted to the enervating practices of the ,brahmins2 further he preached rebellion and regicide openly3 he was a great character in a wrong path4 ,the figure of the ,emperor ,julian seems more poetic and beautiful than that of ,apollonius2 he maintained on the throne of the world all the austerity of a sage2 and he sought to transpose the young sap of ,christianity into the enfeebled body of ,hellenism4 ,he was a noble maniac1 guilty only of too much devotion to the associations of the fatherland and the images of its ancestral gods4 ,as a counterpoise to the realising efficacity of ,christian doctrine1 he called ,black ,magic to his aid and plunged into darksome evocations1 following the lead of ,jamblichus and ,maximus of ,ephesus4 ,but the gods whom he desired to resuscitate in their youth and beauty appeared before him cold and decrepit1 shrinking from life and light1 and ready to fly before the sign of the cross4 ,the closing had been taken in full according to the grade of ,hellenism1 and the ,galilean had conquered4 ,julian died like a hero1 without blaspheming ,him who overcame1 as it has been falsely pretended4#acc ,ammianus ,marcellinus portrays his last moments at length3 they were those of a warrior and philosopher4 ,the maledictions of ,christian sacerdotalism echoed long over his tomb2 has not the ,saviour1 that lover of noble souls1 pardoned adversaries less interesting and less generous than the unfortunate ,julian8 ,on the death of this emperor1 ,magic and idolatry were involved in one and the same universal reprobation4 ,at this time there came into existence those secret associations of adepts1 to which ,gnostics and ,manicheans gravitated at a later period4 ,the societies in question were the depositaries of a tradition of errors and truths admixed2 but they transmitted1 under the seal of terrific pledges1 the ,great ,arcanum of ancient omnipotence1 together with the ever-frustrated hopes of extinct worships and fallen priesthoods4 ,,chapter ,v ,,legends ,the strange narratives embodied in the ,golden ,legend1 how fabulous soever they may be1 are referable notwithstanding to the highest ,christian antiquity4 ,they are parables rather than histories2 the style is simple and eastern1 like that of the ,gospels2 and their traditional existence proves that a species of mythology had been devised to conceal the ,kabalistic mysteries of ,johannite initiation4 ,the ,golden ,legend is a ,christian ,talmud expressed in allegories and apologues4 ,studied from this point of view1 the newer in proportion as it is more ancient1 the work will become of real importance and highest interest4#acd ,one of the narratives in this ,legend so full of mysteries characterises the conflict of ,magic and dawning ,christianity in a manner which is equally dramatic and startling4 ,it is like an outline in advance of ,chateaubriand's ,martyrs and the ,faust of ,goethe combined4 ,justina was a young and lovely pagan maiden1 daughter of a priest of the idols1 after the manner of ,cymodoce4 ,her window opened on a court which gave upon the ,christian church1 so that she heard daily the pure and recollected voice of a deacon reading the holy gospels aloud4 ,the unknown words touched and stirred her heart1 so deeply indeed that when her mother remarked one evening how grave she seemed and sought to be the confidant of her preoccupations1 ,justina fell at her feet and said3 8,bless me1 my mother1 or forgive me3 ,i am a ,christian40 ,the mother wept and embraced her1 after which she returned to her husband and related what she had heard4 ,that night in their sleep the parents were both visited by the same dream4 ,a divine light descended upon them1 a sweet voice called them and said3 8,come unto me1 all ye that are afflicted and ,i will comfort you4 ,come1 ye beloved of my father1 and ,i will give unto you the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world40 ,the morning dawned2 father and mother blessed their daughter4 ,all three were enrolled among the catechumens and1 after the usual probation1 they were admitted to ,holy ,baptism4 ,justina returned white and radiant from the church1 between her mother and aged father1 when two forbidding men1 wrapped in their mantles1 passed as ,faust and ,mephistopheles going by ,margaret3 they were ,cyprian the magician and his disciple ,acladius4 ,they stopped dazzled by the apparition1 but ,justina went on without seeing them and reached home with her family4 ,the scene now changes and we are in the laboratory of ,cyprian4 ,circles have been traced1 a slaughtered victim still palpitates by a smoking chafing-dish2 the genius of darkness stands in the presence of the magician1 saying3 8,thou hast called me2 ,i come4 ,speak3 what dost thou require80--8,i love a virgin40--8,seduce her40--8,she is a ,christian40--8,denounce her40--8,i would possess and not lose her3 canst thou aid me80--8,i tempted ,eve1 who was innocent and conversed daily with ,god ,himself4 ,if thy virgin be ,christian1 know that it is ,i who caused ,jesus ,christ to be crucified40--8,thou wilt deliver her into my hands1 therefore40--8,take this magical unguent1 and anoint the threshold of her dwelling3 the rest concerns me40 ,and now ,justina is asleep in her small and simple room1 but ,cyprian is at the door murmuring sacrilegious words and performing horrible rites4 ,the demon creeps to the pillow of the young girl and instils voluptuous dreams full of the image of ,cyprian1 whom she seems to meet again on issuing from the church4 ,this time1 however1 she looks at him2 she listens1 while the things which he whispers fill her heart with trouble4 ,but she moves suddenly1 she awakes and signs herself with the cross4 ,the demon vanishes and the seducer1 doing sentinel at the door1 waits vainly through the whole night4 ,on the morrow he renews his evocations and loads his infernal accomplice with bitter reproaches4 ,the latter confesses his inability1 is driven forth in disgrace1 and ,cyprian invokes a demon of superior class1 who transforms himself by turns into a young girl and a beautiful youth1 tempting ,justina by advice as well as caresses4 ,she is on the point of yielding1 but her good angel helps her2 she joins inspiration to the sign of the cross and expels the evil spirit4 ,cyprian thereupon invokes the king of hell and ,satan arrives in person4 ,he visits ,justina with all the woes of ,job and spreads a frightful plague through ,antioch2 the oracles1 at his instigation1 declare that it will cease only when ,justina shall satisfy ,venus and love1 who are alike outraged4 ,justina1 however1 prays in public for the people1 and the pest ceases4 ,satan is baffled in his turn2 ,cyprian compels him to acknowledge the omnipotence of the sign of the cross and defies him by making it on his own person4 ,he abjures ,magic1 becomes a ,christian1 is consecrated bishop and meets with ,justina in a convent4 ,they love now with the pure and lasting love of heavenly charity2 persecution befalls both2 they are arrested together1 put to death on the same day and ratify in the breast of ,god their mystical and eternal marriage4#ace ,according to the legend1 ,st4 ,cyprian was ,bishop of ,antioch1 but ecclesiastical history says that his seat was that of ,carthage4 ,it matters little1 for the rest1 whether the personalities are the same2 the one belongs to poetry1 while the other is a father and martyr of the ,church4 ,there is extant among the old ,grimoires a prayer attributed to the ,st4 ,cyprian of legend1 who is possibly the holy ,bishop of ,carthage3 its obscure and figurative expressions may have given credit to the idea that prior to his conversion he was addicted to the deadly practices of ,black ,magic4 ,it may be rendered thus4 8,i1 ,cyprian1 servant of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 have prayed unto ,god the ,father ,almighty1 saying3 ,thou art the strong ,god1 my ,god omnipotent1 dwelling in the great light4 ,thou art holy and worthy of praise1 and ,thou hast beheld in the old days the malice of ,thy servant and the iniquities into which ,i was plunged by the wiles of the demon4 ,i was ignorant of ,thy true name2 ,i passed in the midst of the sheep and they were without a shepherd4 ,the clouds shed no dew on earth2 trees bare no fruit and women in labour could not be delivered4 ,i bound and did not loose2 ,i bound the fishes of the sea1 and they were captive2 ,i bound the pathways of the sea1 and many evils did ,i encompass4 ,but now1 ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,i have known ,thy ,holy ,name1 ,i have loved ,thee1 ,i am converted with my whole heart1 my whole soul and all my inward being4 ,i have turned from the multitude of my sins1 that ,i may walk in ,thy love and follow ,thy commandments1 which are henceforth my faith and my prayer4 ,thou art the ,word of truth1 the sole ,word of the ,father1 and ,i conjure ,thee now to break the chain of clouds and send down on ,thy children ,thy goodly rain like milk1 to set free the rivers and liberate those who swim1 as also those which fly4 ,i conjure ,thee to break all the chains and remove all the obstacles by the virtue of ,thy ,holy ,name40 ,the antiquity of this prayer is evident and it embodies most remarkable reminiscences of primitive types belonging to ,christian esotericism during the first centuries of this era4 ,the qualification of ,golden given to the fabulous legend of allegorical saints is a sufficient indication of its character4 ,gold1 in the eyes of initiates1 is condensed light2 the sacred numbers of the ,kabalah were called golden2 the moral instructions of ,pythagoras were contained in ,golden ,verses2 and for the same reason that mysterious work of ,apuleius in which an ass has an important rle1 is called the ,golden ,ass4 ,the ,christians were accused by ,pagans of worshipping an ass1 and the slander in question is not of their own devising2 it is referable to the ,jews of ,samaria1 who expressed ,kabalistic ideas on the ,divinity by means of ,egyptian symbols4 ,intelligence was represented in the symbol of a magical star1 venerated under the name of ,rempham2 science was depicted by the emblem of ,anubis1 the latter name being altered into ,nibbas2 whilst vulgar faith or credulity appeared in the likeness of ,thartac1 a god represented holding a book1 wearing a mantle and having the head of an ass4#acf ,according to the ,samaritan doctors1 ,christianity was the reign of ,thartac1 or blind faith and vulgar credulity set up as an universal oracle1 superior to understanding and knowledge4 ,this is why1 in their intercourse with ,gentiles and when they heard themselves identified by these with ,christians1 they protested and begged not to be confounded with the worshippers of an ass's head4 ,the pretended revelation diverted the philosophers1 and ,tertullian mentions a ,roman caricature1 extant in his days1 which exhibited ,thartac in all his glory1 identified as the god of ,christianity1 much to the amusement of ,tertullian1 though he was the author of that famous aphorism3 ,credo quia absurdum4#acg ,the ,golden ,ass of ,apuleius is the occult legend of ,thartac4 ,it is a magical epic and a satire against ,christianity1 which the author had doubtless professed for a period1 or so at least he appears to intimate under the allegory of his metamorphosis into an ass4 ,the story of the work is as follows4 ,apuleius was travelling in ,thessaly1 the country of enchantments4 ,he received hospitality at the house of a man whose wife was a sorceress1 and he seduced the servant of his hostess1 thinking to obtain in this manner the secrets of her mistress4 ,the maid promised to deliver to her lover a concoction by means of which the sorceress changed herself into a bird1 but she made a mistake in the box and ,apuleius was transformed into an ass4 ,she could only console him by saying that to regain his proper form it would be sufficient to eat roses1 the rose being the flower of initiation4 ,the difficulty at the moment being to find roses in the night1 it was decided to wait till the morrow and the servant therefore stabled the ass1 but only for it to be taken by robbers and carried off4 ,there was little chance now of coming across roses1 which are not intended for asses1 and gardeners chased away the animal with sticks4 ,during his long and sad captivity1 he heard the history of ,psyche related1 that marvellous and symbolical legend which was like the soul and poetry of his own experience4 ,psyche desired to take by surprise the secrets of love1 as ,apuleius sought those of ,magic2 she lost love and he the human form4 ,she was an exiled wanderer1 living under the wrath of ,venus1 and he was the slave of thieves4 ,but after having journeyed through hell1 ,psyche was to return into heaven1 and the gods took pity on ,lucius4 ,isis appeared to him in a dream and promised that her priest1 warned by a revelation1 would give him roses during the solemnities of her coming festival4 ,that festival arrived1 and ,apuleius describes at great length the procession of ,isis2 the account is valuable to science1 for it gives the key of ,egyptian mysteries4 ,men in disguise come first1 carrying grotesque animals2 these are the vulgar fables4 ,women follow strewing flowers and bearing on their shoulders mirrors which reflect the image of the great divinity4 ,so do men go in front and formulate dogmas which women embellish1 reflecting unconsciously the higher truths1 owing to their maternal instincts4 ,men and women came afterwards in company as light-bearers2 they represented the alliance of the two terms1 the active and passive generators of science and life4#ach ,after the light came harmony1 represented by young musicians1 and1 in fine1 the images of gods1 to the number of three1 followed by the grand hierophant1 carrying1 instead of an image1 the symbol of great ,isis1 being a globe of gold surmounted by a ,caduceus4 ,lucius ,apuleius beheld a crown of roses in the hands of the high priest2 he approached and was not repulsed2 he ate the roses and was restored to human shape4 ,all this is learnedly written and intermingled with episodes which are now heroic and again grotesque in character1 as befitted the double nature of ,lucius and the ass4 ,apuleius was at once the ,rabelais and ,swedenborg of the old world at the close of the epoch4 ,the great masters of ,christianity either failed or refused to understand the mysticism of the ,golden ,ass4 ,st4 ,augustine in the ,city of ,god asks in the most serious manner whether one is to believe that ,apuleius was metamorphosed literally into an ass and seems disposed to admit the possibility1 but only as an exceptional phenomenon--from which nothing follows as a consequence4 ,if this be an irony on his part1 it must be allowed that it is cruel1 but if it be ingenuousness--however1 ,st4 ,augustine1 the acute rhetorician of ,madaura1 was scarcely given to being ingenuous4 ,blind and unfortunate indeed were those initiates of the ,antique ,mysteries who ridiculed the ass of ,bethlehem without perceiving the infant ,god ,who shone upon the peaceful animals in the stable--the ,child on whose forehead reposed the conciliating star of all the past and future4 ,whilst philosophy1 convicted of impotence1 offered insult to victorious ,christianity1 the fathers of the ,church assumed all the magnificence of ,plato and created a new philosophy based upon the living reality of the ,divine ,word1 ever present in ,his ,church1 reborn in each of its members and immortal in humanity4 ,it would be a greater dream of pride than that of ,prometheus1 were it not at the same time a doctrine which is all abnegation and all devotion1 human because it is divine and divine because it is human4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,some ,,kabalistic ,,paintings ,,and ,,sacred ,,emblems ,in obedience to the ,saviour's formal precept1 the primitive ,church did not expose its ,most ,holy ,mysteries to the chance of profanation by the crowd4 ,admission to ,baptism and the ,eucharist was in virtue of progressive initiations2 the sacred books were also held in concealment1 their free study and1 above all1 interpretation being reserved to the priesthood4 ,moreover1 images were fewer and less explicit in character4 ,the feeling of the time refrained from reproducing the figure of ,christ ,himself1 and the paintings on the catacombs were1 for the most part1 ,kabalistic emblems4 ,there was the ,edenic ,cross with the four rivers1 where harts came to drink2 the mysterious fish of ,jonah was replaced frequently by a two-headed serpent2 a man rising from a chest recalls pictures of ,osiris4#aci ,all these allegories at a later period fell under proscription1 owing to the ,gnosticism which misapplied them1 materialising and debasing the holy traditions of the ,kabalah4 ,the name of ,gnostic was not always rejected by the ,church4 ,those fathers whose doctrine was allied to the traditions of ,st4 ,john frequently made use of this title to designate the perfect ,christian4 ,apart from the great ,synesius1 who was a finished ,kabalist but of questionable orthodoxy1 ,st4 ,irenus and ,st4 ,clement of ,alexandria applied it in this sense4 ,the false ,gnostics were all in revolt against the hierarchic order1 seeking to level the sacred science by its general diffusion1 to substitute visions for understanding1 personal fanaticism for hierarchic religion1 and especially the mystical licence of sensual passions for that wise ,christian sobriety and obedience to law which are the mother of chaste marriages and saving temperance4 ,the induction of ecstasy by physical means and the substitution of somnambulism for sanctity--these were the invariable tendency of those ,cainite sects which perpetuated the ,black ,magic of ,india4 ,the ,church could do no less than condemn them energetically1 and it did not swerve from its mission2 it is only regrettable that the good grain of science often suffered when the spade was driven and the flame kindled in fields overgrown by tares4 ,enemies of generation and the family1 the false ,gnostics sought to insure sterility by increasing debauch2 their pretence was to spiritualise matter1 but actually they materialised spirit1 and this in the most repulsive manner4 ,their theology abounds in the copulation of ,eons and in voluptuous embraces4#adj ,like the ,brahmans1 they worshipped death under the symbol of the lingam2 their creation was an infinite onanism and their redemption an eternal abortion4 ,looking to escape from the hierarchy by the help of miracle--as if miracle apart from the hierarchy proved anything but disorder or rascality1 the ,gnostics1 from the days of ,simon ,magus1 were great workers of prodigies4 ,substituting the impure rites of ,black ,magic for the established worship1 they caused blood to appear instead of the ,eucharistic wine and substituted cannibal communions for the peaceful and pure supper of the ,heavenly ,lamb4#ada ,the arch-heretic ,marcos1 a disciple of ,valentinus1 said ,mass with two chalices2 he poured wine into the smaller and on pronouncing a magical formula the larger vessel was filled with a liquor like blood1 which swelled up seething4 ,he was not a priest1 and he sought to prove in this manner that ,god had invested him by a miraculous ordination4#adb ,he incited all his disciples to perform the same marvel in his presence4 ,it was women more especially whose success was parallel to his own1 but when they passed subsequently into convulsions and ravishment1 ,marcos breathed upon them1 communicating his own mania1 so that they covenanted to forget for his sake1 and for that of religion1 not only all prudence but all decency4 ,such intervention of woman in the priesthood was always the dream of false ,gnostics1 for in so equalising the sexes they introduced anarchy into the family and raised a stumbling-block in the path of society4 ,maternity is the true priesthood of women2 modesty is the ritual of the fireside and the religion thereto belonging4 ,this the ,gnostics failed to understand1 or they understood it too well rather1 and in misguiding the sacred instincts of the mother they cast down the barrier which stood between them and complete liberty for their desires4#adc ,the sorry candour of lewdness was not1 however1 a gift possessed by all4 ,on the contrary1 the ,montanists1 among other ,gnostics1 exaggerated morality in order to make it impracticable4 ,montanus himself1 whose acrid doctrines inveigled the paradoxical and extremist genius of ,tertullian1 was given over1 with ,priscilla and ,maximilla1 his prophetesses1 or--as we should now say--his somnambulists1 to all the boundless licentiousness of frenzy and ecstasy4 ,the natural penalty of such excesses was not wanting to their authors2 they ended in raving madness and suicide4 ,the doctrine of the ,marcosians was a profound and materialised ,kabalah2 they dreamed that ,god had created everything by means of the letters of the alphabet2 that these letters were as so many divine emanations1 having the power of generating beings2 that words were all-powerful and worked wonders virtually1 as also in literal reality4#add ,all this is true in a certain sense1 but not in that of the ,marcosian heresy4 ,the heretics in question supplemented actualities by hallucinations and believed that they went invisible because they were transported mentally where they wished in the somnambulistic state4 ,in the case of false mystics1 life and dream are frequently so confused together that the predominant dream-state invades and submerges reality3 it is then uttermost rule of folly4 ,the natural function of imagination is to evoke images and forms1 but in a condition of abnormal exaltation it can also exteriorise forms1 as proved by the phenomena of monstrous pregnancies and a host of analogous facts which official science would do more wisely to study rather than deny stubbornly4 ,of such are the disorderly creations which religion brands justly under the name of diabolical miracles and of such were those of ,simon1 the ,menandrians and ,marcos4 ,in our own days a false ,gnostic named ,vintras1 at present a refugee in ,london1 causes blood to appear in empty chalices and on sacrilegious hosts4 ,the unhappy being then passes into ecstasies1 after the manner of ,marcos1 prophesies the downfall of the hierarchy and the coming triumph of a pretended priesthood1 given up to unrestricted intercourse and unbridled love4#ade ,after the protean pantheism of the ,gnostics came the dualism of ,marcos1 formulating as religious dogma the false initiation prevalent among the pseudo-,magi of ,persia4 ,the personification of evil produced a ,god in competition with ,god ,himself1 a ,king of darkness as well as a ,king of ,light1 and there is referable to this period that pernicious doctrine of the ubiquity and sovereignty of ,satan against which we register our most energetic protest4 ,we make no pretence in this place of denying or affirming the tradition concerning the fall of angels1 deferring herein1 as in all that concerns faith1 to the supreme and infallible decisions of the ,holy1 ,catholic1 ,apostolic and ,roman ,church4 ,but assuming that the fallen angels had a leader prior to that apostasy1 the event in question could not do otherwise than precipitate them into total anarchy1 tempered only by the inflexible justice of ,god4 ,separated from that ,divinity which is the source of all power1 and more guilty by far than the others1 the prince of angels in rebellion could be nothing but the last and most impotent of all outcasts4 ,but if there be a force in ,nature which attracts those who forget ,god towards sin and death1 such force is no other than the ,astral ,light1 and we do not decline to recognise it as an instrument in subservience to fallen spirits4 ,we shall recur to this subject1 prepared with a complete explanation1 so that it may be intelligible in all its bearings and all its orthodoxy4#adf ,the revelation of a great secret of occultism thus effected will make evident the danger of evocations1 all curious experiences1 abuses of magnetism1 table-turning and whatever connects with wonders and hallucinations4 ,arius had prepared the way for ,manicheanism by his hybrid creation of a ,son of ,god distinct from ,god ,himself4 ,it was equivalent to the hypothesis of dualism in ,deity1 inequality in the ,absolute1 inferiority in ,supreme ,power1 the possibility of conflict between the ,father and the ,son1 and even its necessity4 ,these considerations1 and the disparity between the terms of the divine syllogism1 make inevitable the rejection of the notion4 ,is there any question whether the ,divine ,word can be good or evil--can be either ,god or the devil8 ,but this was the great dilemma involved by the addition of a diphthong to the ,greek word ,greek3 omousios1 by which it was changed to ,greek3 omoiousios4 ,in declaring the ,son consubstantial with the ,father1 the ,council of ,nica saved the world1 though the truth can be realised only by those who know that principles in reality constitute the equilibrium of the universe4 ,gnosticism1 ,arianism1 ,manicheanism came out of the ,kabalah misconstrued4 ,the ,church was therefore right in forbidding to its faithful the study of a science so dangerous2 the keys thereof should be reserved solely to the supreme priesthood4 ,the secret tradition would appear as a fact to have been preserved by sovereign pontiffs1 at least till the papacy of ,leo ,,iii1 to whom is attributed an occult ritual said to have been presented by him to the ,emperor ,charlemagne4 ,it contains the most secret characters of the ,keys of ,solomon4 ,this little work1 which should have been kept in concealment1 came into circulation later on1 necessitating its condemnation by the ,church1 and it has passed consequently into the domain of ,black ,magic4 ,it is known under the name of the ,enchiridion of ,leo ,,iii and we are in possession of an old copy which is exceedingly rare and curious4#adg ,the loss of the ,kabalistic keys could not entail that of the infallibility of the ,church1 which is ever assisted by the ,holy ,spirit1 but it led to great obscurity in exegesis1 the sublime imagery of ,ezekiel's prophecy and the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john being rendered completely unintelligible4 ,may the lawful successors of ,st4 ,peter accept the homage of this book and bless the labours of their humblest child1 who1 believing that he has found one of the keys of knowledge1 comes to lay it at the feet of those who alone have the right to open and to shut the treasures of understanding and of faith4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,philosophers ,,of ,,the ,,alexandrian ,,school ,on the eve of its extinction the school of ,plato diffused a great light at ,alexandria2 but1 victorious after three centuries of warfare1 ,christianity had assimilated all that was permanent and true in the doctrines of antiquity4 ,the last adversaries of the new religion attempted to check the progress of men who were alive by galvanising mummies4 ,the time had come when the competition could be taken seriously no longer1 and the pagans of the school of ,alexandria1 unwillingly and unconsciously1 were at work on the sacred monument raised by the disciples of ,jesus of ,nazareth to confront all the ages4 ,ammonius ,saccas1 ,plotinus1 ,porphyry1 ,proclus are great names in the annals of science and virtue2 their theology was elevated1 their doctrine moral1 their own manners were austere4 ,but the chief and most touching figure of this epoch1 the brightest star in the whole constellation1 was ,hypatia1 the daughter of ,theon--that virginal and learned girl whose understanding and virtues would have taken her to the baptismal font1 but she died a martyr for liberty of conscience when they attempted to drag her thereto4 ,synesius of ,cyrene was trained at the school of ,hypatia2 he became ,bishop of ,ptolemais1 and was one of the most instructed philosophers as well as the best ,christian poet of the early centuries4 ,it was he who remarked that the common people always despised things which are of easy understanding and that what they require is imposture4 ,when it was proposed to confer on him episcopal dignity1 he wrote thus in a letter to a friend3 8,the mind which is drawn to wisdom and to the contemplation of truth at first hand is forced to disguise it1 so that it may be rendered acceptable to the multitude4 ,there is a real analogy between light and truth1 as between our eyes and ordinary understandings4 ,the sudden communication of a light too brilliant dazzles the material eye1 and rays that are moderated by shadow are more serviceable to those whose sight as yet is feeble4 ,so1 in my opinion1 fictions are necessary for the people1 truth being harmful to those who are not strong enough to contemplate it in all its splendour4 ,if therefore the ecclesiastical laws permit reserve in judgment1 and allegory in mode of expression1 ,i can accept the dignity which is offered me2 the condition is1 in other words1 that ,i shall remain a philosopher at home1 though ,i shall tell apologues and parables in public4 ,what can there be in common1 as a fact1 between the vulgar crowd and sublime wisdom8 ,truth must be kept in secret2 the multitude need instruction proportioned to their imperfect reason40 ,it is regrettable that ,synesius should write in this strain1 as nothing can be more impolitic than to let a reservation appear when one is entrusted with public teaching4 ,as the result of similar indiscretions1 there is the common remark of to-day that religion is necessary for the people2 the question is for what people1 seeing that no one will tolerate inclusion in this category when understanding and morality are involved4 ,the most remarkable work of ,synesius is a treatise on dreams1 in which he unfolds the purest ,kabalistic doctrines and appears as a theosophist whose exaltation and obscure style have rendered suspect of heresy2 but he had neither the obstinacy nor the fanaticism of sectarians4 ,he died as he had lived in the peace of the ,church1 confessing his doubts frankly but submitting to hierarchic authority3 his clergy and his flock asked nothing better at his hands4 ,according to ,synesius1 the state of dream proves the individuality and immaterial nature of the soul1 which in this condition creates for itself a heaven1 a country1 palaces shining with light1 or otherwise darksome caverns--according to its inclinations and desires4 ,moral progress may be estimated by the tendency of dreams1 for in these free will is suspended1 while fancy is abandoned entirely to the dominant instincts4 ,images are produced in consequence as a reflection or shadow of thought2 presentiments take bodily shape2 memories are intermingled with hopes4 ,the book of dreams is inscribed sometimes with radiant and sometimes with dark characters1 but accurate rules can be established by which they may be decoded and read4 ,jerome ,cardan wrote a long commentary on the treatise of ,synesius and may even be said to have completed it by a dictionary of all dreams1 having their explanation attached4 ,the whole is to be distinguished entirely from the little books of colportage1 and it really claims a serious place in the library of occult science4#adh ,a certain section of criticism has ascribed to ,synesius those remarkable works which appear under the name of ,dionysius the ,areopagite2 in any case1 these are regarded as apocryphal and belonging to the brilliant period of the school of ,alexandria4 ,they are monuments of the conquest of higher ,kabalism by ,christianity1 and they are intelligible only for those who have been initiated therein4 ,the chief treatises of ,dionysius are on ,divine ,names and the ,celestial and ,ecclesiastical ,hierarchies4 ,the first explains and simplifies all mysteries of rabbinical theology4 ,according to the author1 ,god is the infinite and indefinable principle2 in ,himself ,he is one and inexpressible1 but we ascribe to ,him names which formulate our own aspirations towards ,his divine perfection4#adi ,the sum of these names and their relation with numbers constitute that which is highest in human thought2 theology is less the science of ,god than that of our most sublime yearnings4 ,the degrees of the spiritual hierarchy are afterwards established on the primitive scale of numbers1 governed by the triad4 ,the angelical orders are three1 and each order contains three choirs4 ,it is on this model that the hierarchy should be established on earth1 and the ,church is its most perfect type3 therein are princes1 bishops and lastly simple ministers4 ,among the princes are cardinal-bishops1 cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons4 ,among prelates there are archbishops1 simple bishops and suffragans4 ,among ministers there are rectors or vicars1 simple priests and those who hold the diaconate4 ,the progression to this holy hierarchy is by three preparatory degrees1 being the subdiaconate1 minor orders and clerkship4 ,the functions of all correspond to the angels and the saints2 they are to glorify the threefold ,divine ,names1 in each of the ,three ,persons1 because the ,undivided ,trinity is adored in its fulness in each of the ,divine ,hypostases4 ,this transcendental theology was that of the primitive church1 and possibly it is attributed to ,st4 ,dionysius only in virtue of a tradition which goes back to his and the apostolic times1 much as the rabbinical editors of the ,sepher ,yetzirah attributed that text to the patriarch ,abraham1 because it embodies the tradition perpetuated from father to son in the family of this patriarch4 ,however it may be1 the books of ,st4 ,dionysius are precious for science2 they consecrate the mystical marriage of antique initiation with the gospel of ,christianity1 uniting a perfect understanding of supreme philosophy with a theology which is absolutely complete and in all things above reproach4 ,,book ,,iv ,,magic ,,and ,,civilisation --,,daleth ,,chapter ,i ,,magic ,,among ,,barbarians ,black ,magic retreated before the light of ,christianity1 ,rome was conquered by the cross1 and prodigies took refuge in that dark circle with which the barbarous provinces enringed the new ,roman splendour4 ,among a large number of extraordinary phenomena there is one which was verified in the reign of the ,emperor ,hadrian4 ,at ,tralles in ,asia1 a young and noble girl named ,philinnium1 originally of ,corinth and daughter of ,demostrates and ,charito1 was captivated by ,machates1 a youth of mean condition4 ,marriage was impossible1 for1 as it has been said1 ,philinnium was noble1 being1 moreover1 an only daughter and a rich heiress4 ,machates was a man of the people and kept a tavern4 ,the passion of ,philinnium was increased by difficulties2 she escaped from her father's home and took refuge with ,machates4 ,an illicit intercourse began and continued for six months1 when the girl was discovered by her parents1 rescued by them and sequestered carefully4 ,measures were now projected for leaving the country and removing her to ,corinth2 but ,philinnium1 who had visibly wasted since separation from her lover1 was seized thereupon with a languishing disorder1 neither smiling nor sleeping1 and refusing all nourishment4 ,it came to pass1 in fine1 that she died4 ,the parents then relinquished their determination to depart and purchased a vault1 where the young girl was deposited1 clothed in her richest garments4 ,the sepulchre was situated in an enclosure belonging to the family and no one entered therein after the burial1 for pagans did not pray at the tombs of the departed4 ,the noble family were so anxious to avoid all scandal that all the arrangements took place in secret1 and ,machates had no idea as to what had become of his mistress4 ,but on the night following the entombment1 when he was about to retire1 the door opened slowly and1 coming forward with lamp in hand1 he beheld ,philinnium magnificently apparelled1 but pallid1 cold and fixing him with a dreadful stare in the eyes4 ,machates ran to meet her1 took her in his arms1 asked a thousand questions amidst as many caresses1 and they passed the night together4 ,before daybreak ,philinnium rose up and disappeared1 while her lover was still plunged in profound sleep4 ,illustration3 ,,hermetic ,,magic ,now the girl had an old nurse who loved her tenderly and wept bitterly at her loss4 ,she may have been an accomplice in her misconduct1 and since the burial of her beloved1 being unable to sleep1 she rose frequently at night in a kind of delirium and wandered round the dwelling of ,machates4 ,it came about in this manner that a few days after the episode just narrated1 she observed a light in the young man's chamber2 drawing nearer and looking through the chinks of the door1 she recognised ,philinnium seated beside her lover1 looking at him in silence and yielding to his embraces4 ,in a state of distraction the poor woman ran back to awaken the mother and gave account of what she had seen4 ,it was regarded at first as the raving of a visionary1 but in the end1 persuaded by her entreaties1 the mother rose and repaired to the house of ,machates4 ,all were asleep therein and there was no answer to knocking4 ,the lady looked through the chinks of the door1 the lamp was extinguished1 but a moonbeam lighted the chamber and the mother saw on a chair the draperies of her daughter and could distinguish two persons asleep in the bed4 ,she was seized with fright1 returned home trembling1 not daring to visit the sepulchre of her child1 and passed the rest of the night in agitation and tears4 ,on the morrow she sought the lodging of ,machates and questioned him gently4 ,the young man confessed that ,philinnium visited him every night4 8,why refuse her to me80 he said to the mother4 8,we are affianced before the gods40 ,then opening a coffer he shewed ,charito the ring and girdle of her daughter1 adding3 8,she gave me these last night1 pledging me never to belong to anyone but her2 seek therefore to separate us no longer1 since we are united by a mutual promise40 8,will you therefore in your turn go to the grave in search of her80 said the mother4 8,philinnium has been dead for these four days1 and it is doubtless a sorceress or a stryge who has assumed her likeness to deceive you4 ,you are the spouse of death1 your hair will whiten to-morrow1 and the day after you also will be buried4 ,in this manner do the gods avenge the honour of an outraged family40 ,machates turned white and trembled at this language2 he began to fear on his own part that he was the sport of infernal powers2 he begged ,charito to bring her husband that evening1 when he would hide them near his room1 and at the time of the phantom's arrival1 would give a signal to warn them of the fact4 ,they came1 and at the allotted hour came also ,philinnium to ,machates1 who was in bed1 but fully clothed and only pretending to sleep4 ,the girl undressed and placed herself beside him2 ,machates gave the signal2 the parents entered with torches and uttered a great cry on recognising their daughter4 ,philinnium1 with pallid face1 rose from the bed to her full height1 and said in a hollow and terrible voice3 8,o my father and my mother1 why have you been jealous of my happiness and why have you pursued me even beyond the grave8 ,my love had compelled the infernal gods2 the power of death was suspended2 three days only and ,i should have been restored to life4 ,but your cruel curiosity makes void the miracle of ,nature2 you are killing me a second time40 ,after these words she fell back1 an inert mass1 upon the bed2 her countenance faded2 a cadaverous odour filled the chamber2 and there was nothing now but the disfigured remains of a girl who had been five days dead4 ,on the morrow the whole town was in commotion over this prodigy4 ,people crowded to the amphitheatre1 where the history was recounted in public1 and the crowd then visited the mortuary vault of ,philinnium4 ,there was no sign of her presence1 but they came upon an iron ring and a gilded cup1 which she had received as presents from ,machates4 ,the corpse was in the room of the tavern1 but the young man had vanished4 ,the diviners were consulted and they directed that the remains should be interred without the precincts of the town4 ,sacrifices were offered to the ,furies and to the terrestrial ,mercury2 the celestial manes were conjured and there were offerings to ,jupiter ,hospitalis4 ,phlegon1 a freedman of ,adrian1 who was the ocular witness of these facts1 and relates them in a private letter1 adds that he had to exercise his authority to calm a place disturbed by so extraordinary an event1 and he finishes his story with the following words3 8,if you think fit to inform the emperor1 let me know1 that ,i may send some of those who have been witnesses of these things40 ,the history of ,philinnium is therefore well authenticated4 ,a great ,german poet#aej has made it the subject of a ballad which everyone knows under the title of the ,bride of ,corinth4 ,he supposes that the girl's parents were ,christians1 and this gives him the opportunity to make a powerful poetic contrast between human passions and the duties of religion4 ,the medival demonographers have not failed to explain the resurrection1 or possibly the apparent death of the young ,greek lady1 as a diabolical obsession4 ,on our own part1 we recognise an hysterical coma accompanied by lucid somnambulism2 the father and mother of ,philinnium killed her by their rough awakening and public imagination exaggerated all the circumstances of this history4#aea ,the terrestrial ,mercury1 to whom sacrifices were ordained by diviners1 is no other than the ,astral ,light personified4 ,it is the fluidic genius of the earth1 fatal for those who arouse it without knowing how to direct2 it is the focus of physical life and the magnetised receptacle of death4 ,this blind force1 which the power of ,christianity enchained and cast into the abyss1 meaning into the centre of the earth1 made its last efforts and manifested its final convulsions by monstrous births among barbarians4 ,there is scarcely a district in which the preachers of the gospel did not have to contend with animals in hideous forms1 being incarnations of idolatry in its death-throes4 ,the vouivres1 graouillis1 gargoyles1 tarasques are not allegorical only2 it is certain that moral disorders produce physical deformities and do1 to some extent1 realise the frightful forms attributed by tradition to demons4 ,the question arises whether these fossil remains from which ,cuvier built up his mammoth monsters belong really in all cases to epochs preceding our creation4 ,is also that great dragon merely an allegory which ,regulus is represented as attacking with machines of war and which according to ,livy and ,pliny lived on the borders of the river ,bagrada8 ,his skin1 which measured #abj feet1 was sent to ,rome and was there preserved until the period of the war with ,numantia4 ,there was an ancient tradition that when the gods were angered by extraordinary crimes1 they sent monsters upon earth1 and this tradition is too universal not to be founded upon actual facts2 it follows that the stories concerning it belong more frequently to history than mythology4 ,in all memorials of barbarian races1 at that epoch when ,christianity conquered them with a view to their civilisation1 we find 7a7 the last traces of high magical initiation spread formerly throughout the world1 and 7b7 proofs of the degeneration which had befallen such primitive revelation1 together with the idolatrous vileness into which the symbolism of the old world had lapsed4 ,in place of the disciples of the ,magi1 diviners1 sorcerers and enchanters reigned everywhere2 ,god was forgotten in the deification of men4 ,the example was given by ,rome to its various provinces1 and the apotheosis of the ,csars familiarised the whole world with the religion of sanguinary deities4 ,under the name of ,irminsul1 the ,germans worshipped and sacrificed human victims to that ,arminius or ,hermann who caused ,augustus to mourn the lost legions of ,varus4 ,the ,gauls referred to ,brennus the attributes of ,taranis and of ,teutas1 burning in his honour colossi built of rushes and filled with ,romans4 ,materialism reigned everywhere1 idolatry being synonymous therewith1 as is also the superstition which is ever cruel because it is always base4 ,providence1 which predestined ,gaul to become the most ,christian land of ,france1 caused1 however1 the light of eternal truths to shine forth therein4 ,the original ,druids were true children of the ,magi1 their initiation deriving from ,egypt and ,chaldea1 or in other words1 from the purest sources of primitive ,kabalah4#aeb ,they adored the ,trinity under the names of ,isis or ,ilesus1 being supreme harmony2 ,belen or ,bel1 meaning the ,lord in ,assyrian and having correspondence with the name ,adonai2 ,camul or ,camael1 a name which personifies divine justice in the ,kabalah4#aec ,beneath this triangle of light they postulated a divine reflection1 also consisting of three personified emanations1 being3 ,teutas or ,teuth1 identical with the ,thoth of the ,egyptians1 and the ,word or formulated ,intelligence2 then ,strength and ,beauty1 the names of which varied like the emblems4 ,finally they completed the sacred septenary by a mysterious image representing the progress of dogma and its developments to come4 ,the form was that of a young girl1 veiled and bearing an infant in her arms2 they dedicated this symbol to the virgin who shall bear a child4#aed ,the ancient ,druids lived in strict abstinence1 preserved the deepest secrecy concerning their mysteries1 studied the natural sciences1 and only admitted new adepts after prolonged initiations4 ,there was a celebrated ,druidic college at ,autun1 and1 according to ,saint-,foix1 its armorial bearings still exist in that town4 ,they are azure1 with serpents argent couchant1 surmounted by mistletoe1 garnished with acorns vert1 to distinguish it from other mistletoe1 it being the oak and not the mistletoe which naturally bears the acorns4 ,mistletoe is a parasitic plant which has fruit particular to itself4#aee ,the ,druids built no temples but worked the rites of their religion on dolmens and in forests4 ,the mechanical means by which they raised such colossal stones to form their altars is even now a matter of speculation4 ,these erections are still to be seen1 dark and mysterious1 under the clouded sky of ,armorica4 ,the old sanctuaries had secrets which have not come down to us4 ,the ,druids taught that the souls of ancestors watched over children2 that they were made happy by their glory and suffered in their shame2 that protecting genii overshadowed trees and stones of the fatherland2 that the warrior who died for his country expiated all his offences1 fulfilled his task with dignity1 was elevated to the rank of a genius and exercised henceforth the power of the gods4 ,it followed that for the ,gauls patriotism itself was a religion2 women and even children carried arms1 if necessary1 to withstand invasion4 ,joan of ,arc and ,jeanne ,hachette of ,beauvais only carried on the traditions of these noble daughters of the ,gauls4 ,it is the magic of remembrances which cleaves to the soil of the fatherland4 ,the ,druids were priests and physicians1 curing by magnetism and charging amulets with their fluidic influence4 ,their universal remedies were mistletoe and serpents' eggs1 because these substances attract the ,astral ,light in an especial manner4#aef ,the solemnity with which mistletoe was cut drew down upon this plant the popular confidence and rendered it powerfully magnetic4 ,it came about in this manner that it worked marvellous cures1 above all when it was fortified by the ,druids with conjurations and charms4 ,let us not accuse our forefathers of over great credulity herein2 it may be that they knew that which is lost to us4 ,the progress of magnetism will some day reveal to us the absorbing properties of mistletoe2 we shall then understand the secret of those spongy growths which draw the unused virtue of plants and become surcharged with tinctures and savours4 ,mushrooms1 truffles1 gall on trees and the different kinds of mistletoe will be employed with understanding by a medical science which will be new because it is old4 ,we shall cease to ridicule ,paracelsus1 who collected moss 7usnea7 from the skulls of hanged men2 but one must not move quicker than science1 which recedes that it may advance the further4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,influence ,,of ,,women ,in imposing upon woman the severe and tender duties of motherhood ,providence has entitled her to the protection and respect of man4 ,made subject by ,nature itself to the consequence of affections which are her life1 she leads her masters by the chains which love provides1 and the more fully that she is in conformity with the laws which constitute and also defend her honour the greater is her sway1 and the deeper that respect which belongs to her in the sanctuary of the family4 ,to revolt is for her to abdicate1 and to tempt her by a pretended emancipation is to recommend her divorce by condemning her beforehand to sterility and disdain4 ,christianity alone has the power to emancipate woman by calling her to virginity and the glory of sacrifice4 ,numa foresaw this mystery when he instituted the vestals2 but the ,druids forestalled ,christianity by giving ear to the inspirations of virgins and paying almost divine honours to the priestesses of the island of ,sayne4 ,in ,gaul women did not prevail by their coquetry and their vices1 but they ruled by their counsels2 apart from their concurrence1 neither peace nor war were made2 the interests of the hearth and family were thus pleaded by mothers and the national pride shone in the light of justice when it was tempered by the maternal love of country4 ,chateaubriand calumniated ,velleda by representing her as yielding to the love of ,eudorus2 she lived and died a virgin4 ,when the ,romans invaded ,gaul1 she was already advanced in years and was a species of ,pythia who prophesied amidst great solemnities and whose oracles were preserved with veneration4 ,she was clothed in a long black vestment1 having no sleeves2 her head was covered by a white veil1 which came down to her feet2 she wore a vervain crown1 and a sickle was placed in her girdle2 her sceptre was in the form of a distaff2 her right foot was shod with a sandal and her left foot wore a kind of chaussure poulaine4 ,at a later period the statues of ,velleda were taken for those of ,berthe au grand pied4 ,the ,high ,priestess bore1 as a fact1 the insignia of the protecting divinity of the female ,druids2 she was ,hertha1 or ,wertha1 the youthful ,gaulish ,isis1 the ,queen of ,heaven1 the virgin who must bring forth a child4 ,she was depicted with one foot on the earth and the other on the water1 because she was queen of initiation and presided over universal science4 ,the foot set upon the water was usually supported by a ship1 analogous to the bark or conch of the ancient ,isis4 ,she held the distaff of the ,fates wound about with a thread1 part black1 part white1 because she presided over all forms and symbols1 and it was she who wove the vestment of ideas4 ,she was also given the allegorical form of the syrens1 half woman and half fish1 or the torso of a beautiful girl whose legs were serpents1 signifying the flux of things and the analogical alliance of opposites in the manifestation of all occult forces of ,nature4 ,under this last form ,hertha took the name of ,melusine or ,melosina1 the musician1 the singer1 that is to say1 the syren who reveals harmonies4 ,such is the origin of the legends concerning ,queen ,bertha and the fairy ,melusine4 ,the latter came1 it is said1 in the eleventh century to a lord of ,lusignan2 she was loved by him1 and their espousals took place on the condition that he did not seek to penetrate certain mysteries of her existence4 ,that promise was given1 but jealousy begot curiosity and led to perjury4 ,he spied upon ,melusine and surprised her in one of her metamorphoses1 for once every week the fairy resumed her serpent legs4 ,he uttered a cry which was answered by one far more despairing and terrible4 ,melusine disappeared but still returns1 making lamentation whenever a member of the house of ,lusignan is at the point of death4#aeg ,the legend is imitated from the fable of ,psyche and refers1 like this1 to the dangers of sacrilegious initiations1 or profanation of the mysteries of religion and of love2 it is borrowed from the traditions of the ancient bards and derives evidently from the learned school of the ,druids4 ,the eleventh century took possession of it and brought it into prominence1 but it existed from the far past4#aeh ,in ,france it would seem that inspiration was attributed more especially to women2 elves and fairies preceded saints1 and the ,french saints have almost invariably something of the fairy character in their legend4 ,st4 ,clothilde made us ,christians and ,st4 ,genevive kept us ,french1 repelling--by the force of her virtue and her faith--the threatening invasion of ,attila4 ,joan of ,arc is1 however1 rather of the fairy family than the hierarchy of holy women2 she died like ,hypatia1 the victim of marvellous natural gifts and the martyr of her generous character4 ,we shall speak of her later on4 ,st4 ,clothilde still performs miracles along the countryside4 ,at ,andelys we have seen a crowd of pilgrims thronging about a piscina in which the statue of the saint is immersed annually1 and according to popular belief the first diseased person who goes down into the water subsequently is cured at once4 ,clothilde was a woman of action and a great queen1 but she went through many sorrows4 ,her elder son died after his baptism1 and the fatality was ascribed to witchcraft2 the second fell ill and reached the point of death4 ,the fortitude of the saint did not yield1 and ,sicambre when standing one day in need of more than human courage1 remembered the ,god of ,clothilde4 ,she became a widow after converting and practically founding a great kingdom1 and she saw the two children of ,clodomir butchered practically under her eyes4 ,in such sorrows do queens on earth resemble the ,queen of ,heaven4#aei ,after the great and brilliant figure of ,clothilde1 history presents us with a hideous offset in the baleful personality of ,fredegonde1 the woman whose glance was witchcraft1 the sorceress who slew princes4 ,she accused her rivals of ,magic and condemned them to tortures which she alone merited4 ,chilperic had one remaining son by his first wife2 this young prince1 who was named ,clovis1 was attached to a daughter of the people whose mother passed for a sorceress4 ,mother and daughter were both accused of disturbing the reason of ,clovis by means of philtres and with murdering the two children of ,fredegonde by magical spells4 ,the unhappy women were arrested2 the daughter1 ,klodswinthe1 was beaten with rods1 her beautiful hair cut off1 and this was hung by ,fredegonde on the door of the prince's chamber4 ,subsequently ,klodswinthe was brought up for sentence4 ,her firm and simple answers astonished the judges1 and the chronicle says that it was proposed to submit her to the test of boiling water4 ,a consecrated ring was placed in a tub set over a great fire and the accused1 clothed in white1 after having confessed and communicated1 had to plunge her arm in the tub1 in search of the ring4 ,her unchanged features made everyone cry out that a miracle had taken place1 but there was another cry1 which was one of reprobation and horror1 when the unhappy child drew forth her arm frightfully burnt4 ,she then asked permission to speak and said to her judges and the people3 8,you demanded a miracle from ,god to establish my innocence4 ,god is not to be tempted1 and ,he does not suspend the laws of ,nature in response to the caprice of men2 but ,he gives strength to those who believe in ,him1 and for me has performed a greater wonder than that which ,he refused to you4 ,this water has burned me1 yet have ,i plunged my whole arm into it and have brought forth the ring4 ,i have neither cried1 whitened1 nor quivered under this horrible torture4 ,had ,i been a magician1 as you say1 ,i should have resorted to witchcraft so that ,i might not be burnt2 but ,i am a ,christian and ,god has given me grace to prove it by the constancy of martyrs40 ,such logic was not of the kind that they understood at that barbarous epoch2 ,klodswinthe was sent back to prison1 there to await execution2 but ,god took pity upon her1 and the chronicle from which the account is drawn says that ,he called her to ,himself4 ,if it be a legend only1 it must be allowed that it is beautiful and deserves to be kept in memory4 ,fredegonde lost one of her victims but not the other two4 ,the mother was put to the torture and1 overcome by her sufferings1 she confessed whatever was required1 including the guilt of her daughter and the complicity of ,clovis4 ,armed with these admissions1 ,fredegonde obtained the surrender of his son by the ferocious ,chilperic4 ,the young prince was arrested and stabbed in prison1 ,fredegonde declaring that he had escaped from remorse by suicide4 ,the corpse of the unhappy ,clovis was shewn to his father1 with the dagger still in the wound4 ,chilperic looked on coldly2 he was entirely under the rule of ,fredegonde1 who dishonoured him with effrontery among the officers of the palace1 taking so little pains at concealment that the evidence was before his eyes1 almost despite himself4 ,instead of slaying the queen and her accomplice1 he departed on a hunt in silence4 ,he might have concluded to suffer the outrage1 through his fear of displeasing ,fredegonde1 but the latter was ashamed on his account1 and did him the honour of believing in his wrath1 that she might have a pretext for his assassination4 ,he had glutted her with crimes and meanness3 she killed him out of disgust4 ,fredegonde1 who destroyed on the pretext of sorcery the women whose sole guilt was to have displeased her1 experimented herself in ,black ,magic and protected some of those whom she thought were skilled therein4 ,ageric1 bishop of ,verdun1 had a pythoness arrested who made a great deal of money by recovering stolen objects and identifying the thieves2 she was probably a somnambulist4 ,the woman was examined1 but the demon refused to go out of her as long as she was chained2 if the pythoness were left in a church1 unguarded and unwatched1 he agreed to leave her4 ,they fell into the trap2 it was the woman herself who went out1 to take refuge with ,fredegonde1 who hid her in the palace and ended by saving her from being further exorcised1 as also probably from the stake4 ,on this occasion therefore she did good without meaning it1 yet it was rather through her pleasure in evil4#afj ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,salic ,,laws ,,against ,,sorcerers ,under the rule of the first ,french kings1 the crime of ,magic did not entail death save for those of exalted position1 while there were some who were proud to die for an offence by which they were raised above the vulgar crowd and became formidable even in the sight of kings4 ,there was the general ,mummol1 for example1 who1 on the rack by the orders of ,fredegonde1 declared that he experienced nothing1 who provoked more frightful tortures and died braving the executioners1 while the latter were moved to forgive him at the sight of such extra-natural fortitude4#afa ,among the ,salic laws1 supposed to have been enacted in #dgd1 and attributed to ,pharamond by ,sigebert1 the following ordinances are found4 8,if anyone shall testify that another has acted as a hrburge or strioporte--titles applied to those who carry the copper vessel to the spot where the vampires perform their enchantments--and if he shall fail to convict him1 he shall be condemned hereby to a forfeit of #g1ejj deniers1 being #ahj sous4444 ,if anyone shall charge a free woman as a vampire or as a prostitute1 and shall fail to prove his words1 he shall forfeit #bejj deniers1 being #fb sous4444 ,if a vampire shall devour a man and be found guilty1 she shall forfeit #hjjj deniers1 being #bjj sous40 ,it will be seen that in those times cannibalism was possible on terms and1 moreover1 that the market-price of human flesh was not at a premium4 ,it cost #ahj sous to slander a man1 but for a modicum above that sum he could be killed and eaten1 which was at once more honest and thorough4 ,this remarkable legislation recalls an equally curious ,talmudic recital1 being one which was interpreted after a memorable manner by the famous ,rabbi ,jechiel in the presence of a certain queen who is not named in the book4#afb ,it was most likely ,queen ,blanche1 for ,rabbi ,jechiel lived in the reign of ,st4 ,louis4 ,he had been called upon to answer the objections of a converted ,jew named ,douin1 who had received at baptism the ,christian name of ,nicholas4 ,after various discussions on texts of the ,talmud1 they came to the following passage3 8,if anyone shall offer any blood of his children to ,moloch1 let him die the death40 ,the ,talmud annotates thus3 8,he therefore who shall offer not a modicum of blood alone but the whole blood and the whole flesh of his children1 does not come under the judgment of the law and no penalty is declared against him40 ,those who took part in the debate clamoured at a construction which passed all understanding3 some laughed in pity1 some quivered with indignation4 ,rabbi ,jechiel could scarcely obtain a hearing1 and when he succeeded at last1 there was every mark of disfavour1 to indicate that he was condemned beforehand4 8,with us10 said he1 8the penalty of death is an atonement and consequently a reconciliation1 not an act of vengeance4 ,all who die by the law of ,israel die in the peace of ,israel2 they partake of peace in death1 and they sleep with their fathers4 ,no malediction descends with them into the grave2 they abide in the immortality of the ,house of ,jacob4 ,death is therefore a crowning grace2 it is the cure of a poisoned wound by the hot iron4 ,but we do not apply the iron to those who are past cure2 we have no jurisdiction over those the extent of whose transgression has cut them off for ever from ,israel4 ,such are as now dead1 and it is not therefore for us to shorten the term of their reprobation on earth3 they are delivered over to the wrath of ,god4 ,man is warranted to wound only that he may heal1 and we do not apply remedies to those who are beyond recovery4 ,the father of a family punishes only his children and is content to shut the door against strangers4 ,those great criminals upon whom our law pronounces no sentence are thereby excommunicated for ever1 which is a penalty greater than death40 ,the explanation of ,rabbi ,jechiel is admirable and breathes all the patriarchal genius of ancient ,israel4 ,truly the ,jews are our fathers in science1 and if we--in place of their persecution--had sought to understand them1 they would not have been at this day so far alienated from our faith4 ,the above ,talmudic tradition shews the ,jewish antiquity of belief in the immortality of the soul4#afc ,what is this reintegration of the guilty in the family of ,israel by an expiatory death unless it be a protest against death itself and a sublime act of faith in the perpetuity of life8 ,comte ,joseph de ,maistre understood this doctrine well when he raised the executioner's sanguinary mission into a kind of peculiar priesthood4 ,the anguish of punishment supplicates1 said this great writer1 and blood in its outpouring still remains a sacrifice4 ,were capital punishment other than a plenary absolution it would be nothing but retaliation on murder2 the man who suffers his sentence fulfils all his penance and enters by death into the immortal society of the children of ,god4 ,the ,salic laws were those of a people still in the state of barbarity1 where everything is redeemed by a ransom1 as in time of war4 ,slavery still obtained and human life had a debatable and relative value4 ,that must be always purchasable which there is a right to sell1 and only money is due for the destruction of an object which has a price in money4 ,the one efficacious legislation of the period was that of the ,church1 and its councils took the most stringent measures against the vampires and poisoners who went under the name of sorcerers4 ,the ,council of ,agde in ,lower ,languedoc1 held in #ejf1 pronounced excommunication against them4 ,the first ,council of ,orlans1 convened in #eda1 condemned divinatory operations2 that of ,narbonne1 in #ehi1 not only visited sorcerers with the greater excommunication but ordained that they should be sold as slaves for the benefit of the poor4 ,the same council decreed public whipping for amatores diaboli2 meaning no doubt those who were concerned about him1 feared him1 evoked him and attributed to him power which was in any wise like that of ,god4#afd ,we offer our congratulations sincerely to the disciples of ,m4 le ,comte de ,mirville that they did not live in such days4 ,while these events were passing in ,france an eastern visionary was engaged in founding a religion which was also an empire4 ,was ,mahomet an impostor or was he hallucinated8 ,for the ,moslems he is still a prophet1 and for ,arabic scholars the ,koran will be always a masterpiece4 ,an unlettered man1 a simple camel-driver1 he created notwithstanding the most perfect literary monument of his country4 ,his success might pass as miraculous1 and the martial fervour of his successors threatened for a moment the liberty of the whole world4 ,but the day came when ,asia broke under the iron hand of ,charles ,martel4 ,that rough soldier tarried little for prayer when there was fighting to be done2 when he wanted money he looted monasteries and churches1 and even sold ecclesiastical benefices to his warriors4 ,as the priesthood1 for these reasons1 could not suppose that his arms were blessed by ,god1 his victories were ascribed to ,magic4 ,indeed1 religious feeling was so stirred up against him that ,st4 ,eucher1 the venerable ,bishop of ,orlans1 learned in a vision from an angel that the saints whose churches he had spoliated or profaned forbade him to enter into heaven1 and even disinterred his body1 which they plunged with his soul into the abyss4 ,st4 ,eucher communicated the revelation to ,boniface1 ,bishop of ,mayence1 and to ,fulfvad1 arch-chaplain of ,pepin the ,short4 ,the tomb of ,charles ,martel was opened1 the body proved to be missing1 the inner side of the stone was blackened as if by burning1 a foul smoke exhaled and a great serpent came out4 ,an authentic report of the opening was sent by ,boniface to ,pepin the ,short and ,carloman1 who were the sons of ,charles ,martel1 praying them to take warning by the dreadful example and to respect holy things4 ,yet there was little of that virtue on the part of those who violated the grave of a hero on the faith of a dream1 and attributed a destruction which had been completely and rapidly accomplished by death itself to the work of hell4#afe ,some extraordinary phenomena1 occurring publicly in ,france1 characterised the reign of ,pepin the ,short4 ,the air seemed to be alive with human shapes2 heaven reflected illusory scenes of palaces1 gardens1 tossing waves1 ships in full sail and hosts in battle array4 ,the atmosphere was like a great dream1 and the details of these fantastic pageants were visible to everyone4 ,was it an epidemic attacking the organs of vision or an aerial perturbation projecting illusions on condensed air8 ,was it not more probably a general delusion occasioned by some intoxicating and pestilential effluvium diffused throughout the atmosphere8 ,the likelihood of the latter explanation is increased by the fact that these visions provoked the populace1 who in their imagination beheld sorcerers in the clouds scattering unwholesome powders and poisons with open hands4 ,the country was smitten with sterility1 cattle died1 and the mortality extended also to human beings4 ,the occurrences offered an opportunity to circulate a story1 the success and credit of which was in proportion to its extravagance4 ,at that time the famous ,kabalist ,zedekias#aff had a school of occult science1 where he taught not indeed the ,kabalah but the entertaining speculations arising therefrom and forming the exoteric part of a science which has been ever hidden from the profane4 ,with mythology of this kind ,zedekias diverted the minds of his hearers4 ,he told how ,adam1 the first man1 originally created in an almost spiritual estate1 abode above our atmosphere1 in a light which gave birth at his pleasure to the most wonderful vegetation4 ,he was served by choirs of beautiful beings1 fashioned in the likeness of male and female1 of whom they were animated reflections1 formed from the purest substance of the elements4 ,they were sylphs1 salamanders1 undines and gnomes2 but in his unfallen condition ,adam reigned over the gnomes and undines only by the agency of the salamanders and sylphs1 who alone had the power of ascending to his aerial paradise4 ,there was nothing to equal the felicity of our first parents amidst the ministry of the sylphs2 they were perishable spirits1 but they had incredible skill in building and weaving the light1 causing it to flower in a thousand forms1 more varied than the most brilliant and fruitful imagination can now conceive4 ,the earthly paradise--so named because it reposed upon the earthly atmosphere--was therefore a domain of enchantments4 ,adam and ,eve slept in palaces of pearls and sapphires2 roses sprang up around them and formed a carpet for their feet2 they glided over waters in sea-shells drawn by swans2 birds communed with them in delicious speech of music2 flowers stooped to caress them4 ,but all this was lost by the fall1 which cast our progenitors down on earth1 and the material bodies which clothed them henceforth are those skins of beasts mentioned in the ,bible4 ,they were alone and naked1 where no one obeyed their caprice of thought4 ,they forgot their life in ,eden1 or viewed it only as a dream seen through the glass of memory4 ,but the realms of paradise still and forever extend above the earthly atmosphere1 inhabited by sylphs and salamanders1 who are thus constituted guardians of man's domain1 like mournful retainers still in the house of a master whose return they expect no more4 ,imaginations were fired by these astonishing fictions when the visions of the air began to be seen in the full light of day4 ,they signified unquestionably the descent of sylphs and salamanders in search of their former masters4 ,voyages to the land of sylphs were talked of on all sides1 as we talk at the present day of animated tables and fluidic manifestations4 ,the folly took possession even of strong minds1 and it was time for an intervention on the part of the ,church1 which does not relish the supernatural being hawked in the public streets1 seeing that such disclosures1 by imperilling the respect due to authority and to the hierarchic chain of instruction1 cannot be attributed to the spirit of order and light4 ,the cloud-phantoms were therefore arraigned and accused of being hell-born illusions1 while the people--anxious to get something into their hands--began a crusade against sorcerers4 ,the public folly turned to a paroxysm of mania2 strangers in country places were accused of descending from heaven and were killed without mercy2 imbeciles confessed that they had been abducted by sylphs or demons2 others who had boasted like this previously either would not or could not unsay it2 they were burned or drowned1 and1 according to ,garinet1 the number who perished throughout the kingdom almost exceeds belief4#afg ,it is the common catastrophe of dramas in which the first parts are played by ignorance or fear4 ,such visionary epidemics recurred in the reigns following1 and all the power of ,charlemagne was put in action to calm the public agitation4 ,an edict1 afterwards renewed by ,louis the ,pious1 forbade sylphs to manifest under the heaviest penalties4 ,it will be understood that in the absence of the aerial beings the judgment fell upon those who made a boast of having seen them1 and hence they ceased to be seen4 ,the ships in air sailed back to the port of oblivion1 and no one claimed any longer to have journeyed through the blue distance4 ,other popular frenzies replaced the previous mania1 while the romantic splendours of the great reign of ,charlemagne furnished the makers of legends with new prodigies to believe and new marvels to relate4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,legends ,,of ,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,charlemagne ,charlemagne is the real prince of enchantments and the world of faerie2 his reign is like a solemn and brilliant pause between barbarism and the middle ages2 while he himself is a grand and majestic apparition1 recalling the magical pageant of ,solomon's sway3 he is at once a resurrection and a prophecy4 ,in him the ,roman empire1 overleaping ,frankish and ,gaulish origins1 reappeared in all its splendour2 in him also1 as in a symbol1 evoked and manifested by divination1 there is delineated beforehand the perfect empire of the ages of mature civilisation1 the empire crowned by priesthood and establishing its throne beside the altar4 ,the era of chivalry and the marvellous epos of romances begin with ,charlemagne2 the chronicles of his period are like the ,four ,sons of ,aymon1 or ,oberon1 ,king of ,faerie4 ,birds utter speech and direct the ,french army when the path has been lost in the forest2 brazen colossi appear in mid-ocean and indicate to the emperor a free way eastward4 ,roland1 first of the paladins1 wields a magic sword1 baptized like any ,christian and bearing the name of ,durandal2 the hero addresses this sword1 which seems to understand him1 and nothing can resist its supernatural onset4 ,roland has also an ivory horn1 contrived so skilfully that the lightest breath wakens a response within it1 and that answer is heard for twenty leagues around1 causing even mountains to quiver4 ,when the paladin falls at ,roncesvalles1 overwhelmed rather than conquered1 even then he uprises like a giant beneath some avalanche of trees and rolling rocks2 he winds his horn1 and the ,saracens take refuge in flight4 ,charlemagne1 at a distance of more than ten leagues1 hears the signal and would speed to his aid1 but he is prevented by the traitor ,ganelon1 who has sold the ,french army to the barbaric horde4 ,finding himself abandoned1 ,roland for the last time embraces his ,durandal1 and then1 summoning all his strength1 strikes it with both hands against a mountain block1 hoping to shatter the weapon1 lest it fall into the hands of infidels2 but the block itself is cloven1 the sword is not even indented4 ,hereat ,roland clasps it to his breast and yields up his spirit with so high and proud a mien that the ,saracens do not dare to approach1 but1 still shaking1 direct a cloud of arrows against their conqueror1 who is no more4 ,to be brief1 ,charlemagne1 bestowing a throne upon the papacy and receiving from its hands the empire of the world in return1 is the most imposing of all personalities in ,french history4 ,we have spoken of the ,enchiridion--that minute work which combines the most secret symbols of the ,kabalah with the most beautiful ,christian prayers4 ,occult tradition#afh attributes its composition to ,leo ,,iii and affirms that it was presented by this pontiff to ,charlemagne1 as the most precious of all offerings4 ,any king who owned it and knew how to use it worthily could become master of the world4 ,this tradition is not perhaps to be cast aside lightly4 ,it assumes 7#a7 the existence of a primitive and universal revelation1 explaining all ,secrets of ,nature and harmonising them with the ,mysteries of ,grace1 conciliating reason with faith1 since both are daughters of ,god and concur to illuminate intelligence by their double life4 7#b7 ,the necessity--which imposes itself--of concealing this revelation from the multitude1 lest the same be abused by those who do not understand it1 and lest they turn against faith not only the power of reason but that of faith itself1 to the confusion of reason1 which is never too well within the comprehension of the vulgar4 7#c7 ,the existence of a secret tradition1 reserving the knowledge of these mysteries for the sovereign priesthood and the temporal masters of the world4 7#d7 ,the perpetuity of certain signs or pantacles1 expressing the said mysteries in a hieroglyphical manner which is understood only by adepts4#afi ,the ,enchiridion1 from this point of view1 should be regarded as a collection of allegorical prayers and its secret ,kabalistic pantacles are keys thereto4 ,some of the chief figures may be described as follows4 ,the first1 which appears on the cover of the work itself1 represents a reversed equilateral triangle inscribed within a double circle4 ,the two words1 which are written within the triangle in the form of a cross1 are ,elohim and ,tzabaoth1 meaning the ,god of armies1 the equilibrium of natural forces and the harmony of numbers4#agj ,on the three sides of the triangle are the three great names--,jehovah1 ,adonai1 ,agla2 above the name of ,jehovah is the ,latin word ,formatio2 above that of ,adonai is ,reformatio2 and above ,agla is ,transformatio4 ,thus creation is ascribed to the ,father1 redemption or reform to the ,son and sanctification or transmutation to the ,holy ,spirit--in consonance with the mathematical laws of action1 reaction and equilibrium4 ,furthermore1 ,jehovah is to be understood as the genesis and formation of dogma in accordance with the elementary significance of the four letters comprised in the sacred ,tetragram2 ,adonai is the realisation of this dogma in human form1 that is to say1 in the ,lord manifest1 who is ,son of ,god or perfect man#aga2 and ,agla1 as we have explained fully elsewhere1 expresses the synthesis of all dogma and all ,kabalistic science1 seeing that the hieroglyphics of which this name is formed exhibit in a clear manner the triple secret of the ,great ,work4#agb ,the second pantacle is a head1 having three faces1 crowned by a tiara and issuing from a vessel filled with water4 ,those who are initiated into the mysteries of the ,zohar#agc will understand the allegory which is presented by this head4 ,the third pantacle is the double triangle1 known as the ,star of ,solomon4 ,the fourth is the ,magical ,sword1 bearing the device--,deo duce1 comite ferro3 it is an emblem of the ,great ,arcanum and the omnipotence of the adept4 ,the fifth is the problem of the human form attributed to the ,saviour1 as resolved by the number forty4 ,it is the theological number of the ,sephiroth multiplied by that of natural realities4#agd ,the sixth is the pantacle of the spirit1 represented by bones1 duplicating the letter ,e and the mystic ,tau1 or ,t4 ,the seventh and most important is the ,great ,magical ,monogram1 interpreting the keys of ,solomon1 the ,tetragram1 the sign of the ,labarum1 and the master-word of adeptship4#age ,this pantacle is read by its revolution wheelwise and is pronounced ,rota1 ,taro or ,tora4 ,the letter ,a is frequently replaced in this seal by the number #a1 which is its equivalent4 ,the pantacle in question contains also the form and value of the four hieroglyphical emblems of the ,tarot suits--being the ,wand1 ,cup1 ,sword and ,denier4 ,these elementary hieroglyphics recur everywhere on the sacred monuments of ,egypt2 while ,homer also depicts them on the shield of ,achilles1 placing them in the same order as the author of the ,enchiridion4 ,the proofs of these explanations1 if offered in the present place1 would divert us from our immediate subject and would moreover demand a special study which we hope to undertake and make public at some future time4#agf ,the magical sword or dagger depicted in the ,enchiridion seems to have been the particular symbol of the ,secret ,tribunal1 or ,company of ,free ,judges4 ,it is in the form of a cross and is concealed or enveloped by the device which surrounds it4 ,god alone wields it1 and he who strikes therewith is responsible to none for his actions4 ,as such1 it is terrible in its menace and so also in its privilege4 ,we know that the ,vehmic dagger smote in the dark those who were guilty1 their crime itself often remaining unknown4 ,what are the facts respecting this appalling justice8 ,the answer involves an excursion into realms of shadow which history has failed to enlighten and recourse to traditions and legends for light which science cannot give4 ,the ,free ,judges were a secret association opposed1 but in the interests of order and of government1 to anarchic and revolutionary societies which were secret in like manner4 ,we know that superstitions die hard and that degenerated ,druidism had struck its roots deeply in the savage lands of the ,north4 ,the recurring insurrections of ,saxons testified to a fanaticism which was 7a7 always turbulent1 and 7b7 incapable of repression by moral force alone4 ,all defeated forms of worship--,roman paganism1 ,germanic idolatry1 ,jewish rancour conspired against victorious ,christianity4 ,nocturnal assemblies took place2 thereat the conspirators cemented their alliance with the blood of human victims2 and a pantheistic idol of monstrous form1 with the horns of a goat1 presided over festivals which might be called agap of hatred4 ,in a word1 the ,sabbath was still celebrated in every forest and wild of yet unreclaimed provinces4 ,the adepts who attended them were masked and otherwise unrecognisable2 the assemblies extinguished their lights and broke up before daybreak2 the guilty were to be found everywhere1 and they could be brought to book nowhere4 ,it came about therefore that ,charlemagne determined to fight them with their own weapons4 ,in those days1 moreover1 feudal tyrants were in league with sectarians against lawful authority2 female sorcerers were attached to castles as courtesans2 bandits who frequented the ,sabbaths divided with nobles the blood-stained loot of rapine2 feudal courts were at the command of the highest bidder2 and the public burdens weighed with all their force only on the weak and poor4 ,the evil was at its height in ,westphalia1#agg and faithful agents were despatched thither by ,charlemagne entrusted with a secret mission4#agh ,whatsoever energy remained among the oppressed1 whosoever still loved justice1 whether among the people or among the nobility1 were drawn by these emissaries together1 bound by pledges and vigilance in common4 ,to the initiates thus incorporated they made known the full powers which they carried from the emperor himself1 and they proceeded to institute the ,tribunal of ,free ,judges4#agi ,they were a kind of secret police1 having the right of life and death4 ,the mystery which surrounded their judgments1 the swiftness of their executions1 helped to impress the imagination of people still in barbarism4 ,the ,holy ,vehm assumed gigantic proportions2 men shuddered in describing apparitions of masked persons1 of summonses nailed to the doors of nobles in the very midst of their watch-guards and their orgies1 of brigand-chiefs found dead with the terrible cruciform dagger in their breasts and on the scroll attached thereto an extract from the sentence of the ,holy ,vehm4 ,the ,tribunal affected most fantastic forms of procedure3 the guilty person1 cited to appear at some discredited cross-road1 was taken to the assembly by a man clothed in black1 who bandaged his eyes and led him forward in silence4 ,this occurred invariably at some unseemly hour of the night1 for judgment was never pronounced except at midnight4 ,the criminal was carried into a vast underground vault1 where he was questioned by one voice4#ahj ,the hoodwink was removed1 the vault was illuminated in all its depth and height1 and the ,free ,judges sat masked and wearing black vestures4 ,the sentences were not capital invariably1 for those who judged were familiar with the circumstances of the crime1 though nothing transpired concerning them1 as death would have overtaken the revealer instantly4#aha ,sometimes these formidable assemblies were so crowded that they were comparable to an army of avengers2 one night the emperor himself presided over the ,secret ,tribunal1 and more than one thousand ,free ,judges sat in a circle round him4#ahb ,in the year #adjj1 ten thousand members existed in ,germany4 ,people with a bad conscience suspected their own relations and friends4 ,william of ,brunswick is reported to have said on a certain occasion3 8,if ,duke ,adolphus of ,schleswig should pay me a visit1 ,i must infallibly hang him1 as ,i do not wish to be hanged40 ,frederick of ,brunswick1 a prince of the same family1 who was emperor for a moment1 refused to obey a citation of the ,free ,judges1 and from that time forward he went armed from head to foot and surrounded by guards4 ,one day1 however1 he fell a little apart from his suite and had occasion to loosen some part of his armour4 ,he did not return and his guards entered the copse where he had sought retirement for a moment4 ,the unfortunate man was in the act of expiring1 with the dagger of the ,holy ,vehm in his body and his sentence attached to the weapon4 ,looking round in all directions1 they could distinguish a masked man retreating at a slow pace1 but no one dared to follow him4 ,the ,code of the ,vehmic ,court was found in the ancient archives of ,westphalia and has been printed in the ,reichstheater of ,mller1 under the following title2 8,code and ,statutes of the ,holy ,secret ,tribunal of ,free ,counts and ,free ,judges of ,westphalia1 established in the year #ggb by the ,emperor ,charlemagne and revised in #adjd by ,king ,robert1 who made those alterations and additions requisite for the administration of justice in the tribunals of the illuminated1 after investing them with his own authority40 ,a note on the first page forbade any profane person to glance at the book under penalty of death4 ,the word illuminated1 here given to the associates of the ,secret ,tribunal1 unfolds their entire mission3 they had to track down in the shadows those who worshipped the darkness2 they counterchecked mysteriously those who conspired against society in favour of mystery2 but they were themselves the secret soldiers of light1 who cast the light of day on criminal plottings1 and it is this which was signified by a sudden splendour illuminating the ,tribunal when it pronounced sentence4 ,the public provisions of the law under ,charlemagne authorised this holy war against the tyrants of the night4 ,the records may be consulted to ascertain the penalties inflicted on sorcerers1 diviners1 enchanters1 noueurs d'aiguilette1 and those who administered poison in the guise of love-philtres4 ,the same laws made it penal to trouble the air1 raise tempests1 construct characters and talismans1 cast lots1 practise witchcraft and magical charms1 whether on men or cattle4 ,sorcerers1 astrologers1 diviners1 necromancers1 occult mathematicians are declared execrable and made subject to punishment in the same way as thieves and assassins4 ,such severity will be understood by recalling all that has been said on the horrible rites of ,black ,magic and its infant sacrifices4 ,the danger must have been grave indeed when its repression assumed forms at once so severe and numerous4 ,another institution which is referable to the same root was that of knight-errantry4 ,the knights-errant were a species of ,free ,judges who appealed to ,god and their spears against all the oppressions of castellans and all the malice of necromancers4 ,they were armed missionaries1 who protected themselves with the sign of the cross and then clove miscreants asunder2 after such manner did they earn the remembrance of some noble dame1 sanctifying love by the martyrdom of a life which was one of utter self-devotion4 ,we are far removed already from those pagan courtesans to whom slaves were offered in sacrifice and for whom the conquerors of the ancient world burnt cities4 ,for the ladies of ,christendom other sacrifices were requisite2 life must have been risked in the cause of the weak and oppressed1 captives must have been set free1 punishment meted out to the profaners of holy affections2 and then those lovely and white ladies1 whose skirts were embroidered with heraldic badges2 whose hands were pale and delicate2 those living madonnas1 proud as lilies1 who came back from church1 with ,books of ,hours under their arms and rosaries at their girdles1 would remove a veil broidered with gold or silver and give it as a scarf to the knight who knelt before them1 praying to them and dreaming of ,god4 ,let us forget ,eve and her errors2 they are forgiven a thousand times1 and are more than atoned for by this ineffable grace of the noble daughters of ,mary4 ,,chapter ,v ,,magicians ,that fundamental dogma of transcendental science which consecrates the eternal law of equilibrium attained its plenary realisation in the constitution of the ,christian world4 ,two living pillars--the ,pope and ,emperor--supported the structure of civilisation4 ,but the empire suffered partition when it slipped from the feeble hands of ,louis the ,pious and ,charles the ,bald4 ,the temporal power1 abandoned to the chances of conquests or intrigue1 lost the providential unity which kept it in harmony with ,rome4 ,the ,pope had often to intervene as grand justiciary and1 at his proper risk and peril1 he restrained the ambitions and audacity of many competitive sovereigns4 ,excommunication was at that time a terrible penalty1 for it was sanctioned by universal belief1 and it produced phenomena which awed the crowd1 being mysterious effects of the magnetic current of condemnation4 ,there is the example of ,robert the ,pious1 who1 having incurred this terrible penalty by an unlawful marriage1 became the father of a monstrous child1 similar to those effigies of demons which medival art represented in such ridiculous aspects of deformity4 ,the melancholy fruit of a forbidden union bore witness at least to the tortured conscience and frightful dreams by which the mother was possessed4 ,robert accepted the event as a proof of the wrath of ,god and submitted to the papal judgment4 ,renouncing a marriage which the ,church declared incestuous1 he repudiated ,bertha to espouse ,constance of ,provence1 and it remained for him to recognise in the questionable morals and arrogant character of his new bride a second chastisement of heaven4 ,the makers of chronicles at the period were enamoured of diabolical legends1 but their records exhibit more of credulity than of good taste4 ,every monkish malady1 every unhealthy nightmare of nuns1 is looked upon as a case of veridic apparition4 ,the result is repellent phantasmagoria1 stupid allocutions1 impossible transfigurations1 to which the artistic spirit of ,cyrano de ,bergerac is the one thing wanting to render them entertaining creations4 ,from the reign of ,robert to that of ,st4 ,louis there is nothing1 however1 which seems to deserve recounting4#ahc ,the famous ,rabbi ,jechiel1 great ,kabalist and truly remarkable physician1 lived in the reign of ,st4 ,louis4 ,all that is told of his lamp and magical nail goes to prove that he had discovered electricity1 or was at least acquainted with its most important uses4#ahd ,ancient as that of ,magic1 the knowledge of this force was transmitted as one of the keys of the greater initiation4 ,when the night came a radiant star appeared in the lodging of ,jechiel1 the light being so brilliant that no eye could gaze thereon without being dazzled1 while the beam that it darted was tinted with rainbow colours4 ,it was never known to fail and it was never replenished with oil or other combustible substance extant at that time4 ,when importunity or ill-intentioned curiosity sought to intrude on ,jechiel by knocking persistently at his door1 the ,rabbi struck a nail fixed in his cabinet1 producing simultaneously a blue spark on the head of the nail and the door-knocker4 ,the ill-advised person was shaken in such a manner that he cried for mercy1 believing that the earth was opening under his feet4 ,one day a hostile mob swarmed about the entrance1 uttering murmurs and menaces1 while they stood with interlaced arms to resist the commotion and supposed quaking of the ground4 ,the boldest among them plied furiously at the knocker1 but ,jechiel pressed his nail2 in a moment the assailants were tumbled one over another and fled crying out like people who have been burnt4 ,they were quite sure that the earth had opened and swallowed them as far as the knees2 they knew not how they got out2 but nothing would persuade them to return and renew the attack4 ,the sorcerer thus earned quietude by the terror which he diffused4 ,st4 ,louis1 great ,catholic as he was1 was also a great king1 and wishing to know ,jechiel1 he summoned him to his court1#ahe had several conversations with him1 was satisfied fully by his explanations1 protected him from his enemies1 and during the rest of his life never failed to testify esteem for him and to act benevolently towards him4 ,albertus ,magnus lived at the same period1 and he still passes among the people as grand master of all magicians4#ahf ,historians of the time affirm that he possessed the ,philosophic ,stone#ahg and that after studying for thirty years he had succeeded in solving the problem of the android--in other words1 that he had fabricated an artificial man who was endowed with life and speech1 who could1 in fact1 answer questions with such precision and subtlety that ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 infuriated at being unable to silence the image1 broke it with a blow of his stick4 ,such is the popular fable2 let us now see what it signifies4 ,the mystery of the formation of man and of his primitive appearance on earth have continually absorbed seekers after the problems of ,nature4 ,man1 as a fact1 appears last in the world of fossils1 and the ,mosaic days of creation have deposited their successive remains1 bearing witness that those days were in reality long periods of time4 ,how then was humanity formed8 ,genesis testifies that ,god made ,adam from the slime of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life--a statement the truth of which we do not question for a moment2 but we repudiate notwithstanding the heretical and anthropomorphic idea of a ,deity moulding clay with ,his fingers4 ,god1 being a pure spirit1 has no hands1 and ,he causes ,his creatures to develop one from another by the power which ,he has imparted to ,nature4 ,if therefore the ,lord made ,adam from the dust of the earth1 we must understand that man came out of that earth under the ,divine ,influence and yet after a natural manner4 ,the name ,adam in ,hebrew signifies red earth1#ahh but what is this earth actually8 ,it is that which the alchemists sought1 and it follows that the ,great ,work was not the secret of metallic transmutation--a trivial and accessory result--but the universal secret of life4#ahi ,it was the quest for the middle point of transformation1 at which light becomes matter and condenses into an earth containing within itself the principle of motion and of life4 ,it was the generalization of the phenomenon which tinges the blood red by the creation of those innumerable corpuscles which are magnetic even as the worlds and are alive like animals4 ,for disciples of ,hermes1 the metals were the coagulated blood of earth1 passing1 like that of man1 from white to black and from black to crimson1 following the work of the light4#aij ,to set this fluid in motion by means of heat and impart thereto the tingeing fructification of light by the aid of electricity--such was the first part of the work of wisdom4 ,the end was more arduous and sublime2 it was a question of recovering the adamic earth1 which is the coagulated blood of the vital earth2 and the supreme dream of philosophers was to accomplish the work of ,prometheus by imitating the work of ,god--that is to say1 by producing a man who should be the child of science1 as ,adam was child of divine omnipotence4 ,the dream was insensate perhaps1 and yet it was sublime4 ,black ,magic1 which ever apes the ,magic of ,light1 but takes it1 as it were1 backwards1 was also concerned with the android1 that it might be used as an instrument of passion and an oracle of hell4 ,for this object it was requisite to outrage ,nature and obtain a species of venomous fungus1 full of concentrated human malice--the living realisation of all crime4 ,for this reason magicians sought the mandragore beneath a gibbet from which some corpse was suspended2 they caused it to be torn up by a dog tied to the plant1 a mortal blow being inflicted on the animal4 ,the eradication was effected by the convulsions of the agonised beast2 the dog's soul passed into the plant and also attracted thereto that of the hanged man4 ,enough of these horrors and absurdities2 those who are curious in such knowledge may consult the common grimoire known along the countryside under the name of ,little ,albert4 ,they will find further the method of making a mandragore in the form of a cock with a human face4 ,stupidity and impiety vie one with another in all such processes1 for ,nature cannot be outraged wilfully without at the same time reversing the laws of reason4 ,albertus ,magnus was neither infanticide nor deicide2 he was neither guilty of the crime of ,tantalus nor that of ,prometheus2 but he had succeeded in creating and arming at all points that purely scholastic theology1 outcome of the categories of ,aristotle and the sentences of ,peter ,lombard1 that logic of syllogism consisting of argumentation in place of reasoning and of finding an answer for everything by subtleties concerning the terms4 ,it was less a philosophy than a philosophical automaton1 replying in an arbitrary manner and unrolling its theses like the revolution of machinery4 ,it was in no sense the human logos1 but the unvaried cry of a mechanism1 the inanimate speech of an android4 ,it was the fatal precision of machinery1 in place of the free application of rational necessities4 ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1#aia with one blow1 shattered this scaffolding of words when he proclaimed the eternal empire of reason in that magnificent sentence which has been cited already so often3 8,a thing is not just because ,god wills it1 but ,god wills it because it is just40 ,the approximate consequence of this proposition1 in arguing from the greater to the lesser1 was3 ,a thing is not true because ,aristotle has said it1 but ,aristotle could not say it reasonably unless it were true4 ,seek first therefore truth and justice1 and the science of ,aristotle shall be added unto you4 ,aristotle1 galvanised by scholasticism1 was the veritable android of ,albertus ,magnus1 while the master's wand of ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas was the doctrine of the ,summa ,totius ,theologi1 a masterpiece of power and reason which will again be studied in our theological schools when it is proposed to return seriously to sane and healthy subjects4#aib ,as for the ,philosophical ,stone bequeathed by ,st4 ,dominic#aic to ,albert and by the latter to ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 we must understand it as the philosophical and religious basis of ideas prevalent at the period4 ,had ,st4 ,dominic been able to accomplish the ,great ,work he would have secured for ,rome that empire of the world about which he was so jealous for the ,church1 and would have diverted the fire which consumed so many heretics to the heating of his own crucibles4 ,st4 ,thomas changed all that he touched into gold1 but this is a figure of speech only1 gold being in this case an emblem of truth4 ,it is opportune at this point to say a few further words concerning that ,hermetic science cultivated from the first ,christian centuries by ,ostanes1 ,romarius1 ,queen ,cleopatra1 the ,arabian ,geber1 ,alfarabius and ,salmanas1 by ,morien1 ,artephius and ,aristeus4#aid ,understood in an absolute manner1 this science may be called the ,kabalah in realisation1 or the ,magic of ,works4 ,it has therefore three analogous degrees--religious realisation1 philosophical realisation and physical realisation4 ,the first is the solid basis of empire and priesthood2 the second is the establishment of an absolute doctrine and an hierarchic instruction2 the last is the discovery and application1 within the measures of the ,microcosm or lesser world1 of that creative law which peoples incessantly the greater universe4 ,the law in question is one of movement combined with substance1 of the fixed with the volatile1 humid with solid4 ,its principle is divine impulsion1 its instrument the universal light--ethereal in the infinite1 astral in stars and planets1 metallic1 specific or mercurial in metals1 vegetable in plants1 vital in animals1 magnetic or personal in men4 ,this light is the quintessence of ,paracelsus and is either latent or active in all created substances4 ,such quintessence is the true elixir of life1 and it is extracted from earth by cultivation2 from metals by incorporation1 rectification1 exaltation and synthesis2 from plants by distillation and coction2 from animals by absorption2 from men by generation2 from the air by respiration4 ,in this sense we are told by ,aristeus that air must be derived from air2 by ,khunrath that living mercury must be obtained from the perfect man formed by the androgyne2 by practically all the sages1 that the medicine of metals must be derived from metals and that this medicine--though fundamentally one in all kingdoms--is graduated and specified according to forms and species4 ,its use is threefold--by sympathy1 repulsion or equilibrium4 ,the graduated quintessence was only the auxiliary of forces2 the medicine of each kingdom must be derived from the kingdom itself1 with the addition of basic mercury--terrestrial or mineral--and of synthetic living mercury1 or human magnetism4 ,such is the rapid and summary sketch of this science1 which is vast and profound as the ,kabalah1 mysterious as ,magic1 real as the exact sciences1 but too long and too often discredited by the frustrated greed of false adepts and by the obscurities with which true sages have surrounded their theories and their processes4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,some ,,famous ,,prosecutions ,the societies of the elder world perished through the materialistic egoism of castes1 becoming petrified on their own part1 isolating the common people in a hopeless reprobation and reserving the reins of power to a small number of the elect1 so that it was deprived of that circulation which is the principle of progress1 motion and life4 ,power without antagonism1 without competition and hence without control1 proved fatal to the sacerdotal royalties4 ,the republics1 on the other hand1 perished by the conflict of liberties which1 in the absence of all duty1 hierarchically and highly sanctioned1 are speedily converted into so many tyrannies in rivalry with one another4 ,to find a stable point between these two abysses1 the idea of ,christian hierophants was to create a society pledged to self-sacrifice by solemn vows1 protected by severe rules1 recruited by initiation1 and1 as sole depositary of the great religious and social secrets1 making kings and pontiffs without being itself exposed to the corruptions of empire4 ,such was the secret of that kingdom of ,christ ,jesus which1 without being of this world1 ruled over all its grandeurs4 ,the same idea presided over the establishments of the great religious orders which were so often at war with secular authorities1 whether ecclesiastical or civil4 ,a similar realisation was also dreamed by dissident sects of ,gnostics and ,illuminati1 which claimed to pin their faith on the primitive ,christian tradition of ,st4 ,john4 ,a time came when this dream was an actual menace for the ,church and the ,state1 when a rich and dissolute ,order1 initiated into the mysterious doctrines of the ,kabalah1#aie seemed ready to turn on legitimate authority1 on the conservative principles of the hierarchy1 menacing the entire world with a gigantic revolution4 ,the ,templars1 whose history is understood so little1 were the terrible conspirators in question1 and it is time at length to reveal the secret of their fall1 so absolving the memory of ,clement ,v and ,philippe the ,fair4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,philosophical ,,cross1 ,,or ,,plan ,,of ,,the ,,third ,,temple ,in #aaah nine crusading knights1 then in the ,east--among whom was ,geoffrey de ,saint-,omer and ,hugh de ,payens--dedicated themselves to religion1 placing their vows in the hands of the patriarch of ,constantinople1 which seat had always been hostile1 secretly or openly1 to that of ,rome since the days of ,photius4 ,the avowed object of the ,templars was to protect ,christians on pilgrimage to the holy places2 their concealed end was to rebuild the ,temple of ,solomon on the model foreshewn by ,ezekiel4 ,such a restoration1 predicted formally by ,judaising mystics of the first ,christian centuries1 had become the secret dream of the ,eastern patriarchs4 ,so rebuilt and consecrated to the ,catholic worship1 the ,temple of ,solomon would have been in effect the metropolis of the universe4 ,east would prevail over ,west and the patriarchs of ,constantinople would seize the papacy4#aif ,to explain the name of ,templars adopted by this military ,order1 historians assume that ,baldwin ,,ii1 ,king of ,jerusalem1 gave them a house in the vicinity of the ,temple of ,solomon4 ,but they are guilty of a serious anachronism1 since at that period the edifice in question had not only ceased to exist1 and not only was there no stone of ,zerubbabel's ,second ,temple left upon another1 but it would have been difficult to indicate the site on which they stood4 ,it is to be concluded that the ,house allotted to the ,templars by ,baldwin was not situated in the vicinity of ,solomon's ,temple but of that place on which these secret and armed missionaries of the ,eastern patriarch designed to rebuild it4 ,the ,templars took for their scriptural models the military ,masons of ,zerubbabel1 who worked with sword in one hand and trowel in the other4#aig ,hence sword and trowel became their insignia when at a later period1 as we shall see1 they concealed themselves under the name of ,masonic ,brothers4 ,the trowel of the ,templars is fourfold2 the triangular blades are disposed in the form of a cross1 constituting a ,kabalistic pantacle known as the ,cross of the ,east4#aih ,the inmost thought of ,hugh de ,payens1 in establishing his ,order1 was not precisely to serve the ambition of the patriarchs of ,constantinople4 ,at that period there was a sect of ,christian ,johannites in the ,east who claimed to be alone initiated into the inner mysteries of the ,saviour's religion2 they claimed also to know the true history of ,jesus ,christ4 ,adopting some part of the ,jewish traditions and ,talmudic accounts1 they regarded the facts in the gospels as allegories1 of which ,st4 ,john had the key4 ,the proof was his saying that if all things done by ,jesus were recorded1 8,i suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written40 ,they held that such a statement would be ridiculous exaggeration unless it referred to allegory and legend1 which can be varied and prolonged to infinity4 ,as to the actual historical facts1 the ,johannites recounted what follows4 ,a young girl of ,nazareth1 named ,miriam1 betrothed to a young man of her own tribe1 named ,jochanan1 was surprised by a certain ,pandira or ,panther1 who entered her chamber in the garb and under the name of her lover and by force fulfilled his desires4 ,jochanan1 becoming acquainted with her misfortune1 left her without compromising her because as a fact she was innocent2 and the girl was delivered of a son1 who received the name of ,joshua or ,jesus4 ,the infant was adopted by a ,rabbi named ,joseph1 who carried him into ,egypt1 where he was initiated into the secret sciences1 and the priests of ,osiris1 recognising that he was the true incarnation of ,horus so long promised to the adepts1 consecrated him sovereign pontiff of the universal religion4 ,joshua and ,joseph returned to ,judea1 where the knowledge and virtue of the young man excited very soon the envy and hatred of the priests1 who one day reproached him publicly with the illegitimacy of his birth4 ,joshua1 who loved and venerated his mother1 questioned his master and learned the whole history respecting the crime of ,pandira and the misfortunes of ,miriam4 ,his first impulse was to deny her in public when he said in the middle of a marriage-feast3 8,woman1 what is there in common between you and me80 ,but afterwards1 realising that an unfortunate woman must not be punished for having suffered what she could not prevent1 he cried3 8,my mother has in no wise sinned1 nor has she lost her innocence2 she is virgin and yet is mother3 let the twofold honour be paid to her4 ,as for me1 ,i have no father on earth2 ,i am the son of ,god and humanity40 ,we will not proceed further with a fiction so distressing to the hearts of ,christians2 let it suffice to say that the ,johannites went so far as to make ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist responsible for this spurious tradition and that they attributed to the apostle in question the foundation of their secret church4 ,the grand pontiffs of this sect assumed the title of ,christ and claimed an uninterrupted transmission of powers from the days of ,st4 ,john4 ,the person who boasted these imaginary privileges at the epoch of the foundation of the ,temple was named ,theoclet4 ,he was acquainted with ,hugh de ,payens1 whom he initiated into the mysteries and the hopes of his supposititious church2#aii he seduced him by ideas of sovereign priesthood and supreme royalty2 in fine1 he designated him his successor4 ,thus was the order of ,knights of the ,temple tainted from the beginning with schism and conspiracy against kings4 ,these tendencies were wrapped in profound mystery1 for the ,order made profession externally of the uttermost orthodoxy4 ,the chiefs alone knew whither it was tending1 the rest following in good faith4 ,to acquire wealth and influence1 to intrigue on the basis of these and at need fight for the establishment of ,johannite dogma--such were the means and end proposed by the initiated brethren4 8,observe10 they argued to themselves1 8the papacy and rival monarchies engaged in the work of haggling1 selling one another1 falling into corruption and to-morrow perhaps destroying one another4 ,all this indicates heritage for the ,temple2 a little while1 and the nations will demand sovereigns and pontiffs from among us2 we shall be the equilibrium of the universe1 arbiters and masters of the world40 ,the ,templars had two doctrines2 one was concealed and reserved to the leaders1 being that of ,johannism2#bjj the other was public1 being ,roman ,catholic doctrine4 ,they deceived in this manner the enemies that they hoped to supplant4 ,the ,johannism of the adepts was the ,kabalah of the ,gnostics1 but it degenerated speedily into a mystic pantheism carried even to idolatry of ,nature and hatred of all revealed dogma4 ,for their better success1 and in order to secure partisans1 they fostered the regrets of every fallen worship and the hopes of every new cultus1 promising to all liberty of conscience and a new orthodoxy which should be the synthesis of all persecuted beliefs4 ,they went even so far as to recognise the pantheistic symbolism of the grand masters of ,black ,magic1 and the better to isolate themselves from obedience to a religion by which they were condemned beforehand1 they rendered divine honours to the monstrous idol ,baphomet1#bja even as of old the dissenting tribes had adored the ,golden ,calf of ,dan and ,bethel4 ,certain monuments of recent discovery and certain precious documents belonging to the thirteenth century offer abundant proof of all that is advanced here4 ,other evidences are concealed in the annals and beneath the symbols of ,occult ,masonry4 ,with the seeds of death sown in its very principle and anarchic because it was heretical1 the ,order of ,knights of the ,temple had conceived a great work which it was incapable of executing1 because it understood neither humility nor personal abnegation4 ,for the rest1 the ,templars1 being in most cases without education and capable only of wielding the sword successfully1 possessed no qualification for over-ruling or for binding at need that queen of the world called public opinion4 ,hugh de ,payens did not possess the depth of view which distinguished at a later period the military founder of a militia not less formidable to kings4 ,the ,templars were ,jesuits who failed4 ,their principle was to become rich in order to purchase the world and1 as a fact1 they so became1 for in #acab they possessed in ,europe alone more than #ijjj manors4 ,wealth was also the rock on which they broke2 they became insolent and permitted their disdain for the religious and social institutions which they hoped to upset to appear in public4 ,everyone knows the answer of ,richard ,cur de ,lion to the confidential priest who had said to him3 8,sire1 you have three daughters who cost you dearly and of whom it would be to your great advantage if you were set free3 they are ambition1 avarice and luxury40 444 8,that is true10 said the king4 8,well1 well1 let us marry them4 ,i give ambition to the ,templars1 avarice to the monks and luxury to the bishops4 ,i am certain in advance of the consent of all the parties40 ,the ambition of the ,templars proved fatal to themselves2 their projects were divined and anticipated4 ,pope ,clement ,v and king ,philip the ,fair gave the signal to ,europe1 and the ,templars1 caught so to speak in a net1 were arrested1 disarmed and cast into prison4 ,never was a coup d'tat accomplished with such appalling uniformity4 ,the entire world was dumbfounded and awaited the strange revelations of a prosecution which was to echo down through the ages4 ,but it was impossible to unveil before the people the plan of the ,templar conspiracy2 to do so would have initiated the multitude into secrets reserved for masters4 ,recourse was had therefore to the charge of ,magic1 for which accusers and witnesses were both forthcoming4 ,the ,templars1 in the ceremony of their reception1 spat upon the image of ,christ1 denied ,god1 gave obscene kisses to the ,grand ,master1 adored a brazen head with carbuncles for eyes1 held commune with a great black cat and had intercourse with female demons4 ,such are the items put forward seriously in the act of indictment4 ,the end of this drama is familiar2 ,jacques de ,molay and his companions perished in the flames1 but before dying the grand master of the ,temple organised and instituted ,occult ,masonry4 ,within the walls of his prison he founded four ,metropolitan ,lodges--at ,naples for the ,east1 ,edinburgh for the ,west1 ,stockholm for the ,north and ,paris for the ,south4 ,the ,pope and ,king perished speedily in a strange and sudden manner4#bjb ,squin de ,florian1 the accuser in chief of the ,order1 was assassinated4 ,in breaking the sword of the ,templars it was converted into a dagger and their proscribed trowels henceforth were utilised only in the erection of tombs4 ,let them pass at this point into darkness1 wherein they took refuge while maturing their vengeance4 ,we shall see them reappear at the great epoch of the ,revolution and we shall recognise them by their signs and by their works4 ,the greatest magical prosecution to be found in history1 after that of the ,temple1 was the trial of a maid who was1 moreover1 almost a saint4 ,the ,church1 in this case1 has been accused of subservience to the base resentment of a vanquished party1 and it has been asked earnestly what anathemas of the ,chair of ,st4 ,peter fell upon the assassins of ,joan of ,arc4#bjc ,to those who are really unacquainted1 it may be said at once that ,pierre ,cauchon1 the unworthy ,bishop of ,beauvais1 struck suddenly with death by the hand of ,god1 was excommunicated after death by ,callixtus ,,iv1 his remains being taken from consecrated ground and cast into the public sewers4 ,it was not therefore the ,church which judged and condemned the ,maid of ,orlans1 but a bad priest and an apostate4 ,charles ,,vii1 who gave up this noble girl to her destroyers1 fell afterwards into the hands of an avenging providence2 he died of self-starvation1 through dread of being poisoned by his own son4 ,fear is the torment of the base4 ,the king in question gave up his life to a courtesan1 and for her he burdened with debt a kingdom which had been saved to him by a virgin4 ,courtesan and virgin have been celebrated by our national poets--,joan of ,arc by ,voltaire and ,agnes ,sorel by ,branger4 ,joan perished in her innocence1 but the laws against ,magic were vindicated soon after in the case of one who was chief among the guilty4 ,the personage in question was one of the most valiant captains under ,charles ,,vii1 but the services which he rendered to the state could not counterbalance the extent and enormity of his crimes4 ,all tales of ogres and ,croquemitaine were realised and surpassed by the deeds of this fantastic scoundrel1 whose history has remained in the memory of children under the name of ,blue ,beard4 ,gilles de ,laval1 ,lord of ,raiz1 had indeed so black a beard that it seemed to be almost blue1 as shewn by his portrait in the ,salle des ,marchaux1 at the ,museum of ,versailles4 ,a ,marshal of ,brittany1 he was brave because he was ,french2 being rich1 he was also ostentatious2 and he became a sorcerer because he was insane4#bjd ,the mental derangement of the ,lord of ,raiz was manifested in the first instance by sumptuous devotion and extravagant magnificence4 ,when he went abroad1 he was preceded invariably by cross and banner2 his chaplains were covered with gold and vested like prelates2 he had a college of little pages or choristers1 who were always richly clothed4 ,but day by day one of these children was called before the marshal and was seen no more by his comrades2 a newcomer succeeded him who disappeared1 and the children were sternly forbidden to ask what became of the missing ones or even refer to them among themselves4 ,the children were obtained by the marshal from poor parents1 whom he dazzled by his promises1 and who were pledged to trouble no further concerning their offspring1 these1 according to his stories1 being assured a brilliant future4 ,the explanation is that1 in his case1 seeming devotion was the mask and safeguard of infamous practices4 ,ruined by imbecile prodigality1 the marshal desired at any cost to create wealth4 ,alchemy had exhausted his last resources and loans on usurious terms were about to fail him2 he determined therefore to attempt the last and most execrable experiments of ,black ,magic1 in the hope of obtaining gold by the aid of hell4 ,an apostate priest of the diocese of ,saint-,malo1 a ,florentine named ,prelati1 and ,sill1#bje who was the marshal's steward1 became his confidants and accomplices4 ,he had espoused a young woman of high birth#bjf and kept her practically shut up in his castle at ,machecoul1 which had a tower with the entrance walled up4 ,a report was spread by the marshal that it was in a ruinous state and no one sought to penetrate therein4 ,this notwithstanding1 ,madame de ,raiz1 who was frequently alone during the dark hours1 saw red lights moving to and fro in this tower2 but she did not venture to question her husband1 whose bizarre and sombre character filled her with extreme terror4 ,on ,easter ,day in the year #addj1bjg the marshal1 having communicated solemnly in his chapel1 bade farewell to the lady of ,machecoul1 telling her that he was departing to the ,holy ,land2 the poor creature was even then afraid to question1 so much did she tremble in his presence2 she was also several months in her pregnancy4 ,the marshal permitted her sister to come on a visit as a companion during his absence4 ,madame de ,raiz took advantage of this indulgence1 after which ,gilles de ,laval mounted his horse and departed4 ,to her sister ,madame de ,raiz communicated her fears and anxieties4 ,what went on in the castle8 ,why was her lord so gloomy8 ,what signified his repeated absences8 ,what became of the children who disappeared day by day8 ,what were those nocturnal lights in the walled-up tower8 ,these and the other problems excited the curiosity of both women to the utmost degree4#bjh ,what all the same could be done8 ,the marshal had forbidden them expressly even to approach the tower1 and before leaving he had repeated this injunction4 ,it must assuredly have a secret entrance1 for which ,madame de ,raiz and her sister ,anne proceeded to search through the lower rooms of the castle1 corner by corner and stone after stone4 ,at last1 in the chapel1 behind the altar1 they came upon a copper button1 hidden in a mass of sculpture4 ,it yielded under pressure2 a stone slid back and the two curiosity-seekers1 now all in a tremble1 distinguished the lowermost steps of a staircase1 which led them to the condemned tower4 ,at the top of the first flight there was a kind of chapel1 with a cross upside down and black candles2 on the altar stood a hideous figure1 no doubt representing the demon4 ,on the second floor they came upon furnaces1 retorts1 alembics1 charcoal--in a word1 all the apparatus of alchemy4 ,the third flight led to a dark chamber1 where the heavy and fetid atmosphere compelled the young women to retreat4 ,madame de ,raiz came into collision with a vase1 which fell over1 and she was conscious that her robe and feet were soaked by some thick and unknown liquid4 ,on returning to the light at the head of the stairs she found that she was bathed in blood4 ,sister ,anne would have fled from the place1 but in ,madame de ,raiz curiosity was even stronger than disgust or fear4 ,she descended the stairs1 took a lamp from the infernal chapel and returned to the third floor1 where a frightful spectacle awaited her4 ,copper vessels filled with blood were ranged the whole length of the walls1 bearing labels with a date on each1 and in the middle of the room there was a black marble table1 on which lay the body of a child murdered quite recently4 ,it was one of these basins which had fallen1 and black blood had spread far and wide over the grimy and worm-eaten wooden floor4 ,the two women were now half-dead with terror4 ,madame de ,raiz endeavoured at all costs to efface the evidence of her indiscretion4 ,she went in search of a sponge and water1 to wash the boards2 but she only extended the stain and that which at first seemed black became all scarlet in hue4 ,suddenly a loud commotion echoed through the castle1 mixed with the cries of people calling to ,madame de ,raiz4 ,she distinguished the awe-striking words3 8,here is ,monseigneur come back40 ,the two women made for the staircase1 but at the same moment they were aware of the trampling of steps and the sound of other voices in the devil's chapel4 ,sister ,anne fled upwards to the battlement of the tower2 ,madame de ,raiz went down trembling and found herself face to face with her husband1 in the act of ascending1 accompanied by the apostate priest and ,prlati4 ,gilles de ,laval seized his wife by the arm and without speaking dragged her into the infernal chapel4 ,it was then that ,prlati#bji observed to the marshal3 8,it is needs must1 as you see1 and the victim has come of her own accord40 444 8,be it so10 answered his master4 8,begin the ,black ,mass40 444 ,the apostate priest went to the altar1 while ,gilles de ,laval opened a little cupboard fixed therein and drew out a large knife1 after which he sat down close to his spouse1 who was now almost in a swoon and lying in a heap on a bench against the wall4 ,the sacrilegious ceremonies began4 ,it must be explained that the marshal1 so far from taking the road to ,jerusalem1 had proceeded only to ,nantes1 where ,prlati lived2 he attacked this miserable wretch with the uttermost fury and threatened to slay him if he did not furnish the means of extracting from the devil that which he had been demanding for so long a time4 ,with the object of obtaining delay1 ,prlati declared that terrible conditions were required by the infernal master1 first among which would be the sacrifice of the marshal's unborn child after tearing it forcibly from the mother's womb4 ,gilles de ,laval made no reply but returned at once to ,machecoul1 the ,florentine sorcerer and his accomplice the priest being in his train4 ,with the rest we are acquainted4 ,meanwhile1 ,sister ,anne1 left to her own devices on the roof of the tower and not daring to come down1 had removed her veil1 to make signals of distress at chance4 ,they were answered by two cavaliers accompanied by a posse of armed men1 who were riding towards the castle2 they proved to be her two brothers who1 on learning the spurious departure of the marshal for ,palestine1 had come to visit and console ,madame de ,raiz4 ,soon after they arrived with a clatter in the court of the castle1 whereupon ,gilles de ,laval suspended the hideous ceremony and said to his wife3 8,madame1 ,i forgive you1 and the matter is at an end between us if you do now as ,i tell you4 ,return to your apartment1 change your garments and join me in the guest-room1 whither ,i am going to receive your brothers4 ,but if you say one word1 or cause them the slightest suspicion1 ,i will bring you hither on their departure2 we shall proceed with the ,black ,mass at the point where it is now broken off1 and at the consecration you will die4 ,mark where ,i place this knife40 ,he rose up1 led his wife to the door of her chamber and subsequently received her relations and their suite1 saying that his lady was preparing herself to come and salute her brothers4 ,madame de ,raiz appeared almost immediately1 pale as a spectre4 ,gilles de ,laval never took eyes off her1 seeking to control her by his glance4 ,when her brothers suggested that she was ill1 she answered that it was the fatigue of pregnancy1 but added in an undertone3 8,save me2 he seeks to kill me40 ,at the same moment ,sister ,anne rushed into the hall1 crying3 8,take us away2 save us1 my brothers3 this man is an assassin0--and she pointed to ,gilles de ,laval4 ,while the marshal summoned his people1 the escort of the two visitors surrounded the women with drawn swords2 and the marshal's people disarmed instead of obeying him4 ,madame de ,raiz1 with her sister and brothers1 gained the drawbridge and left the castle4 ,on the morrow1 ,duke ,john ,v invested ,machecoul1 and ,gilles de ,laval1 who could count no longer on his men-at-arms1 yielded without resistance4#baj ,the parliament of ,brittany had decreed his arrest as a homicide1 the ecclesiastical tribunal preparing in the first place to pronounce judgment upon him as a heretic1 sodomite and sorcerer4 ,voices of parents1 long silenced by terror1 rose upon all sides1 demanding their missing children3 there was universal dole and clamour throughout the province4 ,the castles of ,machecoul and ,chantoc were ransacked1 resulting in the discovery of two hundred skeletons of children2 the rest had been consumed by fire4 ,gilles de ,laval appeared with supreme arrogance before his judges4#baa ,to the customary question3 8,who are you8 8he answered3 8,i am ,gilles de ,laval1 ,marshal of ,brittany1 ,lord of ,raiz1 ,machecoul1 ,chantoc and other fiefs4 ,and who are you that dare to question me80 ,he was answered3 8,we are your judges1 magistrates of the ,ecclesiastical ,court40--8,what1 you my judges6 ,go to1 ,i know you well1 my masters4 ,you are simoniacs and obscene fellows1 who sell your ,god to purchase the joys of the devil4 ,speak not therefore of judging me1 for if ,i am guilty1 it is you1 who owed me good example1 that are my instigators40--8,cease your insults1 and answer us40--8,i would rather be hanged by the neck than reply to you4 ,i am surprised that the president of ,brittany suffers your acquaintance with matters of this kind4 ,you question that you may gain information and afterwards do worse than you have done40 ,but this haughty insolence was demolished by the threat of torture4#bab ,before the ,bishop of ,saint-,brieuc and the ,president ,pierre de l',hpital1 ,gilles de ,laval made confession of his murders and sacrileges4 ,he pretended that his motive in the massacre of children was an execrable delight which he sought during the agony of these poor little beings4 ,the president found it difficult to credit this statement and questioned him anew4 8,alas10 said the marshal abruptly1 8you torment both yourself and me to no purpose40 8,i do not torment you10 replied the president1 8but ,i am astonished at your words and dissatisfied4 ,what ,i seek and must have is the pure truth40 ,the marshal answered3 8,verily there was no other cause4 ,what more would you have8 ,surely ,i have admitted enough to condemn ten thousand men40 ,that which ,gilles de ,laval shrank from confessing was that he sought the ,philosophical ,stone in the blood of murdered children1 and that it was covetousness which drove him to this monstrous debauchery4 ,on the faith of his necromancers1 he believed that the universal agent of life could be suddenly coagulated by the combined action and reaction of outrage on ,nature and murder4 ,he collected afterwards the iridescent film which forms on blood as it turns cold2#bac he subjected it to various fermentations1 digested the product in the philosophical egg of the athanor1 combining it with salt1 sulphur and mercury4 ,he had doubtless derived his recipe from some of those old ,hebrew ,grimoires which1 had they been known at the period1 would have been sufficient to call down on ,jewry at large the execration of the whole earth4 ,persuaded1 as they were1 that the act of human impregnation attracts and coagulates the ,astral ,light in its reaction by sympathy on things subjected to the magnetism of man1 the ,israelitish sorcerers had plunged into those enormities of which ,philo accuses them1 as quoted by the astrologer ,gaffarel4#bad ,they caused trees to be grafted by women1 who inserted the graft while a man performed on their persons those acts which are an outrage to ,nature4 ,wherever ,black ,magic is concerned the same horrors recur1 for the spirit of darkness is not one of invention4 ,gilles de ,laval was burned alive in the pr de la ,magdeleine1 near ,nantes2 he obtained permission to go to execution with all the pageantry that had accompanied him during life1 as if he wished to involve in the ignominy of his punishment the ostentation and cupidity by which he had been so utterly degraded and lost so fatally4#bae ,,chapter ,,vii ,,superstitions ,,relating ,,to ,,the ,,devil ,we have borne witness to the sobriety of decisions pronounced by the ,church respecting the genius of evil2 she has recommended her children not to be in fear concerning him1 not to be preoccupied about him and not even to pronounce his name4 ,this notwithstanding1 the propensity of diseased imaginations and weak minds towards the monstrous and the horrible lent1 during the evil days of the middle ages1 a formidable importance and most portentous forms to the darksome being who deserves nothing but oblivion1 because he has rejected truth and light for ever4 ,this seeming realisation of the phantom expressing perversity was an incarnation of human frenzy2 the devil became the nightmare of cloisters1 the human mind fell a prey to its own fear and1 though supposed to be reasonable1 trembled at the chimeras which it had evoked4 ,a black and deformed monster spread its batwings between heaven and earth1 to prevent youth and life from trusting in the promises of the sun and the still peace of the stars4 ,this harpy of superstition poisoned all things with its breath1 infected all by its contact4 ,there was dread over eating and drinking lest the eggs of the reptile should be swallowed2 to look upon beauty was to court perhaps an illusion begotten of the monster2 to laugh suggested the sneer of the eternal tormentor as a funereal echo2 to weep pictured him insulting the mourner's tears4 ,the devil seemed to keep ,god imprisoned in heaven while he imposed blasphemy and despair upon men on earth4 ,superstitions lead quickly into absurdity and mental alienation2 nothing is more deplorable and more irksome than the multitudinous accounts with which popular writers on the history of ,magic have burdened their compilations4 ,peter the ,venerable beheld the devil leering in lavatories2 another maker of chronicles recognised him under the form of a cat1 which1 however1 resembled a dog and skipped like a monkey2 a certain lord of ,corasse was served by an imp named ,orthon1 which appeared as a sow1 but exceedingly emaciated and indeed almost fleshless4 ,the prior of ,st4 ,germain des ,prs1 named ,william ,edeline1 testifies that he saw him in the form of a sheep which1 as it seemed to him must be kissed below the tail1 as a mark of reverence and honour4 ,wretched old women confessed that he had been their lover2 the marshal ,trivulce died of terror1 while protecting himself by cut and thrust against the devils swarming in his room4 ,hundreds of wretched idiots and fools were burnt on admitting their former commerce with the malignant spirit2 rumours of incubi and succubi were heard on all sides2 judges deliberated gravely on revelations which should have been referred to doctors2 moreover1 they were actuated by the irresistible pressure of public opinion1 and indulgence towards sorcerers would have exposed magistrates themselves to all the popular fury4 ,the persecution of fools made folly contagious and the maniacs tore one another to pieces2 people were beaten to death1 burnt by slow fire1 plunged into icy water in the hope of compelling them to break the spells which they had cast1 while justice intervened only to complete on the stake what had begun in the blind rage of the multitude4 ,in recounting the history of ,gilles de ,laval we have indicated sufficiently that ,black ,magic may be not only a real crime but the gravest of all offences2 unfortunately the method of the times confused the diseased with malefactors and punished those who should have been cared for with patience and charity4 ,at what point does man's responsibility begin and at what point does it end8 ,the problem is one which may well disturb frequently the virtuous depositories of human justice4 ,caligula1 son of ,germanicus1 appeared to have inherited all the virtues of his father1 but his reason was distracted by poison and he became the terror of the world4 ,was he in reality guilty1 and ought not his crimes to be laid at the doors of those base ,romans who obeyed instead of imprisoning him8 ,father ,hilarion ,tissot1 who has been mentioned previously1 goes further than ourselves and would include even voluntary crime in the category of madness1 but unfortunately he explains madness itself as obsession of the evil spirit4 ,we might ask this good ecclesiastic what he would think of the father of a family who after shutting his door on a wastrel known to be capable of every kind of evil1 should give him leave to frequent1 advise1 abduct and obsess his own little children8 ,let us therefore admit1 so as to be truly ,christian1 that the devil1 whomsoever he may be1 obsesses only those who give themselves voluntarily to him1 and that such are responsible for everything which he may prompt them to do1 even as a drunken man is held liable rightly for the disorders of which he may be guilty under the influence of drink4 ,drunkenness is a transient madness and madness is a permanent intoxication2 both are caused by a phosphoric congestion of the cerebral nerves1 which destroys our etheric equilibrium and deprives the soul of its instrument of precision4 ,the spiritual and personal soul then resembles ,moses bound and swaddled in his cradle of rushes1 and abandoned to the rocking of the ,nile waters4 ,it is carried away by the fluidic and material soul of the world1 that mysterious water over which the ,elohim brooded1 when the ,divine ,word was formulated by the luminous sentence3 ,let there be light4 ,the soul of the world is a force which tends automatically to equilibrium2 either will must predominate over it or it conquers the will4 ,it is tormented by any incomplete life1 as if this were a monstrosity1 and it strives therefore to absorb intellectual abortions4 ,hence maniacs and hallucinated people experience an irresistible yearning for destruction and death2 annihilation seems to them a blessing1 and they would not only attain death on their own part but would delight in witnessing that of others4 ,they realise that life is escaping them2 consciousness stings and even goads them to despair2 their very existence is a perception of death1 and it is hell-torment4 ,one hears an imperious voice commanding him to kill his son in the cradle4 ,he struggles1 he weeps1 he flees1 but ends by taking a hatchet and slaying the child4 ,another1 and this terrible story is a thing of recent occurrence1 is driven by voices crying for hearts2 he beats his parents to death1 opens their breasts1 tears out their hearts and begins to devour them4 ,whosoever of his free will is guilty of an evil action offers by that fact an earnest to eternal destruction and cannot foresee whither this fatal bargain will lead him4 ,being is substance and life2 life manifests by movement2 movement is perpetuated by equilibrium2 equilibrium is therefore the law of immortality4 ,conscience is the awareness of equilibrium1 which is equity and justice4 ,all excess1 when it is not mortal1 is corrected by an opposite excess2 it is the eternal law of reaction2 but if excess subverts all equilibrium it is lost in the outer darkness and becomes eternal death4 ,the soul of the earth carries with it in the vertigo of astral movement all which offers no resistance in virtue of the equilibrated forces of reason4 ,wherever an imperfect and ill-formed life manifests1 this soul directs its energies to destroy it1 just as vitality pours in to heal wounds4 ,hence the atmospheric disorders which occur in the neighbourhood of certain diseased persons1 hence fluidic commotions1 the automatic movement of tables1 levitations1 stone-throwing1 and the visible and tangible projection of astral hands and feet by obsessed persons4 ,it is ,nature at work on a cancer which it is trying to extirpate1 on a wound which it seeks to close1 or on some vampire whose death is desired1 that it may revert to the common source of life4 ,the spontaneous movement of inert objects can result only from the operation of forces which magnetise the earth2 a spirit1 or in other words1 a thought can raise nothing in the absence of a lever4 ,were it otherwise1 the--so to speak--infinite toil of ,nature for the creation and perfecting of organs would be without an object4 ,if the spirit freed from the senses could render matter obedient to its will1 the illustrious dead would be the first to manifest in accordance with order and harmony1 but in place of this there are only incoherent and feverish activities produced about diseased and capricious beings4 ,these are irregular magnets which derange the soul of the earth2 but when the earth is in delirium through the eruption of such abortive beings1 it is because it is passing through a crisis on its own part1 and through one which will end in violent commotions4 ,there is extraordinary puerility in some who pass for serious4 ,there is for example the ,marquis de ,mirville1#baf who refers all inexplicable phenomena to the devil4 ,but1 my dear ,sir1 if the devil could intervene in the natural order1 would he not demolish everything8 ,by the hypothesis concerning his character1 scruples could scarcely influence him4 ,you will reply that ,god's power restrains1 and that it does or does not is obvious2 but on the first supposition the devil is rendered impotent1 while on the second it is he who is master4 ,m4 de ,mirville might say further that ,god suffers him a little while4 ,does he mean just enough to deceive poor men1 just enough to puzzle their heads1 so wooden already--as is known8 ,in this alternative it is no longer the devil who is master2 it is rather ,god ,who is--but no1 one dares not continue3 to go further would be to blaspheme4 ,we do not understand properly the harmonies of being1 which follow an ordered sequence1 as the illustrious maniac ,fourier well said4 ,the spirit acts upon spirits by means of the ,word2 matter receives the imprints of spirit and communicates therewith by means of a perfect organism4 ,harmony in forms is related to harmony in ideas1 and the light is the common mediator4 ,light is spirit and life2 it is the synthesis of colours1 the accord of shadows1 the harmony of forms2 and its vibrations are living mathematics4 ,but darkness and its phantastic illusions1 the phosphorescent errors of slumber and words spoken in delirium--all these create nothing1 realise nothing and in a word do not exist4 ,such things belong to the limbus of life1 are vapours of astral intoxication and delusions of tired eyes4 ,to follow these will o' the wisps is to walk in a blind alley2 to believe in their revelations is to worship death3 such is ,nature's testimony4 ,incoherence and abuse are the only messages of table-turning2 they are echos of the low-life deeps of thought1 absurd and anarchic dreams1 words which the scum of the people make use of to express defiance4 ,there is a book by ,baron de ,guldenstubb1#bag who pretends to conduct a correspondence with the other world4 ,he has had answers1 and such answers--obscene sketches1 despairing hieroglyphics and the following ,greek signature1 ,greek3 pneuma thanatos1 which may be translated 8spirit of death40 ,such is the last word of the phenomenal revelations according to ,american doctrine2 such is doctrine itself in separation from sacerdotal authority and in the attempt to establish it independently of hierarchic control4 ,the reality and importance of the phenomena1 the good faith of those who believe them1 are in no sense denied2 but we must warn all who are concerned against the dangers to which they are liable if they do not prefer the spirit of wisdom1 communicated divinely and hierarchically to the ,church1 before all these disorderly and obscure messages1 in which the fluidic soul of the earth reflects automatically the mirage of intelligence and the dreams of slumbering reason4 ,,book ,v ,,the ,,adepts ,,and ,,the ,,priesthood --,,he ,,chapter ,i ,,priests ,,and ,,popes ,,accused ,,of ,,magic ,we have explained that owing to the profanations and impieties of ,gnostics the ,church proscribed ,magic4 ,the condemnation of the ,knights ,templar completed the rupture1 and from this time forward1 compelled to seek concealment and plan revenge in the shadows1 ,magic ostracised the ,church in turn4 ,more prudent than those arch-heretics who opposed altar to altar in public day1 and thus entailed denunciation and the headsman's axe on themselves1 the adepts dissimulated their resentment as well as their doctrines4 ,they bound themselves together by dreadful oaths and1 realising the importance of first securing a favourable view at the tribunal of public opinion1 they turned back on their accusers and judges the sinister rumours by which they were pursued themselves and denounced the priesthood to the people as a school of ,black ,magic4 ,so long as his convictions and beliefs are not rooted in the irremovable foundation of reason1 man ardently and indifferently desires both truth and falsehood2 on either side he finds that there are cruel reactions4 ,who shall put an end to this warfare8 ,only the spirit of ,him who has said3 8,render not evil for evil1 but overcome evil by good40 ,the ,catholic priesthood has been charged with the spirit of persecution1 though its mission is that of the good ,samaritan1 for which reason it superseded the unpitying ,levites who continued their way without extending compassion to him who had fallen among thieves4 ,it is in the exercise of humanity that priests prove their ,divine consecration4 ,hence it is a supreme injustice to cast upon sacerdotalism at large the crimes or certain men who are unfortunately sealed with the priesthood4 ,for a man1 as such1 it is always possible to be wicked2 but a true priest is1 on the contrary1 always charitable4 ,now1 the false adepts did not look at the question from this standpoint2#bah for them the ,christian priesthood was made void and was hence an usurping power since the proscription of the ,gnostics4 ,what1 said they1 is a hierarchy whose degrees are no longer regulated by conscience8 ,the same ignorance of the ,mysteries and the same blind faith drive into the same fanaticism or the same hypocrisy the prime leaders and lowest ministers of the sanctuary4 ,the blind are leaders of the blind4 ,the supremacy between equals is no longer anything but the result of intrigue and chance4 ,the pastors consecrate the sacred elements with a gross and disordered faith2 they are jugglers in bread and eaters of human flesh2 they are no longer thaumaturgists but sorcerers4 ,such was the sectarian verdict4 ,to support the calumny they invented fables1 affirming for example that the popes had been given over to the spirit of darkness ever since the tenth century4 ,the learned ,gerbert1 who was crowned as ,sylvester ,,ii1 made confession--as it is said--to this effect on his death-bed4 ,honorius ,,iii1 being he who confirmed the ,order of ,st4 ,dominic and preached the ,crusades1 was himself an abominable necromancer1 author of a ,grimoire which still bears his name and is reserved exclusively to priests4 ,the same false adepts paraded and commented on this ,grimoire1 seeking in such manner to turn against the ,holy ,see the most terrible of all popular prejudices at that period--the mortal hatred of those who1 wrongly or rightly1 passed publicly for sorcerers4 ,some malevolent or credulous historians have favoured these lying inventions4 ,thus ,platina1 a scandalous chronicler of the papacy1 reproduces from ,martinus ,polonus the calumnies against ,sylvester ,,ii4 ,according to this fable1 ,gerbert1 who was proficient in mathematical science and the ,kabalah1 performed an evocation of the devil and required his assistance to attain the pontificate4 ,the fulfilment of his ambition was not only promised by the demon but it was affirmed further that he should not die except at ,jerusalem1 to which place it will be understood readily that the magician determined inwardly that he would never go4 ,he became pope as promised1 but on a certain day1 when he was saying ,mass in a church at ,rome1 he felt seriously ill and remembering suddenly that the chapel wherein he was officiating was dedicated to the ,holy ,cross of ,jerusalem1 he realised what had come to pass4 ,he caused a bed to be put up in the chapel and1 summoning his cardinals1 confessed publicly that he had engaged in commerce with demons4 ,he ordained further that his dead body should be placed upon a chariot of green wood and should be drawn by two virgin horses1 one black and the other white2 that they should be started on their course but neither led nor driven2 and that his remains should be interred wherever a halt was made4 ,the chariot proceeded in this manner across ,rome and stopped in front of the ,lateran4 ,loud cries and groans were heard for a few moments1 after which there was silence and the burial took place4 ,so ends a legend the proper place of which is in the hawker's chap-books4 ,martinus ,polonus1 on the faith of whom ,platina repeats such reveries1 had borrowed them on his own part 7a7 from a certain ,galfridus and 7b7 from ,gervaise1 a maker of chronicles1 whom ,naud terms 8the greatest forger of fables and the most notorious liar that ever took pen in hand40 ,from sources of similar value the protestants have derived a scandalous and obviously apocryphal story concerning a pretended ,pope ,joan1 who was also a sorceress1 as we have all heard3 indeed she is one to whom books on ,black ,magic are still attributed4 ,we have glanced at a memoir of this female pope by a protestant historian and have taken note of two very curious engravings contained therein4 ,they are assumed to be portraits of the heroine but are in reality ancient ,tarots1 representing ,isis crowned with a tiara4 ,it is well known that the hieroglyphic figure on the second ,tarot card is still called the female pope1 being a woman wearing a tiara on which are the points of the crescent moon1 or the horns of ,isis4 ,one example in the protestant book is even more remarkable2 the hair of the figure is long and scanty2 there is a solar cross on the breast2 she is seated between the two pillars of ,hercules3 and behind her flows the ocean1 with lotus-flowers blooming on the surface of the water4 ,the second portrait represents the same divinity1 with attributes of the sovereign priesthood and holding her son ,horus in her arms4 ,as ,kabalistic documents1 the two pictures are of singular value1 but they are little to the purpose of those who are concerned with ,pope ,joan4 ,to dispose of the accusation of sorcery in respect of ,gerbert1 supposing that it could be taken seriously1 it would be enough to mention that he was the most learned man of his century and having been preceptor of two sovereigns1 he owed his election to the gratitude of one of his august pupils4 ,he had extraordinary proficiency in mathematics1 and his knowledge of physics may have exceeded that of his epoch2 in a word1 he was a man of universal erudition and great ability1 as the letters which he left bear witness1 though he was not a denouncer of kings like the terrible ,hildebrand4 ,he chose to instruct princes rather than excommunicate them1 and enjoying the favour of two ,french kings and three emperors1 he had no need1 as ,naud has judiciously pointed out1 to sell himself to the devil for the archbishoprics of ,rheims and ,ravenna1 or for the papacy in succession to these4 ,it is true that he attained the successive positions1 to some extent in spite of his merit2 it was an age when able politicians were taken for possessed people and those who were learned for enchanters4 ,gerbert was not only a great mathematician1 as we have said1 and a distinguished astronomer1 but he excelled also in mechanics1 and--according to ,william of ,malmesbury--he erected at ,rheims such wonderful hydraulic machines that the water itself executed symphonies and played most enchanting airs4 ,moreover1 according to ,ditmare1 he adorned the town of ,magdebourg with a clock which registered all the motions of heaven and the times when the stars rose and set4 ,finally1 by the evidence of ,naud1#bai whom we cite once again with pleasure1 he made 8that test of brass which was devised so ingeniously that the before-mentioned ,william of ,malmesbury was himself deceived thereby and referred it to ,magic4 ,further1 ,onuphrius states that he saw in the ,farnese library a learned book on geometry composed by this same ,gerbert2 and for myself ,i estimate that1 without adjudicating on the opinion expressed by ,erfordiensis and some others1 who regard him as the maker of timepieces and of arithmetic as these exist now among us1 all these evidences are sufficiently valid to warrant the conclusion that those who had never heard of cube1 parallelogram1 dodecahedron1 almicantar1 valsagora1 almagrippa1 cathalzem and other names1 familiar enough in these days to such as understand mathematics1 conceived that they were those of the spirits invoked by ,gerbert and that such a multitude of things so rare could not emanate from a single personality in the absence of extraordinary advantages1 from the possession of which it followed therefore that he must have been a magician40 ,to indicate the lengths of impertinence and bad faith reached by makers of chronicles1 it remains to say that ,platina#bbj--that maliciously nave echo of all ,roman pasquinades--affirms that the tomb of ,sylvester ,,ii itself turned sorcerer1 weeping prophetically at the approaching downfall of each pope and that the reprobate bones of ,gerbert shook and rattled together when one of them was about to die4 ,an epitaph engraved on the tomb lends colour to these wonders--so adds unblushingly the librarian of ,sixtus ,,iv4 ,such are the proofs which pass among historians as sufficient to certify the existence of a curious historical document4 ,platina was librarian of the ,vatican2 he wrote his history of the popes by order of ,sixtus ,,iv2 he wrote also at ,rome1 where nothing could be easier than to verify the truth or falsehood of such an assertion1 which notwithstanding the pretended epitaph never existed outside the imagination of the authors from whom ,platina borrowed with incredible lack of caution#bba--;a circumstance which moves justly the indignation of honest ,naud1 whose further remarks shall follow3 8,it is a pure imposture and manifest falsehood1 both in respect of the experience--being the pretended prodigies at the tomb of ,sylvester ,,ii--the same having never been witnessed by anyone--and of the alleged inscription on the tomb1 that inscription--as it exists really--having been composed by ,sergius ,,iv and so far from supporting the supposed magical fables1 is1 on the contrary1 one of the most excellent testimonies that could be desired to the good life and integrity of ,sylvester4 ,it is truly a shameful thing that so many catholics should be abettors of a slander concerning which ,marianus ,scotus1 ,glaber1 ,ditmare1 ,helgandus1 ,lambert and ,herman ,contract1 who were his contemporaries1 make no mention40 ,proceeding now to the ,grimoire of ,honorius1 it is to the third bearer of that name1 or to one of the most zealous pontiffs of the #acth century1 that this impious book is attributed4 ,assuredly ,honorius ,,iii was eminently likely to be hated by sectarians and necromancers1 and well might they seek to dishonour him by representing him as their accomplice4 ,censius ,savelli1 crowned pope in #abaf1 confirmed that ,order of ,saint ,dominic which proved so formidable to ,albigensians and ,vaudois--those children of ,manicheans and sorcerers4 ,he established also the ,franciscans and ,carmelites1 preached a crusade1 governed the ,church wisely and left many decretals4 ,to charge with ,black ,magic a pope so eminently catholic#bbb is to cast similar suspicion on the great religious orders which he instituted1 and the devil thereby could scarcely fail to profit4 ,some old copies of the ,grimoire of ,honorius bear1 however1 the name of ,honorius ,,ii1 but it is impossible to make a sorcerer of that elegant ,cardinal ,lambert who1 after his promotion to the sovereign pontificate1 surrounded himself either with poets1 to whom he gave bishoprics for elegies--as in the case of ,hildebert1 ,bishop of ,mans--or with learned theologians1 like ,hugh de ,saint-,victor4 ,but it so happens that the name of ,honorius ,,ii is for us as a ray of light pointing to the true author of the frightful grimoire in question4#bbc ,in #ajfa1 when the empire began to take umbrage against the papacy and sought to usurp the sacerdotal influence by fomenting troubles and divisions in the sacred college1 the bishops of ,lombardy1 impelled by ,gilbert of ,parma1 protested against the election of ,anselm1 ,bishop of ,lucca1 who had been raised to the papal chair as ,alexander ,,ii4 ,the ,emperor ,henry ,,iv took the part of the dissentients and authorised them to elect another pope1 promising to support them4 ,they chose ,cadulus or ,cadalus1 an intriguing ,bishop of ,parma1 a man capable of all crimes and a public scandal in respect of simony and concubinage4 ,he assumed the name of ,honorius ,,ii and marched at the head of an army against ,rome4 ,he was defeated and condemned by all the prelates of ,germany and ,italy4 ,returning to the charge1 he gained possession of part of the ,holy ,city and entered ,st4 ,peter's2 he was expelled and took refuge in the ,castle of ,st4 ,angelo1 whence he only obtained leave to retire on the payment of a heavy ransom4 ,it was then that ,otho1 ,archbishop of ,cologne1 the ,emperor's envoy1 dared to reproach ,alexander ,,ii in public for having usurped the ,holy ,see2 but a monk named ,hildebrand took up the cause of the lawful pontiff with such force of eloquence that the ,emperor drew back in confusion and asked pardon for his own criminal attempts4 ,the ,hildebrand in question was already in the sight of providence that fulminating ,gregory ,,vii who was to come and who thus inaugurated the work of his life4 ,the anti-pope was deposed by the ,council of ,mantua and ,henry ,,iv obtained his pardon4 ,cadalus returned into obscurity and it is then probably that he decided to become the high priest of sorcerers and apostates1 in which capacity1 and under the name of ,honorius ,,ii1 he composed the ,grimoire that passes under this name4#bbd ,illustration3 ,,occult ,,seals ,,and ,,primitive ,,egyptian ,,tarots ,what is known of the anti-pope's character lends colour to an accusation of the kind2 he was daring in the presence of the weak1 grovelling in that of the strong1 debauched and intriguing1 devoid of faith and morals1 seeing nothing in religion but an engine of impunity and rapine4 ,for such a person1 the ,christian virtues were obstacles and faith in the clergy was a difficulty which had to be overcome2 he would therefore make priests after his own heart1 or capable1 that is to say1 of all crimes and sacrileges4 ,now1 this would seem to have been the purpose in chief of the ,grimoire called that of ,honorius4 ,the work in question is not without importance for those who are curious in the science4 ,it appears at first sight to be a mere tissue of revolting absurdities1#bbe but for those who are initiated in the signs and secrets of the ,kabalah1 it is literally a monument of human perversity1 for the devil appears therein as an instrument of power4 ,to utilise human credulity and to turn the bugbear which dominates it to the account of the adept and his caprices--such is the secret of the work4 ,it aspires to make darkness darker before the eyes of the multitude by usurping the torch of science1 which at need1 and in bold hands1 may become that of butchers and incendiaries4 ,to identify faith with servitude1 reserving power and liberty for oneself1 is indeed to imagine the reign of ,satan on earth1 and it should not be surprising if the authors of such a conspiracy against public good sense and religion should hope to manifest and1 in a sense1 to incarnate on earth the fantastic sovereign of the evil empire4 ,the doctrine of this ,grimoire is the same as that of ,simon and the majority of the ,gnostics3 it is the substitution#bbf of the passive for the active principle4 ,a pantacle which forms a frontispiece to the work gives expression to this doctrine1 being passion as predominant over reason1 sensualism deified and the woman in priority to the man1 a tendency which recurs in all antichristian mystic systems4 ,the crescent moon of ,isis occupies the centre of the figure and it is encompassed by three triangles1 one within another4 ,the triangle is surmounted by a crux ansata with double cross-bar4 ,it is inscribed within a circle and within the space formed by the three segments of the circle there is on one side the sign of the spirit and the ,kabalistic seal of ,solomon1 on the others the magic knife and the initial letter of the binary1 below a reversed cross forming the figure of the lingam1 and the name of ,god ,,al1 also reversed4 ,about the circle is written3 8,obey your superiors and be subject unto them1 for they will see that you do40#bbg ,rendered into a symbol or profession of faith1 this pantacle is therefore textually as follows3--,fatality reigns by virtue of mathematics1 and there is no other ,god than ,nature4 ,dogmas are aids to sacerdotal power and are imposed on the multitude to justify sacrifices4 ,the initiate is above any religion and makes use of all1 but that which he says is the antithesis of that which he believes4 ,the law of obedience prescribes and does not explain2 initiates are made to command and those who are profane to obey4 ,all who have studied the occult sciences know that the old magicians never expressed their doctrine in writing but formulated it by the symbolical characters of pantacles4 ,on the second page of the book there are two circular magical seals4 ,in the first is the square of the ,tetragram with an inversion and substitution of names4 ,instead of ,,eieie ,,jehovah2 ,,adonai2 ,,agla--the four sacred words signifying3#bbh ,the ,absolute ,being is ,jehovah1 the ,lord in ,three ,persons1 ,god and the hierarchy of the ,church1 the author of the ,grimoire has substituted3 1 ,,jehovah2 1 ,,adni2 1 ,d',,rar2 1 ,,eieie--which signifies3 ,jehovah1 the ,lord1 is none other than the fatal principle of eternal rebirth1 personified by this same rebirth in the ,absolute ,being4 ,about the square within the circle is the name of ,jehovah in its proper form1 but also reversed2 on the left is that of ,adonai and on the right are the three letters 1 ,,achv1 followed by two points1 the whole meaning3 ,heaven and hell are each the reflection of each2 that which is above is as that which is below2 ,god is humanity--humanity being expressed by the letters ,,achv1 which are the initials of ,adam and ,eve4#bbi ,on the second seal is the name 1 ,,ararita1 and below it is 1 ,,rash1 encircling twenty-six ,kabalistic characters4 ,below the seal are ten ,hebrew letters1 given in the following order3 4 ,the whole is a formula of materialism and fatality1 which is too long1 and1 it may be1 too perilous for explanation in this place4 ,the prologue of the ,grimoire comes next in order and may be given at full length4#bcj 8,the ,holy ,apostolic ,chair1 unto which the ,keys of the ,kingdom of ,heaven are given by those words that ,christ ,jesus addressed to ,st4 ,peter3 ,i give unto thee the ,keys of the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 and unto thee alone the power of commanding the ,prince of ,darkness and his angels1 who1 as slaves to their master1 do owe him honour1 glory and obedience1 by virtue of those other words of ,christ ,jesus1 addressed to ,satan himself3 ,thou shalt worship the ,lord thy ,god1 and ,him only shalt thou serve--hence by the power of these ,keys the ,head of the ,church has been made the ,lord of hell4 ,but seeing that until this present the ,sovereign ,pontiffs have alone had the charge of evoking and commanding ,spirits1 ,his ,holiness ,honorius ,,ii1 being moved by his pastoral care1 has desired benignly to communicate the science and power of evocations and of empire over spirits to his venerable ,brethren in ,jesus ,christ1 with the conjurations which must be used in such case2 now therefore the whole is contained in the ,bull which here follows40 ,here in all truth is the pontificate of hell1 that sacrilegious priesthood of anti-popes which ,dante seems to stigmatise in the raucous cry uttered by one of his princes of perdition3 ,pope ,satan1 ,pope ,satan3 ,aleppe4 ,let the legitimate pontiff continue as prince of heaven2 it is enough for the anti-pope ,cadalus to be the sovereign of hell4 8,be ,he the ,god of good1 for god of evil am ,i2 we are divided1 but my power is equal40 ,the ,bull of the infernal pontiff follows1#bca and the mystery of darksome evocations is expounded therein with a terrific knowledge concealed under superstitious and sacrilegious forms4 ,fastings1 watchings1 profanation of mysteries1 allegorical ceremonies and bloody sacrifices are combined with artful malice4 ,the evocations are not deficient in poetry or in enthusiasm1 mingled with horror4 ,for example1 the author ordains that an operator should rise at midnight on the ,thursday in the first week of evocations1 should sprinkle his room with holy water and light a taper of yellow wax--prepared on the previous day and pierced in the form of a cross4 ,by the uncertain light of this candle1 he must enter a church alone and read the ,office of the ,dead in a low voice1 substituting in place of the ninth lesson at ,matins the following rhythmic invocation which is here translated from the ,latin1 preserving its strange form and its refrains1 which recall the monotonous incantations of old-world sorcerers4 ,o ,lord1 deliver me from the infernal terrors1 ,exempt my spirit from sepulchral larv2 ,to seek them out ,i shall go down to their hell unaffrighted3 ,i shall impose my will for a law upon them4 ,i will call upon night and its darkness to bring forth splendour3 ,rise up1 ,o ,sun2 and1 ,moon1 be thou white and brilliant2 ,to the shades of hell ,i will speak and confess no terror3 ,i shall impose my will for a law upon them4 ,dreadful in aspect are they1 their forms in appearance fantastic3 ,i will that the demons shall once again become angels4 ,whence to their nameless distortion ,i speak1 never fearing3 ,i shall impose my will for a law upon them4 ,these shades are illusions evoked by the eye affrighted2 ,i and ,i only can heal their loveliness blasted1 ,and into the deeps of hell ,i plunge unaffrighted3 ,i shall impose my will for a law upon them4#bcb ,after many other ceremonies there comes the night of evocation4 ,in a sinister place1 in the light of a fire kindled with broken crosses1 a circle is traced with the embers of a cross1 reciting while so doing a magical hymn containing versicles of several psalms4 ,it may be rendered as follows3#bcc 8,o ,lord1 the king rejoices in ,thy power2 let me finish the work of my birth4 ,may shadows of evil and spectres of night be as dust blown before the wind4444 ,o ,lord1 hell is enlightened and shines in ,thy presence2 by ,thee do all things end and all begin by ,thee3 ,,jehovah1 ,,tsabaoth1 ,,elohim1 ,,eloi1 ,,helion1 ,,helios1 ,,jodhevah1 ,,shaddai4 ,the ,lion of ,judah rises in ,his glory2 ,he comes to complete the victory of ,king ,david4 ,i open the seven seals of the dread book4 ,satan falls from heaven1 like summer lightning4 ,thou hast said to me3 ,be far from thee hell and its tortures2 they shall not draw to thy pure abodes4 ,thine eyes shall withstand the gaze of the basilisk2 thy feet shall walk fearlessly on the asp2 thou shalt take up serpents1 and they shall be conquered by thy smile2 thou shalt drink poisons1 and they shall in nowise hurt thee4 ,,elohim1 ,,elohab1 ,,tsabaoth1 ,,helios1 ,,ehyeh1 ,,eieazereie1 ,o ,,theos1 ,,tsehyros4 ,the earth is the ,lord's and the fulness thereof2 ,he hath established it over the gaping abyss4 ,who shall go up unto the mountain of the ,lord8 ,the innocent of hands and clean of heart2 he who hath not held truth in captivity1 nor hath received it to let it remain idle2 he who hath conceived the height in his soul and hath not sworn by a lying word4 ,the same shall receive strength for his domain1 and hereof is the infinite of human birth1 generation by earth and fire1 the divine bringing forth of those who seek ,god4 ,princes of ,nature1 enlarge your doors2 yoke of heaven1 ,i lift thee4 ,come to me1 ye holy cohorts3 behold the ,king of glory4 ,he hath earned his name2 he holds in his hand the seal of ,solomon4 ,the master hath broken the black bondage of ,satan and hath led captivity captive4 ,the ,lord alone is ,god1 and ,he only is ,king4 ,to ,thee only be glory1 ,o ,lord2 glory and glory to ,thee40#bcd ,one seems to hear the sombre puritans of ,walter ,scott or ,victor ,hugo accompanying1 with fanatic psalmody1 the nameless work of sorcerers in ,faust or ,macbeth4 ,in a conjuration addressed to the shade of the giant ,nimrod1 the wild huntsman who began the ,tower of ,babel1 the adept of ,honorius menaces that ancient reprobate with the riveting of his chains and with torture increased daily1 should he fail in immediate obedience to the will of the operator4 ,it is the sublimity of pride in delirium1 and this anti-pope1 who could only understand a high-priest as a ruler of hell1 seems to yearn after the usurped and mournful right of tormenting the dead eternally1 as if in revenge for the contempt and rejection of the living4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,appearance ,,of ,,the ,,bohemian ,,nomads ,at the beginning of the fifteenth century hordes of unknown swarthy wanderers began to spread through ,europe4#bce ,sometimes denominated ,bohemians1 because they claimed to come from ,bohemia1 sometimes ,egyptians1 because their leader assumed the title of ,duke of ,egypt1 they exercised the arts of divination1 larceny and marauding4 ,they were nomadic tribes1 bivouacking in huts of their own construction2 their religion was unknown2 they gave themselves out to be ,christians2 but their orthodoxy was more than doubtful4 ,among themselves1 they practised communism and promiscuity1 and in their divinations they made use of a strange sequence of signs1 allegorical in form1 and depending from the virtues of numbers4 ,whence came they8 ,of what accursed and vanished world were they the surviving waifs8 ,were they1 as superstitious people believed1 the offspring of sorceresses and demons8 ,what expiring and betrayed ,saviour had condemned them to roam for ever8 ,was this the family at large of the ,wandering ,jew1 or the remnants of the ten tribes of ,israel1 lost sight of in captivity and long enchained by ,gog and ,magog in unknown regions8 ,such were the doubting questions at the passage of these mysterious strangers1 who seemed to retain only the superstitions and vices of a vanished civilisation4 ,enemies of toil1 they respected neither property nor family2 they dragged their women and children after them2 they pestered the peace of honest house-dwellers with their pretended divinations4 ,however all this may be1 their first encampment in the vicinity of ,paris is told by one writer as follows3-- 8,in the next year1 #adbg1 on the ,sunday after the middle of ,august1 being the #agth of the month1 there came to the environs of ,paris twelve so-called penitentiaries--a duke1 earl and ten men1 all on horses1 saying that they were good ,christians1 originally of ,lower ,egypt4 ,they stated further that in former times they were conquered and turned to ,christianity1 those refusing being put to death1 while those who consented to baptism were left as rulers of the country4 ,some time subsequently the ,saracens invaded them1 and many who were not firm in the faith made no attempt to withstand or defend their country1 as in duty bound1 but submitted1 became ,saracens and abjured our ,saviour4 ,the ,emperor of ,germany1 the ,king of ,poland and other rulers having learned that the people renounced their faith so easily1 becoming ,saracens and idolaters1 fell upon them and conquered them again easily4 ,it appeared at first as if they had the intention to leave them in their country1 so that they might be led back to ,christianity1 but1 after deliberation in council1 the emperor and the rest of the kings ordained that they should never own land in their native country without the consent of the ,pope1 to obtain which1 they must journey to ,rome4 ,thither they proceeded in a great body1 the young and the old1 involving great suffering for the little ones4 ,they made confession of their sins at ,rome1 and the ,pope1 after considering with his advisers1 imposed on them1 by way of penance1 a seven years' wandering through the world1 sleeping in no bed4 ,he ordained further that every bishop and croziered abbot should give them1 once and for all1 ten livres of the ,tours currency as a contribution towards their expenses4 ,he presented them with letters to this effect1 gave them his benediction1 and for five years they had been wandering through the world4 8,some days afterwards1 being the day of the martyrdom of ,st4 ,john the ,baptist1 or ,august #bi1 the general horde followed and were not permitted to enter within ,paris1 but were lodged at the ,chapelle ,st4 ,denis4 ,they numbered about #abj persons1 including women and children4 ,they stated that when they left their own country they consisted of one thousand or twelve hundred souls2 the others had died on the road1 their king and queen among them2 the survivors were still expecting to become possessors of worldly goods1 for the holy father had promised them good and fertile lands when their penance was finished4 8,while they were at the chapel there was never so great a crowd at benediction1 for the people flocked to see them from ,st4 ,denis1 ,paris1 and the suburbs4 ,their children1 both boys and girls1 were the cleverest tricksters4 ,nearly all had their ears pierced and in each ear were one or two silver rings1 which they said were a sign of good birth in their own country2 they were exceedingly dark and with woolly hair4 ,the women were the ugliest and blackest ever seen2 their faces were covered with sores1 their hair was black as the tail of a horse1 their clothes consisted of an old flaussoie or schiavina tied over the shoulder by a cord or morsel of cloth1 and beneath it a poor shirt4 ,in a word1 they were the most wretched creatures who had ever been seen in ,france1 within the memory of the oldest inhabitant4 ,their poverty notwithstanding1 they had sorceresses among them who inspected the hand1 telling what had happened to the person consulting them in their past life and what awaited them in the future4 ,they disturbed the peace of households1 for they denounced husband to wife and wife to husband4 ,and what was still worse1 while talking to people about their magic art1 they managed to fill their purses by emptying those of their hearers4 ,one citizen of ,paris who gives account of these facts adds that he himself talked to them three or four times without losing a halfpenny2 but this is the report of the people everywhere1 and the news reached the bishop of ,paris1 who went thither taking a ,minorite friar called the little ,jacobin1 and he1 by the bishop's command1 preached a great sermon and excommunicated all1 male and female who had told fortunes and all who had shewn their hands4 ,the horde was ordered away and departed accordingly on ,september #h1 proceeding towards ,pontoise40 ,it is not known whether they continued their journey ,north of the capital1 but their memory has survived in a corner of the ,department du ,nord4 8,as a fact1 in a wood near the village of ,hamel1 five hundred feet from a druidic monument consisting of six stones1 there is a fountain which is called the ,sorcerer's ,kitchen1 and it is there1 according to tradition1 that the ,cara ,maras rested and quenched their thirst4 ,now these were assuredly the ,caras'mar1 namely1 the ,bohemians1 or wandering sorcerers and diviners1 to whom ancient ,flemish charters granted the right to be fed by the inhabitants40 ,they left ,paris1 but others came in their place1 so that ,france was exploited as much as other countries4 ,there is no record of their landing in ,england or in ,scotland1 but before very long the latter kingdom numbered more than one hundred thousand4#bcf ,they were called seard and caird1 as much as to say artisans1 craftsmen1 for the ,scotch word is derived from the ,sanskrit k r1 whence comes the verb to do1 the ,ker-aben of the gipsies and the ,latin cerdo or bungler1 which they are not4 ,if there was no trace of them at the same period in northern ,spain1 where the ,christians took refuge against the ,moslem domination1 it was doubtless because the ,arabs in the ,south were more to their liking2 however1 under ,john ,,ii the gipsies were clearly distinguished from these latter1 though no one knew whence they came4 ,to sum up1 it came about that1 from the time in question forward1 they were generally known over the whole ,european continent4 ,one of the bands of king ,sindel appeared at ,ratisbon in #adcc1 while ,sindel himself1 accompanied by his reserve1 camped in ,bavaria in #adci4 ,he seemed to have come from ,bohemia1 for the ,bavarians1 unaware that in #adcc the tribe had given themselves out as ,egyptians1 termed them ,bohemians1 under which name they reappeared in ,france and so have been known therein4 ,willy-nilly1 they were tolerated4 ,some perambulated the mountains1 seeking gold in the rivers2 some forged shoes for horses and chains for dogs2 others--more marauders than pilgrims--crept about1 ferreting everywhere1 and everywhere thieved and pilfered4 ,a few of them1 weary of shifting and fixing their tents continually1 came to a stand and hollowed out hovels1 square huts of four to six feet1 underground1 and covered with a roof of green branches1 the ridge of which1 set across two stakes1 in the form of a ,y1 rose scarcely more than two feet above the soil4 ,it was in this den1 of which little more than the name has remained in ,france1 that the whole family was huddled together pell-mell4 ,in such a lodging1 with no opening but the door and a hole for the smoke1 the father hammered1 the children--crouched round the fire--blew the bellows and the mother boiled the pot1 which contained only the spoil of poaching4 ,among old clothes1 a bridle and a knapsack hung from long wooden nails1 with no other furniture than an anvil1 pincers and hammer--there met credulity and love1 maid and knight1 lady of the manor and page4 ,there they shewed their bare white hands to the penetrating glance of the sibyl2 there love was purchased1 happiness was sold1 and lying found its recompense4 ,thence came mountebanks and cardsharpers1 the star-spangled robe and peaked hat of the magician1 the vagrants and their slang1 street dancers and daughters of joy4 ,it was the kingdom of idleness and trupherie1 of ,villon manners and free meals4 ,they were people who were continually busy in doing nothing1 as a simple story-teller of the middle ages terms it4 ,a scholar who is equally modest and distinguished1 ,m4 ,vaillant1 author of a history of the ,rom-,muni or ,bohemians1 some of whose pages we have cited1 gives no more flattering portrait1 though he ascribes to the gipsies great importance in the sacerdotal history of the ancient world4 ,he recounts how these strange ,protestants of primitive civilisation1 travelling through the ages with a malediction on their foreheads and rapine in their hands1 excited curiosity at first1 then mistrust1 finally proscription and hatred on the part of medival ,christians4 ,it will be readily understood what dangers might attach to this people without a fatherland1 parasites or the whole world and citizens of nowhere4 ,they were ,bedouins who perambulated empires like deserts2 they were nomadic thieves who glided about everywhere and remained nowhere4 ,it came to pass speedily that the people regarded them as sorcerers1 even as demons1 casters of lots1 stealers of children1 and there was some ground for all this4 ,moreover1 the nomads began to be accused everywhere of celebrating frightful mysteries in secret2 they were held responsible for all unknown murders1 for all mysterious abductions1 as the ,greeks of ,damascus accused the ,jews of killing one of their fraternity and drinking his blood4 ,it was affirmed that they preferred boys and girls from twelve to fifteen years old4 ,here was an effectual way to insure that they should be held in horror and avoided by the young2 but it was odious all the same1 for the child and the common people are only too credulous1 while as fear begets hatred1 so also it tends to breed persecution4 ,it was this which came to pass2 they were not only avoided and fled from1 but they were refused fire and water2 ,europe became like ,india in their respect and every ,christian was a ,brahman armed against them4 ,in some countries1 if a young girl approached one of them to give alms out of charity1 her distracted governess would warn her to beware1 for the gipsy was a katkaon1 an ogre1 who would suck her blood when she was asleep in the night4 ,the girl drew back trembling4 ,if a boy passed near enough for his shadow to fall on the wall near which they were seated1 and where perhaps a whole gipsy family was eating or basking in the sun1 his master would cry3 8,keep off1 child2 these vampires will steal your shadow and your soul will dance at their ,sabbath through all eternity40 ,so did ,christian hatred resuscitate the lemures and goblins1 the vampires and ogres as a ground of their impeachment4 8,they were descended from ,mambres1 whose miracles competed against those of ,moses2 they were sent by the king of ,egypt to spy everywhere on the children of ,israel and render their lot intolerable2 they were the murderers made use of by ,herod to exterminate the first-born of ,bethlehem2 they were pagans indeed1 for others1 but they did not understand a single word of ,egyptian1 their language comprising1 on the contrary1 a good deal of ,hebrew1 and they were therefore the refuse of that abject race who slept in the tombs of ,judea after devouring the corpses which they contained2 they were otherwise those miscreant ,jews who were tortured1 chased and burned in #acdh for having poisoned our wells and cisterns1 and they had returned once again to the work4 ,as a final alternative1 whether ,jews or ,egyptians1 ,essenians or ,chusians1 ,pharaohnians or ,caphtorians1 ,assyrian ,balistari or ,philistines of ,canaan1 they were renegades1 and it was testified in ,saxony1 ,france and everywhere that they were fit only for burning and hanging4 ,the proscription which came upon them fell also on that strange book in which they used to consult destiny and to obtain oracles4 ,its coloured cards bearing incomprehensible figures are undoubtedly the monumental summary of all ancient revelations1 the key to ,egyptian hieroglyphics1 the keys also of ,solomon1 the primeval scriptures of ,enoch and ,hermes4 ,the author to whom we refer gives proof here of uncommon sagacity1 speaking of the ,tarot as a man who as yet does not understand it perfectly but has made it a profound study4 ,what he says is as follows3-- 8,the form1 disposition1 arrangement of these tablets1 and of the figures which they depict1 though considerably modified by time1 are so manifestly allegorical1 while the allegories correspond so closely to the civil1 philosophical and religious doctrine of antiquity1 that one is compelled to regard them as a synthesis of the matter of faith among ancient peoples4 ,we have sought to make evident already that the ,tarot is a deduction from the sidereal ,book of ,enoch1 who is ,henochia2 that it is modelled on the astral wheel of ,athor1 who is ,as-taroth2 that1 like the ,indian ,ot-tara1 which is the polar bear or ,arc-tura in the northern hemisphere1 it is the force major 7tarie71 on which rests the solidity of the world and the sidereal firmament of earth4 ,consequently1 like the polar ,bear1 which is regarded as the chariot of the sun1 the chariot of ,david and of ,arthur1 it is the ,greek fortune1 the ,chinese destiny1 the ,egyptian hazard1 the lot of the ,romanies2 and that1 in their unceasing revolution about the polar ,bear1 the stars pour down on earth those auspices and fatalities1 that light and shadow1 cold and heat1 whence flow the good and evil1 the love and hatred which make up human happiness4 8,if the origin of this book is so lost in the night of time that no one knows where or when it was invented1 everything leads us to believe that it is of ,indo-,tartaric origin and that1 variously modified among ancient nations1 according to the phases of their doctrines and the characteristics of their wise men1 it was one of their books of occult science1 possibly even one of their sibylline books4 ,we have sufficiently indicated the road by which it has reached us2 we have seen that it must have been known to the ,romans and that it came to them not only from the first days of the empire but of the ,republic itself1 by the intervention of those numerous strangers of eastern origin1 who were initiated into the mysteries of ,bacchus and of ,isis1 and who brought their knowledge to the heirs of ,numa40 ,vaillant does not say that the four hieroglyphical signs of the ,tarot--being ,wands1 ,cups1 ,swords and ,deniers1 or golden circles--are found in ,homer1 sculptured on the shield of ,achilles2 but according to him3 8the ,cups are the arcs or arches of time1 the vessels or ships of heaven4 ,the ,deniers are the constellations1 fixed and movable stars4 ,the ,swords are fires1 flames1 rays2 the ,wands are shadows1 stones1 trees1 plants4 ,the ,ace of ,cups is the vase of the universe1 the arch of celestial truth1 the principle of earth4 ,the ,ace of ,deniers is the sun1 the great eye of the world1 the sustenance and element of life4 ,the ,ace of ,swords is the spear of ,mars1 whence come wars1 misfortunes and victories4 ,the ,ace of ,wands is the serpent's eye1 the pastoral crook1 the cowherd's goad1 the club of ,hercules1 the emblem of agriculture4 ,the two of ,cups is the cow1 ,io or ,isis1 and the bull ,apis or ,mnevis4 ,the three of ,cups is ,isis1 the moon1 lady and queen of night4 ,the three of ,deniers is ,osiris1 the sun1 lord and king of day4 ,the nine of ,deniers is the messenger ,mercury1 or the angel ,gabriel4 ,the nine of ,cups is the gestation of good destiny1 whence comes happiness40 ,finally1 ,m4 ,vaillant tells us that there is a ,chinese diagram consisting of characters which form great oblong compartments1 of equal size and precisely that of the ,tarot cards4 ,these compartments are arranged in six perpendicular columns1 the first five consisting of fourteen compartments each1 making seventy in all2 whilst the sixth is only half filled and contains seven compartments4 ,moreover1 this diagram is formed after the same combination of the number seven2 each complete column is of twice seven or fourteen compartments1 while the half column contains seven compartments4 ,it is so much like the ,tarot that the four suits of the latter occupy the four first columns2 in the fifth column are the twenty-one trumps1 while the seven remaining trumps are in the sixth column1 the last representing the six days constituting the week of creation4 ,now1 according to the ,chinese1 this diagram goes back to the first epoch of their empire1 being the drying up of the waters of the deluge by ,,iao4 ,the conclusion is1 therefore1 that this is either the original ,tarot or a copy thereof2 that in any case the ,tarot is anterior to ,moses1 is referable to the beginning of the ages1 or the epoch of the formulation of the ,zodiac2 and that its age is consequently six thousand six hundred years4#bcg 8,such is the ,romany ,tarot from which by transposition the ,hebrews have made the word ,torah1 signifying the ,law of ,jehovah4 ,so far then from being a game1 as it is at the present day1 it was a book1 and a serious book1 the book of symbols and of emblems1 of analogies or the relations between stars and man2 the book of destiny1 by the aid of which the sorcerer unveiled the mysteries of fortune4 ,its figures1 their names1 their number1 and the oracles drawn from these made it naturally regarded by ,christians as the instrument of a diabolical art1 a work of ,magic4 ,it will be hence understood with what severity they proscribed it1 the moment it became known to them by that abuse of confidence which the rashness of the ,sagi committed on public credulity4 ,in this manner1 faith being lost in its message1 the ,tarot became a game1 while its pictures underwent modification according to the taste of nations and the successive spirit of centuries4#bch ,it is to the work in this trivial form that we owe our modern playing cards1 the combinations of which are comparable to those of the ,tarot in the same way as the game of draughts is comparable to the game of chess4 ,it follows that the origin of cards is attributed wrongly to the reign of ,charles ,,vi1 and it may be noted further that the initiates of the ,order of the ,belt1 established before #accb by ,alphons ,,xi1 king of ,castile1 pledged themselves not to play cards4 ,le ,sage tells us that1 in the days of ,charles ,v1 ,st4 ,bernard of ,sienna condemned cards to be burnt and that they were then called triumphales after the game of triumph played in honour of the victorious ,osiris or ,ormuzd1 represented by one of the ,tarot cards4 ,furthermore1 that king himself proscribed cards in #acfi and the reason that little ,jean de ,saintr was honoured by his favour was because he did not play4 ,in those days cards were termed ,naipes in ,spain and ,naibi in ,italy1 the ,naibi being she-devils1 sibyls and pythonesses40 ,m4 ,vaillant1 from whom we have been again quoting1 considers therefore that the ,tarot has been modified and altered1 which is true for the ,german examples bearing ,chinese figures1 but not for those of ,italy1 which have only been altered in details1 nor for those of ,besanon1 in which traces remain of primitive ,egyptian hieroglyphics4 ,in the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 we have shewn how untoward in their results were the labours of ,etteilla or ,alliette in respect of the ,tarot4 ,this illuminated hairdresser1 after working for thirty years1 only succeeded in producing a bastard set1 the ,keys of which are transposed1 so that the numbers no longer answer to the signs4 ,in a word1 it is a ,tarot suited to ,etteilla and to the measure of his intelligence1 which was not of great extent4 ,we are scarcely in agreement with ,m4 ,vaillant1 when he suggests that the gipsies were the lawful proprietors of this key to initiations4 ,they owed it doubtless to the infidelity or imprudence of some ,kabalistic ,jew4 ,the gipsies originated in ,india1 or their historian has at least shown the likelihood of this theory4 ,now the extant ,tarot is certainly that of the gipsies and has come to us by way of ,judea4 ,as a fact1 its keys are in correspondence with the letters of the ,hebrew alphabet1 and some of its figures reproduce even their forms4 ,what then were the gipsies8 ,as a poet has said3 ,they were the debased remnant of an ancient world2 they were a sect of ,indian ,gnostics1 whose communism caused them to be proscribed in every land2 as they may be said to admit practically1 they were profaners of the ,great ,arcanum1 overtaken by a fatal malediction4 ,a horde misled by some enthusiastic fakir1 they had become wanderers through the world1 protesting against all civilisations in the name of a pretended natural law which dispensed them from almost every duty4 ,now the law which seeks to prevail in violation of duty is aggression1 pillage and rapine2 it is the hand of ,cain raised against his brother1 and society in defending itself seems to be avenging the death of ,abel4 ,in #ahdj certain mechanics of the ,faubourg ,st4 ,antoine1 weary1 as they put it1 of being hoodwinked by journalists and of serving as tools for the ambition of ready speech-makers1 resolved to found and to edit a journal of pure radicalism and of logic apart from evasion or circumlocution4 ,they combined therefore and deliberated for the firm establishment of their doctrines2 they took as their basis the republican device of liberty1 equality and the rest4 ,but liberty seemed to them incompatible with the duty of labour1 equality with the law of property1 and they therefore decided on communism4 ,one of them1 however1 pointed out that in communism the sharpest would preside over the division and would get the lion's share2 it was decreed thereupon that no one should have the right to intellectual superiority4 ,but it was further remarked that even physical beauty might constitute an aristocracy1 so they decreed that there should be an equality in ugliness4 ,finally1 as those who till the ground are yoked to the ground1 it was settled that true communists could not follow agriculture1 must have only the world for their fatherland and humanity itself for their family1 whence it became them to have recourse to caravans and go round the world eternally4 ,we are not relating a parable1 we have known those who were present at the convention in question and we have read the first number of their journal1 which was entitled ,the ,humanitarian and was suppressed in #ahda4 ,as to this1 the press reports of the period may be consulted4 ,had the journal continued and had the incipient sect recruited proselytes for the ,icarian emigration1 as the old attorney ,cabet was doing at the same period1 a new race of ,bohemians would have been organised1 and vagabondage would have counted one race the more4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,legend ,,and ,,history ,,of ,,raymund ,,lully ,we have explained that the ,church proscribed initiation because it was indignant at the profanations of the ,gnosis4 ,when ,mohammed armed eastern fanaticism against faith he opposed savage and warlike credulity to the piety which is ignorant but which prays4 ,his successors set foot in ,europe and threatened to overrun it speedily4 ,the ,christians said3 ,providence is chastising us2 and the ,moslems answered3 ,fatality is on our side4 ,the ,jewish ,kabalists1 who were in dread of being burnt as sorcerers in countries called catholic1 sought an asylum among the ,arabs1 for these in their eyes were heretics but not idolaters4 ,they admitted some of them to a knowledge of their mysteries1 and ,islam1 which had already conquered by force1 was before long in a position to hope that it might prevail also by science over those whom educated ,araby termed in its disdain the barbarians of the ,west4 ,to onslaughts of physical force the genius of ,france opposed the strokes of its own terrific hammer4 ,before the flowing tide of ,mohammedan armies a mail-clad finger had traced a clear line and a mighty voice of victory cried to the flood3 ,thou shalt go no further4 ,the genius of science raised up ,raymund ,lully1 and he reclaimed the heritage of ,solomon for that ,saviour ,who was the ,son of ,david2 it was he who for the first time called the children of blind faith to the splendours of universal knowledge4 ,the pseudo-scholars1 and the people who are wise in their own conceit1 continue to speak with scorn of this truly great man2 but the popular instinct has avenged him4 ,romance and legend have taken up his story1 with the result that he is pictured as one impassioned like ,abelard1 initiated like ,faust1 an alchemist even as ,hermes1 a man of penitence and learning like ,st4 ,jerome1 a rover after the manner of the ,wandering ,jew1 a martyr in fine like ,st4 ,stephen1 and one who was glorious in death almost as the ,saviour of the world4 ,let us make our beginning with the romance3 it is one of the most touching and beautiful that have come within our knowledge4 ,on a certain ,sunday1 in the year #abej1 a beautiful and accomplished lady1 named ,ambrosia di ,castello1 originally of ,genoa1 went1 as she was accustomed1 to hear mass in the church of ,palma1 a town in the island of ,majorca4 ,a mounted cavalier of distinguished appearance and richly dressed1 who was passing at the time in the street1 noticed the lady and pulled up as one thunderstruck4 ,she entered the church1 quickly disappearing in the shadow of the great porch4 ,the cavalier1 quite unconscious of what he did1 spurred his horse and rode after her into the midst of the affrighted worshippers4 ,great was the astonishment and scandal4 ,the cavalier was well known2 he was the ,seigneur ,raymund ,lully1 ,seneschal of the ,isles and ,mayor of the ,palace4 ,he had a wife and three children1 while ,ambrosia di ,castello was also married and enjoyed1 moreover1 an irreproachable reputation4 ,raymund ,lully passed therefore for a great libertine4 ,his equestrian entrance into the church of ,palma was noised over the whole town1 and ,ambrosia1 in the greatest confusion1 sought the advice of her husband4 ,he was apparently a man of sense1 and he did not consider his wife insulted because her beauty had turned the head of a young and brilliant nobleman4 ,he proposed that ,ambrosia should cure her admirer by a folly as grotesque as his own4 ,meanwhile1 ,raymund ,lully had written already to the lady1 to excuse1 or rather to accuse himself still further4 ,what had prompted him1 he said1 was 8strange1 supernatural1 irresistible40 ,he respected her honour and the affections which1 he knew1 belonged to another2 but he had been overwhelmed4 ,he felt that his imprudence required for its expiation high self-devotion1 great sacrifices1 miracles to be accomplished1 the penitence of a ,stylite and the feats of a knight-errant4 ,ambrosia answered3 8,to respond adequately to a love which you term supernatural would require an immortal existence4 ,if this love be sacrificed heroically to our respective duties during the lives of those who are dear to each of us1 it will1 beyond all doubt1 create for itself an eternity at that moment when conscience and the world will permit us to love one another4 ,it is said that there is an elixir of life2 seek to discover it1 and when you are certain that you have succeeded1 come and see me4 ,till then1 live for your wife and your children1 as ,i also will live for the husband whom ,i love2 and if you meet me in the street make no sign of recognition40 ,it was evidently a gracious cong1 which put off her lover till ,doomsday2 but he refused to understand it as such1 and from that day forth the brilliant noble disappeared to make room for the grave and thoughtful alchemist4 ,don ,juan had become ,faust4 ,many years passed away2 the wife of ,raymund ,lully died2 ,ambrosia di ,castello in her turn became a widow2 but the alchemist appeared to have forgotten her and to be absorbed only in his sublime work4 ,at length1 one day1 the widow being alone1 ,raymund ,lully was announced1 and there entered the apartment a bald and emaciated old man1 who held in his hand a phial filled with a bright and ruddy elixir4 ,he advanced with unsteady step1 seeking her with his eyes4 ,the object which they sought was before them but he did not recognise her1 who in his imagination had remained always young and beautiful4 8,it is ,i10 she said at length4 8,what would you with me80 ,at the accents of that voice1 the alchemist startled violently2 he recognised her whom he had thought fondly to find unchanged4 ,casting himself on his knees at her feet1 he offered her the phial1 saying3 8,take it1 drink it1 it is life4 ,thirty years of my own existence are comprised in it2 but ,i have tried it1 and ,i know that it is the elixir of immortality40 8,what10 asked ,ambrosia1 with a sad smile1 8have you yourself drunk it80 8,for two months10 replied ,raymund1 8after having taken a quantity of the elixir equal to that which is contained here1 ,i have abstained from all other nourishment4 ,the pangs of hunger have tormented me2 but not only have ,i not died1 ,i am conscious within me of an unparalleled accession of strength and life40 8,i believe you10 said ,ambrosia1 8but this elixir1 which preserves existence1 is powerless to restore lost youth4 ,my poor friend1 look at yourself10 and she held up a mirror before him4 ,raymund ,lully recoiled1 for it is affirmed by the legend that he had never surveyed himself in this manner during the thirty years of his labours4 8,and now1 ,raymund10 continued ,ambrosia1 8look at me10 and she unbound her hair1 which was white as snow2 then1 loosening the clasps of her robe1 she exposed to him her breast1 which was almost eaten away by a cancer4 8,is it this10 she asked piteously1 8which you wish to immortalise80 ,then1 seeing the consternation of the alchemist1 she continued3 8,for thirty years ,i have loved you1 and ,i would not doom you to a perpetual prison in the body of an infirm old man2 in your turn1 do not condemn me4 ,spare me this death which you term life4 ,let me suffer the change which is necessary before ,i can live again truly3 let us renew our nature with an eternal youth4 ,i have no wish for your elixir1 which prolongs only the night of the tomb3 ,i aspire to immortality40 ,raymond ,lully thereupon cast down the phial1 which was broken on the ground4 8,i deliver you10 he said1 8and for your sake ,i remain in prison4 ,live in the immortality of heaven1 while ,i am condemned for ever to a living death on this earth40 ,then1 hiding his face in his hands1 he went away weeping4 ,some months after1 a monk of the ,order of ,st4 ,francis assisted ,ambrosia di ,castello in her last moments4 ,this monk was the alchemist1 ,raymund ,lully4 ,the romance ends here and the legend follows4 ,this legend merges several bearers at different periods of the name ,raymund ,lully into a single personality1 and thus endows the repentant alchemist with a few centuries of existence and expiation4 ,on the day when the unfortunate adept should have expired naturally1 he experienced all the agonies of dissolution2 then1 at the supreme crisis1 he felt life again take possession of his frame1 like the vulture of ,prometheus resuming its banquet4 ,the ,saviour of the world1 ,who had stretched forth ,his hand towards him1 returned sorrowfully into heaven1 and ,raymond ,lully found himself still on earth1 with no hope of dying4 ,he betook himself to prayer1 and devoted his existence to good works2 ,god granted him all graces save that of death1 but of what profit are the others in the absence of that which should complete and crown them all8 ,one day the ,tree of ,knowledge was shewn to him1 laden with its luminous fruits2 he understood being and its harmonies2 he divined the ,kabalah2 he established the foundations and sketched the plan of an universal science1 from which time he was saluted as the illuminated doctor4 ,so did he obtain glory1 that fatal recompense of toil which ,god1 in ,his mercy1 seldom confers upon great men till after their death1 because it intoxicates and poisons the living4 ,but ,raymund ,lully1 who could not by death give place to the glory after1 might have occasion to fear that it would perish before himself1 and meanwhile it could seem to him only a derision of his immortal misfortune4 ,he knew how to make gold1 so that he might purchase the world and all its kingdoms1 yet he could not assure to himself the humblest tomb4 ,he was the pauper of immortality4 ,everywhere he went begging for death1 and no one was able to give it him4 ,the courtly nobleman had become an absorbed alchemist1 the alchemist a monk2 the monk became preacher1 philosopher1 ascetic1 saint1 and1 last of all1 missionary4 ,he engaged hand to hand with the learned men of ,arabia2 he battled victoriously against ,islamism1 and had everything to fear from the fury of its professors4 ,everything to fear--this means that he had something to hope1 and that which he hoped for was death4#bci ,he engaged a young ,arab of the most fanatical class as his attendant1 and posed before him as the scourge of the religion of ,mohammed4 ,the ,arab assassinated his master1 which was what he expected2 but ,raymond ,lully did not die2 it was the assassin that he would fain have forgiven who killed himself in despair at his failure1 so that conscience had an added burden instead of deliverance and peace4 ,he was scarcely cured of his wounds when he embarked for ,tunis1 in which place he preached ,christianity openly2 but the ,bey in admiration of his learning and his courage protected him against the madness of the crowd and caused him to re-embark with all his books4 ,before long he returned to the same parts1 preaching at ,bone1 ,bougia and other ,african towns2 the ,moslems were stupefied and feared to lay hands upon him4 ,in the end he revisited ,tunis and collecting the people in the streets1 he proclaimed that1 though driven from the place1 he had come back to confound the impious doctrines of ,mohammed and to die for ,jesus ,christ4 ,this time there was no protection possible1 the enraged people hunted him1 a veritable insurrection broke out2 he fled1 to encourage them further2 already he was broken by many blows1 pouring with blood1 covered with wounds2 and yet he continued to live4 ,he sank finally1 buried--literally speaking--under a mountain of stones4 ,on the same night1 says the legend1 two ,genoese merchants1 ,steven ,colon and ,louis de ,pastorga1 sailing over the open sea1 beheld a great light shining from the port of ,tunis4 ,they changed their course and1 approaching the shore1 discovered a mound of stones1 which diffused far and near this miraculous splendour4 ,they landed in great astonishment1 and finally discovered the body of ,raymund ,lully1 mangled but still breathing4 ,he was taken on board the ship and carried to ,majorca1 where in sight of his native land the martyr was permitted to expire4 ,god set him free by a miracle and his penance was so finished4 ,such is the odyssey of the fabulous ,raymund ,lully2 let us come now to the historical realities4 ,raymund ,lully1 the philosopher and adept1 being the one who deserved the title of illuminated doctor1 was the son of that seneschal of ,majorca who was made famous by his ill-starred passion for ,ambrosia di ,castello4#bdj ,he did not discover the elixir of immortality1 but he made gold in ,england for ,king ,edward ,,iii1 and this gold was called aurum ,raymundi4 ,there are extant certain very rare coins which are called ,raymundins by experts4 ,louis ,figuier identifies these with the rose-nobles which were struck during the reign in question1#bda and suggests1 a little frivolously1 that the alchemy of ,raymund ,lully was only a sophistication of gold which would be difficult to detect at a period when chemical processes were much less perfect than they are at the present day4 ,this notwithstanding1 he recognises the scientific importance of ,lully and gives his judgment concerning him as follows3-- 8,raymund ,lully1 whose genius embraced all branches of human knowledge1 and who brought together in the ,ars ,magna a vast system of philosophy1 summarising the encyclopdic principles of science as it then stood1 could not fail to bequeathe a valuable heritage to chymists4 ,he perfected and described carefully various compounds which are used widely in chemistry2 we owe him the preparation of carbonate of potassium by means of tartar and by wood ashes1 the rectification of spirits of wine1 the preparation of essential oils1 the cuppellation of silver1 and the preparation of sweet mercury40#bdb ,other scientists1 feeling sure that the rose-nobles were pure as gold1 have speculated that1 having regard to the very imperfect processes of practical chemistry during the middle ages1 such transmutations as those of ,raymund ,lully1 and indeed other adepts1 were merely the separation of the gold found in silver mines1 and purified by means of antimony1 which is actually indicated1 in a great number of ,hermetic symbols1 as the efficient and chief element in the ,powder of ,projection4#bdc ,we agree with them that chemistry was non-existent at the period in question1 and we may add that it was created by adepts or rather that the adepts1 while keeping to themselves those synthetic secrets which were the treasure of the magical sanctuaries1 instructed their contemporaries as to some of the analytical processes4 ,these were afterwards perfected1 but they have not as yet led men of science to reach that ancient synthesis which constitutes ,hermetic philosophy1 in the proper sense of the term4 ,in his philosophical ,testament1 ,raymund ,lully has set forth all the principles of this science1 but in a veiled manner1 following the practice and indeed the duty of adepts4 ,he also composed a ,key to the ,testament mentioned1 and finally a ,key to the ,key or1 more definitely1 a codicil1 which is in our opinion the most important of his writings on alchemy4 ,its principles and modes of procedure have nothing in common either with the sophistication of pure metals or with the separation of alloys4 ,as a theory1 it is in conformity with the principles of ,geber and as a practice with those of ,arnaldus de ,villanova2 in respect of doctrine it is in conformity with the most exalted ideas of the ,kabalah4 ,those earnest minds1 who refuse to be discouraged by the discredit into which ignorance brings the great things1 should study ,kabalistically the codicil of ,raymund ,lully1 if they seek to carry on that research of the absolute which was followed by the greatest men of genius in the elder world4#bdd ,the whole life of this pre-eminent adept1 the first initiate after ,st4 ,john who was devoted to the hierarchic apostolate of holy orthodoxy--his entire life1 we repeat1 was passed in pious foundations1 in preachings1 in immense scientific labours4 ,thus1 in #abgf1 he established at ,palma a college of ,franciscans dedicated to the study of ,oriental languages1 and ,arabic especially1 with the object of refuting the works of ,mohammedan doctors and of preaching the ,christian faith among the ,moors4 ,john ,,xxi confirmed this institution by a pastoral letter dated from ,viterbo on ,december #af1 in the first year of his pontificate4 ,from #abic to #acaa1 ,lully solicited and obtained from ,pope ,nicholas ,,iv and from the kings of ,france1 ,sicily1 ,cyprus and ,majorca1 the establishment of many other colleges for the same purpose4 ,wherever he went he gave instructions in his ,great ,art1 which is an universal synthesis of human knowledge1 and has as its prime object the institution of one language among men as also one mode of thought4 ,he visited ,paris and there astonished the most learned doctors2 afterwards he crossed over to ,spain1 tarried at ,complute1 where he founded a central academy for the study of languages and sciences4 ,he reformed a number of convents1 went on to ,italy and recruited soldiers for a new military order1 the institution of which he advocated at the very ,council of ,vienna which condemned the ,templars4 ,the catholic science and the true initiation of ,st4 ,john were intended thereby to rescue the protecting sword of the ,temple from faithless hands4 ,the great ones of this world derided poor ,raymund ,lully1 and yet in their own despite they did all that he desired4 ,this illuminated personality1 termed by derision ,raymund the ,fantastic1 seems to have been pope of popes and king of kings2 he was poor as ,job and gave alms to sovereigns2 he was called a fool1 and he was of that order of folly which confounds sages4 ,the greatest politician of the period1 ,cardinal ,ximenes1 whose mind was as vast as it was serious1 never spoke of him except as the divine ,raymund ,lully and the most enlightened doctor4 ,he died in #acad1 according to ,genebrard1 or in #acae1 according to the author of the preface to the ,meditations of the ,hermit ,blaquerne4 ,he was eighty years old1 and the end of his toilsome and holy existence came on the ,festival of the martyrdom of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul4#bde ,a disciple of the great ,kabalists1 ,raymund ,lully sought to establish an absolute and universal philosophy by substituting for the conventional abstractions of systems a fixed notion of natural actualities and by substituting a simple and natural mode of expression for the ambiguous terms of scholasticism4 ,he condemned the definitions of the scholars at his period because they perpetuated disputes by their inexactitude and amphibology4 ,according to ,aristotle1 man is a reasonable animal1 but it may be replied that he is not an animal and is only rarely reasonable4 ,moreover1 the words animal and reasonable cannot be brought into harmony2 a fool1 in this sense1 would not be a man1 and so forth4 ,raymund ,lully defined things by their right names and not by their synonyms or approximations2 afterwards he explained the names by etymology4 ,to the question--,what is man8--he would therefore reply that the word1 in its general acceptation1 signifies the state of being human1 but taken in a particular acceptation it designates the human personality4 ,what1 however is this human personality8 ,originally1 it is the personality which ,god made by breathing life into a body compounded of earth 7humus72 literally it is you1 it is ,i1 it is ,peter1 ,paul1 and so on4 ,those who were accustomed to scientific jargon protested to the illuminated doctor that anyone could talk like this2 that on the basis of such a method the whole world might pose as learned2 and that popular common sense would be preferred before the doctrine of academies4 8,that is just what ,i wish10 was the answer of ,raymund ,lully in his great simplicity4 ,hence the reproach of puerility made against his enlightened theory2 and puerile it was in a sense1 but with the puerility of ,his counsel ,who said3 8,except ye become as one of these little ones1 ye shall not enter into the ,kingdom of heaven40 ,is not the ,kingdom of ,heaven also that of science1 seeing that the celestial life of ,god and men is but understanding and love8 ,the design of ,raymund ,lully was to set the ,christianised ,kabalah against the fatalistic magia of the ,arabs1 ,egyptian traditions against those of ,india1 the ,magic of ,light against ,black ,magic4 ,he testified that1 in the last days1 the doctrines of ,antichrist would be a materialised realism and that there would be a recrudescence of all the monstrosities of evil ,magic4 ,hence he sought to prepare minds for the return of ,enoch1 or otherwise for the final revelation of that science the key of which is in the hieroglyphical alphabets of ,enoch4 ,this harmonising light of reason and faith is to precede the ,messianic and universal reign of ,christianity on earth4 ,so was ,lully a great prophet for true ,kabalists and seers1 while for sceptics who at least can respect exalted characters and noble aspirations1 he was a sublime dreamer4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,on ,,certain ,,alchemists ,nicholas ,flamel belongs to alchemy exclusively1 and he enters only into our consideration because of the hieroglyphical book of ,abraham the ,jew1 in which the scrivener of the rue ,saint-,jacques-la-,boucherie found the absolute keys of the ,great ,work4 ,this book was founded on the ,keys of the ,tarot and was simply a hieroglyphical and ,hermetic commentary on the ,sepher ,yetzirah4 ,we find as a fact1 by the description of ,flamel himself1 that the leaves were #ba in number1 making #bb with the title1#bdf and that they were divided into three septenaries1 having a blank leaf at every seventh page4 ,let us here bear in mind that the ,apocalypse1 that sublime ,kabalistic and prophetic summary of all occult types1 also divided its symbols into three septenaries1 between each of which there is silence in heaven1 thus instituting a striking analogy with the uninscribed leaf in the mystic book of ,flamel4#bdg ,the septenaries of the ,apocalypse are 7a7 seven seals to open1 meaning seven mysteries to be learned and seven difficulties to be overcome2 7b7 seven trumpets to sound1 being seven utterances to understand2 7c7 seven vials to empty1 which signify seven substances which must be volatilised and fixed4 ,in the work of ,flamel the first seventh leaf has as its hieroglyphical character the wand of ,moses overcoming the serpents brought forth by the magicians of ,pharaoh4 ,they are seen devouring one another1 and the figure as a whole is analogous to the ,victor of the ,tarot1 yoking to his cubic chariot the white and black sphinxes of ,egyptian ,magic4 ,the symbol in question corresponds to the seventh dogma in the creed of ,maimonides3 we acknowledge but one prophet1 who is ,moses4 ,it represents the unity of science and the work2 it represents further the ,mercury of the ,wise1 which is formed by the dissolution of composites and by the reciprocal action of the ,sulphur and ,salt of metals4 ,the emblem on the fourteenth page was the ,brazen ,serpent set upon a cross4 ,the cross represents the marriage of the purified ,sulphur and ,salt1 as also the condensation of the ,astral ,light4 ,the fourteenth ,trump card in the ,tarot depicts an angel1 who is the spirit of the earth1 mingling the liquids in two ewers1 one of gold and one of silver4 ,it is the same symbol formulated after another manner4 ,on the #bast leaf of ,flamel's book there was the type of space and universal life1 represented by a desert with springs of water and serpents gliding hither and thither4#bdh ,in the ,tarot1 space is typified by the four signs allocated to the cardinal points of heaven1 and life is represented by a naked girl dancing in a circle4 ,flamel does not specify the number of springs and serpents1 but the former would probably be four1 springing from one source1 as in the ,pantacle of ,eden2 the serpents would be four1 seven1 nine or ten4 ,on the fourth leaf was the figure of ,time1 preparing to cut off the feet of ,mercury4 ,close by was a rose-tree in blossom1 the root being blue1 the stem white1 the leaves red1 and the flowers golden4#bdi ,the number four is that of elemental realisation4 ,time is atmospheric nitre2 his scythe is the acid which is extracted from this nitre1 and the ,mercury is fixed thereby1 being transformed into salt4 ,the rose-tree represents the ,work and the successive colours which characterise its stages3 it is the mastery passing through the black1 white and red aspects1 out of which gold is produced as a blossom that buds and unfolds4 ,the number #e is that of the ,great ,mystery1 and on the fifth page blind men were represented digging up the ground round the rose-tree in search of the grand agent which is present everywhere4 ,some others1 who were better advised1 were weighing a white water1 resembling a solidified air4#bej ,on the reverse side of this page was the massacre of the innocents1 with the sun and moon descending to bathe in their blood4 ,this allegory1 which is the literal secret of ,hermetic art1 has reference to that process of taking air into air1 as ,aristeus#bea puts it2 or1 to speak intelligible language1 of using air as force1 expanding it by means of ,astral ,light1 just as water is changed into steam by the action of fire4 ,this can be accomplished by the aid of electricity1 magnets and a powerful projection of the operator's will1 when directed by science and good intent4 ,the children's blood represents that essential light which is extracted by philosophical fire from elementary bodies4 ,when it is said that the sun and moon come down to bathe1 the meaning is that the silver therein is tinctured into gold and that the gold acquires a grade of purity by which its sulphur is transformed into the true ,powder of ,projection4 ,we are not writing a treatise on alchemy1 although this science is really ,transcendental ,magic put into operation2 we reserve its revelations and wonders for other special and more extended works4 ,popular tradition affirms that ,flamel did not die and that he buried a treasure under the tower of ,saint-,jacques-la-,boucherie4 ,according to illuminated adepts1 this treasure1 contained in a cedar box covered with plates of the seven metals1 was the original copy of the famous book attributed to ,abraham the ,jew1 with commentaries in the writing of ,flamel and sufficient specimens of the ,powder of ,projection to transmute the sea into gold1 supposing that the sea were ,mercury4 ,after ,flamel came ,bernard ,trevisan1 ,basil ,valentine and other famous alchemists4 ,the twelve ,keys of ,basil ,valentine are at once ,kabalistic1 magical and ,hermetic4 ,then in #adhj appeared ,trithemius1 who was the master of ,cornelius ,agrippa and the greatest dogmatic magician of the middle ages4 ,trithemius was an abbot of the ,order of ,st4 ,benedict1 of irreproachable orthodoxy and unimpeachable conduct4 ,he was not so imprudent as to write openly on occult philosophy1 like his venturesome disciple ,agrippa4 ,all his magical works turn on the art of concealing mysteries1 while his doctrine was expressed in a pantacle1 after the manner of true adepts4 ,this pantacle is excessively rare1 and is found only in a few manuscript copies of his tract ,de ,septem ,secundeis4 ,a ,polish gentleman and man of exalted mind and noble heart1 ,count ,alexander ,branistki possesses a curious example which he has kindly shewn to us4 ,the pantacle consists of two triangles joined at the base1 one white and the other black4 ,at the apex of the black triangle there is a fool crouching1 who turns his head with difficulty and gazes awe-struck into the triangle1 where his own likeness is reflected4 ,on the apex of the white triangle stands a man in the prime of life1 armed as a knight1 having a steady glance and an attitude of strong and peaceful command4 ,in this triangle are inscribed the letters of the divine ,tetragram4 ,the natural and exoteric sense of the emblem may be explained by an aphorism as follows3 ,the wise man rests in the fear of the true ,god1 but the fool is overwhelmed by the terror of a false god made in his own image4 ,by meditating on the pantacle as a whole1 and thereafter on its constituents successively1 the adepts1 however1 will find therein the last word of ,kabalism and the unspeakable formula of the ,great ,arcanum4 ,in other words1 it is the distinction between miracles and prodigies1 the secret of apparitions1 the universal theory of magnetism and the science of all mysteries4 ,trithemius composed a history of ,magic1 written entirely in pantacles1 under the title3 ,veterum ,sophorum ,sigilla et ,imagines ,magic4 ,in his ,steganography and ,polygraphy he gives the key to all occult writings and explains in veiled terms the real science of incantations and evocations4 ,trithemius is in ,magic the master of masters1 and we have no hesitation in proclaiming him the most wise and learned of adepts4 ,it is otherwise with ,cornelius ,agrippa1 who was a seeker all his life and attained neither science nor peace4 ,his books are full of erudition and assurance2 he was himself of an independent and phantastic character1 so it came about that he passed for an abominable sorcerer and was persecuted by the priesthood and princes4 ,in the end he wrote against the sciences which had failed to bring him happiness1 and he died in misery and abandonment4 ,we now come to the mild and pleasing figure of that learned and sublime ,postel who is known only by his over-mystical love for an elderly but illuminated woman4 ,there is something far different in ,postel from the disciple of ,mother ,jeanne1 but vulgar minds prefer to disparage rather than to learn and have no wish to see anything better in him4 ,it is not for the benefit of these that we propose to make known the genius of ,william ,postel4 ,he was the son of a poor peasant1 belonging to the district of ,barenton in ,normandy2 by force of perseverance and much sacrifice1 he contrived to teach himself and became the most learned man of his time2 but poverty pursued him always and want occasionally compelled him to sell his books4 ,full of resignation and sweetness1 he worked like a labouring man to win a morsel of bread and then went back to his studies4 ,he acquired all known languages and sciences of his period2 he discovered rare and priceless manuscripts1 including the apocryphal gospels and the ,sepher ,yetzirah2 he initiated himself into the mysteries of the transcendental ,kabalah1#beb and in his simple admiration for that absolute truth1 for that supreme reason of all philosophies and dogmas1 it was his ambition to reveal it to the world4 ,he therefore spoke the language of mysteries openly and wrote a book entitled the ,key of ,things kept ,secret from the ,foundation of the ,world4#bec ,he dedicated this work to the fathers assembled at the ,council of ,trent1 entreating them to enter the path of conciliation and universal synthesis4 ,no one understood him1 some accused him of heresy and the most moderate were contented to say that he was a fool4 ,the ,trinity1 according to ,postel1 made man in ,its image and ,its likeness4 ,the human body is dual and its triadic unity is through the union of the two halves4 ,the human soul is also dual2 it is animus and anima1 or intellect and emotion2 it has also two sexes1 the male being resident in the head and the female in the heart4 ,redemption in its completion must also be dual in humanity2 the mind by its purity makes good the errors of the heart1 and then the generosity of the heart must rescue the egoistic barrenness of the brain4 ,christianity1 from ,postel's standpoint1 has been so far understood only by the reasoning mind and has not entered into the heart4 ,the ,word has been made man1 but the world will be saved when the ,word shall have been made woman4 ,the sublime grandeurs of the spirit of love will be taught by the maternal genius of religion1 and then reason will be harmonised with faith1 because it will comprehend1 interpret and restrain the sacred excesses of devotion4 ,observe1 he remarks1 how religion is understood by the majority of ,christians2 it is only as an ignorant and persecuting partiality1 a superstitious and stupid stubbornness1 and fear--base fear--above all4 ,why is this8 ,because those who profess it have not the woman-heart1 because they are foreign to the divine enthusiasms of that mother-love which explains all religion4 ,the power that has invaded the brain and binds the spirit is not that of the good1 understanding and longsuffering ,god2 it is of the wicked1 imbecile and cowardly ,satan4 ,it comes about in this manner that there is far more fear of the devil than love for the ,divine4 ,the frozen and shrivelled brain weighs on the dead heart like a tombstone4 ,what an awakening will it be for understanding1 what a rebirth for reason1 what a victory for truth when the heart shall be raised by grace4 ,why am ,i the first and almost the only person to comprehend this1 and what can one who has attained resurrection perform alone among the dead who can hear nothing8 ,come therefore and come quickly1 ,o mother-spirit1 who appeared to me at ,venice in the soul of a virgin inspired by ,god2 descend and teach the women of the new world their redeeming mission and their apostolate of holy and spiritual life4 ,it is a fact that ,postel owed these noble inspirations to a pious woman named ,jeanne1 whose acquaintance he had made at ,venice4 ,he was the spiritual adviser of this elect soul and was drawn into the current of mystic poetry which eddied about her4 ,when he administered the ,eucharist to her she became radiant and transfigured in his eyes1 and although she was more than fifty years old1 the poor priest confesses innocently that he would have taken her for less than fifteen3 so did the sympathy of their hearts transform her in his eyes4 ,one must have followed the life of asceticism to understand such celestial hallucinations and lyrical puerilities1 such a mystic marriage between two virginal beings1 such extraordinary enthusiasms of love in two pure souls4 ,in her he discerned the living spirit of ,jesus ,christ by which the world would be regenerated4 ,i have seen1 says he1 this light of the heart which will drive the hideous spectre of ,satan from all minds2 it is no chimera of my dreams2 she has appeared in the world1 has taken flesh in a maid1 in whom ,i have hailed the mother of the world to come4 ,this is analysing rather than translating ,postel1 but the rapid abridgment of his sentiments and language will make plain that he spoke figuratively and1 as maintained by the learned ,jesuit ,desbillons1 in his notice on the life and works of ,postel1 that nothing was further from his thoughts than to represent1 as some have pretended1 a second incarnation of divinity in this poor hospital sister who had only drawn him by the brightness of her humble virtues4 ,we are utterly certain that all those who have slandered and ridiculed ,postel are not worth one ,mre ,jeanne4 ,the mystical relations of ,postel and the nun continued for about five years1 at the end of which time she died1 assuring her confessor that she would never be parted from him but would help him when freed from the bonds of material life4 8,she kept her promise10 says ,postel2 8she has been with me at ,paris1 has enlightened me with her own light and has harmonised my reason and my faith4 ,two years after her ascent into heaven1 her spiritual body and substance descended into me and permeated sensibly my whole body1 so that it is she rather than myself who lives in me40 ,after this experience ,postel always regarded himself as a risen being and signed himself ,postellus ,restitutus4 ,as a matter of fact one curious result followed2 his white hair became again black1 his wrinkles disappeared and the ruddy colour of youth was assumed by his countenance1 previously made thin and pallid by his austerities and vigils4 ,his derisive biographers assert that he dyed his hair and painted his face2 it was insufficient to picture him as a fool1 and so out of his noble and generous character they produced a juggler and charlatan4 ,assuredly the imbecility or bad faith of cold and sceptic minds1 when they pass judgment on enthusiastic hearts1 is more wonderful than the eloquent unreason of the latter4 8,it has been imagined10 writes ,father ,desbillons1 8and is still1 ,i understand1 believed that the regeneration supposed to have been accomplished by ,mother ,jeanne is the foundation of his system2 it had however been completely developed before he was aware of her existence1 and he never departed from it1 unless indeed he did so a few years before his death4 ,it had come into his mind that the evangelical reign of ,jesus ,christ1 established by the ,apostles1 could be no longer maintained among ,christians or propagated among infidels unless enforced by the light of reason4 ,to this principle1 which affected him personally1 he added another1 being the destination of the king of ,france to universal monarchy4 ,the way of the ,second ,advent must be prepared by conquest of hearts and conviction of minds1 that there may be henceforth but one faith and ,jesus ,christ reigning over the whole world in the person of a single king and in virtue of one law40 ,according to ,father ,desbillons1 this proves that ,postel was mad4 ,mad for having thought that religion should reign over minds by the supreme reason of its doctrine and that the monarchy1 to be strong and permanent1 should bind hearts together by the victories of public prosperity under the dominion of peace4 ,mad for having believed in the coming of that kingdom about which we say daily--,his kingdom come4 ,mad because he believed in reason and justice on earth4 ,well1 well1 they spoke truly2 poor ,postel was mad4 ,the proof of his madness is that he wrote1 as already said1 to the ,fathers of the ,council of ,trent1 entreating them to bless the whole world and to launch anathemas against no one4 ,as another example1 he tried to convert the ,jesuits and cause them to preach universal concord among men--peace between sovereigns1 reason among priests1 and goodness among the princes of this world4 ,in fine1 as a last and supreme madness1 he neglected the benefits of this world and the favour of the great1 lived always humbly and in poverty1 possessed nothing but his knowledge and his books1 and desired nothing but truth and justice4 ,may ,god give peace to the soul of poor ,william ,postel4 ,he was so mild and so good that his ecclesiastical superiors took pity upon him and1 thinking probably1 as was said later on of ,la ,fontaine1 that he was more silly than wicked1 they were contented with shutting him up in his convent for the rest of his days4 ,postel was grateful for the quiet thus ensured toward the close of life1 and he died peaceably1 retracting everything that his superiors required4 ,the man of universal concord could not be an anarchist2 he was before all things the sincerest of catholics and humblest of ,christians4 ,the works of ,postel will be rediscovered one of these days and will be read with wonder4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,seven ,,planets ,,and ,,their ,,genii ,let us pass to another maniac who was called ,theophrastus ,aureolus ,bombast and was known in the ,world of ,magic under the famous name of ,paracelsus4 ,there is no need to recapitulate what has been said concerning this master in our ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 but something may be added on the occult medicine restored by ,paracelsus4 ,this truly universal medicine is based upon a spacious theory of light1 called by adepts fluid or potable gold4 ,light1 that creative agent1 the vibrations of which are the movement and life of all things2 light1 latent in the universal ether1 radiating about absorbing centres1 which1 being saturated thereby1 project movement and life in their turn1 so forming creative currents2 light1 astralised in the stars1 animalised in animals1 humanised in human beings2 light1 which vegetates in plants1 glistens in metals1 produces all forms of ,nature and equilibrates all by the laws of universal sympathy--this is that light which exhibits the phenomena of magnetism1 divined by ,paracelsus1 which tinctures the blood1 being released from the air as it is inhaled and discharged by the hermetic bellows of the lungs4 ,the blood then becomes a true elixir of life1 wherein ruby and magnetic globules of vital light float in a slightly gilded fluid4 ,these globules are actual seeds1 ready to assume all forms of that world whereof the human body is an abridgment4 ,they can become rarefied and coagulated1 so renewing the humours which circulate in the nerves and in the flesh encompassing the bones4 ,they radiate outside1 or rather1 in rarefying1 they are drawn by the currents of light and circulate in the astral body--that interior and luminous body which is dilated by the imagination of ecstatics1 so that their blood sometimes colours objects at a distance when these have been penetrated and identified with the astral body4 ,in a special work on occult medicine that which is stated here will be proved1 however strange and paradoxical it may seem at first sight to men of science4#bed ,such were the bases of medicine as put forward by ,paracelsus2 he cured by sympathy of light2 he administered medicaments not to the outward material body1 which is entirely passive1 which can be rent and cut up without feeling anything when the astral body has withdrawn1 but to the inward medium1 to that vehicle which is the source of sensations4 ,the quintessence of these he renewed by sympathetic quintessences4 ,for example1 he healed wounds by applying powerful reactives to the spilt blood1 thus sending back its physical soul and purified sap to the body4 ,to cure a diseased limb he made a limb of wax and1 by will-power1 transferred thereto the magnetism of the diseased limb4 ,then he treated the wax with vitriol1 iron and fire1 thus reacting by imagination and magnetic correspondence on the sick person himself1 to whom the limb of wax had become an appendix and supplement4 ,paracelsus knew the mysteries of blood2 he knew why the priests of ,baal made incisions with knives in their flesh1 and then brought down fire from heaven2 he knew why orientals poured out their blood before a woman to inspire her with physical love2 he knew how spilt blood cries for vengeance or mercy and fills the air with angels or demons4 ,blood is the instrument of dreams and multiplies images in the brain during sleep1 because it is full of the ,astral ,light4 ,its globules are bisexual1 magnetised and metalled1 sympathetic and repelling4 ,all forms and images in the world can be evoked from the physical soul or blood4 8,at ,baroche10 says the estimable traveller ,tavernier1#bee 8there is a first-class ,english house1 which ,i reached on a certain day with the ,english president1 on my way from ,agra to ,surat4 ,there came also certain jugglers1 asking leave to exhibit some of their professional skill1 and the president was curious to see it4 ,in the first place they lighted a great fire1 at which they heated iron chains1 then wound them about their bodies and pretended that they were suffering in consequence1 but no harm followed4 ,they next took a morsel of wood1 set it in the ground and asked one of the spectators to choose what fruit he liked4 ,his choice fell upon mangoes1 and thereupon one of the performers put a shroud about him and squatted on the ground five or six times4 ,i had the curiosity to ascend to an upper room1 where ,i could see through a fold in the sheet what was being done by the man4 ,he was actually cutting the flesh under the arm-pits with a razor1 and rubbing the wood with his blood4 ,each time he rose up the wood grew visibly2 on the third occasion there were branches and buds thereon1 on the fourth the tree was covered with leaves1 and on the fifth it was bearing flowers4 8,the ,english president had brought his chaplain from ,amadabat to baptize a child of the ,dutch commander1 the president acting as godfather4 ,the ,dutch1 it should be mentioned1 do not have chaplains except where soldiers and merchants are gathered together4 ,the ,english clergyman began by protesting that he could not consent to ,christians assisting at such spectacles1 and when he saw how the performers brought forth from a bit of dry wood1 in less than half an hour1 a tree of four or five feet in height1 having leaves and flowers as in springtime1 he felt it his duty to put an end to the business4 ,he announced therefore that he would not administer communion to those who persisted in witnessing such occurrences4 ,the president was thus compelled to dismiss the jugglers40 ,dr4 ,clever de ,maldigny1 to whom we owe this extract1 regrets that the growth of the mangoes was thus stopped abruptly1 but he does not explain the occurrence4 ,to our mind it was a case of fascination by the magnetism of the radiant light of blood1 a phenomenon of magnetised electricity1 identical with that termed palingenesis1 by which a living plant is made to appear in a vessel containing ashes of the same plant long since perished4 ,of such were the secrets known by ,paracelsus1 and it was in the application of these hidden natural forces to purposes of medicine that he made at once so many admirers and enemies4 ,for the rest1 he was by no means a simple personality like ,postel2 he was naturally aggressive and of the mountebank type2 so did he affirm that his familiar spirit was hidden in the pommel of his great sword1 and never left his side4 ,his life was an unceasing struggle2 he travelled1 debated1 wrote1 taught4 ,he was more eager about physical results than moral conquests1 and while first among practical magicians he was last among adepts of wisdom4 ,his philosophy was one of sagacity and1 on his own part1 he termed it philosophia sagax4#bef ,he divined more than anyone without knowing anything completely4 ,there is nothing to equal his intuitions1 unless it be the rashness of his commentaries4 ,he was a man of intrepid experiences1 intoxicated with his own opinions1 his own talk1 intoxicated otherwise on occasion1 if we may believe some of his biographers4 ,the works which he has left are precious for science1 but they must be read with caution4 ,he may be called the divine ,paracelsus1 understood in the sense of diviner2 he is an oracle1 but not a true master4 ,he is great above all as a physician1 for he had found the ,universal ,medicine4 ,this notwithstanding1 he could not prolong his own life1 and he died1 while still young1 worn out by work and by excesses4#beg ,he left behind him a name shining with fantastic and ambiguous glory1 due to discoveries by which his contemporaries failed to profit4 ,he had not uttered his last word1 and is one of those mysterious beings of whom it may be said1 as of ,enoch and ,st4 ,john3 ,he is not dead1 and he will come again upon earth before the last day4 ,,chapter ,v ,,some ,,famous ,,sorcerers ,,and ,,magicians ,amidst a great multiplicity of commentaries and studies on the work of ,dante1 no one1 that we are aware1 has signalised its characteristic in chief4 ,the masterpiece of the glorious ,ghibelline is a declaration of war against the papacy by a daring revelation of mysteries4 ,the epic of ,dante is ,johannite and ,gnostic2 it is a bold application of ,kabalistic figures and numbers to ,christian dogmas1 and is further a secret negation of the absolute element therein2 his visit to the supernatural worlds takes place like an initiation into the ,mysteries of ,eleusis and ,thebes4 ,he is guided and protected by ,virgil amidst the circles of the new ,tartarus1 as if the tender and melancholy prophet of the destinies of the son of ,pollio were1 in the eyes of the ,florentine poet1 the illegitimate yet true father of the ,christian epic4 ,thanks to the pagan genius of ,virgil1 ,dante emerges from that gulf above the door of which he had read the sentence of despair2 he escapes by standing on his head1 which means by reversing dogma4 ,so does he ascend to the light1 using the demon himself1 like a monstrous ladder2 by the force of terror he emerges from terror1 from the horrible by the power of horror4 ,he seems to testify that hell is without egress for those only who cannot go back on themselves2 he takes the devil against the grain1 if ,i may use so familiar an expression1 and attains emancipation by audacity4#beh ,this is truly protestantism surpassed1 and the poet of ,rome's enemies has already divined ,faust ascending to heaven on the head of the defeated ,mephistopheles4 ,observe also that the hell of ,dante is but a negative purgatory1 by which is meant that his purgatory seems to take form in his hell1 as if in a mould2 it is like the lid or stopper of the gulf1 and it will be understood that the ,florentine titan in scaling ,paradise meant to kick purgatory into hell4#bei ,his heaven is composed of a series of ,kabalistic circles divided by a cross1 like the pantacle of ,ezekiel2 in the centre of this cross a rose blossoms1 thus for the first time manifesting publicly and almost explaining categorically the symbol of the ,rosicrucians4 ,we say for the first time because ,william of ,lorris1 who died in #abfj1 five years before the birth of ,dante1 did not complete the ,romance of the ,rose1 his mantle falling upon ,clopinel some fifty years later4 ,it will be discovered with a certain astonishment that the ,romance of the ,rose and the ,divine ,comedy are two opposite forms of a single work--initiation by independence of spirit1 satire on all contemporary institutions and an allegorical formula of the grand secrets of the ,brotherhood of the ,rosy ,cross4 ,these important manifestations of occultism coincide with the fall of the ,templars1 since ,jean de ,meung1 or ,clopinel1 a contemporary of ,dante in the old age of the latter1 flourished during his best years at the court of ,philip the ,fair4 ,the ,romance of the ,rose is the epic of old ,france1 a profound work in a trivial form1 a revelation of occult mysteries as instructed as that of ,apuleius4 ,the roses of ,flamel1 ,jean de ,meung and ,dante belong to the same bush4 ,a genius like ,dante could not be an arch-heretic4 ,great men give an impetus to intelligence1 and the impetus takes effect subsequently in activities which are started by restless mediocrities4 ,it may have been that ,dante was never read and he would assuredly not have been understood by ,luther4 ,this notwithstanding1 the mission of the ,ghibellines1 made fruitful by the potent thought of the poet1 raised up the empire against the papacy by slow degrees2 it was continued from century to century under various names1 and in the end it made ,germany protestant4 ,it was certainly not ,luther who produced the ,reformation2 it was the latter which took possession of ,luther and impelled him forward4 ,this square-shouldered monk could boast only obstinacy and daring1 but he was the needful instrument for revolutionary ideas4 ,luther was the ,danton of anarchic theology2 superstitious and rash1 he believed that he was obsessed by the devil2 it was the devil who dictated his arguments against the ,church1 made him declaim1 spout nonsense1 and above all things write4 ,the inspiring genius of all the ,cains asked nothing at that time but ink1 preassured that1 given this fluid flowing from the pen of ,luther1 there would be presently a sea of blood4 ,luther was conscious of the fact1 and he hated the devil because he was another master2 one day he threw the ink-horn at his head1 as if to satiate him by the violent libation4 ,the episode recalls that jocular regicide who daubed his accomplices with ink when he signed the death-warrant of ,charles ,i4 ,the device of ,luther was3 8,turk rather than papist20 and as a fact protestantism at its root is1 like ,islamism1 simple ,deism organised into a conventional cultus1 or if it differs therefrom it is only by its remnants of catholicism imperfectly effaced4 ,from the standpoint of the negation of catholic dogma1 the protestants are ,moslems with a few superstitions the more and a prophet the less4 ,men renounce ,god less unwillingly than they give up the devil1 as the apostates of all times have proved abundantly4 ,speedily subdivided by anarchy1 the disciples of ,luther had but one bond of belief in common2 all had faith in ,satan1 and this spectre1 magnifying in proportion as their spirit of revolt took them the farther from ,god1 reached terrible proportions at last4 ,carlostad1 archdeacon of ,wrtemberg1 being one day in the pulpit1 saw a black man enter the temple1 take a seat in front of him and stare at him with dreadful fixity through the entire length of his sermon4 ,he became anxious1 left the pulpit and questioned the assistants2 but no one had seen the phantom4 ,carlostad returned home in a state of dismay2 he was met by the youngest of his sons1 who said that a stranger in black had inquired for him and promised to return in three days4 ,there was no room for doubt in the mind of the hallucinated archdeacon2 that stranger was the spectre of his vision4 ,a fever was brought on by his terror1 he retired to bed and died before the third day4 ,these unhappy heretics were afraid of their own shadows2 their consciences had remained catholic and consigned them to hell without pity4 ,walking one evening with his wife ,catherine de ,bora1 ,luther looked up to heaven1 which was bright with stars1 and said in an undertone1 as he sighed deeply3 8,ah1 beautiful sky1 which ,i shall never see60 8,what60 exclaimed his wife4 8,do you then think that you are condemned80 ,luther answered3 8,who knows whether ,god will not punish us for having been unfaithful to our vows80 ,supposing that ,catherine1 seeing his lack of self-confidence1 had cursed and left him1 it may be that the reformer1 overcome by the ,divine ,warning1 would have recognised his criminal offence in betraying that ,church which was his first spouse and would have turned weeping towards the cloister which he had left wilfully4 ,but ,god1 ,who withstands the proud1 doubtless found him unworthy of this saving affliction4 ,the sacrilegious comedy of ,luther's marriage was the providential punishment of his pride1 and as he remained obstinate in his sin1 that punishment was always with him and derided him to the end4 ,he died between the devil and his wife1 appalled at the one and exceedingly embarrassed by the other4 ,corruption and superstition are well paired together4 ,the epoch of the dissolute ,renaissance1 equally persecuting and credulous1 was certainly not that of the second birth of reason4 ,catherine de ,mdicis was a sorceress1 ,charles ,,ix consulted necromancers1 ,henry ,,iii played at devotion and debauch4 ,it was the heyday then of astrologers1 though a few of them were tortured from time to time1 to make them change their predictions4 ,there were1 moreover1 the court sorcerers1 who dabbled a little in poisoning and deserved the hangman's rope4 ,trois-chelles1 the magician of ,charles ,,ix1 was a juggler and rogue2 one day he made confession to the ,king and his misdeeds were not peccadillos2 the ,king forgave him1 but promised his cure on the gallows if he had a relapse2 he did relapse1 and was hanged in due course4#bfj ,when the ,league vowed the death of the weakly and miserable ,henri ,,iii it had recourse to witchcraft and ,black ,magic4 ,l'toile#bfa declares that a wax image of the ,king was set on the altars where priests of the ,league said ,mass1 and that the image was stabbed with a knife during a prayer embodying maledictions and anathemas4 ,when the ,king failed to die with sufficient celerity1 it was concluded that he was also a sorcerer4 ,pamphlets were published representing ,henri ,,iii as holding conventions where the crimes of ,sodom and ,gomorrah were but the prelude of more frightful and unheard of outrages4 ,included among the ,king's minions there was said to be one who was the devil in person1 and young virgins were abducted and prostituted by force to ,beelzebub4#bfb ,the people believed these fables1 and a fanatic was found at last to execute the threats of sorcery4 ,jacques ,clment suffered from visions and imperious voices1 which commanded him to kill the ,king2 he sought regicide like a martyr and died laughing like the heroes of ,scandinavian mythology4 ,scandal-mongering chronicles have pretended that a great lady of the court supplemented the inspirations of the monk's solitude by the magnetism of her caresses2 but the anecdote is wanting in probability4 ,it was the monk's continence which promoted his exaltation1 and had he begun to lead the blind life of passion an unsatiable appetite for pleasure would have possessed his entire nature and he would not have been willing to die4 ,whilst religious wars incarnadined the world1 secret illuministic associations1 which were nothing but theurgic and magical schools1 were incorporated in ,germany4 ,the most ancient of these seems to have been that of the ,rosicrucians1 whose symbols go back to the times of the ,guelphs and the ,ghibellines1 as we see by the allegories in the poem of ,dante and by the emblems in the ,romance of the ,rose4 ,the rose1 which from all times has been the type of beauty1 life1 love and pleasure1 expressed mystically the secret thought of all protests manifested at the ,renaissance4#bfc ,it was the flesh in rebellion against the oppression of spirit2 it was ,nature testifying that1 like grace1 she was a daughter of ,god2 it was love refusing to be stifled by the celibate2 it was life in revolt against sterility2 it was humanity aspiring towards natural religion1 full of reason and love1 founded on the revelations of the harmony of being1 of which the rose1 for initiates1 was the living floral symbol4 ,it is in truth a pantacle2 the form is circular1 the leaves of the corolla are heart-shaped and rest harmoniously on one another2 its tint offers the most harmonious shades of the primitive colours2 its calyx is of purple and gold4 ,we have seen that ,flamel1 or rather the ,book of ,abraham the ,jew1 represents it as the hieroglyphical sign of the fulfilment of the ,great ,work4#bfd ,here is the key to the romance of ,clopinel and ,william de ,lorris4 ,the conquest of the rose was the problem offered by initiation to science1 whilst religion was at work to prepare and to establish the universal1 exclusive and final triumph of the ,cross4 ,the problem proposed by high initiation was the union of the ,rose and the ,cross1 and in effect occult philosophy1 being the universal synthesis1 must take into account all phenomena of being4 ,considered solely as a physiological fact1 religion is the revelation and satisfaction of a need of souls4 ,its existence as a fact is scientific1 and to deny it would be a denial of humanity itself4 ,no one has invented it2 like laws and civilisations1 it is formed by the necessities of moral life4 ,from this merely philosophical and restrained standpoint1 religion must be regarded as fatal if one explains all by fatality1 and as ,divine if one confesses to a ,supreme ,intelligence as the mainspring of natural laws4#bfe ,hence it follows that the characteristic of every religion1 properly so called1 being to depend directly from ,divinity by a supernatural revelation--no other mode of transmission providing a sufficient sanction of dogma--it must be concluded that the true natural religion is religion that has been revealed2 this is to say1 it is natural to adopt a religion only on the understanding that it has been revealed1 every true religion exhorting sacrifices1 and man having neither the power nor right to impose the same on his fellow-creatures1 outside and especially above the ordinary conditions of humanity4 ,proceeding from this strictly rational principle1 the ,rosicrucians were led to respect the dominant hierarchic and revealed religion4 ,they could be therefore no more the enemies of the papacy than of legitimate monarchy1 while if they conspired against popes and kings1 it was because they considered these or those personally as apostates in respect of duty and supreme abettors of anarchy4#bff ,what in fact is a despot--whether spiritual or temporal--but a crowned anarchist8 ,it is possible to explain in this manner the protestantism and even radicalism of certain great adepts1 who were assuredly more catholic than some popes and more monarchic than some kings--of certain eccentric adepts1 such as ,henry ,khunrath and the true illuminati of his school4 ,by all but those who have made a particular study of the occult sciences1 ,khunrath is practically unknown2 he is a master notwithstanding1 and one of the first rank4 ,he is a sovereign prince of the ,rosy ,cross1 worthy in all respects of this scientific and mystical title4#bfg ,his pantacles are splendid as the light of the ,book of ,splendour1 called ,zohar2 they are learned as ,trithemius1 precise like ,pythagoras1 complete in their disclosure of the ,great ,work as the book of ,abraham and ,nicholas ,flamel4 ,khunrath1 who was chemist and physician1 was born in #aejb1 and he was forty-two years old when he attained transcendent theosophical initiation4#bfh ,the ,amphitheatre of ,eternal ,wisdom1 which is the most remarkable of his works1 was published in #aeih1 for the approbation of the ,emperor ,rudolph annexed thereto was dated on ,june #a of the year in question4#bfi ,though professing a radical protestantism1 the author claims loudly the titles of catholic and orthodox2 he testifies that he possesses1 but keeps secret as he ought1 a key to the ,apocalypse1 which key is one and threefold1 even as universal science4 ,the division of the work is sevenfold1 and through these sections are distributed the seven degrees of initiation into transcendental philosophy4 ,the text is a mystical commentary on the oracles of ,solomon1#bgj and the work ends with a series of synoptic schedules which are the synthesis of ,magic and the occult ,kabalah--so far as concerns that which can be made public in writing4 ,the rest1 being the esoteric and inexpressible part of the science1 is formulated in magnificent pantacles carefully designed and engraved4 ,these are nine in number1 as follows3 7#a7 ,the dogma of ,hermes2 7#b7 ,magical realisation2 7#c7 ,the path of wisdom and the initial procedure in the work2 7#d7 ,the ,gate of the ,sanctuary enlightened by seven mystic rays2 7#e7 ,a ,rose of ,light1 in the centre of which a human figure is extending its arms in the form of a cross2 7#f7 ,the magical laboratory of ,khunrath1 demonstrating the necessary union of prayer and work2 7#g7 ,the absolute synthesis of science2 7#h7 ,universal equilibrium2 7#i7 ,a summary of ,khunrath's personal doctrine1 embodying an energetic protest against all his detractors4#bga ,it is a ,hermetic pantacle surrounded by a ,german caricature1 full of liveliness and ingenuous choler4 ,the philosopher's enemies are depicted as insects1 zanies1 oxen1 and asses1 the whole being decorated with ,latin legends and gross ,german epigrams4 ,khunrath is shewn on the right in the garb of a citizen1 and on the left in that of his student's apartment2 in both he makes faces at his adversaries4 ,as a townsman he is armed with a sword and tramples on the tail of a serpent2 as a student he is carrying a pair of tongs and is crushing the serpent's head4 ,in public he demonstrates and at home instructs1 but as indicated by his gestures1 the truth is the same always and expressed with disdain for the impure breath of his adversaries4 ,the latter notwithstanding is so pestilential that the birds of heaven fall dead at their feet4 ,this exceedingly curious plate is wanting in many copies of the work4 ,the book as a whole contains all mysteries of the highest initiation4 ,as the title announces1 it is ,christo-,kabalistic1 ,divine-magical1 physico-chemical1 threefold-one1 and universal4 ,it is a true manual of ,transcendental ,magic and ,hermetic ,philosophy4 ,a more complete and perfect initiation cannot be found elsewhere1 unless indeed it is in the ,sepher ,yetzirah and ,zohar4 ,in the four important corollaries which follow the explanation of the third figure1 ,khunrath establishes3 7#a7 ,that the cost of accomplishing the ,great ,work 7apart from the operator's maintenance and personal expenses7 should not exceed the sum of thirty thalers4 ,he adds3 8,i speak with authority1 having learned from one who had knowledge2 those who expend more deceive themselves and waste their money40 ,it follows that either ,khunrath had not himself composed the ,philosophical ,stone or did not wish to admit it for fear of persecution4 ,he proceeds to establish the duty of the adept not to devote more than the tenth part of his wealth to his personal use1 the rest being consecrated to the glory of ,god and works of charity4 ,finally1 he affirms that the mysteries of ,christianity and ,nature interpret and illuminate one another1 and that the future reign of ,messiah will rest on the dual foundation of science and faith4 ,the oracles of the ,gospel being thus confirmed by the book of ,nature1 it will be possible to convince ,jews and ,mohammedans regarding the truth of ,christianity on the grounds of science and reason1 so that--with the help of ,divine ,grace--they will be converted infallibly to the religion of unity4 ,he ends with this maxim3 8,the seal of ,nature and of ,art is simplicity40 ,contemporary with ,khunrath there was another initiated doctor1 ,hermetic philosopher and disciple of ,paracelsian medicine2 this was ,oswald ,crollius1 author of the ,book of ,signatures1 or ,true and ,vital ,anatomy of the ,greater and ,lesser ,world4#bgb ,the preface to this work is a sketch of ,hermetic philosophy1 exceedingly well done2 ,crollius seeks to demonstrate that ,god and ,nature have1 so to speak1 signed all their works1 that every product of a given natural force bears the stamp of that force printed in indelible characters1 so that he who is initiated in the occult writings can read1 as in an open book1 the sympathies and antipathies of things1 the properties of substances and all other secrets of creation4 ,the characters of different writings were borrowed primitively from these natural signatures existing in stars and flowers1 on mountains and the smallest pebble4 ,the figures of crystals1 the marks on minerals1 were impressions of the thought which the ,creator had in their formation4 ,the idea is rich in poetry and grandeur1 but we lack any grammar of this mysterious language of worlds and a methodical vocabulary of this primitive and absolute speech4 ,king ,solomon alone is credited with having accomplished the dual labour2 but the books of ,solomon are lost4 ,the enterprise of ,crollius was not a reconstitution of these1 but an attempt to discover the fundamental principles obtaining in the universal language of the creative ,word4 ,it was recognised on these principles that the original hieroglyphics1 based on the prime elements of geometry1 corresponded to the constitutive and essential laws of forms1 determined by alternating or combined movements1 which1 in their turn1 were determined by equilibratory attractions4 ,simples were distinguished from composites by their external figures2 and by the correspondence between figures and numbers it became possible to make a mathematical classification of all substances revealed by the lines of their surfaces4 ,at the root of these endeavours1 which are reminiscences of ,edenic science1 there is a whole world of discoveries awaiting the sciences4 ,paracelsus had divined them1 ,crollius indicates them1 another who shall follow will realise and provide the demonstration concerning them4 ,what seemed the folly of yesterday will be the genius of to-morrow1 and progress will hail the sublime seekers who first looked into this lost and recovered world1 this ,atlantis of human knowledge4 ,the beginning of the seventeenth century was the great epoch of alchemy2 it was the period of ,philip ,muller1 ,john ,torneburg1 ,michael ,maier1 ,ortelius1 ,poterius1 ,samuel ,norton1 ,baron de ,beausoleil1 ,david ,planis ,campe1 ,jean ,duchesne1 ,robert ,fludd1 ,benjamin ,mustapha1 ,d',espagnet1 the ,cosmopolite--who is in the first rank--de ,nuisement1 who translated and published the ,cosmopolite's writings1 ,john ,baptist van ,helmont1 ,eirenus ,philalethes1 ,rodolph ,glauber1 the sublime shoemaker ,jacob ,bhme4#bgc ,the chief among these initiates were devoted to the researches of ,transcendental ,magic1 but they concealed most carefully that detested name under the veil of ,hermetic experiments4 ,the ,mercury of the ,wise which they desired to discover and hand on to their disciples was the scientific and religious synthesis1 the peace which abides in the sovereign unity4 ,the mystics themselves were but blind believers in the true illuminati1 while illuminism1 properly so called1 was the universal science of light4 ,in the spring of #afbc the following strange proclamation was placarded through the streets of ,paris3 8,we who are the authorised messengers of the ,brothers of the ,rosy ,cross1 making visible and invisible sojourn in this town1 by the grace of the ,most ,high1 towards ,whom the hearts of sages turn1 do give instruction1 without external means1 in speaking the language of the countries wherein we dwell1#bgd and do rescue men who are our fellow-workers from terror and from death4 ,if anyone shall seek us out of mere curiosity1 he will never communicate with us2 but if he be actuated by an earnest desire to be inscribed on the register of our fraternity1 we1 who are discerners of thoughts1 will make manifest to such an one the truth of our promises1 so only that we do not disclose the place of our abode1 since thought in its union with the firm will of the reader shall be sufficient to make us known to him and him likewise to us40 ,public opinion took hold of this mysterious manifesto1 and if anyone asked openly who were those ,brothers of the ,rosy ,cross1 an unknown personage would perchance take the inquirer apart1 and say to him gravely#bge3 8,predestined to the reformation which must take place speedily in the whole universe1 the ,rosicrucians are depositaries of supreme wisdom1 and as undisturbed possessors of all gifts of ,nature1 they can dispense these at pleasure4 ,in whatsoever place they may be1 they know all things which are going on in the rest of the world better than if they were present amongst them2 they are superior to hunger and thirst and have neither age nor disease to fear4 ,they can command the most powerful spirits and genii4 ,god has covered them with a cloud to protect them from their enemies1 and they cannot be seen except by their own consent--had anyone eyes more piercing than those of the eagle4 ,their general assemblies are held in the pyramids of ,egypt2 but1 even as the rock whence issued the spring of ,moses1 these pyramids proceed with them into the desert and will follow them until they enter the ,promised ,land40 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,some ,,magical ,,prosecutions ,the ,greek author of the allegorical ,tablet of ,cebes gives expression to this admirable conclusion3 8,there is one only real good to be desired1 and this is wisdom2 there is but one evil to fear1 and it is madness40 ,moral evil1 wickedness and crime are indeed and literally mania4 ,father ,hilarion ,tissot has therefore our heartfelt sympathy when he proclaims without ceasing in his extravagantly daring pamphlets that in place of punishing criminals we must take them under our charge and cure them4 ,but1 sympathy notwithstanding reason rises in protest against excessively charitable interpretations of crime1 the consequence of which would be to destroy the sanction of morality by disarming law4 ,we liken mania to intoxication1 and seeing that the latter is nearly always voluntary1 we applaud the wisdom of judges who punish the misdemeanours and crimes committed in the state of drunkenness1 not regarding the voluntary loss of reason as an excuse4 ,there may come even a day when the self-induced condition will be counted as an aggravating circumstance and when the intelligent being who by his own act sets himself outside reason will find that he is also outside the pale of law4 ,is not law the reason of humanity8 ,woe to him who gets drunk1 whether with wine1 pride1 hatred1 or even love4 ,he becomes blind1 unjust1 the sport of circumstance2 he is a walking scourge and living fatality2 he may slay or violate2 he is an unchained fool1 and let him be denounced as such4 ,society has the right of self-defence2 it is more than a right1 it is duty1 for society has children4 ,these reflections are prompted by the magical prosecutions of which we have to give some account4 ,the ,church and ,society have been too often charged with the judicial murder of fools4 ,we admit that the sorcerers were fools1 but theirs was the folly of perversity4 ,if some innocent but diseased persons have perished among them1 these things are misfortunes for which neither ,society nor the ,church can be held responsible4 ,every man who is condemned according to the laws of his country and the judicial forms of his time is condemned justly1 his possible innocence being henceforth in the hands of ,god3 before men he is and must remain guilty4 ,in a remarkable romance1 called ,the ,sorceresses' ,sabbath1#bgf ,ludwig ,tieck depicts a holy woman1 a poor old creature outworn by macerations1 mentally enfeebled by fasts and prayers1 who1 being full of horror at sorcerers1 yet disposed by excess of humility to accuse herself of all crimes1 ends in believing that she is a witch1 confesses it1 is convicted by error and prejudgment1 and finally is burnt alive4 ,what would such a history prove1 supposing that it were true8 ,neither more nor less than the possibility of a judicial blunder4 ,but if such mistakes are possible in fact they cannot be so in equity1 or what would become of human justice8 ,socrates condemned to death might have had recourse to flight and his own judges would have furnished the means1 but he respected the laws and resolved therefore to die4 ,the severity of certain sentences must be blamed to the laws and not the tribunals of the middle ages4 ,was ,gilles de ,laval1 whose crimes and their punishment have been narrated1 condemned unjustly1 and must he be absolved as a fool8 ,were those horrible imbeciles innocent who composed philtres from the fat of little children8 ,moreover1 ,black ,magic was the general mania of this unfortunate epoch4 ,by their incessant application to questions of sorcery1 the very judges occasionally ended by thinking that they also had committed the same crimes4 ,the plague became epidemic in many localities and executions seemed to multiply the guilty4 ,demonographers like ,delancre1 ,delrio1 ,sprenger1 ,bodin1 and ,torreblanca give reports of many prosecutions1 the details of which are equally tedious and revolting4 ,the condemned creatures were mostly hallucinated and idiotic1 but they were wicked in their idiocy and dangerous in their hallucination4 ,erotic passion1 greed and hatred were the chief causes which brought about disorder in their reason3 they were indeed capable of anything4 ,sprenger says that sorceresses were in league with midwives to secure dead bodies of new-born children4 ,the midwives killed these innocents at the very moment of their birth1 driving long needles into the brain4 ,the babe was said to have been still-born and was buried as such2 on the night following1 the stryges dug up the ground and removed the corpse1 which they stewed in a pan with narcotic and poisonous herbs1 afterwards distilling this human gelatine4 ,the liquor did duty as an elixir of long life1 and the solid part--pounded and incorporated with soot and the grease of a black cat--was used for magical rubbing4 ,the stomach turns with loathing at such abominable revelations1 and pity is silenced by anger2 but when one refers to the trials themselves1 sees the credulity and cruelty of judges1 the lying promises of mercy employed to extract admissions1 the atrocious tortures1 obscene examinations1 shameful and ridiculous precautions1 and finally the public execution1 with the derisive ministrations of a priesthood which surrendered to the secular arm and asked mercy on those whom it had just condemned to death1 amidst all this chaos one is forced to conclude that religion alone rests holy1 but that human beings are all and equally either idiots or scoundrels4 ,in the year #aeih a priest of ,limousin1 named ,pierre ,aupetit1 was burned alive for ridiculous confessions extracted from him by torture4#bgg ,in #aeii a woman named ,antide ,collas was burned at ,dle because there was something abnormal in her sexual conformation1 and it was regarded as explicable only by a shameful intercourse with ,satan4 ,repeatedly put to the torture1 stripped1 scrutinised by doctors and judges1 overwhelmed with shame and suffering1 the unfortunate being confessed everything that she might somehow end it all4#bgh ,henri ,boguet1 judge of ,saint-,claude1 relates how he caused a woman to be tortured as a sorceress because there was a piece missing from the cross of her rosary1 and it was a certain sign of witchcraft in the view of this ferocious maniac4 ,a child of twelve years1 brought up by the inquisitors1 accused his own father of taking him to the ,sabbath4 ,the father died in prison as the result of his sufferings1 and it was proposed to burn the boy1 which was opposed by ,boguet--who made a virtue of the clemency4 ,rollande de ,vernois1 thirty-five years old1 was imprisoned in such a freezing dungeon that she promised to admit herself guilty of ,magic if she might be allowed to go near a fire4 ,as soon as she felt its warmth she fell into frightful convulsions1 accompanied by fever and delirium4 ,in this condition she was put to the torture1 made every required statement1 and was dragged in a dying condition to the stake4 ,a storm broke out1 extinguished the fire1 and thereupon ,boguet gloated over the sentence which he had pronounced1 since she who in appearance was thus protected by heaven must really and incontestably be aided by the devil4 ,this same judge burnt ,pierre ,gaudillon and ,pierre le ,gros for travelling by night1 the one in the form of a hare and the other in that of a wolf4 ,but the prosecution which caused the greatest stir at the beginning of the seventeenth century was that of ,messire ,louis ,gaufridi1 cur of the parish of ,accoules1 at ,marseilles4 ,the scandal of this affair created a fatal precedent1 which was only followed too faithfully4 ,it was a case of priests accusing a priest1 of a minister dragged before a tribunal of his associates in the ministry4 ,constantine had said that if he found a priest dishonouring his calling by some shameful sin he would cover him with his own purple1 which was a beautiful and royal saying1 for the priesthood ought to be stainless1 even as justice is infallible in the presence of public morality4#bgi ,in ,december #afaj a young woman of ,marseilles went on a pilgrimage to ,sainte-,baume in ,provence1 and there fell into ecstasy and convulsions4 ,she was named ,magdelaine de la ,palud4 ,louise ,capeau1 another devotee1 was similarly seized some short time after4#bhj ,the ,dominicans and ,capuchins believed that it was possession by the devil and had recourse to exorcisms4 ,the result was that ,magdelaine de la ,palud and her fellow-victim presented that spectacle which was renewed so often a century later during the epidemic of convulsions4 ,they screamed1 writhed1 begged to be beaten and trampled under foot4 ,one day six men walked successively over the breast of ,magdelaine without the slightest suffering on her part4 ,while in this state she made confession of the most extraordinary licentiousness1 saying that she had given herself1 body and soul1 to the devil1 to whom she had been affianced by a priest named ,gaufridi4#bha ,so far from incarcerating the distracted girl1 she obtained a hearing1 and the exorcising monks despatched three ,capuchins to ,marseilles for the purpose of secretly acquainting the ecclesiastical superiors with the state of affairs at ,sainte-,baume1 the object1 if possible1 being to bring the cur ,gaufridi thither and confront him with the supposed demons4#bhb ,furthermore1 the monks put on record the infernal inspirations of the two hysterics1 which were discourses full of ignorant and fanatical devotion1 presenting religion as this was understood by the exorcists themselves4 ,in a word1 the possessed women seemed to be relating the dreams of those who exorcised them3 it was precisely the phenomena of table-rapping and mediums in our own days4 ,the devils assumed names not less incongruous than those of the spirits in ,america2 they declaimed against printing and books1 delivering sermons worthy of the most fervent and illiterate ,capuchins4 ,in the presence of demons made in their own image and their own likeness1 the fathers were confirmed in the fact of the possession and in the veracity of the infernal spirits4 ,the phantoms of their diseased imaginations assumed bodily shape and living manifestation in the two women1 whose obscene admissions at once stimulated their curiosity and their indignation1 full of secret lust4 ,such were their dispositions when the unhappy ,louis ,gaufridi was at length brought before them4 ,gaufridi was an all too worldly priest1 of agreeable countenance1 weak character and more than dubious morality4#bhc ,he had been the confessor of ,magdelaine de la ,palud and had inspired her with an insatiable passion1 which1 being changed by jealousy into hatred1 became a fatality and drew the unfortunate priest into its whirlpool of madness1 by which he was carried ultimately to the stake4 ,whatsoever was said by the accused in his own defence was turned against him4 ,he called on ,god and ,christ ,jesus1 on the ,blessed ,mother of ,christ and the precursor ,st4 ,john ,baptist2 but they answered3 ,you are excellent at reciting the ,litanies of the ,sabbath4 ,by ,god1 you understand ,lucifer2 by ,jesus ,christ1 ,beelzebub2 by the ,holy ,virgin1 the apostate mother of ,antichrist2 by ,st4 ,john ,baptist1 the false prophet and precursor of ,gog and ,magog4 ,gaufridi was put to the torture and promised mercy if he would sign the declarations of ,magdelaine de la ,palud4 ,distracted1 circumvented1 broken1 the poor priest signed whatever was required2 it was sufficient for his burning1 and this was the object in view4#bhd ,this also was the frightful spectacle which the ,provenal ,capuchins gave to the people as a lesson in violating the privileges of the sanctuary4 ,they shewed how priests are killed1 and the people remembered later on4 ,a rabbi who witnessed the prodigies which went before the destruction of ,jerusalem by ,titus exclaimed3 8,o ,holy ,temple1 what is it that possesses thee1 and why frighten thyself in this manner8 8,neither ,chair of ,peter nor bishops protested against the murder of ,gaufridi1 but the eighteenth century was to come1 bringing the ,revolution in its wake4 ,one of the possessed women#bhe who had destroyed the cur of ,accoules testified that the demon was leaving her to prepare the murder of another priest1 whom she named prophetically in advance and in the absence of all personal knowledge3 this was ,urbain ,grandier4 ,it was then the reign of that terrible ,cardinal de ,richelieu1 for whom absolute authority alone could guarantee the salvation of states2 unfortunately his tendencies were political and subtle rather than truly ,christian4 ,one limitation which characterised this great man was a certain narrowness of heart1 which made him sensible to personal offence and also implacable in revenge4 ,and further1 that which he was least ready to pardon in talent was independence2 while he preferred men of parts for auxiliaries rather than flatterers1 he took a certain pleasure in destroying whatsoever desired to shine apart from him4 ,his ambition was to dominate all2 ,father ,joseph was his right hand and ,laubardemont his left4 ,there was then in the provinces1 at ,loudun1 an ecclesiastic of remarkable genius and exalted character1 possessed also of learning and talent but lacking in circumspection4 ,made to please multitudes and attract the sympathies of the great1 he might on occasion have become a dangerous partisan2 protestantism was at that period bestirring in ,france1 and the cur of ,st4 ,peter's at ,loudun1 predisposed to the new ideas by his dislike of ecclesiastical celibacy1 might prove at the head of such a party a preacher more brilliant than ,calvin and not less daring than ,luther4 ,he was named ,urbain ,grandier4 ,serious differences with his bishop had already given instances of his ability and his inflexible character1 but by mischance it was maladroit ability1 since from enemies who were powerful he had appealed to the ,king and not1 unhappily1 to the ,cardinal4 ,the ,king held that he was right1 but it remained for the ,cardinal to teach him how far he was wrong4 ,grandier meanwhile had gone back in triumph to ,loudun1 and had indulged in the unclerical display of entering the town bearing a branch of laurel4 ,from that time he was lost4#bhf ,the ,lady-,superior of the ,ursuline nuns at ,loudun was named ,mother ,jeanne des ,anges in religion1 otherwise1 ,jeanne de ,belfiel1 grand-daughter of the ,baron de ,cose4 ,she could not be termed fervent in piety1 and her convent was not to be ranked among the strictest in the country2 in particular1 nocturnal scenes took place which were attributed to spirits4#bhg ,relatives withdrew boarders1 and the house was on the point of being denuded of all resources4 ,grandier was responsible for certain intrigues and was a little careless regarding them1 while he was much too public a character for the idleness of a small town not to make a noise over his shortcomings4 ,the pupils of the ,ursulines heard them discussed mysteriously by their parents2 the nuns spoke of them1 deploring the scandal and dwelling over much upon him through whom it arose2 of that which they talked by day they dreamed by night2 and so it came about that at night they saw him appear in their dormitories under circumstances which were conformable with his alleged morals2 they uttered cries1 believed themselves obsessed1 and in this manner the devil was let loose among them4 ,the directors of the nuns1 who were mortal enemies of ,grandier1 did not fail to perceive the advantage they could draw from the affair in the interests of their rancour and in those of the convent4#bhh ,they began to perform exorcisms--at first privately and afterwards in public4 ,the friends of ,grandier felt that there was a plot hatching1 and were anxious that he should exchange his benefice1 in order to leave ,loudun1 believing that everything would quiet down when he was gone4 ,but ,grandier was brave and could not tolerate yielding to calumny2 he remained therefore and was arrested one morning as he entered his church1 clothed in sacerdotal vestments4 ,he was treated forthwith as a ,state prisoner2 his papers were seized1 seals were placed on his effects1 and he was conducted1 under a strong guard1 to the fortress at ,angers4 ,meanwhile a dungeon was prepared for him at ,loudun which seemed intended for a wild beast rather than a man4 ,richelieu1 informed of everything1 had despatched ,laubardemont to make an end of ,grandier and forbade the parliament to take cognisance of the affair4 ,if the conduct of the ,cur of ,saint-,pierre had been that of a worldling1 the demeanour of ,grandier1 a prisoner on a charge of ,magic1 was that of a hero and a martyr3 so does adversity reveal great souls1 and it is much easier to withstand suffering than prosperity4 ,he wrote to his mother3 8,i bear my affliction with patience and pity yours more than my own4 ,i am very unwell1 having no bed2 try to have mine brought me2 for if the body does not rest the mind gives way4 ,send me also my breviary1 a bible1 and ,st4 ,thomas for my consolation4 ,for the rest1 do not grieve2 ,i hope that ,god will vindicate my innocence40#bhi ,there is no question that ,god does sooner or later take the part of persecuted innocence1 but ,he does not invariably deliver it from enemies on earth1 save indeed by death4 ,this lesson was about to be learned by ,grandier4 ,on our own part1 do not let us represent men worse than they are in fact2 his enemies did not believe in his innocence2 they pursued him with fury1 but he whom they pursued was for them a great criminal4 ,the phenomena of hysteria were little understood at the time1 and somnambulism was quite unknown2 the convulsions of nuns2 their bodily motions exceeding all normal human power2 their astonishing evidences of second sight were things of a nature to convince the least credulous4 ,a well known atheist of the day1 being the ,sieur de ,kriolet1 counsellor in the parliament of ,brittany1 came to witness the exorcisms and to deride them4 ,the nuns1 who had never seen him1 addressed him by name and published sins which he supposed to be unknown to anyone4 ,he was so overwhelmed that he passed from one extreme to another1 like all hot-headed natures2 he shed tears1 made his confession and dedicated his remaining days to the strictest asceticism4 ,the sophistry of the exorcists of ,loudun was that absurd unreason which ,m4 de ,mirville has the courage to sustain at the present day3 the devil is the author of all phenomena which cannot be explained by known laws of ,nature4 ,to this illogical maxim they joined another which was1 so to speak1 an article of faith3 the devil who has been duly exorcised is compelled to speak the truth and can therefore be admitted as a witness in the cause of justice4 ,the unfortunate ,grandier was not therefore delivered into the hands of malefactors but rather of raving maniacs1 who1 strong in their rectitude of conscience1 gave the fullest publicity to this incredible prosecution4 ,such a scandal had never afflicted the church--howling1 writhing nuns1 making the most obscene gestures1 blaspheming1 striving to cast themselves on ,grandier like the ,bacchantes on ,orpheus2 the most sacred things of religion mixed up with this hideous spectacle and drawn in the filth thereof2 amidst all ,grandier alone calm1 shrugging his shoulders and defending himself with dignity and mildness2 in fine1 pallid1 distraught judges1 sweating profusely1 and ,laubardemont in his red robe1 hovering over the conflict1 like a vulture awaiting a corpse3 such was the prosecution of ,urbain ,grandier4 ,let us say for the honour of humanity that one is compelled to assume good faith in exorcists and judges alike1 for such a conspiracy as would be involved in the legal murder of the accused is happily impossible4 ,monsters are as uncommon as heroes2 the mass is composed of mediocrities1 equally incapable of great virtues and great crimes4 ,the holiest persons of the day believed in the possession at ,loudun2 even ,st4 ,vincent de ,paul was not unacquainted with its history and was asked to give his opinion about it4 ,richelieu himself1 though he might in any case have found some way of getting rid of ,grandier1 ended by believing him guilty4 ,his death was the crime arising from the ignorance and prejudice of the period2 it was a catastrophe rather than a murder4 ,we spare our readers the details of his tortures3 he remained firm1 resigned1 patient1 although confessing nothing2 he did not even affect to despise his judges but prayed mildly for the exorcists to spare him3 8,and you1 my fathers10 he said to them1 8abate the rigour of my torments1 and reduce not my soul to despair40 ,through this moan of complaining nature1 one discerns all the meekness of the ,christian who forgives4 ,to hide their emotion1 the exorcists replied with invectives1 and the executioners wept4#bij ,three nuns1 in one of their lucid moments1 cast themselves before the tribunal1 crying that ,grandier was innocent1 but it was believed that the devil was speaking by their mouth1#bia and their declaration only hastened the end4 ,urbain ,grandier was burnt alive on ,august #ah1 #afcd4 ,he was patient and resigned to the end4 ,when he was taken from the cart1 his legs being broken1 he fell heavily face down on the earth without uttering a single cry or groan4 ,a ,franciscan1 named ,father ,grillau1 squeezed through the crowd and raised up the sufferer1 whom he embraced weeping3 8,i bring you10 said he1 8the blessing of your mother3 she and ,i pray ,god for you40 8,thank you1 my father10 answered ,grandier2 8you alone pity me2 console my poor mother and be a son unto her40 ,the provost's lieutenant1 deeply affected1 then said to him3 8,sir1 forgive me the part ,i am compelled to take in your anguish40 ,and ,grandier answered3 8,you have not offended me and are obliged to fulfil the duties committed to your charge40 ,they had promised to strangle him before the burning1 but when the executioner sought to tighten the rope it proved to be knotted1 and the unfortunate ,cur de ,st4 ,pierre fell alive into the flames4 ,the chief exorcists1 ,fathers ,tranquille and ,lactance1 died soon after in the delirium of violent frenzy2 ,father ,surin1 who succeeded them1 became imbecile2 ,manoury1 the surgeon who assisted at the torturing of ,grandier1 died haunted by the phantom of his victim4 ,laubardemont lost his son in a tragical manner and fell into disgrace with his master2 the nuns remained idiots4 ,so is it true that the question was one of a terrible and contagious malady1 the mental disease of false zeal and false devotion4 ,providence punishes people by their own faults and instructs them by the sad consequences of their errors4 ,ten years after the death of ,grandier1 the ,loudun scandals were renewed in ,normandy1 where the nuns of ,louviers accused two priests of having bewitched them4 ,of these priests1 one was already dead1 but they violated the sanctity of the tomb to disinter his corpse4 ,the details of the possession were identical with those of ,loudun and ,sainte-,baume4 ,the hysterical women translated into foul language the nightmares of their directors4 ,both priests were condemned to the flames1 and--to increase the horror--a living man and a corpse were bound to the same stake4 ,the punishment of ,mezentius1 that fiction of a pagan poet1 came so to be realised by ,christians2 a ,christian people assisted coldly at the sacrilegious execution1 and the ministers did not realise that in thus profaning at once the priestly office and the dead1 they gave a frightful precedent to impiety4 ,when the call came1 the eighteenth century arrived to extinguish the fires with the blood of priests1 and1 as it happens almost invariably1 the good paid for the wicked4 ,at the beginning of that century the burning of human beings still proceeded2 though faith was dead1 hypocrisy abandoned the youthful ,labarre to the most horrible tortures because he refused to uncover when a procession went by4 ,voltaire was then in evidence and conscious in his heart of a vocation like that of ,attila4 ,while human passions were profaning religion1 ,god sent this new destroyer to remove religion from a world which was no longer worthy of it4 ,in #agca1 a young woman of ,toulon1 named ,catherine ,cadire1 accused her confessor1 the ,jesuit ,girard1 of seduction and ,magic4 ,she was a stigmatised ecstatic who had long passed as a saint4 ,her history is one of lascivious swoons1 secret flagellations and lewd sensations4 ,where is the sink of infamy with mysteries comparable to those of celibate imagination disordered by dangerous mysticism8 ,the woman was not believed on her mere word and ,father ,girard escaped condemnation2 the scandal for this reason was not less great1 but the noise which it made was echoed by a burst of laughter3 we have said that ,voltaire was among us4 ,superstitious people till then had explained extraordinary phenomena by the intervention of the devil and of spirits2 equally absurd on its own part1 the school of ,voltaire1 in the face of all evidence1 denied the phenomena themselves4 ,it was said by the one side that whatsoever we cannot explain comes from the devil2 the answer on the other side was1 that the things which we cannot explain do not exist4 ,by reproducing under analogous circumstances the same series of eccentric and wonderful facts1 ,nature protested in the one case against presumptuous ignorance and in the other against deficient science4 ,physical disturbances have1 in all times1 accompanied certain nervous maladies2 fools1 epileptics1 cataleptics1 victims of hysteria have exceptional faculties1 are subject to infectious hallucinations and produce occasionally1 in the atmosphere or in surrounding objects1 certain commotions and derangements4 ,he who is hallucinated exteriorises his dreams and is tormented by his own shadow2 the body is surrounded with its own reflections1 distorted by the sufferings of the brain2 the subject beholds his own image in the ,astral ,light2 the powerful currents of that light1 acting like a magnet1 displace and overturn furniture2 noises are then heard and voices sound as in dreams4 ,these phenomena1 so often repeated at this day that they have become vulgar1 were attributed by our fathers to phantoms and demons4 ,voltairian philosophy found it more easy to deny them1 treating the ocular witnesses of the most incontestable facts as so many imbeciles and idiots4 ,what1 for example1 is better accredited than the extraordinary convulsions at the grave of ,paris the deacon1 or at the meetings of ,saint-,mdard ecstatics8 ,what is the explanation of the strange buffetings demanded by the convulsionaries8 ,blows rained by thousands on the head1 compressions which would have crushed a hippopotamus1 torsions of breasts with iron pincers1 even crucifixion with nails driven into hands and feet8 ,and then the superhuman contortions and levitations8 ,the followers of ,voltaire refused to see anything but sport and frolic therein2 the ,jansenists cried miracle2 the true ,catholics sighed2 science which should have intervened1 and that only1 to explain the fantastic disease1 held aloof4 ,it is to her nevertheless that there now belong the ,ursulines of ,loudun1 the nuns of ,louviers1 the convulsionaries and the ,american mediums4 ,the phenomena of magnetism have placed science on the path of new discoveries1 and the coming chemical synthesis will lead our physicians to a knowledge of the ,astral ,light4 ,when this universal force is once known1 what will prevent them from determining the strength1 number and direction of its magnets8 ,a revolution will follow in science and there will be a return to the ,transcendental ,magic of ,chaldea4 ,much has been talked about the presbytery of ,cideville2 ,de ,mirville1 ,gougenot ,desmousseaux and other uncritical believers have seen in the strange occurrences which took place therein a contemporary revelation of the devil2 but the same things happened at ,saint-,maur in #agjf1 and thither all ,paris flocked4 ,there were great rappings on walls1 beds rocked without being touched1 other furniture was displaced4 ,the manifestations finished in a climax during which the master of the house1 a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five years old1 and a person of weak constitution1 fell into a deep swoon and believed that he heard spirits speaking to him at great length1 though he could never repeat subsequently a single word that they said4 ,one history of an apparition at the beginning of the eighteenth century may here follow2 the simplicity of the account proves its authenticity2 there are certain characteristics of truth which cannot be simulated by inventors4 ,a pious priest of ,valognes1 named ,bzuel1 was invited to dinner on ,january #g1 #agjh by a lady related to the ,abb de ,saint-,pierre1 the ,abb being also of the company1 and the priest recounted1 at their request1 the appearance of one of his deceased comrades in open day1 some twelve years previously4 ,in #afie1 he told them that he was a young scholar1 about fifteen years old and that he was acquainted with two lads1 sons of ,abaqune1 a solicitor1 who were scholars like himself4 8,the elder was my own age and the other1 who was some eighteen months younger1 was named ,desfontaines2 we walked together and shared our amusements2 and whether or not ,desfontaines had greater friendship for me1 or was more lively1 more affable1 more intelligent than his brother1 ,i know that ,i cared for him more4 ,we were wandering in the cloister of the ,capucins1 in #afif1 when he told me that he had been reading a story of two friends who had promised one another that whichever of them died first should bring news of his condition to him who survived2 that one of them who did pass away redeemed his pledge and told the survivor astonishing things4 ,desfontaines then said that he had a favour to ask me1 which was to make a similar promise1 he doing likewise on his own part4 ,i was1 however1 unwilling and indeed declined the proposal2 several months passed away1 during which he recurred frequently to the idea1 ,i always resisting4 ,about ,august1 #afif1 when he was on the point of leaving to continue his studies at ,caen1 he pressed me so much1 and with tears in his eyes1 that at length ,i consented4 ,he produced thereupon two little slips of paper on which he had written beforehand1 one signed with his blood and in which he promised me1 in the event of his death1 to give me news of his state1 the other in which ,i entered into a similar bond4 ,i pricked my finger1 and with the blood which issued therefrom ,i signed my own name4 ,he was delighted to receive the promise and embraced me with a thousand thanks4 ,some time after he left1 accompanied by his brother2 the separation was grievous to both of us2 we wrote from time to time1 and then there was a silence for the space of six weeks1 after which the event happened that ,i am about to relate4 ,on ,july #ca1 #afig1 being a ,thursday and a day which ,i shall always remember1 the late ,m4 de ,sortoville1 with whom ,i lodged and who was always exceedingly good to me1 begged me to go into a meadow adjoining the ,franciscan monastery and help his people in haymaking4 ,i had not been there for more than a quarter of an hour when1 about half past two1 ,i suddenly felt giddy and overcome with weakness4 ,it was to no purpose that ,i tried to lean on my hay-fork2 ,i felt obliged to lie down on the hay and so remained for about half an hour1 trying to recover my strength4 ,the feeling passed away but1 having never had such an experience previously1 it caused me some surprise1 and ,i feared that it was the beginning of an illness4 ,i have no special recollection regarding the remainder of the day1 but on the following night ,i slept less than usual4 8,at the same hour next day1 as ,i was walking in the meadow with ,m4 de ,saint-,simon1 grandson of ,m4 de ,sortoville1 then about ten years old1 ,i was overcome in exactly the same way and sat down in the shade on a stone4 ,it passed again and we continued our walk2 nothing further occurred on that day and the next night ,i slept scarcely at all4 ,finally1 on the morrow1 being the second day of ,august1 ,i was in the loft where they stacked the hay at precisely the same hour1 when ,i was again seized with a similar giddiness and weakness1 but more serious than before4 ,i swooned and lost all consciousness4 ,one of the servants saw me and asked what was the matter1 to which it is said that ,i replied1 stating that ,i had seen what ,i should have never believed4 ,i do not however recollect either the question or answer4 ,the memory which does remain with me is that ,i had seen someone in a state of nakedness to the waist1 but it was not anyone whom ,i recognised4 ,i was helped down the ladder2 ,i held tight to the rungs2 but when ,i saw ,desfontaines1 my comrade1 at the foot of the ladder1 the weakness returned1 my head fell between two of the rungs and again ,i lost consciousness4 ,i was laid upon a wide beam which served for a bench on the ,grande ,place des ,capucins2 ,i saw nothing of ,m4 de ,sortoville nor of his servants1 though they were present1 but ,i observed ,desfontaines1 still by the foot of the ladder1 signalling for me to come to him1 and ,i drew back on my seat as if to make room for him4 ,those who were by me and whom ,i did not see1 though my eyes were open1 observed this movement4 ,he did not respond and ,i rose to go towards him2 he then came forward and taking my left arm in his own right arm1 he led me some paces forward into a quiet street1 with arms still interlocked4 ,the servants thinking that my giddiness had passed and that ,i was going about some business of my own1 went back to their work1 with the exception of one youth1 who told ,m4 de ,sortoville that ,i was talking to myself4 ,he came up to me and heard me questioning and answering1 as he has since told me4 ,i was there for nearly three quarters of an hour1 talking to ,desfontaines1 who said3 ,i promised that if ,i died before you ,i would come and tell you4 ,i was drowned the day before yesterday in the river at ,caen4 ,it was just about this time1 and ,i was walking with some friends2 it was exceedingly warm1 we decided to bathe1 a weakness came over me and ,i sank to the bottom4 ,my companion1 the ,abb de ,menil-,jean1 dived to bring me up4 ,i caught hold of his leg and as ,i clung very tight he may have thought that it was a salmon or he may have had to come up quickly1 but he struck out so roughly with his leg that ,i received a blow upon the chest1 throwing me again to the bottom1 where the depth is considerable at that point6 8,desfontaines subsequently told me all that had happened in their walk and the subjects discussed between them4 ,i was anxious to learn whether he was saved1 whether he was damned1 whether he was in purgatory1 whether ,i was myself in a state of grace and whether ,i should follow him speedily2 but he continued speaking as if he had not heard1 or refused to listen4 ,i tried to embrace him several times1 but ,i seemed to embrace nothing2 yet ,i felt him still holding me tight by the arm1 and when ,i attempted to turn away my head1 so as not to see him because of the grief which it caused me1 he tightened his grasp as if to compel me to look as well as to listen4 ,he seemed taller than when ,i had last seen him and taller even than he was at the time of death1 though he had grown a good deal during the eighteen months since we met4 ,i saw him as far as his waist only and he was naked1 his head bare and a white paper twisted in his beautiful fair hair over the forehead2 the paper had writing on it1 but ,i could read only the word3 ,,in1 c4 ,his voice was the same voice2 he seemed neither gay nor sad1 but in a calm and tranquil state4 ,he begged me on his brother's return to give him certain messages for his father and mother2 he begged me also to say the seven penitential psalms1 which had been imposed on him as a penance the previous ,sunday and which he had not yet recited4 ,finally1 he again advised me to speak to his brother and then bade me farewell1 saying as he went3 #8,till ,i see you again1' which was our usual formula when we parted at the end of a walk4 ,he told me also that at the time he was drowned his brother1 who was making a translation1 regretted having let him go apart from him1 in case of an accident4 ,he described so well where he was drowned and the tree in the ,avenue de ,louvigny on which he had cut some words that two years afterwards1 when in the company of the late ,chevalier de ,gotot1 one who was with him at the time1 ,i pointed out the very spot and counting the trees on one side1 as ,desfontaines had specified1 ,i went straight to the tree1 there to find the inscription4 ,i learned also that it was true about the seven psalms which had been given him as a penance at confession4 ,his brother also told me that he was writing his translation and reproached himself for not being with him4 8,as a month went by before ,i was able to do as ,desfontaines asked me in regard to his brother1 he appeared to me on two other occasions before dinner in a country house a few miles away1 to which ,i had been invited4 ,feeling unwell1 ,i made an excuse of being tired1 saying that it was nothing and that ,i should return4 ,i went into a corner of the garden and ,desfontaines reproached me for not having spoken to his brother2 he talked to me for a quarter of an hour1 but would not answer questions on my own part4 ,the second appearance was in the morning1 as ,i was going to ,notre ,dame de la ,victoire1 but the apparition was for a shorter time2 he impressed on me about speaking to his brother and left me repeating3 #8,till ,i see you again'--still without answering my questions4 ,one remarkable fact is that ,i always had a pain in the arm where he had taken a hold of me the first time1 and it remained till ,i had spoken to his brother4 ,for three days ,i had no sleep owing to the astonishment in which ,i was4 ,after the first conversation ,i told ,m4 de ,varonville1 my schoolfellow and neighbour1 that ,desfontaines had been drowned1 that he had appeared to me and told me so4 ,he hurried to his relations1 asking whether this was true2 they had just had news on the subject but1 owing to a misunderstanding1 believed that it was the elder boy4 ,he assured me that he had seen the letter of ,desfontaines and he thought that this was correct2 ,i maintained that it must be wrong1 for ,desfontaines himself had appeared to me4 ,he went again to his relatives and returned in tears saying3 #8,it is only too true4' 8,nothing has happened to me since1 and such was my experience simply4 ,it has been told in many ways1 but ,i have never related it otherwise than as ,i do now4 ,the late ,chevalier de ,gotot stated that ,desfontaines also appeared to ,m4 de ,menil-,jean1 but ,i do not know him4 ,he is fifty miles from here1 near ,argentan1 and ,i can tell you no more40 ,we should notice the characteristics of dream which prevail throughout in this vision of a man who is awake1 but in a state of semi-asphyxiation produced by the emanations of the hay4 ,the astral intoxication following congestion of the brain will be recognised4 ,the somnambulistic condition which followed showed ,m4 ,bzuel the last living reflection left by his friend in the ,astral ,light4 ,he was naked and was visible down to the waist only1 because the rest of his body was immersed in the water of the river4 ,the supposed paper in his hair was probably a handkerchief used to confine his hair when bathing4 ,bzuel had further a somnambulistic intuition of all that took place1 and it seemed to him that he was learning it from the lips of his friend4 ,the friend appeared neither sad nor gay1 an indication of the impression made upon him by an image which was lifeless and consisting only of reminiscence and reflection4 ,on the occasion of the first vision1 ,m4 ,bzuel1 intoxicated by the scent of the hay1 fell off the ladder and injured his arm2 it seemed1 with the logic of dreams that his friend was grasping the arm1 and when he came to himself1 he still felt the pain1 which is explained quite naturally by the hurt that he had received4 ,for the rest1 the conversation of the deceased person was simply retrospective2 there was nothing about death or the other life1 proving once more how impossible is the barrier which separates this world from the next4 ,in the prophecy of ,ezekiel life is represented by wheels which turn within one another2 the elementary forms are symbolised by four beasts1 which ascend and descend with the wheel and pursue one another without ever overtaking1 like the signs of the ,zodiac4 ,the wheels of perpetual movement never return on themselves2 forms never go back to the stations which they have quitted2 to return whence one has come1 the entire circle must have been traversed in a progress always the same and yet always new4 ,the conclusion is that whatsoever manifests to us in this life is a phenomenon which belongs to this life and it is not given here below to our thought1 to our imagination1 or even to our hallucinations and our dreams1 to overstep even for an instant the formidable barriers of death4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,magical ,,origin ,,of ,,freemasonry ,that great ,kabalistical association known in ,europe under the name of ,masonry appeared suddenly in the world when revolt against the ,church had just succeeded in dismembering ,christian unity4 ,the historians of the ,order are one and all in a difficulty when seeking to explain its origin4 ,according to some1 it derived from a certain guild of ,masons who were incorporated for the construction of the cathedral of ,strasburg4 ,others refer its foundation to ,cromwell1 without pausing to consider whether the ,rites of ,english ,masonry in the days of the ,protector were not more probably developed as a counterblast to this leader of ,puritanical anarchy4 ,in fine1 some are so ignorant that they attribute to the ,jesuits the maintenance and direction1 if not indeed the invention1 of a society long preserved in secret and always wrapped in mystery4#bib ,setting aside this last view1 which refutes itself1 we can reconcile the others by admitting that the ,masonic ,brethren borrowed their name and some emblems of their art from the builders of ,strasburg cathedral1 and that their first public manifestation took place in ,england1 owing to radical institutions and in spite of ,cromwell's despotism4 ,it may be added that the ,templars were their models1 the ,rosicrucians their immediate progenitors1#bic and the ,johannite sectarians their more remote ancestors4 ,their doctrine is that of ,zoroaster and of ,hermes1 their law is progressive initiation1 their principle is equality--regulated by the hierarchy and universal fraternity4 ,they are successors of the school of ,alexandria1 as of all antique initiations1 custodians of the secrets of the ,apocalypse and the ,zohar4 ,truth is the object of their worship1 and they represent truth as light2 they tolerate all forms of faith1 profess one philosophy1 seek truth only1 teach reality1 and their plan is to lead all human intelligence by gradual steps into the domain of reason4 ,the allegorical end of ,freemasonry is the rebuilding of ,solomon's ,temple2 the real end is the restoration of social unity by an alliance between reason and faith and by reverting to the principle of the hierarchy1#bid based on science and virtue1 the path of initiation and its ordeals serving as steps of ascent4 ,nothing1 it will be seen1 is more beautiful1 nothing greater than are such ideas and dedications2 unhappily the doctrines of unity and submission to the hierarchy have not been maintained in universal ,masonry4 ,in addition to that which was orthodox there arose a dissident ,masonry1 and all that is worst in the calamities of the ,french ,revolution were the result of this schism4 ,now1 the ,freemasons have their sacred legend1 which is that of ,hiram1 completed by another concerning ,cyrus and ,zerubbabel4 ,the legend of ,hiram is as follows4 ,when ,solomon projected his ,temple1 he entrusted the plans to an architect called ,hiram4 ,this master-builder1 to ensure order in the work1 divided the craftsmen according to their degrees of skill4 ,they were a great multitude1 and in order to recognise craftsmen1 so that they might be classified according to merit or remunerated in proportion to their work1 he provided ,pass-,words and particular ,signs for each of three categories1 or otherwise for the ,apprentices1 the ,companions and the ,masters4 ,it came about that three ,companions coveted the rank of ,master without having earned it by their ability4 ,they set an ambush at the three chief gates of the ,temple1 and when ,hiram was issuing from one of them1 the first of these ,companions demanded the ,master-,word1 threatening the architect with his rule4 ,hiram answered3 8,it is not thus that ,i received it40 ,thereupon the ,companion in his fury struck him with the iron tool and gave him the first wound4 ,the builder fled to the second gate1 where he met with the second ,companion1 who made the same demand and received the same answer4 ,on this occasion ,hiram was struck with a square or1 as others say1 with a lever4 ,at the third gate there stood the third assassin1 who completed the work with a mallet4 ,the three companions concealed the corpse under a heap of rubbish1 planted on the improvised grave a branch of acacia1 and then took flight like ,cain after the murder of ,abel4 ,solomon1 however1 finding that his architect did not return1 sent nine ,masters to seek him1 when the branch of acacia revealed the corpse4 ,they drew it from beneath the rubbish1 and as it had laid long therein1 they uttered in so doing a word signifying that the flesh was falling from the bones4 ,the last offices were rendered duly to ,hiram1 and twenty-seven ,masters were despatched subsequently by ,solomon in search of the murderers4 ,the first of these was taken by surprise in a cavern2 a lamp was burning near him1 a stream flowed at his feet and a dagger lay for his defence beside him4 ,the ,master who had been first to enter recognised the assassin1 seized the weapon and stabbed him with the exclamation ,nekam--a word signifying vengeance4 ,the head was carried to ,solomon1 who shuddered at the sight and said to the avenger3 8,unhappy being1 did you not know that ,i reserved to myself the right of punishment80 ,then all the ,masters fell on their knees before the king and entreated pardon for him whose zeal had carried him away4 ,the second murderer was betrayed by one with whom he had found an asylum4 ,he was concealed in a rock near to a burning bush2 a rainbow shone above the rock1 and a dog lay near him4 ,eluding the vigilance of the dog1 the ,masters seized the criminal1 bound and carried him to ,jerusalem1 where he perished in the utmost tortures4 ,the third assassin was slain by a lion1 and the beast had to be overcome before the body could be secured4 ,other versions say that he defended himself with a hatchet when the ,masters fell upon him1 but they succeeded in disarming him and he was led to ,solomon who caused him to expiate his crime4#bie ,such is the first legend and its explanation now follows4 ,solomon personifies supreme science and wisdom4 ,the ,temple is the realisation and emblem of the hierarchic reign of truth and reason on earth4 ,hiram is the man who1 by science and wisdom1 has attained empire4 ,he governs by justice and order1 rendering to each according to his works4 ,each ,degree is in correspondence with a word1 which expresses the sense thereof4 ,for ,hiram the word is one1 but it is expressed after three manners4 ,one is for the ,apprentices and can be uttered by them2 it signifies ,nature and is explained by ,work4 ,another is for the ,companions2 in their case it signifies thought and is explained by ,study4 ,the third is for ,masters2 in their mouth it signifies truth and is explained by ,wisdom4 ,as to the word itself1 it is used to designate ,god1 ,whose true name is indicible and incommunicable4 ,thus there are three degrees in the hierarchy and three entrances of the ,temple2 there are three modes of light and there are three forces in ,nature1 which forces are symbolised by the ,rule that measures1 the ,lever which lifts and the ,mallet which consolidates4 ,the rebellion of brutal instincts against the hierarchic aristocracy of wisdom arms itself successfully with these three forces and turns them from their proper uses4 ,there are three typical rebels--the rebel against ,nature1 the rebel against ,science and the rebel against ,truth4 ,they were represented in the classical ,hades by the three heads of ,cerberus2 in the ,bible by ,koran1 ,dathan and ,abiram2 while in the ,masonic legend they are distinguished by names which vary in the different ,rites4 ,the first1 who is usually called ,abiram1 or the murderer of ,hiram1 is he who strikes the ,grand ,master with the rule2 this is the story of the just man immolated by human passion under the pretence of law4 ,the second1 named ,mephibosheth1 after a ridiculous and feeble pretender to the throne of ,david1 attacks ,hiram with the lever or the square4 ,so does the popular square or lever of insensate equality become an instrument of tyranny in the hands of the multitude1 and assails1 still more grievously than the rule1 the royalty of wisdom and virtue4 ,the third in fine despatches ,hiram with a mallet3 so act the brutal instincts when they seek to establish order1 in the name of violence and of fear1 by crushing intelligence4#bif ,the branch of acacia over the tomb of ,hiram is like the cross on our altars2 it is a sign of knowledge which outlives knowledge itself2 it is the green sprig which presages another spring4 ,when men have disturbed in this manner the order of ,nature1 ,providence intervenes to restore it1 as ,solomon to avenge the death of the ,master-,builder4 ,he who has struck with the rule shall perish by the poignard4 ,he who has attacked with the lever or square shall make expiation under the axe of the law3 it is the eternal judgment on regicides4 ,he who has slain with the mallet shall be the victim of that power which he misused4 ,he who would slay with the rule is betrayed by the very lamp which lights him and by the stream from which he drinks3 it is the law of retaliation4 ,he who would destroy with the lever is surprised when his watchfulness fails like a sleeping dog1 and he is given up by his own accomplices1 for anarchy is the mother of treason4 ,he who struck with the mallet is devoured by the lion1 which is a variant of the sphinx of dipus1 while he who can conquer the lion shall deserve to succeed ,hiram4 ,the decaying body of the ,builder indicates that forms may change but the spirit remains4 ,the spring of water in the vicinity of the first murderer recalls that deluge which punished crimes against ,nature4 ,the burning bush and rainbow which betray the second assassin typify life and light denouncing outrage on thought4 ,finally1 the vanquished lion represents the triumph of mind over matter and the definite subjection of force to intelligence4 ,from the dawn of the intellectual travail by which the ,temple of unity is erected1 ,hiram has been slain often1 but ever he has risen from the dead4 ,he is ,adonis destroyed by the wild boar1 ,osiris put to death by ,typhon1 ,pythagoras in his proscription1 ,orpheus torn to pieces by ,bacchantes1 ,moses abandoned in the caverns of ,mount ,nebo1 ,jesus crucified by ,judas1 ,caiaphas and ,pilate4 ,now those are true ,masons who seek persistently to rebuild the ,temple in accordance with the plan of ,hiram4 ,such is the great and the chief legend of ,masonry2 there are others that are no less beautiful and no less profound2 but we do not feel justified in divulging their mysteries4 ,albeit we have received initiation only from ,god and our researches1#big we shall keep the secrets of transcendental ,freemasonry as we keep our own secrets4 ,having attained by our efforts to a grade of knowledge which imposes silence1 we regard ourselves as pledged by our convictions even more than by an oath4 ,science is a noblesse qui oblige and we shall in no wise fail to deserve the princely crown of the ,rosy ,cross4 ,we also believe in the resurrection of ,hiram4 ,the ,rites of ,masonry are designed to transmit a memorial of the legends of initiation and to preserve them among the ,brethren4 ,now1 if ,masonry is thus holy and thus sublime1 we may be asked how it came to be proscribed and condemned so often by the ,church2 but we have already replied to this question when its divisions and profanations were mentioned4 ,masonry is the ,gnosis and the false ,gnostics caused the condemnation of the true4 ,the latter were driven into concealment1 not through fear of the light1 for the light is that which they desire1 that which they seek and adore2 but they stood in dread of the sacrilegious--that is to say1 of false interpreters1 calumniators1 the derision of the sceptic1 the enemies of all belief and all morality4 ,moreover1 at the present day1 there are many who think that they are ,masons and yet do not know the meaning of their ,rites1 having lost the ,key of the ,mysteries4 ,they misconstrue even their symbolical pictures and those hieroglyphic signs which are emblazoned on the carpets of their ,lodges4 ,these pictures and signs are the pages of a book of absolute and universal science4 ,they can be read by means of the ,kabalistic keys and hold nothing in concealment for the initiate who already possesses those of ,solomon4 ,masonry has not merely been profaned but has served as the veil and pretext of anarchic conspiracies depending from the secret influence of the vindicators of ,jacques de ,molay1 and of those who continued the schismatic work of the ,temple4 ,in place of avenging the death of ,hiram they have avenged that of his assassins4 ,the anarchists have resumed the rule1 square and mallet1 writing upon them the words ,liberty1 ,equality1 ,fraternity--,liberty1 that is to say1 for all the lusts1 ,equality in degradation and ,fraternity in the work of destruction4 ,such are the men whom the ,church has condemned justly and will condemn for ever4 ,,book ,,vi ,,magic ,,and ,,the ,,revolution --,,vau ,,chapter ,i ,,remarkable ,,authors ,,of ,,the ,,eighteenth ,,century ,china was practically unknown to the outside world until the end of the seventeenth century1 when its vast empire1 explored in part by our missionaries1 began to be revealed by them and appeared like a necropolis of all sciences in the past4 ,the ,chinese may be compared to a race of mummies2 nothing progresses with them1 for they live in the immobility of their traditions1 from which the spirit and the life have long since withdrawn4 ,they know nothing any longer1 but they have a vague recollection of everything4 ,the genius of ,china is the dragon of the ,hesperides--which defends the golden apples in the garden of science4 ,their human type of divinity1 instead of conquering the dragon1 like ,cadmus1 cowers fascinated and magnetised by the monster who flashes before it a changing mirage of its scales4 ,mystery alone is alive in ,china1 science is in a state of lethargy1 or at least is in a deep sleep and speaks only in dream4 ,we have said that the ,chinese ,tarot is based on the same ,kabalistic and absolute data as the ,hebrew ,sepher ,yetzirah2 but ,china has also a hieroglyphical book consisting exclusively of combinations of two figures2 this is the ,y-,kim1#bih attributed to the emperor ,fo-,hi1 and ,m4 de ,maison1 in his ,letters on ,china1 states that it is utterly indecipherable4 ,its difficulties however are not greater than those of the ,zohar1 of which it appears to be a curious complement and is indeed a valuable appendix thereto4 ,the ,zohar explains the work of the ,balance1 or of universal equilibrium1 and the ,y-,kim is the hieroglyphic and ciphered demonstration thereof4 ,the key of the work is a pantacle known as the ,trigrams of ,fo-,hi4 ,according to a legend related in the ,vay-,ky1 a collection of great authority in ,china1 composed by ,leon-,tao-,yuen1 under the dynasty of the ,soms1 some seven or eight hundred years ago1 the emperor ,fo-,hi was meditating one day on the bank of a river about the great secrets of ,nature1 when he saw a sphinx come out of the water1 meaning an allegorical animal1 having the composite form of a horse and a dragon4 ,its head was elongated like that of a horse1 it had four feet and ended in the tail of a serpent2 the back was covered with scales1 on each of which there shone the symbol of the mysterious ,trigrams2 they were smaller towards the extremities than those on the breast and back1 but were in perfect harmony throughout4 ,the dragon was reflected in the water but with all its characteristics inverted4 ,this serpentine horse1 the inspirer or rather the bearer of inspirations1 like the ,pegasus of ,greek mythology1 that symbol of universal light1 or like the serpent of ,kronos1 initiated ,fo-,hi into universal science4 ,the ,trigrams served as the introduction2 he numbered the scales and combined the ,trigrams in such a manner that he conceived a synthesis of the sciences compared and united with one another by the pre-existent and necessary harmonies of ,nature4 ,the tables of the ,y-,kim were the result of this marvellous combination4 ,the numbers of ,fo-,hi are the same as those of the ,kabalah1 while his pantacle is analogous to that of ,solomon1 as explained already in our ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic4#bii ,his tables correspond to the thirty-two ,paths and the fifty ,gates of ,light2 consequently the ,y-,kim cannot be obscure for those who have the key of the ,sepher ,yetzirah and ,zohar4#cjj ,the science of absolute philosophy has therefore existed in ,china2 the ,kims are commentaries on this ,absolute which is hidden from the profane1 and their relation to the ,y-,kim is like that of the ,pentateuch of ,moses to the ,revelations in the ,sepher ,dzenioutha1 which is the ,book of ,mysteries and the key of the ,hebrew ,zohar4#cja ,kong-fu-tzee1 or ,confucius1 was the revealer or veiler of this ,kabalah1 the existence of which he might have denied1 to turn the researches of the profane into a wrong path1 just as that learned ,talmudist ,maimonides denied the realities of the ,key of ,solomon4 ,after ,confucius came the materialistic ,fo1 who substituted the traditions of ,indian sorcery for the remnants of ,egyptian ,transcendental ,magic4 ,the cultus of ,fo paralysed the progress of the sciences in ,china1 and the abortive civilisation of this great people collapsed into routine and stupor4 ,a philosopher of sagacity and admirable profundity1 the learned ,leibnitz1 who deserved most assuredly initiation into the supreme truths of absolute science1 thought that he could discern in the ,y-,kim his own discovery of the differential calculus1 while in the straight and divided line he recognised the characters #a #j1 employed in his own calculations4 ,he was on the threshold of the truth1 but1 seeing it in only one of its details1 he could not grasp it as a whole4 ,the most important discoveries on religious antiquities in ,china have been the result of theological disputes4#cjb ,this came about through the question whether the ,jesuits were justified in permitting the worship of heaven and ancestral worship among the ,chinese who were converted to ,christianity--in other words1 whether the educated ,chinese regarded their heaven as ,god or simply as space and ,nature4 ,it was reasonable to have recourse to the educated themselves and to public good sense1 but these do not constitute theological authorities4 ,there was therefore much debate1 much writing and more intriguing2 the ,jesuits were fundamentally right but were wrong in their mode of procedure1 with the result that fresh difficulties were created which have not been yet overcome and which still continue in ,china to cost the blood of our indefatigable martyrs4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,hermetic ,,arcanum ,whilst the conquests of religion in ,asia were thus disputed1 a great spirit of unrest was agitating ,europe2 the ,christian faith seemed on the point of being extinguished1 though on every side there was a rumour of new revelations and miracles4 ,a man who had a definite position in science and in the world otherwise1 namely1 ,emmanuel ,swedenborg1 was astonishing ,sweden by his visions1 and ,germany was swarming with new illuminati4 ,dissident mysticism conspired to replace the mysteries of hierarchic religion by mysteries of anarchy2 a catastrophe was in preparation and was imminent4 ,swedenborg1 the most sincere and the mildest among the prophets of false illuminism1 was not for this less dangerous than the others4 ,as a fact1 the pretence that all men are called to communicate immediately with heaven#cjc replaces regular religious instruction and progressive initiation by every divagation of enthusiasm1 by all excesses of imagination and of dream4 ,the intelligent illuminati felt that religion was a great need of humanity and hence must never be destroyed2 not only religion itself but the fanaticism which it carries along with it as a fatal consequence of enthusiasm inspired by ignorance1 were1 however1 to be used as arms for the overthrow of hierarchic church authority1 they recognising that from the war of fanaticism there would issue a new hierarchy1 of which they hoped to be founders and chiefs4 8,you shall be as gods1 knowing all without having the trouble of learning anything2 you shall be as kings1 possessing everything without the trouble of acquiring anything40 ,such1 in a summary form1 are the promises of the revolutionary spirit to envious multitudes4 ,the revolutionary spirit is the spirit of death2 it is the old serpent of ,genesis1 which notwithstanding it is the father of movement and of progress1 seeing that generations are renewed only by death4 ,it is for this reason that the ,indians worship ,siva1 the pitiless destroyer1 whose symbolical form was that of physical love and material generation4 ,the system of ,swedenborg is no other than the ,kabalah1 minus the principle of hierarchy2#cjd it is the temple without key-stone and without base2 it is a vast edifice1 fortunately all airy and phantastic1 for had anyone attempted to realise it on this earth it would collapse upon the head of the first child who sought1 not indeed to overthrow it1 but merely to lean against one of its chief pillars4 ,to organise anarchy is the problem which the revolutionaries have undertaken to solve1 and it is with them for ever2 it is the rock of ,sisyphus which will invariably fall back upon them4 ,to exist for a single moment they are and will ever be compelled fatally to improvise a despotism having no other justification than necessity1 and it is one which is blind and violent like anarchy4 ,emancipation from the harmonious monarchy of reason is attained only by passing under the disorderly dictatorship of folly4 ,the means proposed indirectly by ,swedenborg for communication with the supernatural world constitute an intermediate state allied to dream1 ecstasy and catalepsy4 ,the illuminated ,swede affirmed the possibility of such a state1 without furnishing any intimation as to the practices necessary for its attainment4#cje ,perhaps his disciples1 in order to supply the omission1 might have had recourse to ,indian ,ceremonial ,magic1 when a genius came forward to complete the prophetic and ,kabalistic intuitions of ,swedenborg by a natural thaumaturgy4 ,this man was a ,german physician named ,mesmer4 ,it was he who had the glory of rediscovering1 apart from initiation and apart from occult knowledge1 the universal agent of light and its prodigies4 ,his ,aphorisms1 which scholars of his time regarded as a bundle of paradoxes1 will ultimately form a basis for the physical synthesis4#cjf ,mesmer postulated two modes in natural being2 these are substance and life1 producing that fixity and movement which constitute the equilibrium of things4 ,he recognised further the existence of a first matter1 which is fluidic1 universal1 capable of fixity and motion2 its fixation determines the constitution of substances1 while its continual motion modifies and renews forms4 ,this fluidic matter is active and passive2 as passive it indraws and as active it projects itself4 ,in virtue of this matter the world and those who dwell therein attract and repel2 it passes through all by a circulation comparable to that of the blood4 ,it maintains and renews the life of all beings1 is the agent of their force and may become the instrument of their will4 ,prodigies are results of exceptional wills or energies4 ,the phenomena of cohesion and elasticity1 of density or subtlety in bodies1 are produced by various combinations of these two properties in the universal fluid or first matter4 ,disease1 like all physical disorders1 is owing to a derangement in the normal equilibrium of the first matter in this or that organised body4 ,organised bodies are sympathetic or antipathetic to one another1 by reason of their particular equilibrium4 ,sympathetic bodies may cure each other1 restoring their equilibrium mutually4 ,this capacity of bodies to equilibrate one another by the attraction or projection of the first matter1 was called magnetism by ,mesmer1 and as it varies according to the forms in which it acts1 he termed it animal magnetism when he studied its phenomena in living beings4 ,mesmer proved his theory by his experiments1 which were crowned with complete success4 ,having observed the analogy between the phenomena of animal magnetism and those of electricity1 he made use of metallic conductors1 connecting with a common reservoir containing earth and water1 so as to absorb and project the two forces4 ,the complicated apparatus of tubs has now been abandoned1 as it can be replaced by a living chain of hands superposed upon a circular non-conducting body like a wooden table1 or on silk or wool4 ,he subsequently applied to living organised beings the processes of metallic magnetisation and attained certitude as to the reality and similitude of the phenomena which followed4 ,one step only was left for him to take1 and it was to affirm that the effects attributed in physics to the four imponderable fluids are diverse manifestations of one and the same force differentiated by its usages1 and that this force--inseparable from the first and universal matter which it sets in motion--now resplendent1 now igneous1 now electric1 now magnetic1 has but one name1 indicated by ,moses in ,genesis1 when he describes its manifestation by the fiat of the ,almighty before all substances and all forms3 that ,word is ,,the ,,light-- 4 ,let us now have the courage to affirm one truth which will be acknowledged hereafter4 ,the great thing of the eighteenth century is not the ,encyclopedia1 not the sneering and derisive philosophy of ,voltaire1 not the negative metaphysics of ,diderot and ,d',alembert1 not the malignant philanthropy of ,rousseau3 it is the sympathetic and miraculous physics of ,mesmer4 ,mesmer is grand as ,prometheus2 he has given men that fire from heaven which ,franklin could only direct4 ,there was wanting to the genius of ,mesmer neither the sanction of hatred nor the consecration of persecution and insult2 he was hunted out of ,germany1 ridiculed in ,france1 which1 however1 provided him with a fortune1 for his cures were evident1 and the patients who went to him paid him1 though they may have stated afterwards that their restoration was a matter of chance1 so that they might not draw down upon themselves the hostility of the learned4 ,the authorised bodies did not even so far honour the thaumaturge as to examine his discovery1 and the great man resigned himself perforce to pass for a skilful impostor4 ,it was only the really instructed who were not hostile to mesmerism2 sincerely religious persons were alarmed by the dangers of the new discovery1 while the superstitious cried out at the scandal and the ,magic4 ,the wise foresaw abuses2 the imbecile would not so much as tolerate the exercise of this marvellous power4 ,some thought that the miracles of the ,saviour and his saints would be denied in the name of magnetism2 others wondered how it would fare with the power of the devil4 ,true religion1 notwithstanding1 has nothing to fear from the discovery of truth2 and further1 in putting a limit to human power1 does not magnetism give a new sanction to divine miracles instead of destroying them8 ,it follows that the fools will ascribe fewer prodigies to the devil1 which will leave them the less opportunity to exercise their hatred and their rage2 but persons of real piety will not find this a ground of complaint4 ,the devil must lose ground when light manifests and ignorance recedes2 but the conquests of science and of light extend1 strengthen and increase more and more our love of the empire and the glory of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,thaumaturgic ,,personalities ,,of ,,the ,,eighteenth ,,century ,the eighteenth century was credulous about nothing but ,magic1 and the explanation is that vague beliefs are the religion of souls devoid of true faith4 ,the miracles of ,jesus ,christ were denied1 while resurrections were ascribed to the ,comte de ,saint-,germain4 ,this exceptional personality was a mysterious theosophist who was credited with possessing the secrets of the ,great ,work1 and the manufacture of diamonds and of precious stones4 ,for the rest1 he was a man of the world1 agreeable in conversation and highly distinguished in manners4 ,madame de ,genlis1 who saw him almost daily during his early years1 says that even his representations of gems in pictures had a natural fire and gleam1 the secret of which could not be divined by any chemist or painter4 ,none of his pictures are in evidence1 and it can only be speculated whether he had contrived to fix light on canvas or whether he employed a preparation of mother-of-pearl1 or some metallic coating4 ,the ,comte de ,saint-,germain professed the ,catholic ,religion and conformed to its practices with great fidelity4 ,this notwithstanding1 there were reports of suspicious evocations and strange apparitions2 he claimed also to have the secret of eternal youth4 ,was this mysticism or was it madness8 ,his family connections were unknown and to hear him talk of past events suggested that he had lived for many centuries4 ,of all that was in kinship with occult science he said but little1 and when the benefit of initiation was demanded at his hands he pretended to know nothing on the subject4 ,he chose his own disciples1 required passive obedience on their part and then talked of a royalty to which they were called1 being that of ,melchisedek and ,solomon1 a royalty of initiation1 which is a priesthood at the same time4 8,be the torch of the world10 he said4 8,if your light is that only of a planet1 you will be as nothing in the sight of ,god4 ,i reserve for you a splendour1 of which the solar glory is a shadow4 ,you shall guide the course of stars and those who rule empires shall be governed by you40 ,these promises1 the proper meaning of which is quite intelligible to true adepts1 are recorded substantially1 if not in the words here given1 by the anonymous author of a ,history of ,secret ,societies in ,germany1#cjg and they are evidence as to the school of initiation with which the ,comte de ,saint-,germain was connected4 ,the following details have been so far unknown concerning him4 ,the ,comte de ,saint-,germain was born at ,lentmeritz in ,bohemia1 at the end of the seventeenth century4 ,he was either the natural or an adopted son of a ,rosicrucian who called himself ,comes ,cabalicus--the ,companion ,kabalist--ridiculed under the name of ,comte de ,gabalis by the unfortunate ,abb de ,villars4#cjh ,saint-,germain never spoke of his father1 but he mentions that he led a life of proscription and errantry in a world of forest1 having his mother as companion4 ,this was at the age of seven years1 which1 however1 is to be understood symbolically and is that of the initiate when he is advanced to the ,grade of ,master4 ,his mother was the science of the adepts1 while the forest1 in the same kind of language1 signifies empires devoid of the true civilisation and light4 ,the principles of ,saint-,germain were those of the ,rosy ,cross1 and in his own country he established a society from which he separated subsequently when anarchic doctrines became prevalent in fellowships which incorporated new partisans of the ,gnosis4 ,hence he was disowned by his brethren1 was charged even with treason1 and some memorials on illuminism seem to hint that he was immured in the dungeons of the ,castle of ,ruel4 ,on the other hand1 ,madame de ,genlis tells us that he died in the ,duchy of ,holstein1 a prey to his own conscience and terrors of the life beyond4#cji ,it is certain in any case that he vanished suddenly from ,paris1 no one exactly knowing where1 and that his companions in illumination permitted the veil of silence and oblivion to fall as far as possible upon his memory4 ,the association which he had formed under the title of ,saint-,jakin--which has been turned into ,saint ,joachim--continued till the ,revolution1 when it dissolved or was transformed1 like so many others4 ,a story is told concerning it in a pamphlet against illuminism2 it is derived from a correspondence in ,vienna and1 though it is worth reproducing1 there is nothing that can be termed certain or authentic therein4 8,owing to your introduction1 ,i had a cordial welcome from ,m4 ,n4 ,z41 who had been informed already of my arrival4 ,of the harmonica he approved highly4 ,he spoke first of all about certain trials1 but of this ,i understood nothing2 it is of late only that ,i have been able to grasp the meaning4 ,yesterday1 towards evening1 ,i accompanied him to his country house1 the grounds of which are very beautiful4 ,temples1 grottos1 cascades1 labyrinths1 caves form a long vista of enchantments2 but an exceedingly high wall which encompasses the whole pleasaunce was extremely displeasing to me1 for beyond this there is also a wonderful prospect4444 ,i had brought the harmonica with me1 at the instance of ,m4 ,n4 ,z41 with the idea of playing on it for a few minutes in a place indicated1 and on receiving an agreed signal4#caj ,the visit to the garden over1 he took me to a room in the front of the house and there left me1 somewhat quickly and under a trivial pretext4 ,it was now very late2 he did not return2 weariness and the wish to sleep began to come over me1 when ,i was interrupted by the arrival of several coaches4 ,i opened the window1 but1 being night1 ,i could see nothing1 and ,i was much puzzled by the low and mysterious whispering of those who seemed entering the house4 ,sleep now overcame me1 and an hour must have passed away1 when ,i was awakened by a servant who was sent to conduct me and also carry the instrument4 ,he walked very quickly and far in advance of myself1 ,i following mechanically1 when ,i heard the sound of horns1 which seemed to issue from the depths of a cave4 ,at this moment ,i lost sight of my guide and1 proceeding in the direction from which the noise seemed to be coming1 ,i half descended a staircase leading to a vault1 from which1 to my utter surprise1 a funeral chant arose1 and ,i saw distinctly a corpse in an open coffin4 8,on one side stood a man clothed in white1 covered with blood2 it appeared to me that a vein had been opened in his right arm4 ,with the exception of those who were helping him1 all present were shrouded in long black mantles and were armed with drawn swords4 ,so far as ,i could judge in my state of terror1 the entrance to the vault was strewn with human bones1 heaped one upon another4 ,the only light which illuminated the mournful spectacle was that of a flame1 such as is produced by spirits of wine4 8,uncertain whether ,i should be able to overtake my guide1 ,i retreated hurriedly and found him in search of myself a few paces away2 there was a haggard look in his eyes1 and taking my hand in rather an uneasy manner1 he led me into a singular garden1 where ,i began to think that ,i must have been transported by magic4 ,the brilliance produced by a vast number of lamps1 the murmur of falling waters1 the singing of mechanical nightingales and the perfume which seemed to exhale everywhere exalted my imagination at the outset4 ,i was hidden behind a green arbour1 the interior of which was richly decorated1 and thither they brought immediately a person in a fainting state1 apparently the one who had occupied the coffin in the vault4 ,it was at this point that ,i received the agreed signal to play my instrument4 ,disturbed very much by the whole scene1 there is no doubt that a good deal escaped me1#caa but ,i could see that the swooning person came to himself as soon as ,i touched the harmonica2 he also began to ask questions with an accent of astonishment1 saying3 #8,where am ,i8 ,what is this voice8' ,shouts of joy1 accompanied by trumpets and timbrels1 were the only answer4 ,everyone ran to arms and plunging into the depths of the garden were quickly out of sight4 ,i am still in agitation as ,i write these lines2 and if ,i had not taken the precaution to make my notes on the spot1 ,i should regard it to-day as a dream40 ,the most inexplicable part of this scene is the presence of the uninitiated person who tells the story4 ,how the association could thus risk the betrayal of its mysteries is a question that cannot be answered1 but the mysteries themselves can be explained easily4#cab ,the successors of the old ,rosicrucians1 modifying little by little the austere and hierarchic methods of their precursors in initiation1 had become a mystic sect and had embraced zealously the ,templar magical doctrines1 as a result of which they regarded themselves as the sole depositaries of the secrets intimated by the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john4 ,they regarded the narratives of that ,gospel as an allegorical sequence of rites designed to complete initiation1 and they believed that the history of ,christ must be realised in the person of each one of the adepts4 ,furthermore1 they recounted a ,gnostic legend1 according to which the ,saviour1 instead of being buried in the new tomb of ,joseph of ,arimathea1 having been swathed and perfumed1 was brought back to life in the house of ,st4 ,john4 ,this was the pretended mystery which they celebrated to the sound of horns and harmonica4#cac ,the ,candidate was invited to offer up his life and was actually subjected to bleeding which caused him to swoon4 ,this swoon was called death and when he returned to himself1 his resurrection was celebrated amidst outbursts of joy and gladness4 ,the varied emotions produced1 the scenes1 by turns mournful and brilliant1 must have permanently impressed the candidate's imagination1 and rendered him either fanatical or lucid4 ,many believed that a real resurrection took place in themselves and felt convinced that they were no longer subject to death4 ,the heads of the society thus had at the service of their concealed projects the most formidable of all instruments1 namely1 madness1 and secured on the part of their adepts that blind and tireless devotion which unreason produces more often and more surely than goodwill4 ,the sect of ,saint-,jakin was therefore an order of ,gnostics steeped in the illusions of the ,magic of ,fascination2 it drew from ,rosicrucians and ,templars2 and its particular name was one of the two names--,jachin and ,boaz--engraven on the chief pillars of ,solomon's ,temple4 ,in ,hebrew the initial letter of ,jachin is ,yod1 a sacred letter of the ,hebrew alphabet1 and also the initial of ,jehovah1 which ,divine ,name was indeed veiled from the profane under that of ,jachin1 whence the designation ,saint-,jakin4 ,the members of this order were theosophists1 unwisely addicted to theurgic processes4#cad ,all that is told of the mysterious ,comte de ,saint-,germain supports the idea that he was a skilful physician and a distinguished chemist4 ,he is said to have known how to fuse diamonds so that there was no trace of the operation2 he could also purify precious stones1 thus making the most common and imperfect of high value4 ,that imbecile and anonymous author#cae whom we have already cited places the latter claim to his credit but denies that he ever made gold1 as if one did not make gold in the making of precious stones4 ,saint-,germain also invented1 according to the same authority1 and bequeathed to the industrial sciences1 the art of imparting greater brilliance and ductility to copper--another invention sufficient to prove the fortune of him who devised it4 ,performances of this kind make us forgive the ,comte de ,saint-,germain for having been acquainted with ,queen ,cleopatra and for chatting familiarly with the ,queen of ,sheba4 ,he was otherwise good-natured and gallant2 he was one who loved children and amused himself by providing them with delicious sweetmeats and marvellous toys2 he was dark and of small stature1 dressed richly but with great taste and cultivating all the refinements of luxury4 ,he is said to have been received familiarly by ,louis ,,xv1 and was engrossed with him over questions of diamonds and other precious stones4 ,it is probable that this monarch1 entirely governed by courtesans and given up to pleasure1 was rather yielding to some caprice of feminine curiosity than to any serious concern for science when he invited ,saint-,germain to certain private audiences4 ,the ,comte was the fashion for a moment1 and as he was an amiable and youthful ,methuselah1 who knew how to combine the tattle of a rou with the ecstasies of a theosophist1 he was the rage in certain circles1 though speedily replaced by other phantasiasts4 ,so goes the world4 ,it is said that ,saint-,germain was no other than that mysterious ,althotas who was the ,master in ,magic of another adept with whom we are about to be occupied and who took the ,kabalistic name of ,acharat4 ,the supposition has no foundation1 as will be seen in due course4 ,whilst the ,comte de ,saint-,germain was thus in request at ,paris1 another mysterious adept was on his way through the world1 recruiting apostles for the philosophy of ,hermes4 ,he was an alchemist who called himself ,lascaris and gave out that he was an eastern archimandrite1 charged with collecting alms for a ,greek convent4 ,the distinction was this1 that instead of demanding money1 ,lascaris seemed occupied1 so to speak1 in sowing his path with gold and leaving the trail of it behind him wherever he went4 ,his appearances were momentary only and his guises many2 here he was old and in the next place still a young man4 ,he did not make gold in public on his own part1 but caused it to be made by his disciples1 with whom he left at parting a little of the powder of projection4 ,nothing is better established than the transmutations operated by these emissaries of ,lascaris4 ,m4 ,louis ,figuier1 in his learned work on the alchemists1 does not question either their reality or their importance4 ,now1 in physics above all1 there in nothing more inexorable than facts1 and it must be therefore concluded from these that the ,philosophical ,stone is not a matter of reverie1 if the vast tradition of occultism1 the ancient mythologies and the serious researches of great men in all ages are not otherwise sufficient to establish its real existence4#caf ,a modern chemist1 who has not failed to publish his secret1 has arrived at the extraction of gold from silver by a ruinous process1 for the silver sacrificed by him does not produce in gold more than the tenth of its value1 or thereabouts4 ,agrippa1 who never attained the universal dissolvent1 was notwithstanding more fortunate than our chemist1 for he did obtain gold which was equivalent in value to the silver employed in his process and did not therefore lose his labour absolutely1 if to employ it in research after the grand secrets of ,nature can be called loss4 ,to set men upon researches which might lead them to the absolute philosophy by the attraction of gold1 such would appear to have been the end of the propaganda connected with the name of ,lascaris2 reflection on ,hermetic books would of necessity lead those who studied to a knowledge of the ,kabalah4 ,as a fact1 the initiates of the eighteenth century thought that their time had come--some for the foundation of a new hierarchy1 others for the subversion of all authority and for setting on the summits of the social order the level of equality4 ,the ,secret ,societies sent their scouts through the world to sound opinion1 and at need awaken it4 ,after ,saint-,germain and ,lascaris came ,mesmer1 and ,mesmer was succeeded by ,cagliostro4 ,but they were not all of the same school3 ,saint-,germain was the ambassador of illuminated theosophists1 while ,lascaris represented the naturalists attached to the tradition of ,hermes4 ,cagliostro was the agent of the ,templars1 and this is how he came to announce1 in a circular addressed to all ,masons in ,london1 that the time had come to build the ,temple of the ,eternal4 ,like the ,templars1 ,cagliostro was addicted to the practices of ,black ,magic and to the fatal science of evocations4 ,he divined past and present1 predicted things to come1 wrought marvellous cures and pretended to make gold4 ,he introduced a new ,rite under the name of ,egyptian ,masonry and sought to restore the mysterious worship of ,isis4 ,wearing a nemys like that of the ,theban sphinx1 he presided in person over nocturnal assemblies1 in chambers emblazoned with hieroglyphics and lighted by torches4 ,his priestesses were young girls1 whom he called doves1 and he placed them in a condition of ecstasy by means of hydromancy in order to obtain oracles1 water being an excellent conductor1 a powerful reflector1 and highly refracting medium for the ,astral ,light1 as proved by sea and cloud mirages4 ,it is obvious that ,cagliostro was a successor of ,mesmer and had the key of mediumistic phenomena2 he was himself a medium1 meaning that he was a man whose nervous organisation was exceptionally impressionable1 and to this he joined a fund of ingenuity and assurance1 public exaggeration and the imagination--especially of women--supplying the rest4 ,cagliostro had an extravagant success2 his bust was to be seen everywhere--inscribed3 8,the divine ,cagliostro40 ,a reaction equivalent to the enthusiasm was of course to be foreseen2 after having been a god1 he became an intriguer and impostor1 the debaucher of his wife1 a scoundrel in fine1 to whom the ,roman ,inquisition shewed grace by merely condemning him to perpetual imprisonment4 ,the fact that his wife sold him lends colour to the idea that previously he had sold his wife4#cag ,he was taken in a snare1 his prosecution followed and his accusers published as much of the process as they pleased4 ,the revolution came in the meantime1 and everyone forgot ,cagliostro4 ,this adept is1 however1 by no means without importance in the history of ,magic2 his ,seal is as significant as that of ,solomon and attests his initiation into the highest secrets of science4 ,as explained by the ,kabalistic letters of the names ,acharat and ,althotas1 it expresses the chief characteristics of the ,great ,arcanum and the ,great ,work4 ,it is a serpent pierced by an arrow1 thus representing the letter ,aleph1 an image of the union between active and passive1 spirit and life1 will and light4 ,the arrow is that of the antique ,apollo1 while the serpent is the python of fable1 the green dragon of ,hermetic philosophy4 ,the letter ,aleph represents equilibrated unity4 ,this pantacle is reproduced under various forms in the talismans of old ,magic1 but occasionally the serpent is replaced by the peacock of ,juno1 the peacock with the royal head and the tail of many colours4 ,this is an emblem of analysed light1 that bird of the ,magnum ,opus1 the plumage of which is all sparkling with gold4 ,at other times1 instead of the emblazoned peacock1 there is a white lamb1 the young solar ram bearing the cross1 as still seen in the armorial bearings of the city of ,rouen4 ,the peacock1 the ram and the serpent have the same hieroglyphical meaning--that of the passive principle and the sceptre of ,juno4 ,the cross and arrow signify the active principle1 will1 magical action1 the coagulation of the dissolvant1 the fixation of the volatile by projection and the penetration of earth by fire4 ,the union of the two is the universal balance1 the ,great ,arcanum1 the ,great ,work1 the equilibrium of ,jachin and ,boaz4 ,the initials ,l4,p4,d41 which accompany this figure1 signify ,liberty1 ,power1 ,duty1 and also ,light1 ,proportion1 ,density2 ,law1 ,principle1 and ,right4 ,the ,freemasons have changed the order of these initials1 and in the form of ,l,d,p#cah they render them as ,libert de ,penser1 ,liberty of ,thought1 inscribing these on a symbolical bridge1 but for those who are not initiated they substitute ,libert de ,passer1 ,liberty of ,passage4 ,in the records of the prosecution of ,cagliostro it is said that his examination elicited another meaning as follows3 ,lilia destrue pedibus3 ,trample the lilies under foot2 and in support of this version may be cited a masonic medal of the #afth or #agth century1 depicting a branch of lilies severed by a sword1 having these words on the exergue3 ,talem dabit ultio messem--,revenge shall give this harvest4 ,the name ,acharat1 assumed by ,cagliostro1 is written ,kabalistically thus3 1 1 1 and expresses the triple unity3 1 the unity of principle and beginning2 1 the unity of life and perpetuity of regenerating movement2 and 1 the unity of end in an absolute synthesis4 ,the name ,althotas1 or that of ,cagliostro's master1 is composed of the word ,thot1 with the syllables ,al and ,as1 which1 if read ,kabalistically are ,sala1 meaning messenger or envoy4 ,the name as a whole therefore signifies3 ,thot1 the messenger of the ,egyptians1 and such in effect was he whom ,cagliostro recognised as his master above all others4#cai ,another title adopted by ,cagliostro was that of the ,grand ,copht1 and his doctrine had the twofold object of moral and physical regeneration4 ,the precepts of moral regeneration according to the ,grand ,copht were as follows3 8,you shall go up ,mount ,sinai with ,moses2 you shall ascend ,calvary2 with ,phaleg you shall climb ,thabor1 and shall stand on ,carmel with ,elias4 ,you shall build your tabernacle on the summit of the mountain2 it shall consist of three wings or divisions1 but these shall be joined together and that in the centre shall have three storeys4 ,the refectory shall be on the ground-floor4 ,above it there shall be a circular chamber with twelve beds round the walls and one bed in the centre3 this shall be the place of sleep and dreams4 ,the uppermost room shall be square1 having four windows in each of the four quarters2 and this shall be the room of light4 ,there1 and alone1 you shall pray for forty days and sleep for forty nights in the dormitory of the ,twelve ,masters4 ,then shall you receive the signatures of the seven genii and the pentagram traced on a sheet of virgin parchment4 ,it is the sign which no man knoweth1 save he who receiveth it4 ,it is the secret character inscribed on the white stone mentioned in the prophecy of the youngest of the ,twelve ,masters4 ,your spirit shall be illuminated by divine fire and your body shall become as pure as that of a child4 ,your penetration shall be without limits and great shall be also your power2 you shall enter into that perfect repose which is the beginning of immortality2 it shall be possible for you to say truly and apart from all pride3 ,i am he who is40 ,this enigma signifies that in order to attain moral regeneration1 the transcendent ,kabalah must be studied1 understood and realised4 ,the three chambers are the alliance of physical life1 religious aspirations and philosophical light2 the ,twelve ,masters are the great revealers1 whose symbols must be understood2 the signatures of the seven spirits mean the knowledge of the ,great ,arcanum4 ,the whole is therefore allegorical1 and it is no more a question of building a house of three storeys than a temple at ,jerusalem in ,masonry4 ,let us now turn to the secret of physical regeneration1 to attain which--according to the occult prescription of the ,grand ,copht--a retreat of forty days1 after the manner of a jubilee1 must be made once in every fifty years1 beginning during the full moon of ,may1 in the company of one faithful person only4 ,it must be also a fast of forty days1 drinking ,may-dew--collected from sprouting corn with a cloth of pure white linen--and eating new and tender herbs4 ,the repast should begin with a large glass of dew and end with a biscuit or crust of bread4 ,there should be slight bleeding on the seventeenth day4 ,balm of ,azoth#cbj should then be taken morning and evening1 beginning with a dose of six drops and increasing by two drops daily till the end of the thirty-second day4 ,at the dawn which follows thereafter renew the slight bleeding2 then take to your bed and remain in it till the end of the fortieth day4 ,on the first awakening after the bleeding1 take the first grain of ,universal ,medicine4 ,a swoon of three hours will be followed by convulsions1 sweats and much purging1 necessitating a change both of bed and linen4 ,at this stage a broth of lean beef must be taken1 seasoned with rice1 sage1 valerian1 vervain and balm4 ,on the day following take the second grain of ,universal ,medicine1 which is ,astral ,mercury combined with ,sulphur of ,gold4 ,on the next day have a warm bath4 ,on the thirty-sixth day drink a glass of ,egyptian wine1 and on the thirty-seventh take the third and last grain of ,universal ,medicine4 ,a profound sleep will follow1 during which the hair1 teeth1 nails and skin will be renewed4 ,the prescription for the thirty-eighth day is another warm bath1 steeping aromatic herbs in the water1 of the same kind as those specified for the broth4 ,on the thirty-ninth day drink ten drops of ,elixir of ,acharat in two spoonsful of red wine4 ,the work will be finished on the fortieth day1 and the aged man will be renewed in youth4#cba ,by means of this jubilary regimen1 ,cagliostro claimed to have lived for many centuries4 ,it will be seen that it is a variation of the famous ,bath of ,immortality in use among the ,menandrian ,gnostics4#cbb ,the question is whether ,cagliostro believed in it seriously4 ,however this may be1 before his judges he shewed much firmness and presence of mind1 professing that he was a catholic who honoured the pope as supreme chief of the religious hierarchy4 ,on matters relating to the occult sciences he replied enigmatically and when accused of being absurd and incomprehensible he told his examiners that they had no ground of judgment1 at which they were offended1 and ordered him to enumerate the seven deadly sins4 ,having recited lust1 avarice1 envy1 gluttony and sloth1 they reminded him that he had omitted pride and anger4 ,to this the accused retorted3 8,pardon me2 ,i had not forgotten them1 but ,i did not include them out of respect for yourselves and for fear of offending you further40 ,he was condemned to death1 which was afterwards commuted to perpetual imprisonment4 ,in his dungeon ,cagliostro asked to make his confession and himself designated the priest1 who was a man of his own figure and stature4#cbc ,the confessor visited him and was seen to take his departure at the end of a certain time4 ,some hours after the gaoler entered the cell and found the body of a strangled man clothed in the garments of ,cagliostro1 but the priest himself was never seen again4 ,lovers of the marvellous declare that the ,grand ,copht is at this day in ,america1 being the supreme and invisible pontiff of the believers in spirit-rapping4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,prophecies ,,of ,,cazotte ,the school of unknown philosophers founded by ,martines de ,pasqually and continued by ,l4 ,c4 de ,saint-,martin seems to have incorporated the last adepts of true initiation4 ,saint-,martin was acquainted with the ancient key of the ,tarot--the mystery1 that is to say1 of sacred alphabets and hieratic hieroglyphics4 ,he has left many very curious pantacles which have never been engraved and of which we possess copies4 ,one of them is the traditional key of the ,great ,work and is called by ,saint-,martin the key of hell1 because it is that of riches4#cbd ,the ,martinists were the last ,christians in the cohort of illumins1 and it was they who initiated the famous ,cazotte4 ,we have said that during the eighteenth century a schism took place in illuminism3 on the one hand1 the wardens of the traditions concerning ,nature and science wished to restore the hierarchy2 there were others1 on the contrary1 who desired to level all things by disclosing the ,great ,arcanum1 thus rendering the royalty and priesthood alike impossible in the world4 ,among the latter1 some were ambitious and unscrupulous1 seeking to erect a throne for themselves over the ruins of the world4 ,others were dupes and zanies4 ,the true initiates beheld with dismay the launching of society towards the abyss1 and they foresaw all the terrors of anarchy4 ,that revolution which was destined at a later period to manifest before the dying genius of ,vergniaud under the sombre figure of ,saturn devouring his children had already shewn itself fully armed in the prophetic dreams of ,cazotte4 ,on a certain evening1 when he was surrounded by blind instruments of the ,jacobinism to come1 he predicted the doom of all--for the strongest and weakest the scaffold1 for the enthusiasts1 suicide--and his prophecy1 which at the moment was rather like a sombre jest1 was destined to be realised amply4#cbe ,as a fact1 it was only the calculus of probabilities1 and it proved strictly correct because it dealt with chances which had already become fatal consequences4 ,la ,harpe1 who was impressed by the prediction1 amplified the details1 to make it appear more marvellous4#cbf ,he mentioned1 for example1 the exact number of times that a certain guest of the moment would draw the razor across his throat4 ,poetic licence of this kind may be forgiven to the tellers of unusual stories2 such adornments are of the substance of style and poetry rather than untruths4 ,the gift of absolute liberty to men who are unequal by ,nature is an organisation of social war2 when those who should restrain the headlong instincts of the crowd are so mad as to unloose them1 it does not need a great magician to foresee that they will be the first to be devoured1 since animal lusts are bound to prey upon one another until the appearance of a bold and skilful huntsman who will end them by shot and snare4 ,cazotte foresaw ,marat1 as ,marat in his turn foresaw reaction and a dictator4 ,cazotte made his first appearance in public as the author of some literary trifles and it is said that he owed his initiation to the romance of ,le ,diable ,amoureux4 ,there is no question that it is full of magical intuitions1 and love1 that supreme ordeal of life1 is depicted in its pages under the true light of the doctrine of adeptship4 ,passion in a state of delirium and folly invincible for those who are slaves of imagination1 physical love is but death in the guise of allurement1 seeking to renew its harvest by means of birth4 ,the physical ,venus is death1 painted and habited like a courtesan2 ,cupid also is a destroyer1 like his mother1 for whom he recruits victims4 ,when the courtesan is satiated1 death unmasks and calls in turn for its prey4 ,this is why the ,church--which safeguards birth by sanctifying marriage--lays bare in their true colours the debaucheries which are mortal1 by condemning without pity all the disorders of love4 ,if she who is beloved is not indeed an angel1 earning immortality by sacrifice to duty in the arms of him whom she loves1 she is a stryge who expends1 exhausts and slays him1 finally exposing herself before him in all the hideousness of her animal egoism4 ,woe to the victims of the ,le ,diable ,amoureux1 thrice woe to those who are beguiled by the lascivious endearments of ,biondetta4 ,speedily the gracious countenance of the girl will change into that camel's head which appears so tragically at the end of the romance of ,cazotte4 ,according to the ,kabalists there are two queens of the stryges in ,sheol--one is ,lilith1 the mother of abortions1 and the other is ,nehamah1 fatal and murderous in her beauty4 ,when a man is false to the spouse set apart for him by heaven1 when he is abandoned to the disorders of a sterile passion1 ,god withdraws his legitimate bride and delivers him to the embraces of ,nehamah1 who assumes at need all charms of maidenhood and of love2 she turns the hearts of fathers1 and at her instigation they abandon all the duties owing to their children2 she brings married men to widowhood2 while those who are consecrated to ,god she coerces into sacrilegious marriage4 ,when she assumes the role of a wife she is1 however1 unmasked easily1 for on her marriage-day she appears in a state of baldness1 that hair which is the veil of modesty for womanhood being forbidden her on this occasion4 ,later on she assumes airs of despair and disgust with existence2 she preaches suicide1 deserts him who cohabits with her1 having first sealed him between the eyes with an infernal star4 ,the ,kabalists say further that ,nehamah may become a mother but she never rears her children1 as she gives them to her fatal sister to devour4 ,these ,kabalistic allegories1 which are found in the ,hebrew book concerning the ,revolution of ,souls1 included by ,rosenroth in the collection of the ,kabbala ,denudata1 and otherwise met with in ,talmudic commentaries on the ,sota must have been either known or divined by the author of ,le ,diable ,amoureux4#cbg ,hence we are told that after the publication of his novel1 ,cazotte had a visit from an unknown person who was wrapped in a mantle1 after the traditional manner of emissaries of the ,secret ,tribunal4 ,the visitor made signs to ,cazotte which he failed to understand and then asked whether indeed he had not been initiated4 ,on receiving a reply in the negative1 the stranger assumed a less sombre expression and then said3 8,i perceive that you are not an unfaithful recipient of our secrets but rather a vessel of election prepared for knowledge4 ,do you wish to rule in reality over human passions and over impure spirits80 ,cazotte displayed his curiosity2 a long talk followed2 it was the preface to other meetings2 and the author of ,le ,diable ,amoureux was called to initiation at the end4 ,he became a devout supporter of order and authority as a consequence and also a redoubtable enemy of anarchists4 ,we have seen that1 according to the symbolism of ,cagliostro1 there is a mountain into which those must go up who are on the quest of regeneration2 this mountain is white with light1 like ,tabor1 or red with fire and blood1 like ,sinai and ,calvary4 ,the ,zohar says that there are two chromatic syntheses2 one of them is white and is that of peace and moral light2 the other1 which is red1 is that of war and material life4 ,the ,jacobins had plotted to unrol the standard of blood1 and their altar was erected on the red mountain4 ,cazotte was enrolled under the banner of light1 and his mystical tabernacle was established on the white mountain4 ,that which was stained with blood triumphed for a moment1 and ,cazotte was proscribed4 ,the heroic girl who was his daughter saved him from the slaughter at the ,abbey2 it so happened that the prefix denoting nobility was not attached to her name and she was spared therefore that horrible toast of fraternity which immortalised the filial piety of ,mlle4 de ,sombreuil1 who1 to be vindicated from the charge of aristocracy1 drank the health of her father in the blood-stained glass of cut-throats4 ,cazotte was in a position to foretell his own death1 because conscience compelled him to fight against anarchy even to the last4 ,he obeyed it1 was arrested for the second time and brought before the revolutionary tribunal as one condemned already4 ,the ,president who pronounced his sentence added an allocution full of esteem and regret1 pledging his victim to be worthy of himself unto the end and to die nobly as he had lived4 ,even in episodes of the tribunal1 the revolution was a civil war and the brethren exchanged salutations as they condemned one another to death4 ,the explanation is that there was the sincerity of conviction on both sides and both were entitled to respect4 ,whosoever dies for that which he thinks to be true is a hero even in his deception1 and the anarchists of the ensanguined mountain were not only intrepid when despatching others to the scaffold1 but ascended it themselves without blanching4 ,let ,god and posterity be their judges4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,french ,,revolution ,once there was a man in the world who was soured on discovering that his disposition was cowardly and vicious1 and he visited his consequent disgust on society at large4 ,he was an ill-starred lover of ,nature1 and ,nature in her wrath armed him with eloquence as with a scourge4 ,he dared to plead the cause of ignorance in the face of science1 of savagery in the face of civilisation1 of all low-life deeps in the face of all social heights4 ,instinctively the populace pelted this maniac1 yet he was welcomed by the great and lionised by women4 ,his success was so signal that1 by revulsion1 his hatred of humanity increased1 and he ended in suicide as the final issue of his rage and disgust4 ,after his death the world was shaken in its attempts to realise the dreams of ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau1 and that silent conspiracy which ever since the murder of ,jacques de ,molay had sworn destruction to the social edifice1 inaugurated in ,rue ,platrire1 and in the very house where ,rousseau had once lived1 a ,masonic ,lodge1 with the fanatic of ,geneva as its patron saint4 ,this ,lodge became the centre of the revolutionary propaganda1 and thither came a prince of the blood royal1 vowing destruction to the successors of ,philip the ,fair over the tomb of the ,templar4 ,it was the nobility of the eighteenth century which corrupted the people2 the aristocracy of that period were seized with a mania for equality1 which took its rise in the orgies of the ,regency2 low company was kept for the pleasure of it and the court obtained diversion in talking the language of the slums4 ,the archives of the ,order of the ,temple#cbh testify that the ,regent was its ,grand ,master1 that he had as his successors the ,duc de ,maine1 the princes of ,bourbon-,cond and ,bourbon-,conti1 and the ,duc de ,coss-,brissac4 ,cagliostro drew auxiliaries from the middle class to swell the membership of his ,egyptian ,rite2 everyone was eager to obey the secret and irresistible impulse which drove decadent civilisation to its destruction4 ,events did not tarry1 but as if impelled by hands unseen1 they were heaped one upon another1 after the manner foreseen by ,cazotte4 ,the unfortunate ,louis ,,xvi was led by his worst enemies1 who at once prearranged and stultified the paltry project of evasion which brought about the catastrophe of ,varennes1 just as they had done with the orgie at ,versailles and the massacre of ,august #aj4 ,on every side they compromised the king2 at every turn they saved him from the fury of the people1 to foment that fury and ensure the dire event which had been in preparation for centuries4 ,a scaffold was essential to complete the revenge of the ,templars4 ,amidst the pressure of civil war1 the ,national ,assembly suspended the powers of the king and assigned him the ,luxembourg as his residence2 but another and more secret assembly had ruled otherwise4 ,a prison was to be the residence of the fallen monarch1 and that prison was none other than the old palace of the ,templars1 which had survived1 with keep and turrets1 to await the royal victim doomed by inexorable memories4 ,there he was duly interned1 while the flower of ,french ecclesiasticism was either in exile or at the ,abbey4 ,artillery thundered on the ,pont ,neuf1 menacing posters proclaimed that the country was in danger1 unknown personages organised successive slaughters1 while a hideous and gigantic being1 covered with a long beard1 was to be seen wheresoever there were priests to murder4 8,behold10 he cried with a savage sneer1 8this is for the ,albigenses and the ,vaudois2 this is for the ,templars1 this for ,st4 ,bartholomew and this for the exiles of the ,cevennes40 ,as one who was beside himself1 he smote unceasingly1 now with the sabre and now with axe or club4 ,arms broke and were replaced in his hands2 from head to foot he was clothed in blood1 swearing with frightful blasphemies that in blood only he would wash4 ,it was this man who proposed the toast of the nation to the angelical ,mdlle4 de ,sombreuil4 ,meanwhile another angel prayed and wept in the tower of the ,temple1 offering to ,god her own sufferings and those of two children to obtain pardon for the royalty of ,france4 ,all the agonies and all the tears of that virgin martyr1 the saintly ,mme4 ,elizabeth1 were necessary for the expiation of the imbecile joys which characterised courtesans like ,mme4 de ,pompadour and ,mme4 du ,barry4 ,jacobinism had received its distinctive name before the old ,church of the ,jacobins was chosen as the headquarters of conspiracy2 it was derived from the name ,jacques--an ominous symbol and one which spelt revolution4 ,french iconoclasts have always been called ,jacques2 that philosopher whose fatal celebrity prepared new ,jacqueries and was a peg on which to hang the sanguinary projects of ,johannite schemers bore the name of ,jean ,jacques1 while those who were prime movers in the ,french ,revolution had sworn in secret the destruction of throne and altar over the tomb of ,jacques de ,molay4 ,at the very moment when ,louis ,,xvi suffered under the axe of revolution1 the man with a long beard--that wandering ,jew1 significant of vengeance and murder--ascended the scaffold and1 confronting the appalled spectators1 took the royal blood in both hands1 casting it over the heads of the people1 and crying with his terrible voice3 8,people of ,france1 ,i baptise you in the name of ,jacques and of liberty40#cbi ,so ended half of the work1 and it was henceforth against the ,pope that the army of the ,temple directed all its efforts4 ,spoliation of churches1 profanation of sacred things1 mock processions1 inauguration of the cultus of reason in the metropolis of ,paris--these were the signals in chief of the war in its new phase4 ,the ,pope was burnt in effigy at the ,palais ,royal1 and presently the armies of the ,republic prepared to march on ,rome4 ,jacques de ,molay and his companions were martyrs possibly1 but their avengers dishonoured their memory4 ,royalty was regenerated on the scaffold of ,louis ,,xvi2 the ,church triumphed in the captivity of ,pius ,,vi1 when he was taken a prisoner to ,valence1 perishing of fatigue and suffering4 ,but the unworthy successors of that old chivalry of the ,temple perished in their turn1 overwhelmed by disastrous victory4 ,signal abuses had characterised the ecclesiastical state and grave scandals were entailed by the misfortune of great riches2 but when the riches melted away1 the pre-eminent virtues returned4 ,such transitory disasters and such a spiritual triumph were predicted in the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,methodius1 to which reference has been made already4 ,we have a black letter copy of the work mentioned1 printed in #aebg and embellished with amazing designs4 ,unworthy priests are shewn in the act of casting the sacred elements to swine2 the populace in a state of rebellion are seen assassinating the priests and breaking their sacramental vessels on their heads2 the ,pope appears as a prisoner in the hands of soldiers2 a crowned knight raises with one hand the standard of ,france1 and with the other draws his sword against ,italy4 ,finally1 two eagles are depicted on either side of a cock1 bearing a crown on his head and a double fleur de lys on his breast4 ,one of the eagles combines with griffins and unicorns to drive the vulture from his eyrie2 and there is a host of other marvels4 ,this singular book may be compared with an illustrated edition of the prophecies attributed to ,abb ,joachim1 the ,calabrian1 wherein are exhibited portraits of all the ,popes to come1 with the allegorical signs of their respective pontificates1 down to the coming of ,anti-,christ4 ,these are strange chronicles of futurity1 pictured as things of the past2 they seem to intimate a succession of worlds wherein events are repeated1 so that the prevision of things to come is the evocation of shadows already lost in the past4 ,,chapter ,v ,,phenomena ,,of ,,mediomania ,in the year #aggb1 a certain parishioner of ,saint-,mand1 named ,loiseaut1 being at ,church1 believed that he saw an extraordinary person kneeling close by him2 this was a very swarthy man1 whose only garment was a pair of coarse worsted drawers4 ,his beard was long1 his hair woolly1 and about his neck there was a ruddy circular scar4 ,he carried a book1 having the following inscription emblazoned in golden letters3 ,ecce ,agnus ,dei4 ,loiseaut observed with astonishment that no one but himself seemed aware of this strange presence1 but he finished his devotions and returned home1 where the same personage was awaiting him4 ,he drew nearer to ask who he was and what might his business be1 when the fantastic visitor vanished4 ,loiseaut retired to bed in a fever and unable to sleep4 ,the same night he found his room illuminated suddenly by a ruddy glow2 he sprang up in bed1 believing that the place was on fire2 and then on a table in the very centre of the room he saw a gold plate1 wherein the head of his visitor was swimming in blood1 encompassed by a red nimbus4 ,the eyes rolled terribly1 the mouth opened1 a strange and hissing voice said3 8,i await the heads of kings1 the heads of the courtesans of kings2 ,i await ,herod and ,herodias40 ,the nimbus faded and the sick man saw no more4#ccj ,some days after he had recovered sufficiently to resume his usual occupations4 ,as he was crossing the ,place ,louis ,,xv1 a beggar accosted him and ,loiseaut1 without looking1 threw a coin into his hat4 8,thank you10 said the recipient1 8it is a king's head2 but here10 and he pointed towards the middle place of the thoroughfare1 8there will fall another1 and it is that for which ,i am waiting40 ,loiseaut looked with astonishment towards the speaker and uttered a cry when he recognised the strange figure of his vision4 8,be silent10 said the mendicant2 8they will take you for a fool1 as no one but yourself can see me4 ,you have recognised me1 ,i know1 and to you ,i confess that ,i am ,john ,baptist1 the ,precursor4 ,i am here to predict the punishment which will befall the successors of ,herod and the heirs of ,caaphas2 you may repeat all that ,i tell you40 ,from this time forward ,loiseaut believed that ,st4 ,john was present visibly at his side1 almost from day to day4 ,the vision spoke to him long and frequently on the woes which would befall ,france and the ,church4 ,loiseaut related his vision to several persons1 who were not only impressed but became seers on their own part4 ,they formed among themselves a mystical society which met in great secrecy4 ,it was their custom to sit in a circle1 holding hands and awaiting communications in silence4 ,this might continue for hours1 and then the figure of the ,baptist would appear in the midst of them4 ,they fell1 concurrently or successively1 into the magnetic sleep and saw1 passing before their eyes1 the future scenes of the revolution1 with the restoration which would come thereafter4 ,the spiritual director of this sect or circle was a monk named ,dom ,gerle1 who became also their leader on the death of ,loiseaut in #aghh4cca ,at the epoch of the ,revolution1 however1 having been won over by republican enthusiasm1 ,dom ,gerle was expelled by the other members1 acting on the inspirations of their chief somnambulist1 who was known as ,sister ,franoise ,andr4 ,he had a somnambulist of his own1 and in a ,parisian garret he followed what was then the new craft of a mesmerist4 ,the seeress in question was an old and nearly blind woman1 named ,catherine ,thot2 she prophesied1 and her predictions were realised2 she cured many who were sick2 and as her forecasts had a political cast invariably1 the police of the ,comit de salut public were not slow in taking up the matter4 ,one evening1 ,catherine ,thot was in an ecstasy1 surrounded by her adepts4 8,hearken10 she exclaimed1 8,i hear the sound of his footsteps2 he is the mysterious chosen one of ,providence1 the angel of revolution1 at once its saviour and victim1 king of ruins and regeneration4 ,do you see him8 ,he draws nigh4 ,he also has been encircled by the ruddy nimbus of the ,precursor2 it is he who shall bear all crimes of those who are about to immolate him4 ,great are thy destinies1 ,o thou who shalt close the abyss by casting thyself therein4 ,do you not behold him1 adorned as if for a festival1 carrying flowers in his hands--garlands which are crowns of his martyrdom40 ,then sobbing and melting into tears3 8,how cruel is thine ordeal1 my son2 and how many ingrates shall curse thy memory through the ages4 ,rise up1 and kneel down3 he comes2 the king comes--he is the king of bloody sacrifices40 ,at this moment the door opened quickly2 a man entered enveloped in a cloak and having his hat drawn over his eyes4 ,those who were present rose up2 ,catherine ,thot stretched forth her arms towards the new comer and said as her hands trembled3 8,i knew that you must come1 and ,i have awaited your coming4 ,he who is at my right side1 but unseen by you1 shewed you to me yesterday1 when an accusation was lodged against us4 ,we are accused of conspiring for the king1 and of a king ,i have indeed spoken2 it is he whom the ,precursor reveals to me at this present moment1 having a crown steeped in blood1 and ,i know over whose head it is placed--your own1 ,maximilian40 ,at this name the unknown started1 as if a red hot steel had entered his breast4 ,he cast a swift and anxious glance about him1 after which his expression became again impassible4 8,what would you say8 ,i fail to understand10 he murmured in a short and abrupt manner4 8,i would say10 replied ,catherine ,thot1 8 that the sun will beam brightly on that day when a man clothed in blue and bearing a sceptre of flowers shall be for one moment the king and saviour of the world4 ,i would say that you shall be great as ,moses and as ,orpheus1 when1 trampling on the head of that monster which is ready to devour you1 you shall testify to headsmen and to victims that ,god is4 ,cease from this masking1 ,robespierre2 shew us rather without paling that valiant head which ,god is about to cast in the empty scale of his balance4 ,the head of ,louis ,,xvi is heavy and yours can only be its counterpoise40 8,do you threaten80 asked ,robespierre coldly1 letting his cloak fall4 8,do you think by this juggling to startle my patriotism and influence my conscience8 ,do you hope by fanatical measures and old wives' fables to surprise my resolves as you have played the spy on my proceedings8 ,you have looked for me1 it would seem1 and woe to you because you have looked4 ,since you compel the curiosity-seeker1 the anonymous visitor and observer to be ,maximilian ,robespierre1 representative of the people1 as such ,i denounce you to the committee of public weal1 and ,i shall proceed to have you arrested40 ,having said these words1 ,robespierre cast his cloak round his powdered head and walked stiffly to the door4 ,no one dared to detain and none to address him4 ,catherine ,thot clasped her hands and said3 8,respect his will1 for he is king and pontiff of the new age4 ,if he strike us1 it is that ,god wills to strike us2 lay bare the throat before the knife of ,providence40 ,the initiates of ,catherine ,thot waited expecting their arrest through the whole night1 but no one appeared4 ,they separated on the following day4 ,two or three further days and nights elapsed1 during which the members of the sect made no attempt at concealment4 ,on the fifth day1 ,catherine ,thot and those who were called her accomplices were denounced to the ,jacobins by a secret enemy of ,robespierre who insinuated skilfully to his hearers certain doubts against the tribune--a dictatorship had been mentioned1 the very name of king was pronounced4 ,robespierre knew1 and how came he to tolerate it8 ,robespierre shrugged his shoulders1 but on the morrow ,catherine ,thot1 ,dom ,gerle and some others were arrested and consigned to those prisons which1 once entered1 opened only to furnish his daily task to the headsman4 ,the story of ,robespierre's interview with ,catherine ,thot had transpired1 one knows not how4#ccb ,already the counter-police of the ,thermidorians were watching the presumed dictator1 whom they accused of mysticism because he believed in ,god4 ,robespierre notwithstanding was neither the friend nor enemy of the sect of ,new ,johannites4 ,he went to ,catherine ,thot that he might take account of phenomena1 and dissatisfied at having been recognised he departed with threats which he did not attempt to fulfil2 those who converted the conventicle of the old monk and ecstatic into a sect of conspiracy hoped to derive from the proceeding a doubt or an opportunity for ridicule attaching to the reputation of the incorruptible ,maximilian4 ,the prophecy of ,catherine ,thot was fulfilled by the inauguration of the worship of the ,supreme ,being and the swift reaction of ,thermidor4 ,during this time the sect which had gathered about ,sister ,andr1 whose revelations were recorded by a ,sieur ,ducy1 continued their visions and miracles4 ,the fixed notion which they cherished was to preserve the legitimacy by the future reign of ,louis ,,xvii4#ccc ,times out of number they saved in dream the poor little orphan of the ,temple and believed also that they had saved him literally4 ,old prophecies promised the throne of the lilies to a young man who had been once a captive4 ,so ,bridget1 ,st4 ,hildegarde1 ,bernard ,tollard1 ,lichtemberger--all foretold a miraculous restoration after great disasters4#ccd ,the ,neo-,johannites were the interpreters and multipliers of these forecasts2 a ,louis ,,xvii never failed them2 they had seven or eight in succession1 all perfectly authentic and not less perfectly preserved4 ,it is to the influence of this sect that we owe at a later period the revelations of the peasant ,martin de ,gallardon and the prodigies of ,vintras4 ,in this magnetic circle1 as in the assemblies of ,quakers or ,shakers of ,great ,britain1 enthusiasm proved contagious1 and was propagated from one to another4 ,after the death of ,sister ,andr1 second sight and the gift of prophecy devolved upon a certain ,legros1 who was at ,charenton when ,martin was incarcerated provisionally therein4 ,he recognised a brother in the ,beauceron peasant whom he had never seen4 ,all these partisans1 by force of willing ,louis ,,xvii created him in a certain sense2 that is to say1 they worked such efficacious hallucinations that mediums were made in the image and likeness of the magnetic type1 and believing themselves to be literally the royal child escaped from the ,temple1 they attracted all the reflections of this gentle and frail victim1 so even that they remembered circumstances known only to the family of ,louis ,,xvi4 ,this phenomenon1 however incredible it may appear1 is neither impossible nor unheard of4 ,paracelsus states that if1 by an extraordinary effort of will1 one can picture oneself as another person1 one would know thereby and forthwith the inmost thought of that person1 and would attract his most secret memories4 ,often after a conversation which has placed us in thought-affinity with a companion in conversation1 we dream reminiscences of his private life4 ,among the simulators of ,louis ,,xvii we must therefore recognise some who were not impostors1 but hallucinated beings1 and among these last is the ,swiss who is named ,nandorff1 a visionary like ,swedenborg1 one indeed so contagious in his conviction that old servants of the royal family have recognised him and cast themselves weeping at his feet4 ,he bore the particular signs and scars of ,louis ,,xvii2 he recounted his infancy with a startling appearance of truth and entered into minute details1 which are decisive for private remembrances4 ,his very features would have been those of the orphan of ,louis ,,xvi1 had he really lived4 ,one thing only in fine was wanting for the pretender to have been ,louis ,,xvii truly1 and that is not to have been ,nandorff4#cce ,such was the contagious magnetic power of this deluded person that even his death did not undeceive any of the believers in his reign to come4 ,we have seen one of the most convinced1 to whom we timidly objected--when he spoke of the approaching restoration of what he called the true legitimacy--that his ,louis ,,xvii was dead4 8,is it then more difficult for ,god to raise him from death than it was for those who preceded us to save him from the ,temple80 ,such was the answer given us--and this with a smile so triumphant that almost it seemed disdainful4 ,we had nothing to rejoin on our own part1 but were rather compelled to bow in the presence of such a conviction4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,german ,,illuminati ,germany is the native land of metaphysical mysticism and phantoms4 ,a phantom itself of the old ,roman empire1 it seems always to invoke the mighty shade of ,hermann1 consecrating in his honour the simulacrum of the captive eagles of ,varus4 ,the patriotism of young ,germany is invariably that of the ,germans in elder days4 ,they have no thought of invading the laughing land of ,italy2 they accept the situation1 as it stands1 simply as a matter of revenge2 but they would die a thousand times in the defence of their hearths and homes4 ,they love their old castles1 their old legends of the banks of the ,rhine2 they read with the uttermost patience the darksome treatises of their philosophy2 they behold in the fogs of their sky and in the smoke of their pipes a thousand things inexpressible1 by which they are initiated into the marvels of the other world4 ,long before there was any question of mediums and their evocations in ,america and ,france1 ,prussia had its illuminati and seers1 who had habitual communications with the dead4 ,at ,berlin1 a great noble built a house destined for evocations2 ,king ,frederick ,william was very curious about all such mysteries and was often immured in this house with an adept named ,steinert4 ,his experiences were so signal that a state of exhaustion supervened and he had to be restored with drops of some magical elixir analogous to that of ,cagliostro4 ,there is a secret correspondence belonging to the reign in question which is cited by the ,marquis de ,luchet in his work against the illuminati1 and it contains a description of the dark chamber in which the evocations were performed4 ,it was a square apartment1 divided by a transparent veil2 the magical furnace or altar of perfumes was erected in front of the veil and behind was a pedestal on which the spirit manifested4 ,in his ,german work upon ,magic1 ,eckartshausen describes the whole of the fantastic apparatus1 being a system of machines and operations by which imagination was helped to create the phantoms desired1 those who consulted the oracle being in a kind of waking somnambulism1 comparable to the nervous excitement produced by opium or hasheesh4 ,those who are contented with the explanations given by the author just mentioned will regard the apparitions as magic lantern effects1 but there is more in it assuredly than this1 while the magic lantern was only an accessory instrument in the business and one in no sense necessary for the production of the phenomenon4 ,the images of persons once known on earth and now called up by thought do not appear as reflections of coloured glass2 the pictures painted by a lantern do not speak1 nor do they give answers to question on matters of conscience4 ,the king of ,prussia1 to whom the house belonged1 was well acquainted with all the apparatus and was not therefore duped by jugglery1 as the author of the secret correspondence pretends4 ,the natural means paved the way for the prodigy but did not perform the latter2 and the things which occurred were of a kind to surprise and disturb the most inveterate sceptic4#ccf ,schroepfer1 moreover made use of no magic lantern and no veil1 but those who came to him drank a kind of punch which he prepared2 the forms which then appeared by his mediation were like those of the ,american ,home1 that is to say1 partially materialised1 and they caused a curious sensation in persons who sought to touch them4 ,the experience was analogous to an electric disturbance1 making the flesh creep1 and there would have been no such sensation if people had moistened their hands before touching the apparition4 ,schroepfer acted in good faith1 as does also the ,american ,home2 he believed in the reality of the spirits evoked by him1 and he killed himself when he began to doubt it4#ccg ,lavater1 who also died violently1 was utterly given over to evocations2 he had two spirits at his command and belonged to a circle which cultivated catalepsy by the help of a harmonica4 ,a magical chain was formed2 a species of imbecile served as the spirit's interpreter and wrote under his control4#cch ,this spirit gave out that he was a ,jewish ,kabalist who died before the birth of ,jesus ,christ1 and the things which the medium recorded under his influence were worthy of ,cahagnet's somnambulists4#cci ,there was1 for example1 a revelation on sufferings in the life beyond1 the communicating spirit stating that the soul of the emperor ,francis was compelled to calculate the number and exact condition of all the snail-shells which may exist and have existed in the whole universe4 ,he made known also that the true names of the three ,magi were not1 as tradition tells us1 ,gaspar1 ,melchior and ,balthazar1 but on the contrary ,vrasapharmion1 ,melchisedek and ,baleathrasaron2 it is like reading the names written by our modern process of table-turning4 ,the spirit also testified that he was himself doing penance for having threatened his father with the magical sword and that he felt disposed to make his friends a present of his portrait4 ,paper1 paints and brushes were placed at his request behind a screen2 he was then seen to design on the screen the outline of a small hand2 a slight friction was audible on the paper2 when it ceased everyone pressed forward and found rudely painted the likeness of an old ,rabbi vested in black1 with a white ruffle over the shoulders and a black skull-cap1 a costume altogether eccentric for a personage who was anterior to ,jesus ,christ4 ,the painting1 for the rest1 was smudged and ill-drawn1 resembling the work of a child amusing himself by daubing with eyes shut4#cdj ,the written instructions of the medium under the inspiration of ,gablidone vie in their obscurity with the characteristics of ,german metaphysicians4 8,the attribute of majesty must not be conferred lightly10 says this authority1 8for majesty is a derivation from ,mage1 seeing that the ,magi were pontiffs and kings2 they were therefore the primeval majesties4 ,it is against the majesty of ,god that we offend when we sin mortally2 we wound ,him as ,father1 casting death into the sources of life4 ,the fountain of the ,father is light and life2 that of the ,son is blood and water2 while the splendour of the ,holy ,spirit is fire and gold4 ,we sin against the ,father by falsehood1 against the ,son by hatred and against the ,holy ,spirit by debauchery1 which is the work of death and destruction40 ,the good ,lavater received these communications like oracles and when he asked for some further illuminations1 ,gablidone proceeded as follows3 8,the great revealer of mysteries shall come1 and he will be born in the next century4 ,the religion of the patriarchs will then be known on earth2 it will explain to mankind the triad of ,agion1 ,helion1 ,tetragrammaton2 and the ,saviour whose body is girt with a triangle shall be shewn on the fourth step of the altar2 the apex of the triangle will be red and the device of mystery thereon will be3 ,venite ad patres osphal4 ,one of the auditors demanded the meaning of the last word1 and the medium wrote as follows without other explanations3 ,alphos1 ,m3 ,aphon1 ,eliphismatis4 ,certain interpreters have concluded that the magus whose advent was announced in the course of the nineteenth century would be named ,maphon and would be the son of ,eliphisma1 but this reading may be somewhat speculative4 ,there is nothing more dangerous than mysticism1 for the mania which it begets baffles every combination of human wisdom4 ,it is ever the fools who upset the world and that which great statesmen never foresee is the desperate work of a maniac4 ,the architect of the temple of ,diana at ,ephesus promised himself eternal glory1 but he counted without ,erostratus4 ,the ,girondins did not foresee ,marat4 ,what is needed to alter the equilibrium of the world8 asked ,pascal1 on the subject of ,cromwell4 ,the answer is1 a speck of gravel formed by chance in the entrails of a man4 ,so do the great events come about through causes which in themselves are nothing4 ,when any temple of civilisation crashes down1 it is always the work of a blind man1 like ,samson1 who shakes the pillars thereof4 ,some wretched preacher1 belonging to the dregs of the people1 is suffering from insomnia and believes himself elected to deliver the world from anti-,christ4 ,accordingly he stabs ,henry ,,iv and reveals to ,france in its consternation the name of ,ravaillac4 ,the ,german thaumaturgists regarded ,napoleon as the ,apollyon mentioned in the ,apocalypse and one of their neophytes1 named ,stabs1 came forward to kill the military ,atlas1 who at the given moment was carrying on his shoulders a world snatched from the chaos of anarchy4 ,but that magnetic influence which the ,emperor called his star was more potent than the fanatical impulse of the ,german occult circles4 ,stabs could not or dared not strike2 ,napoleon himself questioned him2 he admired his resolution and courage2 but1 as he understood his own greatness1 he would not detract from the new ,scevola by forgiving him2 he shewed his estimation indeed by taking him seriously and allowing him to be shot4 ,carl ,sand1 who killed ,kotzebue1 was also an unfortunate derelict child of mysticism1 misled by the secret societies1 in which vengeance was sworn upon daggers4 ,kotzebue may have deserved cudgelling1 but the weapon of ,sand reinstated and made him a martyr4 ,it is indeed grand to perish as the enemy and victim of those who wreak vengeance by means of ambuscades and assassinations4 ,the secret societies of ,germany practised rites which were less or more comparable to those of ,magic4 ,in the brotherhood of ,mopses1 for example1 the mysteries of the ,sabbath and the secret reception of ,templars were renewed in mitigated and almost humorous forms4 ,the ,baphometic ,goat was replaced by a dog1 as if ,hermanubis were substituted for ,pan1 or science for ,nature--the latter being an equivalent change1 since ,nature is known solely by the intermediation of science4 ,the two sexes were admitted by the ,mopses1 as was the case at the ,sabbath2 the reception was accompanied by barkings and grimaces1 and1 as among the ,templars1 the ,neophyte was invited to take his choice between kissing the back parts of the devil1 the ,grand ,master or the ,mopse1 which was a small image of card-board1 covered with silk1 and representing a dog1 called ,mops in ,german4 ,the salutation in question was the condition of reception and recalls that which was offered to the ,goat of ,mendes in the initiations of the ,sabbath4 ,the ,mopses took no pledges other than on their word of honour1 which is the most sacred of all oaths for self-respecting people4 ,their meetings were occasions for dancing and festivity--again like those of the ,sabbath--except that the ladies were clothed1 and did not hang live cats from their girdles or eat little children3 it was altogether a civilised ,sabbath4#cda ,magic had its epic in ,germany and the ,sabbath its great poet2 the epic was the colossal drama of ,faust--that completed ,babel of human genius4 ,goethe was initiated into all mysteries of magical philosophy2 in his youth he had even practised the ceremonial part4 ,the result of his daring experiments was to produce in him1 for the time being1 a profound disgust with life and a strong inclination towards death4 ,as a fact1 he accomplished his suicide1 not by a literal act but in a book2 he composed the romance of ,werther1 the fatal work which preaches death and has had so many proselytes2 then1 victorious over discouragement and disgust1 and having entered the serene realms of peace and truth1 he wrote ,faust4 ,it is a magnificent commentary on one of the most beautiful episodes in the ,gospel--the parable of the prodigal son4 ,it is initiation into sin by rebellious science1 into suffering by sin1 into expiation and harmonious science by suffering4 ,human genius1 represented by ,faust1 employs as its lackey the spirit of evil1 who aspires to become master2 it exhausts quickly all the delight that is attributed by imagination to unlawful love2 it goes through orgies of folly2 then1 drawn by the charm of sovereign beauty1 it rises from the abyss of disillusion to the heights of abstraction and imperishable beauty4 ,there ,mephistopheles is at his ease no longer2 the implacable laughter turns sad2 ,voltaire gives place to ,chateaubriand4 ,in proportion as the light manifests1 the angel of ,darkness writhes and tosses2 he is bound by celestial angels2 he admires them against his will2 he loves1 weeps and is conquered4 ,in the first part of the drama1 we see ,faust separated by violence from ,margaret2 the heavenly voices cry that she is saved1 even as she is being led to execution4 ,but can that ,faust be lost who is always loved by ,margaret8 ,is not his heart already espoused to heaven8 ,the great work of redemption in virtue of solidarity moves on to its fulfilment4 ,how should the victim ever be consoled for her sufferings1 did she not convert her executioner8 ,is not forgiveness the revenge of the children of heaven8 ,the love which has first reached the empyrean draws science after it by sympathy2 ,christianity uprises in its admirable synthesis4 ,the new ,eve has washed the mark from the forehead of ,cain with the blood of ,abel1 and she weeps with joy over her two children1 who hold her in their joint embrace4 ,to make room for the extension of heaven1 hell--which has become useless--ceases4 ,the problem of evil has found its definitive solution1 and good--alone necessary and alone triumphant--shall reign henceforth eternally4 ,hereof is the glorious dream of the greatest of all poets1 but the philosopher1 by misfortune1 forgets the laws of equilibrium2 he would swallow up light in a shadowless splendour and motion in an absolute repose1 which would signify cessation of life4 ,so long as there is visible light1 there will be shadow in proportion therewith4 ,repose will never be happiness1 unless equilibrated by an analogous and contrary movement4 ,so long as there shall be free benediction1 blasphemy will remain possible2 so long as heaven remains1 a hell there will also be4 ,it is the unchangeable law of ,nature and the eternal will of that justice whose other name is ,god4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,empire ,,and ,,restoration ,napoleon filled the world with wonders1 and in that world was himself the greatest wonder of all4 ,the ,empress ,josephine1 his wife1 curious and credulous as a creole1 passed from enchantments to enchantments4 ,a glory of this kind had1 as we are told1 been promised her by an old gipsy woman1 and the folk of the countryside still believe that she was herself the ,emperor's good genius4 ,as a fact1 she was a sweet and modest counsellor who would have saved him from many perils1 had he always listened to her warnings1 but he was impelled forward by fatality1 or rather by providence1 and that which was to befall him had been decreed beforehand4 ,in a prophecy attributed to ,st4 ,csaire but signed ,jean de ,vatiguerro1 and found in the ,liber ,mirabilis1 a collection of predictions printed in #aebd1cdb there are the following astonishing sentences4 8,the churches shall be defiled and profaned1 and the public worship suspended4 ,the eagle shall take flight over the world and overcome many nations4 ,the greatest prince and most august sovereign in all the ,west shall be put to rout after a supernatural defeat4 ,a most noble prince shall be sent into captivity by his enemies and shall mourn in thinking of those who were devoted to him4 ,before peace is restored to ,france1 the same events shall be repeated again and again4 ,the eagle shall be crowned with a triple diadem1 shall return victorious to his eyrie and shall leave it only to ascend into heaven40 ,after predicting the spoliation of churches and the murder of priests1 ,nostradamus foretells the birth of an emperor in the vicinity of ,italy and says that his reign will cost ,france a great outpouring of blood1 while those who belong to him will betray him and charge him with the spilling of blood4 8,an ,emperor shall be born near ,italy1 ,who shall cost dear to the ,empire3 ,they shall say1 ,with what people he keepeth company6 ,he shall be found less a prince than a butcher4 ,from a simple soldier he shall come to have the supreme command1 ,from a short gown he shall come to the long one2 ,valiant in arms1 no worse man in the ,church1 ,he shall vex the priests1 as water doth a sponge40#cdc ,this is to say that at the moment when the church experiences the greatest calamities1 he will overwhelm the priests with benefits4 ,in a collection of prophecies published in #ahbj1 and of which we possess a copy1 the following phrase occurs after a prediction concerning ,napoleon ,i3 8,and the nephew will accomplish that which the uncle failed to do40 ,the celebrated ,mlle4 ,lenormand had in her library a volume in boards with a parchment back1 containing the ,treatise of ,olivarius on ,prophecies1 followed by ten manuscript pages1 in which the reign of ,napoleon and his downfall were announced formally4 ,the seeress imparted the contents of this work to the ,empress ,josephine4 ,having mentioned ,mlle4 ,lenormand1 a few further words may be added about this singular woman2 she was stout and extremely plain1 emphatic in talk1 ludicrous in style1 but a waking somnambulist of conspicuous lucidity4 ,she was the fashionable seeress under the ,first ,empire and the ,restoration4 ,there is nothing more wearisome than are her writings1 but as a teller of fortunes by cards she was most successful4 ,cartomancy1 as restored in ,france by ,etteilla1 is literally the questioning of fate by signs agreed on beforehand4 ,these in combination with numbers suggest oracles to the medium1 who is biologised by staring at them4 ,the signs are drawn by chance1 after having shuffled them slowly2 they are arranged according to ,kabalistic numbers1 and they respond invariably to the thoughts of those who question them1 seriously and in good faith1 for all of us carry a world of presentiments within us which any pretext will formulate4 ,susceptible and sensitive natures receive from us a magnetic shock which conveys to them the impression of our nervous state4 ,the medium can then read our fears and hopes in ripples of water1 forms of clouds1 counters cast haphazard on the ground1 in the marks made on a plate by the grouts of coffee1 in the lottery of a card-game1 or in the ,tarot symbols4 ,as an erudite ,kabalistic book1 all combinations of which reveal the harmonies pre-existing between signs1 letters and numbers1 the practical value of the ,tarot is truly and above all marvellous4 ,but we cannot with impunity1 by such means1 extort from ourselves the secrets of our intimate communication with the universal light4 ,the questioning of cards and ,tarots is a literal evocation1 which cannot be performed apart from danger and crime4 ,by evocations we compel our astral body to appear before us2 in divination we force it to speak4 ,we provide a body for our chimras by so doing1 and we make a proximate reality of that future which will actually become ours when it is called up by power of the word and is embraced by faith4 ,to acquire the habit of divination and of magnetic consultations is to make a compact with vertigo1 and we have established already that vertigo is hell4 ,mlle4 ,lenormand was infatuated with herself and with her art2 she thought that the world could not go on without her and that she was necessary to the equilibrium of ,europe4 ,at the ,congress of ,aix-la-,chapelle1 the seeress made her appearance with all her properties1 did business at all the customs1 and pestered all the authorities1 so that they were compelled in a sense to concern themselves with her2 she was truly the fly on the wheel1 and what a fly6 ,on her return she published her impressions with a frontispiece representing herself surrounded by all the powers1 who consulted her and trembled in her presence4#cdd ,the great events which had just come to pass in the world turned all minds towards mysticism2 a religious reaction began and the royalties constituting the ,holy ,alliance felt the need of attaching their united sceptres to the cross4 ,the ,emperor ,alexander in particular believed that the hour was come for ,holy ,russia to convert the world to universal orthodoxy4 ,the intriguing and turbulent sect of the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii sought to profit by this tendency for the foundation of a new priesthood1 and it succeeded in introducing one of its seeresses to the notice of the ,russian ,emperor4 ,madame ,bouche was the name of this new ,catherine ,thot1 but she was called ,sister ,salome by the sect4#cde ,she spent eighteen months at the ,imperial ,court and had many secret conferences with ,alexander1 but he had more of pious imagination than true enthusiasm2 he delighted in the marvellous and pretended that it amused him4 ,it came about that his confidants in this class of interests presented him with another prophetess1 and ,sister ,salome was forgotten4 ,her successor was ,madame de ,krudener1 an amiable coquette full of piety and virtue1 who created but was not herself ,valrie4#cdf ,it was1 however1 her ambition to pass as the heroine of her own book1 and when one of her intimate friends pressed her to identify the hero1 she mentioned an eminent personality of that period4 8,ah then10 said her friend1 8the catastrophe of your book is not in conformity with the facts1 for the gentleman in question is not dead40 ,but ,madame de ,krudener replied1 8,oh1 my dear1 he is little better than dead10 and the retort was her fortune4 ,the influence of ,madame de ,krudener on the somewhat weak mind of ,alexander was strong enough to concern his advisers2 he was often shut up with her in prayer1 but in the end she was lost by excess of zeal4 ,one day the ,emperor was taking leave of her when she threw herself before him1 conjuring him not to go out and explaining how ,god had made known to her that he was in great danger1 that there was a plot against his life1 and that an assassin was concealed in the palace4 ,the ,emperor was alarmed and summoned the guards2 a search followed1 and some poor wretch was ultimately discovered with a dagger4 ,in confusion he finished by confessing that he had been introduced by ,madame de ,krudener herself4#cdg ,was it true1 and had the lady played the part of ,latude in the vicinity of ,madame de ,pompadour8 ,was it false1 and1 secreted by the ,emperor's enemies1 was the man's mission--in the event of the murder failing--to destroy ,madame de ,krudener8 ,either way1 the poor prophetess was lost1 for the ,emperor1 in his shame at being regarded as a dupe1 sent her about her business without hearing her1 and she had reason to think herself fortunate in escaping so easily4 ,the little church of ,louis ,,xvii did not conclude that it was beaten by the disgrace of ,madame ,bouche1 while in that of ,madame de ,krudener it beheld a ,divine punishment4 ,the prophecies continued and were reinforced1 as required1 by miracles4 ,in the reign of ,louis ,,xviii they put forward a peasant of ,la ,beauce1 named ,martin1#cdh who declared that he had seen an angel4 ,from the description which he gave the angel in question was in the guise of a lackey belonging to some good family2 he had a long surtout1 cut very close at the waist and of a yellow colour2 he was pale and thin1 with a hat which was probably adorned with gold lace4 ,the strange thing is that the seer managed to be taken seriously and obtained an interview with the king1 furnishing one more instance of the resources in persistence and boldness4 ,it is said that the king was astonished by revelations concerning his private life1 in which there is nothing that is impossible or even of an extraordinary nature1 now that the phenomena of magnetism are better authenticated and known4 ,moreover1 ,louis ,,xviii was sufficiently sceptical to be credulous4 ,doubt in the presence of existence and its harmonies1 scepticism in the face of the eternal mathematics and immutable laws of life1 by which ,divinity is manifested everywhere--this assuredly is the most imbecile of superstitions and the least excusable1 as it is the most dangerous1 of all credulities4 ,,book ,,vii ,,magic ,,in ,,the ,,nineteenth ,,century --,,zain ,,chapter ,i ,,magnetic ,,mystics ,,and ,,materialists ,the denial of the fundamental doctrine of catholic religion1 formulated so magnificently in the poem of ,faust1 had borne its fruits in the world4 ,morality deprived of its eternal sanction became doubtful and unsettled4 ,a materialistic mystic turned about the system of ,swedenborg to create on earth a paradise of attractions in proportion to destinies4 ,by the word attractions ,fourier understood the sensuous passions1 and to these he promised an integral and absolute expansion4 ,god1 who is the ,supreme ,reason1 marks such condemned doctrines with a terrible seal2 the disciples of ,fourier began by absurdity and ended in madness4#cdi ,they believed seriously that the ocean would be presently transformed into an immeasurable bowl of lemonade2 they believed also in the future creation of anti-lions and anti-serpents1 in epistolary correspondence to be established between the planets4 ,we forbear speaking of the famous tail1 thirty-two feet in length1 with which it is reported that the human species was to be adorned1 because it would appear that they had the generosity to set this notion aside as1 according to their master1 a purely hypothetical question4 ,to such absurdities does the denial of equilibrium lead4 ,and at the bottom of all these follies there is more logic than would be thought4 ,the same reason which necessitates suffering in humanity renders indispensable the bitterness of sea-water2 grant the integral expansion of instincts1 and you can no longer admit the existence of wild beasts2 endow man with the capacity of satisfying his appetites as the sum of all morality1 and he will still have something to envy in ourang-outangs and monkeys4 ,to deny hell is also to deny heaven1 seeing that1 according to the most exalted interpretation of the ,great ,hermetic ,dogma1 hell is the equilibrating reason of heaven1 for harmony results from the analogy of contraries4 ,quod superius1 sicut quod inferius4 ,superiority presupposes inferiority2 the depth determines the height1 and to fill up the valleys is to efface mountains2 so also to take away shadows would be to destroy light1 as this is only visible by the graduated contrast of darkness and day2 an universal obscurity would be produced by all-dazzling brilliance4 ,the very existence of colours in light is due to the presence of shadow2 it is the triple alliance of day and night1 the luminous image of dogma1 the light made shadow1 as the ,saviour is the ,word made man4 ,all this rests on the same law1 which is the first law of creation1 the one absolute law of ,nature1 being that of the distinction and harmonious balancing of opposing forces in universal equilibrium4 ,illustration3 ,,general ,,plan ,,of ,,kabalistic ,,doctrine ,that which has revolted public conscience is not the dogma of hell but its rash interpretation4 ,those barbarous dreams of the middle ages1 those atrocious and obscene tortures1 sculptured on the porticos of churches1 that infamous cauldron for the cooking of human flesh which lives for ever1 so that it may for ever suffer1 while the elect are rejoiced by the smoke--all this is absurd and impious2 but none of it belongs to the sacred doctrine of the ,church4 ,the cruelty attributed to ,god constitutes the most frightful of blasphemies1 and it is precisely for this reason that evil is for ever irremediable while the will of man rejects the divine goodness4 ,god inflicts the tortures of reprobation on those who are damned only as ,he causes the death of the suicide4 8,work in order to possess1 and you will be happy0--so speaks the ,supreme ,justice to man4--8,i would possess and enjoy without labour40--8,you will then be a robber and will suffer40--8,i will rebel40--8,you will be broken and will suffer further40--8,i will rebel for ever40--8,then shall you suffer eternally40 ,such is the decree of the ,absolute ,reason and the ,sovereign ,justice3 what can be answered hereto by human pride and folly8 ,religion has no greater enemy than unbridled mysticism1 which mistakes its feverish visions for divine revelations4 ,it is not the theologians who have created the devil's empire1 but the false devotees and sorcerers4 ,to believe a vision of the brain rather than the authority of public reason or piety has been ever the beginning of heresy in religion and of folly in the order of human philosophy2 a fool would not be a fool if he believed in the reason of others4 ,visions have never been wanting to piety in revolt1 nor chimeras to reason which excommunicates and banishes itself4 ,from this point of view1 magnetism has its dangers assuredly1 for the state which it induces leads to hallucination as easily as to lucid intuition4 ,we are dealing in this chapter1 on the one hand1 with mystic magnetisers1 with materialistic magnetisers on the other hand1 and we would warn them in the name of science concerning the risks which they run4 ,divinations1 magnetic experiences and evocations belong to one and the same order of phenomena1 being those which cannot be misemployed without danger to reason and life4 ,some thirty or forty years ago a choirmaster of ,notre ,dame1 who1 for the rest1 was an exceedingly pious and estimable man1 became infatuated with mesmerism and gave himself up to its experiences2 he also devoted more time than was reasonable to the study of the mystics1 and above all the vertiginous ,swedenborg4 ,mental exhaustion followed1 and as it was accompanied by sleeplessness1 he used to rise and continue his studies2 if this failed to quiet the restlessness of his brain1 he took the key of the church1 entered it by the ,porte ,rouge1 repaired to the choir which was lighted only by the feeble lamp of the ,high ,altar1 took refuge in his stall and there remained till morning1 immersed in prayers and profound meditation4 ,there came a night when eternal damnation formed the subject of his reflections1 in connection with the menacing doctrine of the small number of the elect4 ,he was unable to reconcile such rigorous exclusion of the majority with the infinite goodness of that ,god ,who1 according to ,holy ,scripture1 wills the salvation of all and their attainment of truth4 ,he thought also of those fiery torments which the most cruel of earthly tyrants would not1 were it possible1 inflict for one day only on his worst enemy4 ,doubt entered his heart by all its avenues1 and he had recourse to the conciliating explanations of theology4 ,the church does not define the fire of hell2 according to the gospel it is eternal1 but it is nowhere written that the greater number of men are destined to suffer eternally4 ,many of the condemned may undergo only the privation of ,god2 above all the church forbids absolutely the assumption of individual damnation4 ,pagans can be saved by the baptism of desire1 scandalous sinners by sudden and perfect contrition1 and in fine we must hope for all1 as we must pray also for all1 save one only1 being he of whom the ,saviour said that it would have been better for him had that man never been born4 ,the last thought brought the choirmaster to a pause1 and it came upon him suddenly that a single man was thus carrying officially the burden of condemnation for centuries1 that ,judas ,iscariot1 who is the subject of reference in the passage of ,scripture quoted1 after so far repenting his crime that he died because of it1 had become the scapegoat of humanity1 the ,atlas of hell1 the ,prometheus of damnation4 ,yet he it was whom the ,saviour on the threshold of death had termed his friend4 ,the choirmaster's eyes filled with tears1 redemption seemed ineffectual if it failed to save ,judas4 8,for him and for him only10 he exclaimed in his exaltation1 8would ,i have died a second time1 had ,i been the ,saviour4 ,yet is not ,jesus ,christ a thousand times better than ,i am1 and what must ,he then be doing in heaven1 if ,i am weeping on earth for ,his hapless apostle8444 ,what ,he is doing10 added the priest1 his exaltation increasing1 8is to pity me and console me2 ,i feel it4 ,he is telling my heart that the pariah of the gospel is saved and that he will become1 by the long malediction which still weighs upon his memory1 the redeemer of all pariahs4444 ,now1 if it be so1 a new gospel must be proclaimed to the world1 and it will be one of infinite1 universal mercy--in the name of the regenerated ,judas4444 ,but ,i am astray1 ,i am a heretic1 a reprobate 444 and yet1 no--for ,i am sincere40 ,then clasping his hands fervently1 the choirmaster added3 8,my ,god1 vouchsafe me that which ,thou didst not refuse unto faith of old and which ,thou dost not refuse now--a miracle to convince and reassure me1 a miracle as the testimony of a new mission40 ,the enthusiast then rose and in that silence of the night which is so formidable at the foot of altars1 in the vastness of the mute and darksome church1 he pronounced the following evocation in loud tones1 but slowly and solemnly3 8,thou who hast been cursed for eighteen centuries1 thou for whom ,i weep1 for thou dost seem to have taken hell solely unto thyself1 so that heaven may be left for us2 thou1 unfortunate ,judas1 if it be true that the blood of thy ,master has purified thee1 so that thou art saved indeed1 come and lay thy hands upon me1 for the priesthood of mercy and love40 ,while the echo of these words was still murmuring through the affrighted arches1 the choirmaster rose up1 crossed the choir and knelt under the lamp before the ,high ,altar4 ,he tells us1 for the account is related by himself1 that he felt positively and really two warm and living hands placed upon his head1 as bishops impose them on the day of ordination4 ,he was not sleeping or swooning and he felt them2 it was a real contact which lasted for several minutes4 ,he became certain that ,god had heard him1 that a miracle had been performed1 new duties had been imposed1 and that a new life was for him begun2 from to-morrow he must be a new man4 ,but on the morrow the unhappy choirmaster was mad4 ,the dream of a heaven without hell1 the dream of ,faust has made other victims innumerable in this hapless century of doubt and egoism1 which has only succeeded on its own part in the realisation of a hell without a heaven4 ,god ,himself has become of no effect in a system where all is permissible1 where all things count for good4 ,men who have reached the point where they fear no longer a ,supreme ,judge1 find it easy to dispense with that ,god of simple folk1 who is less of a ,god in reality than the simple folk themselves4 ,the fools1 who vaunt themselves as conquerors of the devil1 end by making themselves gods4 ,our age is above all that of these pseudo-divine mummers1 and we have known all grades of them4 ,the god ,ganneau1 a good and too poetic nature1 who would have given his shirt to the poor1 who reinstated thieves1 who admired ,lacenaire1 and who would not have hurt a fly2 the god ,cheneau1 a dealer in buttons in the rue ,croix des ,petits-,champs1 a visionary like ,swedenborg1 and recording his inspirations in the style of ,jeannot2#cej the god ,tourreil1 an excellent personage who deified woman and decided that ,adam had been extracted from ,eve2 the god ,auguste ,comte1 who preserved the ,catholic religion intact with two only exceptions1 being the existence of ,god and the immortality of the soul2 the god ,wronski1 he being a true scholar1 who had the glory and the happiness to rediscover the first theorems of the ,kabalah1 and who1 having sold their communication for #aej1jjj francs to a wealthy imbecile named ,arson1 has borne witness in one of his most serious works that the said ,arson1 having refused to pay him in full1 has become actually and literally the beast of the ,apocalypse4 ,with a view of enforcing payment1 ,wronski published a pamphlet entitled ,yes or ,no--that is to say1 have you or have you not1 yes or no1 purchased from me for #aej1jjj francs my discovery of the absolute8 ,lest we should be accused of injustice towards one whose works have proved useful to ourselves1 and whose eulogium has been pronounced in our former publications1 we will give verbatim the passage in ,wronski's ,reform of ,philosophy1 p4 #eab1 which calls the attention of an indifferent universe to the pamphlet above mentioned4 ,it will also offer a curious specimen of the style adopted by this merchant in the ,absolute4 8,this fact of the discovery of the ,absolute1 against which people have appeared to rebel so strongly1 has already been established undeniably by means of a great scandal1 that of the famous ,yes or ,no1 not less decisive by the brilliant victory of truth which followed therefrom than remarkable by the sudden manifestation of the symbolic being foreshadowed in the ,apocalypse1 the monster of creation who bears the name ,mystery on his forehead1 and who on this occasion1 fearing to be mortally wounded1 can no longer hide his hideous contortions in darkness1 but comes through the medium of newspapers and by other modes of publicity to expose in the open day his infernal rage and the height of his imposture1 c40 ,it is good to know that this unfortunate ,arson1 here accused1 had already expended on the hierophant some forty or fifty thousand francs4 ,we have attained after ,wronski that ,absolute which he sold so dearly1 and we have given it without price to our readers1 for truth is due to the world1 and none has the right to appropriate or turn it into trade and merchandise4 ,may this one act of justice atone for the error of a man who perished in a condition approaching want after having worked so hard1 though not indeed for science1 but to enrich himself by means of knowledge that he may have been unworthy to understand or to possess4#cea ,,chapter ,,ii ,,hallucinations ,a root of ambition or cupidity is found invariably beneath the fanaticism of all the sects4 ,christ ,jesus ,himself reprimanded often and severely those of ,his disciples who cleaved to ,him1 during the days of ,his privations and exile in ,his own land1 with the hope that they would come into a kingdom wherein they would occupy the seats of the mighty4 ,the more egregious the expectations are1 the more they inveigle some imaginations2 and people are then prepared to pay for the felicity of hope with their whole purse and indeed their whole personality4 ,it is thus that the god ,wronski ruined those imbeciles to whom he promised the ,absolute2 it is thus that the god ,auguste ,comte drew an annuity of #fjjj francs at the expense of his worshippers1 among whom he had distributed fantastic dignities in advance1 to become realisable when his doctrine should have conquered the world4 ,it is thus that certain mediums draw money from innumerable dupes by promising them treasures which the spirits always make away with4 ,some of these impostors really believe in their promises1 and it is these precisely who are the most unwearying and the boldest in their intrigues4 ,money1 miracles1 prophecies1 none of these fail them1 because theirs is that absolute of will and action which really works wonders1 so that they are magicians without knowing it4 ,from this point of view1 that sect which may be termed the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii belongs to the history of ,magic4 ,the mania of these people is so contagious that it draws within the circle of their belief even those who have come forward to combat them4 ,they procure the most important and rare documents1 collect the most exceptional testimonies1 evoke forgotten memories1 command the army of dreams1 insure the apparition of angels to ,martin1 of blood to ,rose ,tamissier1 of an angel in tatters to ,eugne ,vintras4 ,the last history is curious on account or its extraordinary consequences1 and we shall therefore recite it4 ,in #ahci1 the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii1 who had filled the almanacs with prophecies for #ahdj1 seemed to have assumed that if the whole world could be made to expect a revolution1 that revolution would not fail to be accomplished2 but having no longer their prophet ,martin1 they set about to secure another4 ,some of their most zealous agents were then in ,normandy1 of which the pretended ,louis ,,xvii claimed to be ,duke4 ,they cast their eyes on a devout labourer1 with an excitable but weak brain1 and they planned the following device4 ,they framed a letter addressed to the prince1 meaning the pretender1 filled it with emphatic promises concerning the reign to come1 in combination with mystical expressions calculated to influence a person of feeble mentality1 and then arranged that it should come into the hands of the peasant in question1 who was named ,eugne ,vintras1 under circumstances as to which he may be left to speak for himself4 8,august #f1 #ahci4 8,towards nine o'clock ,i was occupied in writing1 when there was a knock at the door of the room in which ,i sat1 and supposing that it was a workman who came on business1 ,i said rather brusquely3 #8,come in4' ,much to my astonishment1 in place of the expected workman1 ,i saw an old man in rags4 ,i asked merely what he wanted4 ,he answered with much tranquillity1 #8,don't disturb yourself1 ,pierre ,michel4' ,now1 these names are never used in addressing me1 for ,i am known everywhere as ,eugne1 and even in signing documents ,i do not make use of my first names4 ,i was conscious of a certain emotion at the old man's answer1 and this increased when he said3 #8,i am utterly tired1 and wherever ,i appear they treat me with disdain1 or as a thief4' ,the words alarmed me considerably1 though they were spoken in a saddened and even a woeful tone4 ,i arose and placed a ten sous piece in his hand1 saying1 #8,i do not take you for that1 my good man1' and while speaking1 ,i made him understand that ,i wished to see him out4 ,he received it in silence but turned his back with a pained air4 ,no sooner had he set foot on the last step than ,i shut the door and locked it4 ,i did not hear him go down1 so ,i called a workman and told him to come up to my room4 ,under some business pretext1 ,i was wishing him to search with me all the possible places which might conceal my old man1 whom ,i had not seen go out4 ,the workman came accordingly4 ,i left the room in his company1 again locking my door4 ,i hunted through all the nooks and corners1 but saw nothing4 8,i was about to enter the factory when ,i heard on a sudden the bell ringing for mass and felt glad that1 notwithstanding the disturbance1 ,i could assist at the sacred ceremony4 ,i ran back to my room to obtain a prayer book and1 on the table where ,i had been writing1 ,i found a letter addressed to ,mme4 de ,geners in ,london2 it was written and signed by ,m4 ,paul de ,montfleury of ,caen1 and embodied a refutation of heresy1 together with a profession of orthodox faith4 ,the address notwithstanding1 this letter was intended to place before the ,duke of ,normandy the most important truths of our holy ,catholic1 ,apostolic and ,roman religion4 ,on the document was laid the ten sous piece which ,i had given to the old man40 ,in another communication1 ,pierre ,michel admits that the face of his visitor was not unknown to him1 but that he was struck with strange fear by his sudden appearance1 that he barred and barricaded the door when he went out and listened a long time1 hoping to hear him go down4 ,as ,vintras heard nothing1 there is no doubt that the mendicant took off his shoes so that he might descend1 making no noise4 ,vintras ran to the window but did not see him depart1 the explanation being that he had done so some time previously4 ,our witness1 in the end1 is upset1 calls for help1 looks everywhere1 finally coming across the letter which he was meant to read1 but it is for him evidently a letter fallen from heaven4 ,behold ,vintras1 devoted henceforth to ,louis ,,xvii1 behold him also a visionary for the rest of his days1 as the apparition of the old mendicant never quits him henceforward4 ,then seeing that he addressed ,vintras as ,pierre ,michel1 the latter regards him as the archangel ,michael1 by an association of ideas which is analogous to that of dreams4#ceb ,the deluded supporters of ,louis ,,xvii had divined1 with the second sight of maniacs1 the right moment for impressing the feeble wits of ,vintras so as to make him by a single experience at once an illumin and a prophet4 ,the sect of ,louis ,,xvii consists more especially of persons belonging to the service of the legitimate royalty1 and when ,vintras became their medium1 he was the faithful mirror of their imaginations filled with romanesque memories and obsolete mysticism4 ,in the visions of the new prophet there were everywhere lilies steeped in blood1#cec angels habited like knights1 saints disguised as troubadours4 ,thereafter came hosts affixed on blue silk4 ,vintras had bloody sweats1 his blood appeared on hosts1 where it pictured hearts with inscriptions in the handwriting and spelling of ,vintras2 empty chalices were filled suddenly with wine1 and where the wine fell the stains were like those of blood4 ,the initiates believed that they heard delightful music and breathed unknown perfumes2 priests1 invited to witness the prodigies1 were carried away in the current of enthusiasm4 ,one of them1 from the diocese of ,tours1 an old and venerable ecclesiastic1 left his cure to follow the prophet4#ced ,we have personally seen this priest2 he has narrated the marvels of ,vintras with the most perfect accent of conviction2 he has shewn us hosts intincted with blood in a most inexplicable manner2 he has communicated to us copies of official proceedings signed by more than fifty witnesses1 all honorable persons1 occupying positions in the world--artists1 physicians1 lawyers1 a ,chevalier de ,razac and a ,duchesse d',armaill4 ,doctors have analysed the crimson fluid which flowed from the hosts and have certified that it was human blood2 the very enemies of ,vintras1 and he has cruel enemies1 do not dispute the miracles1 but refer them to the devil4 8,now10 said the ,abb ,chavoz1 the priest of ,touraine whom we have mentioned1 8can you tolerate the notion of the demon falsifying the blood of ,christ ,jesus on hosts which have been regularly consecrated80 ,abb ,chavoz is a real priest1 and the signs in question appeared in hosts which had been hallowed by him4 ,this notwithstanding1 the sect of ,vintras is anarchic and absurd1 and ,god would not therefore perform miracles in its favour4 ,there remains the natural explanation of such phenomena1 and in the course of the present work it has been indicated sufficiently to make further development needless4 ,vintras1 whom his partisans represent as a new ,christ1 has also had his ,iscariots2 two members of the sect1 a certain ,gozzoli and another named ,alexandre ,geoffroi1 published the most scandalous revelations against him4#cee ,according to them1 the devotees of ,tilly-sur-,seules--which was the place of their residence--were given over to the most obscene practices2 they celebrated in their private chapel1 which they termed the upper chamber1 sacrilegious masses1 at which the elect assisted in a state of complete nudity4 ,at a given moment all present fell into a paroxysm1 and with tears and cries of 8,love1 ,love10 they cast themselves into each other's arms2 the rest we may be permitted to suppress4 ,it was like the orgies of the old ,gnostics1 but without even taking the precaution to extinguish the lights4 ,alexandre ,geoffroi testifies that ,vintras initiated him into a kind of prayer which consisted in the monstrous act of ,onan1 committed at the foot of the altar1 but here the accuser is too odious to be believed on his own word4 ,abb ,chavoz1 to whom we mentioned these infamous impeachments1 explained that they must be attributed to the hatred of two men who had been expelled from the association for having been guilty on their own part of the acts which they attributed to ,vintras4 ,however it may be1 moral disorders engender naturally those of a physical kind1 and abnormal excitements of the nervous system produce almost invariably eccentric irregularities in morals3 if therefore ,vintras is innocent1 he might have been and may yet be guilty4 ,his sect was condemned formally by ,gregory ,,xvi in his brief1 dated ,november #h1 #ahdc4 ,we append a specimen of the style which this illumin adopted2 he is a man without education and his bombastic writings swarm with grammatical errors4 8,sleep1 sleep1 ye indolent mortals2 rest1 and still rest on your soft couches2 smile at your dreams of festivals and grandeurs4 ,the angel of the covenant has come down on your mountains2 he has written his name even in the cups of your flowers2 the rings on his feet have touched the rivers which are your pride and hope2 the oaks of your forests have borrowed the tincture of a new morning from the radiance of his brow2 the sea has made answer to his glance with a yearning leap4 ,she has gone before him2 prostrate yourselves upon the earth and be not alarmed at the continuous sound heard in the graves beneath4 ,sleep1 and still sleep4 ,he is engraving his name on the high hills2 he is calling on time to speed his ship1 and ,i have seen the oldest of the old smile at him4 ,sleep therefore and sleep2 ,elias1 in the ,west1 sets a cross at the gate of the temple2 he seals it with fire and with the steel of a dagger40 ,still the temple1 and still fire and dagger4 ,it is strange assuredly how the fools reflect one another2 all fanaticisms interweave their inspirations and the prophet of ,louis ,,xvii is here an echo of the vengeance-cry of the ,templars4 ,it is true that ,vintras does not hold himself responsible for what he writes2 this is how he speaks on the subject4 8,if my mind counted for anything in these condemned works1 ,i should bow my head and fear would possess my soul4 ,but the work is not my work1 and ,i have had no concurrence therein1 either by research or desire4 ,calm is within me2 my couch knows no vigils2 watches have not wearied my eyes2 my sleep is pure1 as when ,god first gave it2 ,i can say to my ,god with a free heart3 ,custodi animam meum et erue me3 non erubescam1 quoniam speravi in te40 ,another reputed reformer1 he who posed as the ,messiah of prisons and the scaffold1 namely1 ,lacenaire1 with whom we do not assuredly seek to compare ,vintras1 wrote thus in his prison3 8,as a chaste and pure virgin1 ,i wake and ,i sleep1 ever in dreams of love4 ,who shall teach me the meaning of remorse80 ,the argument of ,vintras1 in order to legalise his inspiration1 is not therefore conclusive1 for it has also served ,lacenaire1 to excuse and even legitimise not only reveries but crimes4 ,condemned by the ,pope1 the sect of ,tilly-sur-,seules condemned the ,pope in their turn1 and ,vintras1 on his private warrant1 constituted himself sovereign pontiff4 ,the shape of his priestly vestments was revealed to him2 he wears a golden diadem1 having an ,indian lingam over the forehead2 he is vested in a purple robe and carries a magical sceptre terminated by a hand1 the fingers of which are closed excepting the thumb and little finger1 being those consecrated to ,venus and ,mercury1 emblematic of the antique hermaphrodite1 the emblem of the old ceremonial orgies and the obscene pageants of the ,sabbath4 ,so do the memories and reflections of ,black ,magic1 transmitted by the ,astral ,light1 connect the mysteries of ,india and the profane worship of ,baphomet with the ecstasies of this contagious being1 whose infirmary is at ,london1 and who continues there to make proselytes and victims4#cef ,the exaltation of the unfortunate prophet is by no means exempt from terrors and remorse1 whatever he may have alleged to the contrary1 and mournful confessions escape him from time to time4 ,an example occurs in a letter written to one of his most intimate friends4 8,i am always expecting new torments4 ,tomorrow the ,verger family will come1 and ,i shall behold in their faces the purity of their soul manifested in their joy of spirit4 ,it will recall my past happiness2 names will be mentioned which ,i pronounced lovingly myself in days not far away4 ,that which will be a delight for others will bring me new tortures4 ,i shall sit at the table1 and whilst my heart is pierced with a sword1 ,i shall have to smile4 ,o1 if perchance those terrible words which ,i have heard were not eternal1 ,i might still embrace my cruel torment4 ,pardon1 most dear1 ,i cannot live without loving ,god4 ,listen1 if your human charity permits you1 as minister of the living ,god2 ,i do not protest2 he whom your ,master has spewed out of his mouth must be anathematised by you3 ,on the night of ,monday1 being ,may #ag or #ah1 a frightful dream struck a mortal blow at soul and body alike4 ,i was at ,sainte-,paix1 and there was no one in the house1 though the doors were open4 ,i had ascended hurriedly to the holy chapel and was about to open the door when ,i saw emblazoned thereon in characters of fire3 #8,dare not to enter this place1 thou whom ,i have spewed from my mouth4'444 ,i could not retreat2 ,i fell down overcome on the first step2 and you can judge of my terror when ,i saw on every side a vast and deep abyss1 with hideous monsters therein who hailed me as their brother4 ,the thought came to me at that moment that the holy archangel also once called me his brother4 ,what a difference4 ,his salutation caused my soul to leap with the most intense joy2 and at theirs ,i writhed in convulsions similar to those which they had experienced through the power with which ,god endowed my cross of grace at their apparition on ,april #bh last4 8,i tried to cling to something1 so that ,i might not fall into the bottomless gulf4 ,i turned to the ,mother of ,god1 the divine ,mary1 and called on her to help me4 ,she was deaf to my voice4 ,during all this time ,i continued writhing1 leaving strips of my skin on the rugged points which bordered this terrible abyss4 ,suddenly whirlpools of flame rose towards me from that depth wherein ,i was about to fall4 ,i heard yells of ferocious joy and could pray no longer1 when a voice more terrific than long echoes of thunder in a violent tempest filled my ears1 uttering these words3 #8,you think to overcome me but it is you who are conquered4 ,i have taught you to be humble after my manner4 ,come1 taste of my sweetness2 be numbered among my elect1 and learn also to know the tyrant of heaven2 join with us in uttering blasphemies and imprecations against him2 all else is useless1 so far as you are concerned4' ,then after a scream of laughter the voice added3 #8,behold ,mary1 her whom you called your shield against us2 behold her gracious smile and listen to her gentle voice4' 8,dear friend1 ,i saw her above the abyss2 her eyes of celestial blue were filled with fire1 her red lips were violet1 her mild and divine voice had become hard and terrible1 and like thunderbolt she hurled these words at me3 #8,writhe1 proud one1 in those fiery regions inhabited by demons4' 8,all my blood flowed back to my heart2 it seemed that the hour had struck wherein an earthly hell was to replace the hell that is eternal2 ,i could still utter a few words of the ,ave1 ,maria4 ,how the time passed ,i knew not1 but on returning the servant was asleep and said that it was late4 ,o1 if only ,i revealed to the enemies of the ,work of ,mercy that which passes within me1 would they not cry victory8 ,they would say that here indeed was evidence of monomania4 ,would ,god that it were so1 for ,i should have less to lament4 ,and yet fear nothing2 if ,god will not hear my voice when it pleads my own cause1 ,i will pray ,him to double my sufferings1 on condition that he hides them from my enemies40 ,here triumphant hallucination reaches the point of the sublime2 ,vintras consents to be damned1 provided he is not classed as a fool4 ,it is the last instinct of reason's inestimable value1 surviving reason itself4 ,the drunken man is afraid only of being regarded as drunk2 the monomaniac chooses death rather than admit his delirium4 ,the explanation is that1 according to the beautiful sentence of ,cebes1 already quoted1 there is only one good desirable for man2 it is that wisdom which is the practice of reason3 there is also one only true and supreme misfortune to dread1 which is madness4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,mesmerists ,,and ,,somnambulists ,the ,church in its great wisdom forbids us to consult oracles and to violate by indiscreet curiosity the secrets of futurity4 ,in our day the voice of the ,church is no longer heeded2 the people go back to diviners and pythonesses2 the somnambulists have become prophets for those who believe no longer in the gospel precepts4 ,it is not realised that preoccupation over a predicted event suppresses our freedom in a sense and paralyses our means of defence2 by consulting ,magic1 to foresee future events1 we give earnests to fatality4 ,the somnambulists are the sibyls of our epoch1 as the sibyls were somnambulists of antiquity2 happy are those querents who do not place their credulity at the service of immoral or senseless magnetists1 for by the very fact of their friendly consultations they place themselves in communion with the immorality or folly of those who inspire the oracle2 the business of the mesmerist is easy and his dupes are manifold4 ,among those who are devoted to magnetism it is therefore important to know who are in earnest4 ,among these1 ,m4 le ,baron ,du ,potet must be placed in the front rank1 and his conscientious work has already done much to advance the science of ,mesmer4 ,he has opened at ,paris a practical school of magnetism1 to which the public is admitted for instruction in the processes and verification of the phenomena obtained4 ,baron ,du ,potet is of an exceptional and highly intuitive nature4 ,like all our contemporaries1 including the most instructed1 he knows nothing of the ,kabalah and its mysteries1 but magnetism has notwithstanding revealed to him the science of ,magic1 and as it is still dread in his eyes1 he has concealed that which he has found1 even while feeling it necessary to reveal it4 ,the book which he has written on the subject is sold only to his adepts and then under the seal absolute of secrecy4#ceg ,we have entered into no bond with ,m4 ,du ,potet1 but we shall reserve his secret out of respect for the convictions of a hierophant4 ,it is sufficient to say that his work is the most remarkable of all products of pure intuition4 ,we do not regard it as dangerous1 because the writer indicates forces without being precise as to their use4 ,he is aware that we can do good or evil1 can destroy or save by means of magnetic processes1 but the nature of these is not clearly and practically put forward1 on which we offer him our felicitations1 for the right of life and death presupposes a divine sovereignty1 and we should regard its possessor as unworthy if he consented to sell it--in what manner soever4 ,m4 ,du ,potet establishes triumphantly the existence of that universal light wherein lucids perceive all images and all reflections of thought4 ,he assists the vital projection of this light by means of an absorbent apparatus which he calls the ,magic ,mirror2 it is simply a circle or square covered with powdered charcoal1 finely sifted4 ,in this negative space1 the combined light projected by the magnetic subject and the operator soon tinges and realises the forms corresponding to their nervous impressions4 ,the somnambulist sees manifested therein all dreams of opium and hasheesh1 and if he were not distracted from the spectacle convulsions would follow4 ,the phenomena are analogous to those of hydromancy as practised by ,cagliostro2 the process of staring at water dazzles and troubles the sight2 the fatigue of the eye1 in its turn1 favours hallucinations of the brain4 ,cagliostro sought to secure for his experiments virgin subjects in a state of perfect innocence1 so as to set aside interference due to nervous divagations occasioned by erotic reminiscences4 ,du ,potet's ,magic ,mirror is perhaps more fatiguing for the nervous system as a whole1 but the dazzlements of hydromancy would have a more dangerous effect upon the brain4#ceh ,m4 ,du ,potet is one of those deeply convinced men who suffer bravely the disdain of science and the prejudgment of opinion1 repeating beneath his breath the profession of secret faith cherished by ,galileo3 ,e pur si muove4 ,it has been discovered quite recently that the tables turn1 as the earth itself turns1 and that human magnetisation imparts to portable articles1 made subject to the influence of mediums1 a specific movement of rotation4 ,objects of extraordinary weight can be lifted and transported through space by this force1 for weight exists only by reason of equilibrium between the two forces of the ,astral ,light4 ,augment the action of one of them and the other will give way immediately4 ,now1 if the nervous apparatus indraws and expels this light1 rendering it positive or negative according to the personal super-excitation of the subject1 all inert bodies submitted to its action and impregnated with its life will become lighter or heavier1 following the flux and reflux of the light which--in the new equilibrium of its movement--draws porous bodies and non-conductors about a living centre1 as planets in space are drawn1 balanced and gravitate about their sun4 ,this excentric power of attraction or projection supposes invariably a diseased condition in the person who is the subject thereof2 the mediums are all excentric and badly equilibrated beings2 mediomania supposes or occasions a sequence of other nervous manias1 fixed notions1 deordinated appetites1 disorderly erotomania1 tendencies to murder or suicide4 ,among persons so affected moral responsibility seems to exist no more2 they do evil with good as their motive2 they shed tears of emotion in a church and may be surprised at bacchanalian orgies4 ,they have a way of explaining everything--by the devil or the spirits which obsess and carry them away4 ,what would you have of them8 ,they live no more in themselves2 some mysterious creature animates them and acts in their place2 this being is named 8,legion40 ,the reiterated efforts of a healthy person to develop mediumistic faculties cause fatigue1 disease and may even derange reason4 ,it is this which happened to ,victor ,hennequin1 formerly an editor of ,la ,dmocratie ,pacifique and1 after #ahdh1 a member of the ,national ,assembly4 ,he was a young barrister1 with a plentiful flow of eloquence1 wanting neither education nor talent1 but he was infatuated with the reveries of ,fourier4 ,being banished as an after consequence of ,december #b1 he took up table-turning during his enforced inactivity2 he fell a victim all too soon to mediomania and believed himself an instrument for the revelations of the soul of the earth4 ,he published a book entitled3 ,save the ,human ,race2 it was a medley of socialistic and ,christian reminiscences2 a last gleam of reason flickered therein2 but the experiences continued and folly triumphed4 ,in a final work1 of which only one volume was issued1 ,victor ,hennequin represents ,god in the guise of an immense polypus located at the centre of the earth1 having antennae and horns turned inwards like tendrils all over his brain1 as also over that of his wife ,octavia4 ,soon afterwards it was reported that ,victor ,hennequin had died from the consequences of a maniacal paroxysm in a madhouse4#cei ,we have also heard of a lady belonging to the aristocracy who gave herself up to communications with pretended spirits in tables and who1 scandalised beyond measure at the unsuitable replies of her particular piece of furniture1 undertook a journey to ,rome to submit the heretical article to the chair of ,st4 ,peter4 ,she carried it with her and had an auto-da-f in the capital of the ,christian world4 ,better to burn her furniture than to court madness1 and to say the truth it was an imminent danger for the lady here in question4 ,let us not laugh at the episode--for we are children of an age of reason in which men who pass as serious1 like the ,comte de ,mirville1 ascribe to the devil unexplained phenomena of ,nature4 ,in a drama which is well known on the boulevards there is much to be heard of a magician who1 requiring a formidable auxiliary1 created an automaton1 being a monster with the paws of a lion1 a bull's horns and the scales of leviathan4 ,to this hybrid sphinx he imparted life1 but took flight incontinently1 being terrified at the work of his hands4 ,the monster followed in pursuit1 appeared between him and his betrothed1 set fire to his house1 burnt his father1 carried off his son1 and continuing the chase to the sea1 followed him on board a ship which he caused to be engulphed1 but finally made an end of himself amidst thunder4 ,this awful spectacle1 rendered visible by fear1 has been realised in the history of humanity2 poetry has personified the phantom of evil and has endowed it with all forces of ,nature4 ,it has sought to enlist the chimera as an aid to morality1 and has then gone in fear of the ugliness begotten by its own dreams4 ,from this time forward1 the monster has pursued us through the ages2 it makes grimaces between us and the objects of our love2 an impure nightmare1 it strangles our children in their sleep2 it carries through creation1 that father's house of humanity1 the inextinguishable torch of hell2 it burns and tortures our parents everlastingly2 it spreads black wings to hide heaven from our eyes2 it shrieks to us3 8,hope no more40 ,it mounts the crupper and gallops behind us like remorse2 it plunges into the ocean of despair the last rock of our hopes2 it is the old ,persian ,ahriman1 the ,egyptian ,typhon1 the darksome god confessed by the heretics of ,manes1 the ,comte de ,mirville and the ,black ,magic of the devil2 it is the world's horror and the idol of bad ,christians4 ,men have tried to laugh at it and have been afraid2 they have caricatured it and then trembled1 for the cartoons have seemed to take life and to mock at those who made them4 ,all this notwithstanding1 its reign is over1 though it will not perish overwhelmed by a bolt from heaven2 science has conquered the lightning and converted it into torches2 the monster will dissolve before the brightness of science and truth2 the genius of ignorance and darkness can only be blasted by the light4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,fantastic ,,side ,,of ,,magical ,,literature ,it is now twenty years since ,alphonse ,esquiros1#cfj one of the friends of our childhood1 issued a work of high fantasy1 entitled the ,magician4 ,all that the romanticism of that period conceived to be most bizarre was embodied in the story2 the author provided his magus with a seraglio of dead ladies1 embalmed according to a process which has since been discovered by ,gannal4 ,the characters included an automaton of bronze who preached chastity1 a hermaphrodite who was in love with the moon and conducted a regular correspondence with that satellite3 there were other wonderful things which one has forgotten at this day4 ,alphonse ,esquiros may be said to have founded a school of fantasiasts in ,magic by the publication of this romance1 its most distinguished present representative being the young and interesting ,henri ,delaage1 who is a productive writer1 an unrecognised thaumaturgist and a gifted charmer4 ,his style is not less astonishing than were the notions of ,alphonse ,esquiros1 his initiator and master4 ,thus1 in his book dealing with those who have risen from the dead1 he remarks as follows concerning some objection against ,christianity3 8,i take this objection by the throat and1 when ,i loose my grasp1 the earth shall resound sullenly under the weight of its strangled corpse40 ,it is true that his reply to the objection comes to very little2 but what would you1 when an objection has been strangled and when the earth has resounded sullenly under the weight of its body8 ,we have said that ,henri ,delaage is an unrecognised thaumaturgist4 ,as a fact he has informed a person of our acquaintance that during a winter when influenza was prevalent1 it was sufficient for him to enter a room and every one who happened to be therein was cured immediately4 ,unhappily he became himself a victim of the miracle1 for he contracted a slight hoarseness which has never left him4 ,many of our friends declare that he has the gift of ubiquity2 he is left at the office of ,la ,patrie and is found again with his publisher ,dantu2 one retires in dismay and goes home1 there to find--,delaage awaiting one's arrival4 ,he is a skilful charmer4 ,a society lady who had been reading one of his books testified that she knew nothing better written or more beautiful1 but it is not to his works alone that ,delaage imparts beauty4 ,we had been reading an article signed ,fiorentino which said that the physical attractions of the young magician equalled or even surpassed those of angels4 ,we encountered ,delaage and questioned him with curiosity on this singular revelation4 ,delaage then put his hand in his waistcoat1 turned three parts round and looked smiling to heaven2 it happened fortunately that we were carrying the ,enchiridion of ,leo ,,iii1 which is known to preserve from enchantments1 so that the charmer's angelical beauty was hidden from our eyes4 ,let us offer on our part a more serious eulogium to ,henri ,delaage than do those who admire his good looks2 he is sincere when he says that he is a catholic and when he proclaims loudly his love and respect for religion4 ,now religion can make you a saint1 and this title is more estimable and glorious than that of a sorcerer4#cfa ,it is owing to his rank as a publicist that we have placed this young man in the first place among the ,fantasiasts of ,magic1 but in all other respects it belongs to the ,comte ,d',ourches1 a man of venerable age who has devoted his life and fortune to mesmeric experiments4 ,ladies in a state of somnambulism1 and any furniture at his house1 give themselves up to frenzied dances2 the furniture becomes worn out and is broken1 but it is said that the ladies are all the better for their gyrations4 ,for a long time the ,comte ,d',ourches has been dominated by a fixed idea1 which is the fear of being buried alive1 and he has written a number of memorials on the need for verifying decease in a more certain way than obtains usually4 ,he has some justification for such a fear on his own part because his temperament is plethoric1 while his extreme nervous susceptibility1 continually superexcited by experiments with fair somnambulists1 may expose him to attacks of apoplexy4 ,in magnetism he is the pupil of ,abb ,faria and in necromancy he belongs to the school of ,baron de ,guldenstubb4 ,the latter has published a work entitled ,practical ,experimental ,pneumatology1 or the ,reality of ,spirits and the ,marvellous ,phenomenon of their ,direct ,writing4 ,he gives an account of his discovery as follows3 8,it was in the course of the year #ahej1 or about three years prior to the epidemic of table-rapping1 that the author sought to introduce into ,france the circles of ,american spiritualism1 the mysterious ,rochester knockings and the purely automatic writing of mediums4 ,unfortunately he met with many obstacles raised by other mesmerists4 ,those who were committed to the hypothesis of a magnetic fluid1 and even those who styled themselves ,spiritual ,mesmerists1 but who were really inferior inducers of somnambulism1 treated the mysterious knockings of ,american ,spiritualism as visionary follies4 ,it was therefore only after more than six months that the author was able to form his first circle on the ,american plan1 and then thanks to the zealous concurrence of ,m4 ,roustan1 a former member of the ,socit des ,magntiseurs ,spiritualistes1 a simple man who was full of enthusiasm for the holy cause of spiritualism4 ,we were joined by a number of other persons1 amongst whom was the ,abb ,chtel1#cfb founder of the glise ,franaise1 who1 despite his rationalistic tendencies1 ended by admitting the reality of objective and supernatural revelation1 as an indispensable condition of spiritualism and all practical religions4 ,setting aside the moral conditions1 which are equally requisite1 it is known that ,american circles are based on the distinction of positive and electric or negative magnetic currents4 8,the circles consist of twelve persons1 representing in equal proportions the positive and negative or sensitive elements4 ,this distinction does not follow the sex of the members1 though generally women are negative and sensitive1 while men are positive and magnetic4 ,the mental and physical constitution of each individual must be studied before forming the circles1 for some delicate women have masculine qualities1 while some strong men are1 morally speaking1 women4 ,a table is placed in a clear and ventilated spot2 the medium is seated at one end and entirely isolated2 by his calm and contemplative quietude he serves as a conductor for the electricity1 and it may be noted that a good somnambulist is usually an excellent medium4 ,the six electrical or negative dispositions1 which are generally recognised by their emotional qualities and their sensibility1 are placed at the right of the medium1 the most sensitive of all being next him4 ,the same rule is followed with the positive personalities1 who are at the left of the medium1 with the most positive among them next to him4 ,in order to form a chain1 the twelve persons each place their right hand on the table and their left hand on that of their neighbour1 thus making a circle round the table4 ,observe that the medium or mediums1 if there be more than one1 are entirely isolated from those who form the chain4 8,after a number of sances1 certain remarkable phenomena have been obtained1 such as simultaneous shocks1 felt by all present at the moment of mental evocation on the part of the most intelligent persons4 ,it is the same with mysterious knockings and other strange sounds2 many people1 including those least sensitive1 have had simultaneous visions1 though remaining in the ordinary waking state4 ,sensitive persons have acquired that most wonderful gift of mediumship1 namely1 automatic writing as the result of an invisible attraction which uses the non-intelligent instrument of a human arm to express its ideas4 ,for the rest1 nonsensitive persons experience the mysterious influence of an external wind1 but the effect is not strong enough to put their limbs in motion4 ,all these phenomena1 obtained according to the mode of ,american spiritualism1 have the defect of being more or less indirect1 because it is impossible in these experiences to dispense with the mediation of a human being or medium4 ,it is the same with the table-turning which invaded ,europe in the middle of the year #ahec4 8,the author has had many table experiences with his honourable friend1 the ,comte d',ourches1 one of the most instructed persons in ,magic and the ,occult ,sciences4 ,we attained by degrees the point when tables moved apart from any contact whatever1 while the ,comte d',ourches has caused them to rise1 also without contact4 ,the author has made tables rush across a room with great rapidity and not only without contact but without the magnetic aid of a circle of sitters4 ,the vibration of piano-chords under similar circumstances took place on ,january #bj1 #ahef1 in the presence of the ,comte de ,szapary and ,comte d',ourches4 ,now all such phenomena are proof positive of certain occult forces1 but they do not demonstrate adequately the real and substantial existence of unseen intelligences1 independent of our will and imagination1 though the limits of these have been vastly extended in respect of their possibilities4 ,hence the reproach made against ,american spiritualists1 because their communications with the world of spirits are so insignificant in character1 being confined to mysterious knockings and other sound vibrations4 ,as a fact1 there is no direct phenomenon at once intelligent and material1 independent of our will and imagination1 to compare with the direct writing of spirits1 who have neither been invoked nor evoked1 and it is this only which offers irrefutable proof as to the reality of the supernatural world4 8,the author1 being always in search of such proof1 at once intelligent and palpable1 concerning the substantial reality of the supernatural world1 in order to demonstrate by certain facts the immortality of the soul1 has never wearied of addressing fervent prayers to the ,eternal1 that ,he might vouchsafe to indicate an infallible means for strengthening that faith in immortality which is the eternal basis of religion4 ,the ,eternal1 ,whose mercy is infinite1 has abundantly answered this feeble prayer4 ,on ,august #ast1 #ahef1 the idea came to the author of trying whether spirits could write directly1 that is1 apart from the presence of a medium4 ,remembering the marvellous direct writing of the ,decalogue1 communicated to ,moses1 and that other writing1 equally direct and mysterious1 at the feast of ,belshazzar1 recorded by ,daniel2 having further heard about those modern mysteries of ,stratford in ,america1 where certain strange and illegible characters were found upon slips of paper1 apparently apart from mediumship1 the author sought to establish the actuality of such important phenomena1 if indeed within the limits of possibility4 8,he therefore placed a sheet of blank letter paper and a sharply pointed pencil in a box1 which he then locked and carried the key about him1 imparting his design to no one4 ,twelve days he waited in vain1 but what was his astonishment on ,august #ac1 #ahef1 when he found certain mysterious characters traced on the paper4 ,he repeated the experiment ten times on that day1 placing a new sheet of paper each time in the box1 with the same result invariably4 ,on the following day he made twenty experiments but left the box open1 without losing sight of it4 ,he witnessed the formation of characters and words in the ,esthonian language with no motion of the pencil4 ,the latter being obviously useless he decided to dispense with it and placed blank paper sometimes on a table of his own1 sometimes on the pedestals of old statues1 on sarcophagi1 on urns1 c41 in the ,louvre1 at ,st4 ,denis1 at the church of ,st4 tienne du ,mont1 c4 ,similar experiments were made in different cemeteries of ,paris1 but the author has no liking for cemeteries1 while most spirits prefer the localities where they have lived on earth to those in which their mortal remains are laid to rest40 ,we are far from disputing the singular phenomena observed by ,baron de ,guldenstubb1 but would point out to him that the discovery had been made previously by ,lavater and that the water-colour portrait#cfc painted by the ,kabalist ,gablidone is of far greater importance than the few lines of writing obtained on his part4 ,speaking next in the name of science1 we would tell him1 not indeed for his benefit1 seeing that he will not believe us1 but for serious observers of these strange phenomena1 that the writings obtained by him do not come from the other world but have been made unconsciously by himself4 ,we would say to him that your experiments1 so unduly multiplied1 and the excessive tension of your will1 have destroyed the equilibrium of your fluidic and astral body2 you have compelled it to realise your dreams and it has traced1 in characters borrowed from your own remembrance1 the reflections of your imagination and of your thoughts4 ,had you been placed in a perfectly lucid state of magnetic sleep1 you would have seen a luminous counterpart of your hand1 lengthened out like a shadow in the setting sun2 you would have seen it trace on the paper prepared by yourself or your friends those characters which have so much surprised you4 ,that corporeal light which emanates from the earth and from you is contained by a fluidic envelope of extreme elasticity1 and that envelope is formed from the quintessence of your vital spirits and your blood4 ,this quintessence derives from the light a colour determined by your secret will2 it is made in the likeness of your dream1 and the characters are impressed on the paper as signs on the bodies of unborn children are imprinted by the imagination of their mothers4 ,that which seems to you ink is your blackened and transfigured blood4 ,you are expending yourself in proportion as such writings multiply4 ,if you continue your experiments1 your brain will be weakened gradually and your memory will suffer4 ,you will experience unspeakable pains in the joints of the limbs and fingers1 and you will finally die1 either struck down suddenly or after a prolonged agony1 characterised by hallucinations and madness4 ,so much for ,baron de ,guldenstubb4 ,to the ,comte d',ourches we would say3 ,you will not be buried alive1 but you run the risk of dying by the very precautions which you are taking against such a possibility4 ,the awakening of those who are so buried can only be rapid and brief1 but they may live long underground1 conserved by the ,astral ,light in a complete state of lucid somnambulism4 ,their souls are then bound to the sleeping body by an invisible chain1 and if those souls are greedy and criminal1 they can draw on the quintessence of the blood in persons who are naturally asleep2 they can transmit this sap to their interred bodies for their longer preservation1 in the vague hope that they may be restored ultimately to life4 ,it is this frightful phenomenon which is called vampirism1 and its reality has been established by many cases as well attested as the most serious things in history4 ,if you question the possibility of this magnetic life of the human body under earth1 read the following account of an ,english officer1 named ,osborne1 the good faith of which was attested to ,baron du ,potet by ,general ,ventura4 8,on ,june #f1 #ahch10 says ,mr4 ,osborne1 8the monotony of our camp-life was happily interrupted by the arrival of an individual who was famous throughout the ,punjaub4 ,he was the subject of great veneration among the ,sikhs because of his power to remain buried underground for so long a time as he pleased4 ,such extraordinary stories are told of this man1 and their authenticity has been guaranteed by so many reputable persons1 that we were most anxious to see him4 ,he told us on his own part that he had followed this business of interment for a number of years in various parts of ,india4 ,among serious and creditable people who have borne witness in his favour ,i may mention ,captain ,wade1 the political agent at ,lodhran4 ,this officer has told me most seriously that he himself assisted at the resurrection of the said fakir after a burial which took place several months previously1 in the presence of ,general ,ventura1 the ,maharajah and the principal ,sikh chiefs4 ,the details concerning the interment as given to ,captain ,wade1 and those which he added on his own authority respecting the exhumation are as follows4 8,after certain precautions which lasted for several days and the details of which are distasteful1 the fakir announced that he was ready to undergo the trial4 ,the ,maharajah1 ,sikh chiefs and ,general ,ventura assembled round a grave of stone-work constructed for the express purpose4 ,in their presence the fakir sealed up with wax every opening of his body by which air could enter1 with the exception of the mouth2 he then cast off his garments1 was enveloped in a linen bag and1 by his own wish1 his tongue was turned back so that it obstructed the gullet4 ,he fell after this into a kind of lethargy4 ,the bag which contained him was closed up1 and a seal was placed therein by the ,maharajah4 ,it was then put into a sealed and padlocked chest1 which was lowered into the grave4 ,a large quantity of earth was thrown on it2 it was trodden down and barley was sown therein4 ,finally1 sentinels were stationed round the spot1 with orders to watch day and night4 8,these precautions notwithstanding1 the ,maharajah still had doubts2 thrice during the period of ten months1 during which the fakir was to remain interred1 he visited the grave and had it opened in his presence1 but the body was in the sack1 just as it had been placed therein1 cold and inanimate to all appearance4 ,when the ten months had expired1 the fakir was exhumed finally4 ,general ,ventura and ,captain ,wade undid the padlocks1 broke the seals and raised the chest from the grave4 ,the fakir was taken out1 but there was no indication of life either at heart or pulse4 ,as a first means to reanimate him1 one of the spectators inserted his finger very gently in the mouth and restored the tongue to its natural position4 ,the top of the head was the sole seat of any sensible heat4 ,by pouring warm water slowly over the body1 some signs of life were obtained by degrees4 ,after two hours of attention1 the fakir rose up and began to move about smiling4 8,the extraordinary being declared that he had delicious dreams during his entombment1 but that the time of awaking was always exceedingly painful and that he was in a state of vertigo before his return to consciousness2 his age is about thirty years1 his countenance is ill-favoured and his expression somewhat crafty4 ,we had long conversations with him1 and he offered to be buried in our presence4 ,we took him at his word and appointed a meeting at ,lahore1 where we promised that he would remain underground throughout our stay in that city40 ,such was the story of ,osborne4 ,the question was whether the fakir would really allow himself to be interred once more4 ,the new experiment might well be decisive4 ,but that which happened was as follows4 8,fifteen days after the fakir's visit to their camp1 the ,english officers arrived at ,lahore4 ,they chose a spot which seemed favourable for the coming operation1 had a mural tomb constructed1 as well as a very solid chest1 and then awaited the fakir4 ,he came on the day following1 expressing an ardent desire to prove that he was no impostor4 ,he stated further that he had made the necessary preparations for an experiment1 but his demeanour evidenced a certain disquiet and despondency4 ,he began to stipulate concerning his compensation1 which was fixed at fifteen hundred rupees down and two thousand rupees annually1 which the officers undertook to obtain from the king4 ,satisfied on this point1 he wished to be informed as to the precautions that they were proposing to take4 ,the officers shewed him the chest1 the keys belonging thereto1 and warned him that sentinels chosen among the ,english soldiers would watch round the place for a week4 ,the fakir cried out and gave vent to much abuse of the ,firinghees and sceptics1 who sought to rob him of his reputation4 ,he expressed also a fear that some attempt would be made on his life and1 refusing to trust himself entirely to the surveillance of ,europeans1 he demanded that duplicate keys should be committed to one of his co-religionists1 further insisting--and this indeed above all--that the sentries should not be enemies of his faith4 ,the officers declined to entertain these conditions2 several interviews followed1 leading to no result2 and finally the fakir intimated1 through one of the ,sikh chiefs1 that the ,maharajah having menaced him with his anger if he did not fulfil his engagement with the ,english1 it was his wish to undertake the trial1 though he rested assured that the sole object of the officers was to deprive him of life1 and that he would never come forth from his tomb4 ,the officers admitted that1 as to the last point1 they all shared his conviction1 adding that as they did not wish to have his death as a reproach against them1 they relieved him of his promise4 8,are such hesitations and fears proof positive against the fakir8 ,does it follow that all who have testified previously how they had beheld with their own eyes the occurrences to which he owes his celebrity have been guilty of deception themselves or were the victims of skilful trickery8 ,we confess that1 having regard to the extent and quality of the evidence1 we cannot doubt that the fakir was frequently and literally interred2 and even admitting that after his burial he has on each occasion continued to communicate with the world above ground1 it would still be inexplicable how he could be deprived of respiration during the time which intervened between his burial and that moment when his accomplices came to his aid4 ,mr4 ,osborne adds in a note a quotation from the ,medical ,topography of ,lodhiana1 by ,dr4 ,mac,gregor1 an ,english physician1 who assisted at one of the exhumations1 was a witness of the fakir's lethargy1 of his gradual return to life1 and who tries seriously to explain it4 ,mr4 ,boileau1 another ,english officer1 in a work published some years ago1 recounts how he witnessed another experience which reproduced all the facts in precisely the same manner4 ,those who are anxious to satisfy their curiosity more fully1 those who discern in the narrative an indication of a curious physiological fact1 may refer with confidence to the sources which are here indicated40 ,a number of official records of the exhumation of vampires are still extant4 ,in each case the flesh was in a remarkable state of preservation1 but blood oozed from the body1 the hair had grown in an abnormal manner and protruded in tufts through the chinks of the coffin4 ,there was no sign of life in the respiratory apparatus1 save in the heart only1 and this seemed to have become a vegetable rather than an animal organ4 ,to kill the vampire1 a stake had to be driven through the breast and then a frightful cry shewed that the somnambulist of the grave had awakened with a start into a veritable death4 ,to render such death definitive1 swords were driven point upward into the vampire's grave1 for the phantoms of ,astral ,light are disintegrated by the action of metallic points1 which attract that light towards the common reservoir and dissipate its coagulated clusters4 ,to reassure nervous people1 it may be added that cases of vampirism are fortunately exceedingly rare and that no one who is healthy in mind and body can be personally victimised1 unless he or she has been abandoned1 body and soul1 to the creature in its lifetime by some criminal complicity or irregular passion4 ,the following history of a vampire is related by ,tournefort in his ,voyage to the ,levant4#cfd 8,in the island of ,mycona we witnessed a very singular scene1 being the alleged return of a deceased person after interment4 ,in northern ,europe those who come back in this manner are called vampires1 while the ,greeks designated them under the name of ,broucolaques4 ,the case in question was that of a peasant of ,mycona who was naturally gloomy and quarrelsome4 ,it is a circumstance worthy of note1 on account of parallel instances4 ,he was killed in the countryside1 no one knew why or by whom4 ,two days after his burial in a church of the city1 a report went abroad that he was seen nightly wandering about at a great pace4 ,he also visited houses1 turned over the furniture1 put out the lights1 embraced people from behind and performed innumerable other tricks4 ,at first it was a laughing matter1 but it took a serious turn when reliable people began to complain4 ,the priests themselves certified to the fact1 and no doubt they had their reasons4 ,recourse was had to masses1 said for the purpose1 but the peasant continued the same course with no sign of amendment4 ,after several meetings of the chief persons1 priests and monks of the town1 it was concluded to wait for the expiration of nine days after the interment1 following ,i know not what ancient procedure4 ,on the tenth day a mass was said in the church wherein the body had been buried1 for the purpose of expelling the demon who was thought to have entered into it4 ,the mass over1 the corpse was disinterred and the heart removed4 ,it was necessary to burn incense owing to the evil smell1 but the combination made bad worse and almost stifled those present4 ,it was testified that a thick smoke exhaled from the corpse1 and we who were present at the operations did not venture to suggest that it was really the smoke of the incense4 ,there were also those who affirmed that the blood of the unfortunate person was abnormally scarlet1 while yet others declared that the flesh was still warm1 whence it was concluded that the deceased person was seriously wrong in not being properly dead1 or rather in allowing himself to be brought to life by the devil4 ,this is precisely the idea which obtains concerning the vampire1 and that word began to be repeated persistently4 ,a crowd assembled1 loudly protesting that the body was obviously not rigid when it was carried to the church for burial and that it was therefore a veritable vampire4 8,appeal being made to us1 we expressed the opinion that the person was undoubtedly dead1 and as for the supposed scarlet blood1 it was easy to see that it was only bad smelling slime4 ,for the rest1 we attempted to cure or at least not provoke further their excited imaginations by explaining the fumes and warmth attributed to the corpse4 ,such arguments notwithstanding1 it was determined to burn the heart of the deceased person1 but after this had been done he was not more amenable than formerly and indeed created greater stir4 ,he was accused of beating people at night1 of breaking down doors and windows1 tearing garments and emptying pitchers and bottles4 ,altogether1 the deceased made himself highly objectionable4 ,there is reason to believe that he spared no house save that of the consul1 in which we happened to be lodging4 ,every imagination was overwrought1 people of good sense being affected as much as others4 ,a disease of the brain seemed abroad1 as dangerous as that of madness2 entire families abandoned their houses and carried their pallets to the outskirts1 there to pass the night4 ,even then they complained of fresh insults1 and the most sober retired into the country4 ,citizens who were imbued with a sense of public zeal decided that one essential detail had been missed1 so far1 in the observance2 from their point of view1 the mass should have been celebrated after and not before removing the heart from the body4 ,with this precaution it was pretended that the devil would have been taken by surprise and would not have attempted to return2 but unfortunately they began with the mass1 which gave him time to depart and he was able to come back at his ease4 ,these considerations left matters in their original state of difficulty4 ,there were meetings and still meetings1 both evening and morning2 there were processions for three days and three nights2 fasts were imposed on the priests2 houses were visited by them1 aspergillus in hand2 there was sprinkling with holy water and doors were purified4 ,even the mouth of the miserable vampire was filled with holy water4 8,in the midst of such prepossessions1 our course was to say nothing2 we should have been regarded as jesters and infidels4 ,what however was to be done to help the inhabitants8 ,every morning brought a fresh scene in the comedy by the recital of new pranks of this nightbird1 who was even accused of committing the most abominable crimes4 ,we did1 however1 represent more than once to the governor of the town that in our own country1 under such circumstances1 a watch would not fail to be set1 to take note of what passed4 ,the precaution was ultimately taken and led to the arrest of some vagabonds who were undoubtedly at the bottom of the disorder4 ,it was1 of course1 relaxed too soon1 and two days subsequently1 to atone for the fast which the said wastrels had undergone in prison1 they betook themselves to emptying the wine jars in some of the abandoned houses4 ,after driving in numberless drawn swords over the grave of the body1 people now returned to their prayers1 combined with disinterring the corpse as caprice led them1 when an ,albanian1 who happened to be there1 pointed out in an authoritative tone that it was highly ridiculous1 in a case of the kind1 to make use of the swords of ,christians2 these being cross-handled effectually prevented the devil from leaving the body and his recommendation was therefore to substitute ,turkish sabres4 ,the advice of this expert came to nothing2 the vampire was not more tractable1 and they knew not what saint to invoke1 when all with one voice1 as if a word of command had been given1 cried out through the whole town that the vampire must be burned completely1 after which they might defy the devil1 and that certainly it was better to have recourse to this extremity rather than that the island should be deserted4 ,as a fact1 certain families were preparing already for their departure4 8,the vampire was therefore carried1 by order of the governors1 to the extremity of the isle of ,st4 ,george1 where a great pyre had been prepared with tar1 lest even dry wood should not kindle quickly enough4 ,what remained of the miserable body was cast therein and speedily consumed4 ,this was on the first day of ,january1 #agja4 ,henceforth there were no complaints against the vampire2 it was agreed that the devil had that time been overreached and songs were made to deride him40 ,it is to be observed in this account of ,tournefort that he admits the reality of the visions which paralysed the whole people4 ,he does not deny the flexibility or warmth of the corpse but seeks to explain these with the praiseworthy object of reassuring those who were concerned4 ,he does not mention the decomposition of the body but only its evil smell1 which is not less characteristic of vampire corpses than of venomous toadstools4 ,finally he allows that once the body was burned1 the wonders and visions ceased4 ,but we have wandered far from the subject of ,fantasiasts in ,magic2 let us return to them and1 forgetting the problem of vampires1 a word shall be said on the cartomancist1 ,edmond4 ,he is the pet sorcerer of ladies in the ,quartier de ,notre ,dame de ,lorette and he occupies1 in the ,rue ,fontaine ,st4 ,georges1 ,no4 #cj1 a dainty little room1 where the vestibule is always full of clients1 including those occasionally of the male sex4 ,edmond is a man of tall stature1 somewhat stout1 of pale complexion1 open countenance and sympathetic voice4 ,he appears to believe in his own art and carries on conscientiously the methods of people like ,etteilla and ,mdlle4 ,lenormand4 ,we have questioned him as to his processes1 and he has answered frankly and civilly that he has been passionately devoted to the occult sciences from childhood2 that he began divination early2 that he is unacquainted with the philosophical secrets of transcendental knowledge2 and that the keys of the ,kabalah of ,solomon are not in his possession4 ,he states1 however1 that he is highly sensitive and that the mere proximity of his clients impresses him so keenly that in a way he feels their destiny4 8,i seem to hear singular noises and clankings of chains about those who are doomed to the scaffold1 cries and moans round those who will die violently4 ,supernatural odours assail and almost stifle me4 ,one day1 in the presence of a veiled lady1 clothed in black1 ,i began to tremble at an odour of straw and blood4 #8,madam1' ,i cried1 #8pray leave here1 for you are surrounded by an atmosphere of murder and prison4' #8,you say truly1' she answered1 unveiling her pale face1 #8,i have been accused of infanticide and have just come out of prison4 ,since you have seen the past1 tell me also the future4'0 ,one of our friends and disciples in ,kabalism1 utterly unknown to ,edmond1 went on a day to consult him and having paid in advance he awaited the oracles1 when ,edmond1 rising respectfully1 begged him to take back his money4 8,i have nothing to tell you10 he explained2 8your destiny is closed against me by the key of occultism2 whatsoever ,i might say you would know already as well as myself40 ,he shewed him out with many bows4 ,edmond is also occupied with judicial astrology2 he erects horoscopes and judges nativities at very moderate prices4 ,in a word he deals with everything belonging to his business1 which is otherwise a wearisome and disenchanting thing4 ,with how many disordered brains and diseased hearts must he be continually in relation1 and the imbecile requirements of some1 the unjust reproaches of others1 the tiring confidences1 the demands for philtres and spells1 the obsessions of fools1 all combine in making him gain his income hardly4 ,to sum up1 ,edmond is a somnambulist like ,alexis2 he is self-magnetised by his cards and by the diabolical figures which adorn them2 he wears black and gives his consultations in a black cabinet2 in a word1 he is the prophet of mystery4 ,,chapter ,v ,,some ,,private ,,recollections ,,of ,,the ,,writer ,on a certain morning in #ahci the author of this book had a visit from ,alphonse ,esquiros1 who said3 8,let us pay our respects to the ,mapah40#cfe ,the natural question arose3 8,but in any case1 who or what is the ,mapah80 444 8,he is a god10 was the answer4444 8,many thanks10 said the author1 8but ,i pay my devotions only to gods unseen40444 8,come notwithstanding2 he is the most eloquent1 most radiant and magnificent fool in the visible order of things4444 8,my friend1 ,i am in terror of fools3 their complaint is contagious40 444 8,granted1 dilectissime1 and yet ,i am calling on you40444 8,admitted1 and things being so1 we will pay our respects to the ,mapah40 ,in an appalling garret there was a bearded man of majestic demeanour who invariably wore over his clothes the tattered cloak of a woman1 and had in consequence rather the air of a destitute dervish4 ,he was surrounded by several men1 bearded and ecstatic like himself1 and in addition to these there was a woman with motionless features1 who seemed like an entranced somnambulist4 ,the prophet's manner was abrupt and yet sympathetic2 he had hallucinated eyes and an infectious quality of eloquence4 ,he spoke with emphasis1 warmed to his subject quickly1 chafed and fumed till a white froth gathered on his lips4 ,abb ,lamennais was once termed 8old ninety-three fulfilling its ,easter duties40 ,the catch phrase is more suited to the ,mapah and his mysticism1 as will be shewn by a fragment from one of his lyrical enthusiasms4 8,transgression was inevitable for man3 it was decreed by his destiny1 that he might be the instrument of his own reconstruction1 that the greatness and majesty of ,god might be manifested in the majesty and greatness of human toil1 passing through its successive phases of light and darkness4 ,but primitive unity was destroyed by the ,fall2 suffering entered the world in the guise of the serpent1 and the ,tree of ,life became the ,tree of ,death4 ,things being at this pass1 ,god said to the woman3 #8,in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children1' yet added afterwards3 #8,thou shalt crush the serpent's head4' ,and the first slave was a woman2 she accepted her divine mission1 and the pains of travail began4 ,from the first hour of the ,fall1 the task of humanity has been1 for this reason1 a great and terrible task of initiation4 ,for this also the terms of that initiation are all equally sacred in the eyes of ,god4 ,their ,alpha is our common mother ,eve1 while the ,omega is ,liberty1 who is our common mother also4 8,i beheld a vast ship1 having a gigantic mast with its crow's nest at the top2 one of the ship's extremities looked to the ,west1 the other to the ,east4 ,on the western side it was poised upon the cloudy summits of three mountains1 their bases lost in a raging sea4 ,on the flank of each mountain was inscribed its ominous name4 ,the first was ,golgotha1 the second ,mont ,st4 ,jean1 but the third was ,st4 ,helena4 ,in the middle way of the mast1 on the western side1 there was erected a five-armed cross1#cff on which a woman was expiring4 ,the inscription above her head was3 ,,france3 ,,june #ah1 #ahae3 ,,good ,,friday4 ,the five arms of the cross represented the five divisions of the globe2 the woman's head rested on ,europe and was encircled by a cloud4 ,but at the end of the ship to the ,east there was no darkness2 and the keel paused at the threshold of the city of ,god1 by the summit of a triumphal arch in the full rays of the sun4 ,here the woman reappeared1 but this time transfigured and glorious4 ,she rolled away the stone from the sepulchre1 and on that stone was written3 ,,restoration1 days of the tomb3 ,july #bi1 #ahcj3 ,,easter40 ,it will be seen that the ,mapah was a successor of ,catherine ,thot and ,dom ,gerle2 and yet--such is the strange sympathy between follies--he told us one day confidentially that he was ,louis ,,xvii returned to earth for a work of regeneration1 while the woman who shared his life was ,marie ,antoinette of ,france4 ,he explained further that his revolutionary theories were the last word of the violent pretensions of ,cain1 destined as such to insure1 by a fatal reaction1 the victory of the just ,abel4 ,now ,esquiros and ,i visited the ,mapah to enjoy his extravagances1 but our imaginations were overcome by his eloquence4 ,we were two college friends1 like ,louis ,lambert and ,balzac1 and we had nourished dreams in common concerning impossible renunciations and unheard of heroisms4 ,after visiting ,ganneau1 for this was the name of the ,mapah1 we took it into our heads that it would be a great thing to communicate the last word of revolution to the world and to seal the abyss of anarchy1 like ,curtius1 by casting ourselves therein4 ,our students' extravagance gave birth to the ,gospel of the ,people and the ,bible of ,liberty1 follies for which ,esquiros and his ill-starred friend paid but too dearly4 ,hereof is the danger of enthusiastic manias2 they are catching2 one does not approach with impunity the edge of the precipice of madness4 ,the incident which now follows is a different and more terrible fatality4 ,a nervous and delicate young man named ,sobrier was numbered among the ,mapah's disciples2 he lost his head completely and believed himself predestined to save the world by provoking the supreme crisis of an universal revolution4 ,the days of #ahdh drew towards the threshold4 ,a commotion had led to some change in the ministry1 but the episode seemed closed4 ,paris had an air of contentment and the boulevards were illuminated4 ,suddenly a young man appeared in the populous streets of the ,quartier ,saint-,martin4 ,he was preceded by two street ,arabs1 one bearing a torch and the other beating to arms4 ,a large crowd gathered2 the young man got upon a post and harangued the people4 ,his words were incoherent and incendiary1 but the gist was to proceed to the ,boulevard des ,capucines and acquaint the ministry with the will of the people4 ,the demoniac repeated the same harangue at every corner of the streets and presently he was marching at the head of a great concourse1 a pistol in each hand1 still heralded by torch and tambour4 ,the frequenters of the boulevards joined out of mere curiosity1 and subsequently it was a crowd no longer but the massed populace surging through the ,boulevard des ,italiens4 ,in the midst of this the young man and his street ,arabs disappeared1 but before the ,hotel des ,capucines a pistol-shot was fired upon the people4 ,this shot was the revolution1 and it was fired by a fool4 ,throughout that night two carts loaded with corpses perambulated the streets by torchlight2 on the morrow all ,paris was barricaded1 and ,sobrier was reported at home in a state of unconsciousness4 ,it was he who1 without knowing what he did1 had for a moment shaken the world4 ,ganneau and ,sobrier are dead and no harm is done them by reciting this terrible instance of the magnetism of enthusiasts and the fatalities which may be entailed by the nervous diseases of certain persons4 ,the story is drawn from a reliable source and its revelations may sooth the conscience of that ,belisarius of poetry who is the author of the ,history of the ,girondins4 ,the magnetic phenomena produced by ,ganneau continued even after his death4 ,his widow1 a woman of no education and little intelligence1 the daughter of an honest peasant of ,auvergne1 remained in the static somnambulism in which she had been placed by her husband4#cfg ,like the child which assumes the form of its mother's imagination1 she has become a living image of ,marie ,antoinette1 when a prisoner at the ,conciergerie4 ,her manners are those of a queen who is widowed and desolate for ever2 a complaint sometimes escapes her1 as though she were weary of her dream1 but she is sovereignly indignant with any who seek to awake her4 ,for the rest1 she has no symptom of mental alienation2 her outward conduct is reasonable1 her life perfectly honourable and regular4 ,nothing is more pathetic1 to our thinking1 than this persistent obsession of a being fondly loved who lives again in a conjugal hallucination4 ,had ,artemis existed literally it would be permissible to believe that ,mausol was also a powerful mesmerist1 and that he had gained and fixed for ever the affections of an extremely sensitive woman1 outside all limits of free will and reason4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,occult ,,sciences ,the secret of the occult sciences is that of ,nature herself2 it is the secret of the generation of angels and worlds2 it is that of ,god's own omnipotence4 8,ye shall be as the ,elohim1 knowing good and evil40 ,so testified the serpent of ,genesis1 and so did the ,tree of ,knowledge become the ,tree of ,death4 ,for six thousand years the martyrs of science have toiled and perished at the foot of this ,tree1 so that it may become once more the ,tree of ,life4 ,that ,absolute which is sought by the foolish and found only by the wise is the truth1 the reality and the reason of universal equilibrium4 ,such equilibrium is the harmony which proceeds from the analogy of opposites4 ,humanity has sought so far to balance itself as if on one leg--now on one and now again on the other4 ,civilisations have sprung up and have fallen1 through the anarchic alienation of despotism1 or alternatively through the despotic anarchy of revolt4 ,here superstitious enthusiasms and there the pitiful schemes of materialistic instinct have misguided the nations2 but at last it is ,god ,himself ,who impels the world towards believing reason and reasonable beliefs4 ,we have had enough and to spare of the prophets apart from philosophy and the philosophers destitute of religion4 ,blind believers and sceptics are on a par with one another1 and both are equally remote from eternal salvation4 ,in the chaos of universal doubt1 and amidst the conflict of science and faith1 the great men and the seers figure as sickly artists1 seeking the ideal beauty at the risk of their reason and their life4 ,look at them now even--these sublime children4 ,they are whimsical and nervous1 like women2 a shadow maims them2 reason injures2 they are unjust even to each other2 and though assuredly on the quest of crowns1 in their fantastic excesses they are the first to be guilty of that which ,pythagoras forbids in one of his admirable symbols2 they are the first to revile crowns and to trample them under their feet4 ,they are fanatics of glory2 but the good ,god has bound them by the chains of opinion1 so that they may not be openly dangerous4 ,genius is judged by the tribunal of mediocrity1 and this judgment is without appeal1 because1 being the light of the world1 genius is accounted as a thing that is null and dead whenever it ceases to enlighten4 ,the ecstasy of the poet is controlled by the indifference of the prosaic multitude1 and every enthusiast who is rejected by general good sense is a fool and not a genius4 ,do not count the great artists as bondsmen of the ignorant crowd1 for it is the crowd which imparts to their talent the balance of reason4 ,light is the equilibrium between shadow and brightness4 ,motion is the equilibrium between inertia and activity4 ,authority is the equilibrium between liberty and power4 ,wisdom is equilibrium in thought2 virtue is equilibrium in the affections2 beauty is equilibrium in form4 ,outlines that are lovely are true outlines1 and the magnificence of ,nature is an algebra of graces and splendours4 ,whatsoever is true is beautiful2 all that is beautiful should be true4 ,heaven and hell are the equilibrium of moral life2 good and evil are the equilibrium of liberty4 ,the ,great ,work is the attainment of that middle point in which equilibrating force abides4 ,furthermore1 the reactions of equilibrated force do everywhere conserve universal life by the perpetual motion of birth and death4 ,it is for this reason that the philosophers have compared their gold to the sun4 ,for the same reason that same gold cures all diseases of the soul and communicates immortality4 ,those who have found this middle point are true and wonder-working adepts of science and reason4 ,they are masters of the wealth of worlds1 confidants and friends of the princes of heaven itself1 and ,nature obeys them because they will what is willed by the law which is the motive power of ,nature4 ,it is this which the ,saviour of the world spoke of as the ,kingdom of ,heaven2 this also is the ,sanctum ,regnum of the ,holy ,kabalah4 ,it is the ,crown and ,ring of ,solomon2 it is the ,sceptre of ,joseph which the stars obeyed in heaven and the harvests on earth4 ,we have discovered this secret of omnipotence2 it is not for sale in the market2 but if ,god had commanded us to set a price thereon1 we question whether the whole fortune of the buyers would seem its equivalent4 ,not for ourselves but for them1 we should demand in addition their undivided soul and their entire life4 ,illustration3 ,,apocalyptic ,,key ,,chapter ,,vii ,,summary ,,and ,,conclusion ,it remains for us to summarise and conclude4 ,to summarise the history of a science is to summarise the science itself1 and we are therefore to recapitulate the great principles of initiation1 as preserved and transmitted through all the ages4 ,magical science is the absolute science of equilibrium4 ,it is essentially religious2 it presided at the formation of dogmas in the antique world and has been thus the nursing mother of all civilisations4 ,o chaste and mysterious mother who1 in giving milk of poetry and inspiration to the dawning generations1 didst cover thy face and breast4 ,before all things she directs us to believe in ,god and to adore without seeking to define ,him1 since a ,god in definition is to some extent a finite ,god4 ,and after ,deity she points to eternal mathematics and equilibrated forces as to the sovereign principles of things4 ,it is said in the ,bible that ,god has ordered all things according to weight1 number and measure4 ,omnia in pondere et numero et mensura disposuit ,deus4 ,weight is equilibrium1 number is quantity1 measure is proportion--these three1 and these are the eternal or divine basis of the science of ,nature4 ,here now is the formula of equilibrium3 ,harmony results from the analogy of contraries4 ,number is the scale of analogies1 the proportion of which is measure4 ,the entire occult philosophy of the ,zohar might be termed the science of equilibrium4#cfh ,the key of numbers is found in the ,sepher ,yetzirah2 their generation is analogous to the affiliation of ideas and the production of forms4 ,on this account the illuminated hierophants of the ,kabalah combined the hieroglyphic signs of numbers1 ideas and forms in their sacred alphabet4 ,the combinations of this alphabet give equations of ideas1 and comprise by way of indication all possible combinations in natural forms4 ,according to ,genesis1 ,god made man in ,his image1 but as man is the living synthesis of creation1 it follows that creation itself is made in the likeness of ,god4 ,there are three things in the universe--the ,spirit1 the plastic mediator and matter4 ,the ancients assigned to spirit1 as its immediate instrument1 that igneous fluid to which they gave the generic name of ,sulphur2 to the plastic mediator1 they assigned the name of ,mercury1 because of the symbolism represented by the ,caduceus2 to matter1 they gave the name of ,salt1 because of the fixed salt which remains after combustion1 resisting the further action of fire4 ,sulphur was compared with the ,father on account of the generative action of fire2 ,mercury with the ,mother1 because of its power of attraction and reproduction2 and ,salt1 in fine1 was the ,child1 or that substance which is subjected to education by ,nature4 ,for them also the creative substance was one1 and the name which they gave it was ,light4 ,positive or igneous light was volatile ,sulphur2 light in the negative state1 or made visible by the vibrations of fire1 was the fluidic or ethereal ,mercury2 and light neutralised1 or shadow1 the coagulated or fixed composite under the form of earth1 was termed ,salt4 ,after such manner did ,hermes ,trismegistus formulate his symbol1 which is called the ,emerald ,tablet3 8,that which is above is like that which is below1 and that which is below is like that which is above1 for the operations of the wonders of the one thing40#cfi ,this means that the universal movement is produced by the analogies of fixed and volatile1 the volatile tending to be fixed and the fixed to become volatile1 thus producing a continual exchange between the modes of the one substance and1 from the fact of the exchange1 the combinations of universal form in everlasting renewal4 ,the fire is ,osiris1 or the sun2 the light is ,isis1 or the moon2 they are the father and mother of that grand ,telesma which is the universal substance--not that they are its creators but rather its generating powers1 the combined effort of which produces the fixed or earth1 whence ,hermes says that this force has reached its plenary manifestation when earth has been formed therefrom4 ,osiris is not therefore ,god1 even for the great hierophants of the ,egyptian sanctuary2 he is the igneous or luminous shadow of the intellectual principle of life1 and hence in the supreme moment of initiation a flying voice whispered in the ear of the adept that dubious revelation3 8,osiris is a black god40 ,woe to the recipient whose understanding had not been raised by faith above the purely physical symbols of ,egyptian revelation4 ,such words would become for him a formula of atheism1 and his mind would be struck with blindness4 ,but for the believer1 more exalted in intelligence1 those same words sounded like an earnest of the most sublime hopes4 ,it was as if the initiator said to him3 8,my child1 you mistake a lamp for the sun1 but that lamp is only a star of night4 ,still1 the true sun exists2 leave therefore the night and seek the day40 ,that which the ancients understood by the four elements in no wise signified simple bodies1 but rather the four elementary manifestations of the one substance4 ,these modes were represented by the sphinx1 its wings corresponding to air1 the woman's breasts to water1 the body of the bull to earth1 and the lion's claws to fire4 ,the one substance1 thrice threefold in essential mode and tetradic in the form of manifestation--such is the secret of the three pyramids1 triangular in respect of their elevation1 square at the base and guarded by the sphinx4 ,in raising these monuments ,egypt attempted to erect the ,herculean pillars of universal science4 ,sands have accumulated1 centuries have passed1 but the pyramids in their eternal greatness still propound to the nations that enigma of which the solution is lost4 ,as to the sphinx1 it seems to have sunk in the dust of ages4 ,the great empires of ,daniel have reigned by turn upon the earth and have gone down into the tomb1 overwhelmed by their own weight4 ,conquests on the field of battle1 monuments of labour1 results of human passions--all are engulphed with the symbolic body of the sphinx2 now only the human head rises over the desert sands as if looking for the universal empire of thought4 ,divine or die--such was the terrible dilemma proposed by the sphinx to the ,candidates for ,theban royalty4 ,the reason is that the secrets of science are actually those of life2 the alternatives are to reign or to serve1 to be or not to be4 ,the natural forces will break us if we do not put them to use for the conquest of the world4 ,there is no mean between the height of kinghood and the abyss of the victim state1 unless we are content to be counted among those who are nothing because they ask not why or what they are4 ,the composite form of the sphinx also represents by hieroglyphical analogy the four properties of the universal agent1 that is to say1 the ,astral ,light--dissolving1 coagulating1 heating and cooling4 ,these four properties1 directed by the will of man1 can modify all phases of ,nature1 producing life or death1 health or disease1 love or hatred1 wealth even or poverty1 in accordance with the given impulsion4 ,they can place all the reflections of the light at the service of imagination2 they are the paradoxical solution of the wildest questions which can be set for ,transcendental ,magic4 ,specimens of these paradoxical questions shall here follow1 together with the answers thereto3 7#a7 ,is it possible to escape death8 7#b7 ,is there such a thing as the ,philosophical ,stone1 and what must be done to find it8 7#c7 ,is it possible to be served by spirits8 7#d7 ,what is meant by the ,key1 ,ring and ,seal of ,solomon8 7#e7 ,is it possible to predict the future by reliable calculations8 7#f7 ,can good or evil be worked at will by means of magical power8 7#g7 ,what must be done to become a true magician8 7#h7 ,what are the precise forces put in operation by ,black ,magic8 ,we term these questions paradoxical because they are outside all that is understood as science1 while at the same time they seem negatived by faith4 ,if propounded by an uninitiated person1 they are merely foolhardy1 while their complete solution1 if given by an adept1 would seem like a sacrilege4 ,god and ,nature alike have closed the ,sanctuary of ,transcendent ,science and this in such a manner that1 beyond a certain limit1 he who knows would speak to no purpose1 because he would not be understood4 ,the revelation of the ,great ,magical ,secret is therefore happily impossible4 ,the replies which we are about to give will be the last possible expression of the word in ,magic1 and they will be put in all clearness1 but we do not guarantee to make them comprehensible to our readers4 ,in respect of the first and second1 it is possible to escape death after two manners--in time and in eternity4 ,we escape it in time by the cure of diseases and by avoiding the infirmities of old age2 we escape it in respect of eternity by perpetuating in memory personal identity amidst the transformations of existence4 ,let it be certified 7#a7 that the life resulting from motion can only be maintained by the succession and the perfecting of forms2 7#b7 that the science of perpetual motion is the science of life2 7#c7 that the purpose of this science is the correct apprehension of equilibrated influences2 7#d7 that all renewal operates by destruction1 each generation therefore involving a death and each death a generation4 ,let us now further certify1 with the ancient sages1 that the universal principle of life is a substantial movement or a substance which is eternally and essentially moved and mover1 invisible and impalpable1 in a volatile state and manifesting materially when it becomes fixed by the phenomena of polarisation4 ,this substance is indefectible1 incorruptible and consequently immortal2 but its manifestations in the world of form are subject to eternal mutation by the perpetuity of movement4 ,thus all dies because all lives1 and if it were possible to make any form eternal1 then motion would be arrested and the only real death would be thus created4 ,to imprison a soul for ever in a mummified human body1 such would be the terrible solution of that magical paradox concerning pretended immortality in the same body and on the same earth4 ,all is regenerated by the universal dissolvant of the first substance4 ,the force of this dissolvant is concentrated in the quintessence--that is to say1 at the equilibrating centre of a dual polarity4 ,the four elements of the ancients are the four forces of the universal magnet1 represented by the figure of a cross1 which cross revolves indefinitely about its own centre and so propounds the enigma respecting the quadrature of the circle4 ,the ,creative ,word speaks from the middle of the cross and cries3 8,it is finished40 ,it is in the exact proportion of the four elementary forms that we must seek the ,universal ,medicine of bodies1 even as the ,medicine of the ,soul is offered by religion in ,him ,who gives ,himself eternally on the cross for the salvation of the world4 ,the magnetic state and polarisation of the heavenly bodies results from their equilibrated gravitation about suns1 which are the common reservoirs of their electro-magnetism4 ,the vibration of the quintessence about common reservoirs manifests by light1 and the polarisation of light is revealed by colours4 ,white is the colour of the quintessence2 this colour condenses towards its negative pole as blue and becomes fixed as black2 while it condenses towards its positive pole as yellow and becomes fixed as red4 ,thus centrifugal life proceeds always from black to red1 passing by white1 and centripetal life returns from red to black1 following the same path4 ,the four intermediates or mixed hues produce with the three primary colours what are called the seven colours of the prism and the solar spectrum4 ,these seven colours form seven atmospheres or seven luminous zones round each sun1 and the planet which is dominant in each zone is magnetised in a manner analogous to the colour of its atmosphere4 ,in the depths of the earth1 metals are formed like planets in the sky1 by the particular influences of a latent light which decomposes when traversing certain regions4 ,to take possession of a subject in which the metallic light is latent1 before it becomes specialised1 and drive it to the extreme positive pole1 that is to say1 to the live red1 by the help of a fire derived from the light itself--such is the secret in full of the ,great ,work4 ,it will be understood that this positive light at its extreme degree of condensation is life itself in a fixed state1 serving as a universal dissolvant and as a medicine for all ,kingdoms of ,nature4 ,but to extract from marcassite1 stibium and philosophical arsenic the living and bisexual metallic sperm1 we must have a prime dissolvant which is a mineral saline menstruum1 and there must be1 moreover1 the concurrence of magnetism and electricity4 ,the rest proceeds of itself in a single vessel1 being the athanor1 and by the graduated fire of one lamp4 ,the adepts say that it is a work of women and children4 ,the heat1 light1 electricity and magnetism of modern chemists and physicists were for the ancients elementary phenomenal manifestations of one substance1 called ,aour1 ,od and ,ob--that is to say1 ,od is the active1 ,ob the passive1 and ,aour is the name of the bisexual and equilibrated composite which is signified when the ,hermetic philosophers speak of gold4 ,vulgar gold is metalised ,aour and philosophical gold is the same ,aour in the state of a soluble gem4 ,theoretically1 according to the transcendental science of antiquity1 the ,philosophical ,stone which heals all diseases and accomplishes the transmutation of metals exists therefore incontestably4 ,does it1 however1 or can it1 exist in fact8 ,if we answer this in the affirmative1 no one will believe1 and the simple statement shall stand as a paradoxical solution of the paradoxes expressed by the two first questions1 without dealing with the problem as to what must be done in order to find the ,philosophical ,stone4 ,m4 de la ,palisse would reply in our place that in order to find one must of necessity seek1 unless indeed discovery is a matter of chance4 ,enough has been said to direct and facilitate research4 ,the third and fourth questions concern the ministry of spirits and the ,key1 ,seal and ,ring of ,solomon4 ,when the ,saviour of the world1 at ,his temptation in the desert1 overcame the three lusts which keep the soul in bondage--that is to say1 the lust of the appetites1 lust of ambition and lust of greed--it is written that the angels came down to serve ,him4 ,the explanation is that spirits are subject to the sovereign spirit1 and he is the sovereign spirit who binds the rebellious turbulence and unlawful propensities of the flesh4 ,it should be noted at the same time that to reverse the natural order of communication subsisting between things which are1 is opposed to the law of ,providence4 ,we do not find that the ,saviour of the world and his ,apostles evoked the souls of the dead4 ,the immortality of the soul1 being one of the most consoling dogmas of religion1 is reserved for the aspirations of faith and will never be proved by facts accessible to the criticism of science4 ,loss of reason1 or its distraction at the very least1 is hence and will be always the penalty of those who dare to pry into the other life with the eyes of this world only4 ,hence also magical traditions always represent the spirits of the dead as responding to evocations with sad and angry countenances4 ,they complain of being troubled in their repose and they proffer only reproaches and menaces4 ,the ,keys of ,solomon are religious and rational forces expressed by signs1 and their use is not so much in the evocation of spirits as to shield us from aberration in experiences relative to the occult sciences4 ,the ,seal is the synthesis of the ,keys and the ,ring indicates its use4 ,the ,ring of ,solomon is at once round and square1 and it represents the mystery of the quadrature of the circle4 ,it is composed of seven squares so arranged that they form a circle4 ,their bezels are round and square1 one being of gold and the other of silver4 ,the ,ring should be a filagree of the seven metals4 ,in the silver setting a white stone is placed and in the gold one there is a red stone4 ,the white stone bears the sign of the ,macrocosm1 while the ,microcosm is on the red stone4 ,when the ,ring is worn upon the finger1 one of the stones should be turned inward and the other outward1 accordingly as it is desired to command spirits of light or darkness4 ,the plenary powers of this ,ring can be accounted for in a few words4 ,the will is omnipotent when armed with the living forces of ,nature4 ,thought is idle and dead until it manifests by word or sign2 it can therefore neither spur nor direct will4 ,the sign1 being the indispensable form of thought1 is the necessary instrument of will4 ,the more perfect the sign the more powerfully is the thought formulated1 and the will is consequently directed with more force4 ,blind faith moves mountains1 and what therefore would be possible to faith if enlightened by complete and indubitable science8 ,if the soul could concentrate its plenary understanding and energy in the utterance of a single word1 would not that word be all-powerful8 ,the ,ring of ,solomon1 with its double seal1 typifies all science and faith of the ,magi expressed by one sign4 ,it symbolises the powers of heaven and earth and the sacred laws which rule them1 whether in the celestial ,macrocosm or in the ,microcosm of man4 ,it is the talisman of talismans and the pantacle which is above pantacles4 ,as a sign of life it is omnipotent1 but it is without efficacy as a dead sign3 intelligence and faith1 the intelligence of ,nature and faith in its eternally ,active ,cause--of such is the life of signs4 ,the profound study of natural mysteries may alienate the casual observer from ,god because mental fatigue paralyses the aspirations of the heart4 ,it is in this sense that the occult sciences may be dangerous and even fatal for certain personalities4 ,mathematical exactitude1 the absolute rigour of natural laws1 their harmony and simplicity1 suggest to many an inevitable1 eternal1 inexorable mechanism1 and for such as these ,providence recedes behind the iron wheels of a clock in perpetual motion4 ,they fail to reflect on the indubitable fact of freedom and autocracy in thinking beings4 ,a man disposes at his will of creatures organised like himself2 he can snare birds in the air1 fish in the water and wild beasts in the forest2 he can cut down or burn entire forests2 he can mine and blast rocks1 or even mountains2 he can modify all forms about him2 and yet1 notwithstanding the supreme analogies of ,nature1 he refuses to believe that other intelligent beings might at their will disintegrate and consume worlds1 extinguish suns by a breath or reduce them to starry dust--beings so great that they are too much for our faculty of sight1 even as we1 in our turn1 are probably inappreciable to the eye of the mite or worm4 ,and if such beings exist without the universe being destroyed a thousand times over1 must we not admit that they are under obedience to a supreme will1 a wise and omnipotent force1 which forbids them to annihilate worlds1 even as it forbids us to destroy the swallow's nest and the chrysalis of the butterfly8 ,for the ,magus who is conscious of this power in the deep places of his nature and who discerns in universal law the instruments of eternal justice1 the ,seal of ,solomon1 his ,keys and his ,ring are tokens of supreme royalty4 ,the next questions concern the prediction of things to come by means of reliable calculations and the working of good or evil by magical influence4 ,the answers are in this wise4 ,two chess players of equal skill being seated at a table and having opened the game1 which of them will win8 ,assuredly the more watchful of the two4 ,if ,i knew the preoccupations of both1 ,i could foresee certainly the result of their match4 ,to foresee is to win at chess1 and it is the same in the game of life4 ,in life nothing comes by chance2 chance is the unforeseen1 but that which the ignorant fail to perceive in advance has been accounted for already by the sage4 ,all events1 like all forms1 result either from a conflict or from a balancing of forces1 which forces can be represented by numbers4 ,the future may thus be determined in advance by calculation4 ,every extreme action is counterpoised by an equivalent reaction4 ,so laughter presages tears1 and for this reason our ,saviour said3 8,blessed are those who mourn40 ,he said also1 and again for the same reason3 8,he that exalteth himself shall be abased1 and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted40 ,to-day ,nebuchadnezzar is a god1 to-morrow he will be changed into a beast4 ,to-day ,alexander makes his triumphal entry into ,babylon and has incense offered to him on all the altars2 but to-morrow he will die in a state of degraded drunkenness4 ,the future is in the past1 and the past is also in the future4 ,when genius foresees1 it remembers4 ,effects are linked together so inevitably and so exactly to their causes1 and become on their own part the causes for further effects in such conformity with the first as regards their manner of production1 that a single fact may reveal to a seer an entire succession of mysteries4 ,the coming of ,christ makes that of ,anti-,christ a certainty2 but the advent of ,anti-,christ will precede the triumph of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the money-seeking epoch in which we now live is the precursor of more lavish charities and of greater good works than the world has yet known4 ,but it must be understood that the will of man modifies blind causes and that a single impetus started by him may change the equilibrium of an entire world4 ,if such is man's power in the world under his dominion1 what must be that of the intelligences which rule the suns8 ,the least of the ,egregores1 with a breath1 and by dilating suddenly the latent caloric of our earth1 might shatter and reduce it into a cloud of dust4 ,man also can dissipate by a breath all the happiness of one of his kind4 ,human beings are magnetised like worlds2 like suns1 they irradiate their particular light2 some are more absorbent1 some give forth more freely4 ,no one is isolated in this world2 each is a fatality or a providence4 ,augustus and ,cinna encounter2 both are proud and implacable2 and hereof is fatality4 ,that fatality makes ,cinna seek to slay ,augustus1 who is impelled as fatally to punish him2 but he elects to forgive4 ,here fatality is changed into providence1 and the epoch of ,augustus1 inaugurated by this sublime beneficence1 was worthy to witness the birth of ,him ,who said3 8,forgive your enemies40 ,by extending his mercy to ,cinna1 ,augustus atoned for all the revenge of ,octavius4 ,so long as man is subject to the dictates of fatality1 he is profane--that is to say1 a man who must be excluded from the sanctuary of knowledge1 because in his hands knowledge would become a terrible instrument of destruction4 ,on the contrary1 the man who is free1 who governs by understanding the blind instincts of life1 is essentially a preserver and repairer1 for ,nature is the domain of his power and the temple of his immortality4 ,when the uninitiated seeks to do good the result is evil4 ,on the other hand1 the true initiate can never will to do evil2 if he strikes it is to chastise and to cure4 ,the breath of the uninitiated is deadly1 that of the initiate is life-giving4 ,he who is profane suffers that others may suffer also1 but the initiate endures in order that others may be spared4 ,he who is profane steeps his arrows in his own blood and poisons them2 he who is initiated cures the most cruel wounds by a single drop of his blood4 ,the last questions are what must be done to become a true magician and in what precisely do the powers of ,black ,magic consist8 ,now1 he who disposes of the secret forces of ,nature and yet does not risk being crushed by them--he is a true magician4 ,he is known by his works and by his end1 which is always a great sacrifice4 ,zoroaster created the primitive doctrines and civilisations of the ,east1 after which he vanished in a tempest like dipus4 ,orpheus gave poetry to ,greece and with that poetry the beauty of all high things2 he then perished in an orgie in which he refused to join4 ,all his virtues notwithstanding1 ,julian was only an initiate of ,black ,magic2 his death was that of a victim and not of a martyr2 it was an annihilation and a defeat3 he failed to understand his epoch4 ,though acquainted with the ,doctrine of ,transcendental ,magic1 he misapplied the ,ritual4 ,apollonius of ,tyana and ,synesius were simply wonderful philosophers2 they cultivated the true science but did nothing for posterity4 ,at their period the ,magi of the ,gospel reigned in the three parts of the known world1 and the oracles were silenced by the cries of the babe of ,bethlehem4 ,the ,king of ,kings1 the ,magus of all ,magi1 had come into the world and the ritual-worships1 the laws1 the empires1 all were changed4 ,there is a void in the world of marvels between ,jesus ,christ and ,napoleon4 ,that incarnate word of battle1 that armed ,messiah who was the bearer of the last name1 came blindly and unconsciously to complete the ,christian message4 ,this revelation had so far taught us how to die1 but the ,napoleonic civilisation has shewn us how to conquer4 ,the two messages--sacrifice and victory1 how to suffer1 to die1 to strive and to overcome--contrary as they are in appearance--comprise in their union the great secret of honour4 ,cross of the ,saviour and cross of valour1 you are incomplete when apart from one another1 for he only knows how to conquer who has learned self-devotion1 even to death1 and how can this be attained except by belief in eternal life8 ,though he died in appearance1 ,napoleon is destined to return in the person of one who will realise his spirit4 ,solomon and ,charlemagne will return also in the person of a single monarch2 and then ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist1 who according to tradition shall be reborn at the end of time1 will appear as sovereign pontiff1 the apostle of understanding and of love4 ,the combination of these two rulers1 announced by all the prophets1 will bring about the wonder of the world's regeneration4 ,the science of the true magician will be then at its zenith1 for so far our workers of miracles have been for the most part sorcerers and bondsmen--that is to say1 the blind instruments of chance4 ,now1 the masters whom fatality casts upon the world are soon overthrown thereby1 and those who conquer in the name of their passions shall fall the prey of those passions4 ,when ,prometheus in his jealousy of ,jupiter stole the thunderbolts of the god1 he sought to create an immortal eagle1 but what he made and immortalised was a vulture4 ,we hear in another fable of that impious king ,ixion1 who would have ravished the queen of heaven1 but that which he received in his arms was a faithless cloud1 and he was bound by fiery serpents to the inexorable wheel of destiny4 ,these profound allegories are a warning to false adepts1 profaners of ,magic ,science and partisans of ,black ,magic4 ,the power of ,black ,magic is a contagion of vertigo and an epidemic of unreason4 ,the fatality of passion is like a fiery serpent which twists and writhes about the world devouring the souls therein4 ,but intelligence--peaceable1 smiling and full of love--represented by the ,mother of ,god1 sets her foot upon its head4 ,fatality consumes itself and is that old serpent of ,kronos eternally devouring its tail4 ,rather there are two hostile serpents striving one with another1 until such time as harmony intervenes to enchant them and make them interlace peaceably around the caduceus of ,hermes4 ,,conclusion ,the most intemperate and absurd of all faiths is to believe that there is no universal and absolute intelligent principle4 ,it is a faith1 since it involves the negation of the indefinite and indefinable2 it is intemperate1 for it is isolating and desolating2 it is absurd1 because it supposes complete nothing in place of most complete perfection4 ,in ,nature all is preserved by equilibrium and renewed by activity4 ,equilibrium in order and activity signifies progress4 ,the science of equilibrium and movement is the absolute science of ,nature4 ,man by its aid can produce and direct natural phenomena as he rises ever towards intelligence that is higher and more perfect than his own4 ,moral equilibrium is the concurrence of science and faith1 distinct in their forces but joined in their action to endow the spirit and heart of man with that rule which is reason4 ,the science which denies faith is not less unreasonable than the faith which denies science4 ,the object of faith cannot be defined and still less denied by science2 science1 on the contrary1 is itself called to substantiate the rational basis of the hypotheses of faith4 ,an isolated belief does not constitute faith1 because it lacks authority and hence moral guarantee2 it tends to fanaticism and superstition4 ,faith is the confidence which is imparted by religion--that is to say1 by the communion of belief4 ,true religion is constituted by universal suffrage4 ,it is therefore ever and essentially catholic--that is to say1 universal4 ,it is an ideal dictatorship proclaimed generally in the revolutionary domain of the unknown4 ,when the law of equilibrium is understood more adequately it will put an end to all the wars and revolutions of the old world4 ,there has been conflict between powers as between moral forces4 ,the papacy is blamed because it clings to temporal power1 but what is forgotten is the protestant tendency towards usurpation of spiritual power4 ,so long as the royalties put forward a pretension to be popes1 so long will the popes be driven1 by the same law of equilibrium1 to the pretension of being kings4 ,the whole world continues to dream of unity in political power1 but it does not understand the power resident in equilibrated dualism4 ,confronted by the royal usurpers of spiritual power1 if the ,pope were king no longer1 he would be no longer anything4 ,in the temporal order he is subject1 like others1 to the prejudgments of his time2 he dare not therefore abdicate his temporal power1 if such abdication would be a scandal for a considerable part of the world4 ,when the sovereign opinion of the universe shall have proclaimed publicly that a temporal prince cannot be ,pope2 when the ,czar of all the ,russias and the ,king of ,great ,britain shall have renounced their derisive priesthood2 the ,pope will know that which remains to be done on his own part4 ,till then he must struggle1 and if needs be must die1 to maintain the integrity of ,st4 ,peter's patrimony4 ,the science of moral equilibrium will put an end to religious disputes and philosophical blasphemies4 ,men of understanding will be also men of religion when it comes to be recognised that religion does not impeach the freedom of conscience1 and when those who are truly religious shall respect that science which recognises on its own part the existence and necessity of an universal religion4 ,such science will flood the philosophy of history with new light1 and will furnish a synthetic plan of all the natural sciences4 ,the law of equilibrated forces and of organic compensations will reveal a new chemistry and a new physics4 ,so from discovery to discovery we shall work back to ,hermetic philosophy1 and shall be astonished at those prodigies of simplicity and brilliance which have been for so long and long forgotten4 ,philosophy in that day will be exact like mathematics1 for true ideas--being those which are identical with the living order and so constituting the science of reality--shall combine with reason and justice to furnish exact proportions and equations as rigorous as numbers4 ,error thenceforth will be possible to ignorance alone1 and true knowledge will be free from self-deception4 ,aestheticism will be subordinated no longer to caprices of taste which change as fashions change4 ,if the beautiful is the splendour of the true1 we shall be able to calculate without error the radiation of a light of which the source shall be certainly known and determined with exact precision4 ,poetry will abound no longer with foolish and subversive tendencies1 nor will poets be those dangerous enchanters whom ,plato crowned with flowers and banished from his republic2 they will be rather magicians of reason and gracious mathematicians of harmony4 ,does this mean that the earth will become an ,eldorado8 ,no1 for so long as humanity exists1 there will be children1 meaning those who are weak1 small1 ignorant and poor4 ,but society will be governed by its true masters1 and there will be no irremediable evil in human life4 ,it will be understood that the divine miracles are those of eternal order1 and the phantoms of imagination will be worshipped no longer on the faith of unexplained wonders4 ,the abnormal character of certain phenomena is only a proof of our ignorance in the presence of the laws of ,nature4 ,when ,god designs to communicate the knowledge of ,himself ,he enlightens our reason and does not seek to confound or surprise it4 ,in that day we shall know the utmost limit of the power of man who is created in the image of ,god2 we shall realise that he also is a creator in his own sphere and that his goodness1 directed by ,eternal ,reason1 is a lower providence for beings which are placed by ,nature under his influence and domination4 ,religion will then and for evermore have nothing to fear from progress1 and will follow in the course thereof4 ,the ,blessed ,vincent de ,lerins1 a doctor justly venerated in the golden chain of catholicism1 expresses admirably this accord between progress and conservative authority4 ,according to him1 true faith is worthy of our confidence only on account of that invariable authority which safeguards its dogmas from the caprices of human ignorance4 8,this notwithstanding10 adds ,vincent de ,lerins1 8such immobility is not death2 on the contrary1 it preserves a germ of life for the future4 ,that which we believe to-day without understanding will be understood by the future1 which will rejoice in the knowledge thereof4 ,posteritas intellectum gratuletur1 quod ante vetustas non intellectum venerabatur4 ,if therefore we are asked whether all progress is excluded from the religion of ,christ ,jesus1 the answer is no1 assuredly1 for great is the progress expected4 ,who indeed would be so jealous of humanity and at such enmity with ,god as to wish to hinder progress8 ,but the condition is that it should be progress in reality1 and not change of belief4 ,progress is the growth and development of each thing according to its class and its nature4 ,disorder is confusion and the medley of things and their nature4 ,there must be undoubtedly a difference in the degrees of intelligence1 science and wisdom1 as much for men in general as for each man in particular1 according to the natural succession of epochs in the ,church1 but so only that all be conserved and that dogma shall ever cherish the same spirit and maintain the same definition4 ,religion should develop souls successively1 as life develops bodies which remain the same through all the stages of their growth4 ,how great is the difference between the infantile flower of early years and the maturity of age4 ,the old notwithstanding are the same in respect of personality as they were in boyhood2 it is the exterior and the appearances which have changed4 ,the limbs of an infant in the cradle are exceedingly frail1 yet are they the same organs1 having the same root principles1 as those of the man2 and this must be so1 for otherwise there is deformity or death4 8,the analogy obtains in the religion of ,jesus ,christ1 for progress therein is fulfilled according to the same conditions and following similar laws4 ,it grows with the years1 with the years it increases in strength1 but nothing is added to the sum total of its being4 ,it was born complete and perfect in respect of proportions1 and it grows and extends without changing4 ,our fathers sowed the wheat1 and our nephews ought not to reap tares4 ,the intermediate crops change nothing in the nature of the grain2 we leave it perforce as we take it4 ,catholicism planted roses1 and is it for us to substitute brambles8 ,no1 unquestionably2 otherwise1 woe to us4 ,the balm and cinnamon of this spiritual paradise must not change in our hands to aconite and poison4 ,all whatsoever which in the ,church1 that lovely land of ,god1 has been sown by the fathers must be cultivated and nourished by the sons4 ,this only must grow1 and this alone blossom2 but it may increase1 and it should develop4 ,as a fact1 ,god permits that the dogmas of his heavenly philosophy shall be studied1 developed1 polished in a certain sense2 but that which is forbidden is to change them1 and that which is a crime is to prune them or to mutilate4 ,may new light come down on them and the wise distinctions multiply1 but let them ever preserve their fulness1 their integrity and their native quality40 ,let us therefore take it for granted that all conquests of science in the past have been achieved for the profit of the universal ,church1 and1 with ,vincent de ,lerins1 let us allocate thereto the undivided heritage of all progress to come4 ,unto her be the great aspirations of ,zoroaster and all discoveries of ,hermes2 hers be the ,key of the ,holy ,arch and the ,ring of ,solomon1 for she represents the holy and immutable hierarchy4 ,she is stronger by reason of her struggles and is grounded by her apparent falls in still greater stability4 ,she suffers in order that she may reign2 she is cast down that she may be exalted in her rising2 and she dies that she may rise again4 8,we must be prepared10 says ,comte ,joseph de ,maistre1 8for a great event in the divine order2 we are moving towards it at an accelerated pace1 which must be manifest to all observers1 while striking oracles announce that the hour is at hand4 ,many prophecies in the ,apocalypse have reference to these modern times4 ,one writer has gone so far as to say that the event is already inaugurated and that the ,french nation is destined to become the great instrument of the most mighty of all revolutions4 ,there is perhaps no truly religious man in all ,europe--,i speak of the educated classes--who is not in expectation of something extraordinary at this present moment4 ,does a general presentiment of the kind count for nothing8 ,go back through past ages1 even to the birth of our ,saviour4 ,at that period a high and mysterious voice1 beginning in the eastern realms1 proclaimed that the ,east was about to triumph1 that a conqueror would come out of ,judea1 that a divine infant was given us1 that he would descend from highest heaven and restore the golden age upon the earth4 ,such ideas were spread abroad everywhere1 and as they lent themselves to poetry above all things1 they were taken over by the greatest of ,latin poets and emblazoned with brilliant hues in his ,pollio4 ,to-day1 as in the time of ,virgil1 the universe is in expectation1 and how on our part shall we despise such strong persuasion1 or by what right condemn those who are devoted to sacred researches on the indications of divine signs8 ,if you seek proof of what is in store1 look at the sciences themselves2 consider the progress of chemistry1 of astronomy also1 and you will see where they are leading4 ,would you think1 for example1 that ,newton takes us back to ,pythagoras and that it will be proved presently that the heavenly bodies are set in motion1 like human bodies1 by intelligences joined thereto8 ,we know not how1 but this is what is on the point of being verified beyond all dispute4 ,such doctrine may seem paradoxical and even ridiculous1 because current opinion imposes this view2 but let us wait till the natural affinity of religion and science marry both in the mind of a single man of genius4 ,his advent cannot be far off1 and then the opinions which now seem bizarre or irrational will become axioms which no one will question1 while people will talk of our present stupidity as they now speak of medival superstition40#cgj ,according to ,st4 ,thomas1 and it is a beautiful utterance3 8,all that ,god wills is just1 but that which is just should not be so designated only because ,god wills it0--,non ex hoc dicitur justum quod ,deus illud vult4 ,the moral doctrine of the future is contained herein1 and from its fruitful principle one deduction follows immediately3 not only is it good from the standpoint of faith to do what is ordained by ,god1 but even from the standpoint of reason it is excellent and rational to obey ,him4 ,man can therefore say3 ,i do good not only because ,god wills it but because ,i also will4 ,the will of humanity may be thus at once free and in conformity1 for reason--demonstrating in an irrecusable fashion the wisdom of the prescriptions of faith--will act on its proper impulse by following the divine law1 of which reason thus becomes1 as it were1 the human sanction4 ,from that time forward superstition and impiety will be no longer possible1 while from these considerations it follows that in religion and in practical--that is to say1 in moral--philosophy1 there will be an absolute authority1 and moral dogmas will alone be revealed and established4 ,till then we shall have the pain and consternation of seeing daily the most simple and universal questions of right and duty challenged1 while if blasphemies are reduced to silence1 it is one thing to impose such silence but another to persuade and convert4 ,so long as ,transcendent ,magic was profaned by the wickedness of men1 the ,church of necessity proscribed it4 ,false ,gnostics have discredited that name of ,gnosticism which was once so pure2 sorcerers have outraged the children of the ,magi2 but religion1 that friend of tradition and guardian of the treasures of antiquity1 can no longer reject a doctrine anterior to the ,bible and in perfect accord with traditional respect for the past1 as well as with our most vital hopes for progress in the future4 ,the common people are initiated by toil and by faith into the right of property and knowledge4 ,there will be always such a people1 as there will be children always2 but when the aristocracy1 endowed with wisdom1 shall become a mother to the people1 the path of personal1 successive1 gradual emancipation will be open to all1 and he that is called will thereby be enabled through his own efforts to attain the rank of the elect4 ,this is that mystery of the future which antique initiation concealed in its dark recesses4 ,the miracles of ,nature made subject to the will of man are reserved for the elect to come4 ,the crook of the priesthood shall become the rod of miracles2 it was so in the time of ,moses and of ,hermes2 it will be so again4 ,the sceptre of the ,magus will be that of the world's king or emperor2 and that person will by right be first among men who shall have shewn himself greatest of all in knowledge and in virtue4 ,magic1 at that time1 will be no longer an occult science except for the ignorant2 it will be one that is incontestable for all4 ,then shall universal revelation resolder one to another all links of its golden chain2 the human epic will close and even the efforts of ,titans will have served only to restore the altar of the true ,god4 ,all forms which have clothed the divine thought successively will be reborn immortal and perfect4 ,all those features sketched by the successive art of nations will be united to form the perfect image of ,god4 ,having been purified and brought out of chaos1 dogma will give birth naturally to an infallible ethic1 and the social order will be constituted on this basis4 ,systems which are now in warfare are dreams of the twilight2 let them pass4 ,the sun shines and the earth follows its course2 distracted is he who doubts that the day is coming4 ,distracted also are those who say that catholicism is only a dead trunk and that we must put the axe thereto4 ,they do not see that beneath its dry bark the living tree is renewed unceasingly4 ,truth has no past and no future2 it is eternal2 it is not that which ends2 it is our dream only4 ,hammer and hatchet1 which destroy in the sight of man1 are in ,god's hand as the knife of a pruner1 and the dead branches--being superstitions and heresies in religion1 science and politics--can alone be lopped from the tree of everlasting convictions and beliefs4 ,it has been the purpose of this ,history of ,magic to demonstrate1 that1 at the beginning1 the symbols of religion were those also of science1 which was then in concealment4 ,may religion and science1 reunited in the future1 give help and shew love to one another1 like two sisters1 for theirs has been one cradle4 ,here ends the ,history of ,magic ,,appendix ,,author',s ,,preface ,,prefixed ,,to ,,the ,,first ,,edition#cga ,the works of liphas ,lvi on the science of the ancient magi are intended to form a complete course1 divided into three parts4 ,the first part contains the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic2 the second is ,the ,history of ,magic2 and the third will be published later under the title of ,the ,key to the ,great ,mysteries4 ,taken separately1 each of these parts gives a complete instruction and seems to contain the whole science2 but in order to a full understanding of one it is indispensable to study the two others carefully4 ,the triadic division of our undertaking has been imposed by the science itself1 because our discovery of its great mysteries rests entirely upon the significance which the old hierophants attached to numbers4 ,,three was for them the generating number1 and in the exposition of every doctrine they had regard to 7a7 the theory on which it was based1 7b7 its realisation and 7c7 its application to all possible uses4 ,whether philosophical or religious1 thus were dogmas formed2 and thus the dogmatic synthesis of that ,christianity which was heir of the magi imposes on our faith the recognition of ,three ,persons in one ,god and three mysteries in universal religion4 ,we have followed in the arrangement of the two works already published1 and shall follow in the third work1 the plan indicated by the ,kabalah--that is to say1 by the purest tradition of occultism4 ,our ,doctrine and ,ritual are each divided into twenty-two chapters distinguished by the twenty-two letters of the ,hebrew alphabet4 ,we have set at the head of each chapter the letter thereto belonging and the ,latin words which1 according to the best writers1 represent its hieroglyphical meaning4 ,for example1 at the head of the first chapter will be found3-- #a ,a ,,the ,,recipient ,disciplina ,ensoph ,kether ,the explanation is that the letter ,aleph-equivalent to ,a in ,latin1 and having the number #a as its numerical value--signifies the ,recipient1 the man who is called to initiation1 the qualified personality1 corresponding to the ,bachelor of the ,tarot4 ,it signifies also disciplina1 or dogmatic syllepsis2 ,ensoph1 or being in its general and primary conception2 and finally1 ,kether1 or the ,crown1 which1 in ,kabalistic theology1 is the first and obscure idea of ,divinity4 ,the chapter in question is the development of the title and the title contains hieroglyphically the whole chapter4 ,the ,history of ,magic1 which follows1 narrates and explains1 according to the general theory of the science furnished in the ,doctrine and ,ritual1 the realisation of that science through the ages4 ,as the introduction explains1 it is constituted in harmony with the number seven--the septenary being the number of the creative week and of ,divine ,realisation4 ,the ,key to the ,great ,mysteries will be established on the number four--which is that of the enigmatic forms of the sphinx and of elementary manifestations4 ,it is also the number of the square and of force4 ,in the book referred to1 certitude will be established on irremovable bases4 ,the enigma of the sphinx will have its complete solution and our readers will be provided with that ,key of things kept secret from the foundation of the world which the learned ,postel only dared to depict enigmatically in one of his most obscure books1 giving no satisfactory explanation4 ,the ,history of ,magic explains the affirmations found in the ,doctrine and ,ritual2 the ,key of the ,great ,mysteries will complete and explain the ,history of ,magic4 ,in this manner1 for the attentive reader at least1 we trust that nothing will be found wanting in our revelation of the secrets of ,jewish ,kabalism and of ,supreme ,magic--whether that of ,zoroaster or of ,hermes4 ,the writer of these books gives lessons willingly to serious and interested persons in search of these2 but once and for all he desires to forewarn his readers that he tells no fortunes1 does not teach divination1 makes no predictions1 composes no philtres and lends himself to no sorcery and no evocation4 ,he is a man of science1 not a man of deception4 ,he condemns energetically whatsoever is condemned by religion1 and hence he must not be confounded with persons who can be approached without hesitation on a question of applying their knowledge to a dangerous or illicit use4 ,for the rest he welcomes honest criticism1 but he fails to understand certain hostilities4 ,serious study and conscientious labour are superior to all attacks2 and the first blessings which they procure1 for those who can appreciate them1 are profound peace and universal benevolence4 ,,liphas ,l,,vi4 ,september #ast1 #ahei4 ,,index ,abel1 #ba1 #aag ,abiram1 #chf ,abraham1 #c1 #dh1 #fd1 #aja1 #ajh1 #adf1 #ahj1 #bai ,abraham the ,jew1 #cca1 #cea1 #cec ,absolute1 #b1 #dei1 #ejj ,acharat1 #daj1 #dab1 #dad ,achilles1 #acc1 #aej ,adam1 #aa1 #dj1 #da1 #db1 #df1 #aaa1 #ahh1 #bdc1 #bdd1 #bei1 #cja1 #dei ,adam1 ,book of the ,penitence of1 #da-dc ,adam ,kadmon1 #ea ,adhi-,nari1 #fd ,adolphus of ,schleswig1 #bec ,adonai1 #ajc1 #bbi1 #bdh1 #bdi ,aeschylus1 #hf ,agamemnon1 #aej ,agde1 ,council of1 #bda ,agesilaus1 #aba ,agla1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #bdh ,agrippa1 ,h4 ,cornelius1 #ij1 #cce ,ahih1 #ajc1 #cja ,ahriman1 #i1 #af1 #be ,al1 #cjj ,albertus ,magnus1 #hi1 #beh1 #bfa ,albigenses1 #abh1 #dbd ,alchemy1 #he1 #adc1 #aie-aig1 #bei1 #bfb1 #bfc1 #bgi1 #cbg1 #cca-ccd1 #cee1 #ceg1 #daa1 #eji1 #eaj ,alcides1 #hf ,alcmene1 #aba ,aleph1 #cc1 #cd1 #daa ,alexandria1 ,school of1 #gd1 #aaj1 #bae-bai ,alfarabius1 #bfb ,alphabet1 ,hebrew1 #gh1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aeb1 #baa ,alphonso ,,xi1 #caf ,althotas1 #daj1 #dab ,amasis1 ,king1 #ib ,ammonius1 #afe1 #bae ,amphion1 #hb ,analogy1 #bj1 #bb1 #agf1 #eba ,andr1 ,franoise1 #dbi1 #dcb ,antichrist1 #ec ,apis1 #hj ,apocalypse1 #dd1 #di1 #aja1 #agc1 #agd1 #chc1 #ebb ,apocrypha1 #agd ,apollonius1 of ,tyana1 #aic-aih1 #eae ,apuleius1 #bjd-bjg ,ararita1 #cja ,arcanum1 ,great4 ,see ,great ,secret ,archedemus1 #acg ,aristeus1 #bfb1 #bfc1 #cgg ,aristotle1 #ec1 #abc1 #abd1 #bfa1 #cbi ,arius1 #bac ,ark of the ,covenant1 #db ,aroux1 ,eugne1 #cdf1 #cea ,art1 ,royal1 #a1 #gg1 #abj ,art1 ,sacerdotal1 #abj1 #aba1 #abb ,artephius1 #bfb ,asclepios1 #aae ,astarte1 #fa ,astrology1 #hh ,athanor1 #aif ,augury1 #afb ,augustine1 ,st41 #g1 #bjg ,aupetit1 ,pierre1 #cfc ,babel1 #aag1 #aah ,bacchantes1 #abf1 #adh1 #afa ,bacchus1 #adh1 #aeb ,baldwin ,,ii1 #bfe ,ballanche1 #hh ,balmes1 ,james1 #agh ,balneum ,mari1 #aif ,baphomet1 #bfi ,bartolocci1 #beg ,beausoleil1 ,baron de1 #ceg ,bel1 #bbi ,belphegor1 #aai ,belshazzar1 #aeg ,belus1 #ei1 #fb ,benjamin1 ,tribe of1 #aei ,bermechobus1 #dd ,bernard of ,sienna1 ,st41 #caf ,bernard of ,saxe-,weimar1 ,prince1 #dae ,berthe au ,grand ,pied1 #bcc ,berthelot1 #gd ,beth1 #cc ,binah1 #aaf ,blaquerne1 ,hermit1 #cbi ,boaz1 #ba1 #db1 #agi1 #daa ,bodinus1 #cdi1 #cfb1 #cfc ,boguet1 ,henri1 #cfc ,bohani1 #fd ,bhme1 ,jacob1 #ach1 #ceg ,boismont1 ,brierre de1 #aca1 #acb1 #aia1 #bda ,bonaventura1 ,st41 #ej ,boniface1 ,bishop of ,mayence1 #bdb ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 #acj1 #bad1 #bej1 #bih1 #bii ,bossuet1 #f1 #cj ,bouche1 ,madame1 #ddf ,brahma1 #dg ,brahmans1 #aih ,brennus1 #bbh ,bryant1 ,jacob1 #ec1 #acf ,buddha1 #ff ,cadmus1 #hb1 #hc1 #adh1 #adi ,caduceus1 #adi1 #eag ,cagliostro1 ,count1 #dji-dae1 #dag1 #dgc ,cahagnet1 #dcg ,cain1 #ba1 #de1 #dg1 #dh1 #fd1 #gb1 #he1 #aag1 #aci ,calchas1 #aej ,calf1 ,golden1 #hj ,calvin1 ,john1 #abh ,camul1 #bbi ,canaan1 #df1 #aai ,cardan1 ,jerome1 #bag ,cartomancy1 #aea1 #dde4 ,see ,tarot ,cazotte1 ,jacques1 #daf-dba ,cebes1 ,table of1 #adb1 #cfj1 #dgj ,cedron1 #db ,certon1 ,salomon1 #afb ,chamos1 #aai ,charistia1 #aeh1 #aei ,charity1 #agh1 #agi ,charlemagne1 #bde1 #bdf-bea1 #beb1 #bed1 #eaf ,charles ,martel1 #bdb ,charles the ,bald1 #bef ,charles ,,vi1 #caf ,charles ,,vi1 of ,austria1 #dda ,charles ,,vii1 #bga ,charles ,,ix1 #cdi ,charvoz1 ,abb1 #dfe ,chastity1 #aec1 #aed ,chateaubriand1 #bjj1 #bcb ,chilperic1 #bce1 #bcf ,chokmah1 #g1 #aaf ,christ1 #a1 #aa1 #bj1 #bi1 #db1 #dc1 #ade1 #aeg1 #aga1 #agc1 #bfd1 #bff1 #dje1 #ded1 #ejh1 #eae ,christian1 ,p41 #dag ,church1 ,catholic1 #ac1 #bj1 #ce1 #aae1 #ade1 #aga1 #bhg1 #ded1 #dee ,circe1 #ij ,clairvoyance1 #ah1 #eh1 #gj ,clavel1 #dda ,clement1 ,st41 #bjh ,clement ,v1 ,pope1 #bfe ,cleopatra1 #bfb ,clothilde1 ,st41 #bcd1 #bce ,clovis1 #bce1 #bcf ,cocytus1 #ada ,clum ,sephiroticum1 #acg ,comte1 ,auguste1 #dei1 #dfa ,confucius1 #c1 #cic ,constance of ,provence1 #bef1 #beg ,cooper-,oakley1 ,isabel1 #dja ,corinth1 ,bride of1 #bbc et seq4 ,cornuphis1 #aba ,cosmopolite1 i4e4 ,alexander ,seton1 #ceg ,cremer1 ,john1 #cbf ,crollius1 ,oswald1 #cef1 #ceg ,cross of ,eden1 #bjh ,cuvier1 #bbg ,cyprian1 ,prayer of ,st41 #bjc ,daath1 #aaf ,dacier1 #agf ,daleth1 #cc1 #cd ,damis1 #aie1 #aig ,daniel1 #eb1 #ib ,dante1 #cd1 #adb1 #cde et seq41 #cdg1 #cea ,darboy1 ,monsignor1 #bah ,davies1 #acf ,dea1 ,bona1 #aee ,de ,cauzons1 ,p41 #beg ,de ,coss ,brissac1 ,duc1 #dbc ,de ,gabalis1 ,comte1 #bde ,de ,genlis1 ,madame1 #djb ,dejanira1 #acc1 #acd ,delaage1 ,henri1 #dgg1 #dgh ,delancre1 #cfb1 #cfc ,de ,lerins1 ,blessed ,vincent1 #ebj1 #eba ,deleuze1 #djd1 #dag ,de ,luchet1 ,marquis1 #djc1 #dje1 #dch1 #dhc ,delrio1 #cfb ,deluge1 #dj1 #df1 #aag ,de ,maistre1 ,comte ,joseph1 #e1 #bh1 #ajf1 #agg1 #bdj1 #ebb ,de ,marnier1 ,duc1 #dbc ,de ,mdicis1 ,catharine1 #cdi ,de ,mirville1 ,comte1 #bda1 #bhe1 #cce1 #dge1 #dgf ,democritus1 #abj ,de ,paul1 ,st4 ,vincent1 #agi ,desbillons1 #cch1 #cci ,desmousseux1 ,g41 #cge ,d',espagnet1 #ceg ,de ,sombreuil1 ,mdlle41 #dbj1 #dbd ,deussen1 #fg ,de ,vatiguerro1 ,jean1 #ddc ,de ,villanova1 ,arnaldus1 #cbg ,de ,villars1 ,abb1 #aji1 #aaj1 #dja ,devil1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #ahg et seq41 #bha et seq4 ,diana1 #afa ,dionysius1 #bag1 #bah1 #bai ,dionysius the ,younger1 #acg ,diseases1 ,astral1 #aei ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 #ac1 #bi1 #aaf1 #agb1 #bcj1 #cic ,dodona1 ,oaks of1 #hd ,dominic1 ,st41 #bfb1 #bib ,donatists1 #abh ,d',ourches1 ,comte1 #dgi1 #dha1 #dhb1 #dhd ,dositheus1 #ahj ,dreams1 #afc ,druids1 #bbi-bca1 #bcb1 #bea ,duchesne1 #beg ,du ,fresnoy1 ,lenglet1 #cbg ,du ,perron1 ,anquetil1 #fg ,du ,potet1 ,baron1 #eg1 #fj1 #ga1 #acj1 #dga1 #dgb1 #dgc1 #dhe ,dupuis1 #c1 #d ,dzenioutha ,sepher1 #cic ,eckartshausen1 ,karl von1 #dcf ,ecstasy1 #ga1 #aji1 #acb ,eden and ,earthly ,paradise1 #da1 #de1 #aae1 #bdd ,edmond1 #dic1 #did ,egeria1 #aeb ,elementary ,spirits1 #aaa1 #bdd ,eleusis1 #acd1 #afa1 #cde ,elizabeth1 ,mme41 #dbd ,elohim1 ,elohim ,tzabaoth1 #ace1 #bdg1 #bhc ,empus1 #ij ,enchiridion1 #bad1 #bdg-bej1 #dgh ,enoch1 #cdd ,enoch1 ,book of1 #ci1 #dj1 #dc1 #dd1 #df ,ensoph1 #dd1 #acg ,equilibrium1 #adi1 #afe1 #eja1 #ejc1 #eag1 #eah1 #eai ,erdan1 ,a41 #dec1 #dgb1 #die1 #dii ,eros and ,anteros1 #agi ,esquiros1 ,alphonse1 #dgg1 #die1 #dig ,etteilla1 #gg1 #caf1 #dde ,eucharist1 #agg1 #agh1 #baj ,eudoxus1 #ec ,euripides1 #afa ,eurydice1 #hg ,eve1 #ag1 #aag1 #bdd1 #cja1 #dei ,evil1 #ac1 #ad ,ezekiel1 #ib1 #bfe1 #cha ,faber1 ,rev4 ,g4 ,s41 #acf ,fabr-,palaprat1 #dbc ,faith and ,science1 #aj1 #bg1 #agh1 #eag1 #eah ,figuier1 ,louis1 #gd1 #cbg1 #dji ,fire1 ,secret1 #aif ,flamel1 ,nicholas1 #cca-ccd1 #cdg1 #cea1 #cec ,fludd1 ,robert1 #ceg ,fo-,hi1 #cib ,fontenelle1 #aef ,fourier1 #aag1 #bhf1 #dec ,four ,sons of ,aymon1 #bdf ,franck1 ,adolphe1 #di ,fredegonde1 #bce1 #bcf1 #bcg1 #bch ,frederick ,william1 ,king1 #dce ,freemasonry1 ,freemasons1 #d1 #i1 #ba1 #bi1 #ed1 #bff1 #chb-chh ,french ,revolution1 #aij ,gaffarel1 #bhj ,ganneau1 #deh1 #die1 #dig1 #dii ,garden of ,olives1 #db ,garden of ,pomegranates1 #ba ,garinet1 ,jules1 #bce1 #bdc1 #bde1 #beb1 #beh1 #cga ,gaufridi1 ,louis1 #cfd-cff ,geber1 #bfb ,genebrard1 #cbi ,geoffrey de ,st4 ,omer1 #bfe ,geomancy1 #aea ,gerle1 ,dom1 #dbh-dca1 #dig ,gilles de ,laval1 #bgb-bhj1 #bhb1 #cfa ,gimel1 #cd ,gipsies1 #cjf-cah ,girard1 #cgc ,glauber1 ,richard1 #ceg ,gnosis1 ,gnosticism1 ,gnostics1 #d1 #ed1 #fe1 #ahd1 #aih1 #bjh1 #bji1 #baa1 #bfd1 #bfi1 #bia1 #cde1 #chh1 #djf1 #dae1 #ebd ,goethe and the ,faust1 #bjj1 #cje1 #cbj1 #dda1 #ddb1 #dec1 #deh ,getia1 #fd1 #fg1 #hi1 #aaj1 #aec1 #agd ,golden ,ass1 #bje1 #bjf ,golden ,fleece1 #hc1 #hd1 #he ,golden ,legend1 #bjj1 #bjd ,graces1 ,three1 #aei ,grandier1 ,urbain1 #cfg-cgb ,gregory1 ,st41 #aeh ,gregory of ,tours1 #bcg1 #bdb ,gregory ,,xvi1 ,pope1 #dff ,grimoires1 ,various1 #acj1 #bgi1 #bic1 #big-cje ,gringonneur1 ,jacques1 #gi ,guldenstubb1 ,baron de1 #bhf1 #dhj1 #dhc1 #dhd ,gymnosophists1 #ff ,hagar1 #dh ,ham1 #dh1 #he1 #aag1 #aah1 #abg ,he1 #gd ,hecate1 #afa ,helena1 #ahc ,helmont1 ,j4 ,b4 van1 #ceg ,hennequin1 ,victor1 #dgd ,henry ,,iii1 #cdi1 #cej ,heraclitus1 #abj ,hercules1 #hd1 #abc1 #acc ,hermanubis1 #hj ,hermes1 #ec1 #gc1 #gd1 #ge1 #acd1 #bfj ,hiram1 #chc-chg ,hierarchy1 ,descending1 #aia ,hierophants1 #aef ,hod1 #ba ,homer1 #hc1 #acc1 #dcg ,honorius ,,ii1 #bih1 #bii ,honorius ,,iii1 #bib ,hugh de ,payens1 #bfe1 #bff1 #bfh1 #bgj ,hussites1 #abh ,hypatia1 #bae ,hyphasis1 #aid ,iao1 #adj ,iliad1 #he ,illuminati1 #d1 #ed1 #adh1 #bhd1 #dce et seq4 ,immortality1 #ii ,irminsul1 #bbh ,isaac de ,loria1 #dai ,isaiah1 #aa ,isis1 #be1 #hj1 #ach1 #bcc1 #eje ,ixion1 #adb ,iynx1 #gg1 #gh ,jachin1 #ba1 #db1 #agi1 #daa ,jacob1 #g1 #h1 #aei ,jason1 #hd1 #he ,jean d',arras1 #bcd ,jean de ,meung1 #cdf1 #cdg ,jean ,hachette1 #bcj ,jechiel1 ,rabbi1 #bci1 #bdj1 #beg1 #beh ,jehovah1 #hj1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aje1 #bdh1 #bdi1 #cja1 #cjd ,joachim1 ,abb1 #dbf ,joan1 ,pope1 #bh ,joan of ,arc1 #bcj1 #bcd1 #bga1 #bgb ,johannite ,doctrine1 #agd1 #bff1 #bfg1 #bfh1 #bfi1 #cde1 #chb1 #dbd1 #dca ,john1 ,st41 #bi1 #dc1 #dd1 #di1 #aja1 #ach1 #bjh1 #bad1 #bfd1 #bfh1 #cbh1 #cdd1 #dje1 #eaf ,jonah1 #bjh ,joseph1 #gf ,josephine1 ,empress1 #ddc1 #ddd ,jude1 ,st41 #ci ,julian the ,apostate1 #aic1 #aih1 #eae ,juno1 #hc ,jupiter1 #g1 #hf1 #aaa1 #aeb1 #afa2 ,jupiter and ,semele1 #ai ,justina1 ,legend of1 #bjj-bjb ,juvenal1 #aed ,kabalah1 #c1 #bj1 #bc1 #bd1 #be1 #bf1 #bh1 #cc1 #cd1 #da1 #dc1 #dh1 #di1 #fe1 #gg1 #aja-aab1 #acf1 #ach1 #adc1 #adf1 #aga1 #agd1 #aib1 #bac1 #bbi1 #bfc1 #bfe1 #cbg1 #ccj1 #cce1 #ced1 #cic1 #cie1 #dji1 #dac1 #dah1 #dai4 ,see ,zohar ,kether1 #g ,keturah1 #fd ,khnoubis1 #adj ,khunrath1 ,heinrich1 #bi1 #bfc1 #cec-cef ,kircher1 ,athanasius1 #gg1 #aef ,klodswinthe1 #bce ,klmer1 #dab ,koran1 #bda ,kotzebue1 #ddj ,koung-,tseu1 #adf ,krishna1 #ff ,krudener1 ,madame de1 #ddf-ddh ,labarum1 #bej ,lacenaire1 #dfg ,lactantius1 #ada ,la ,harpe1 #dag ,lamech1 #gb ,lami1 #ij ,lamennais1 ,abb1 #dif ,land1 ,promised1 #aei ,larv1 #aaa1 #aab1 #abh1 #ada ,lascaris1 #djh1 #dji ,lavater1 #dcg1 #dhc ,laysis1 #ic ,leibnitz1 #cic1 #cid ,lemures1 #ada ,lenormand1 #ddd1 #dde1 #ddf1 #dic ,leo ,,iii1 ,pope1 #bad1 #bdh ,leon-,tao-,yuan1 #cib ,lethe1 #ii1 #ada ,l'toile1 #cej ,liber ,mirabilis1 #dd ,light1 ,astral1 #ac1 #af1 #ah1 #ai1 #eg1 #ei1 #fa1 #ga1 #gc1 #ih1 #ajd1 #aji1 #aaj1 #abg1 #aca1 #aeg1 #afd1 #age1 #aha1 #ahe1 #ahh1 #ahi1 #aij1 #aie1 #bac1 #bgi1 #ccb1 #cdb1 #daj1 #dfh1 #ejf ,lilith1 #dah ,little ,albert1 #afj1 #bfa ,loiseaut1 #dbg ,lopukhin1 #de ,louis1 ,st41 #bci1 #beg ,louis the ,pious1 #bde1 #bef ,louis ,,xvi1 #dbc1 #dbd1 #dbe1 #dcc ,louis ,,xvii1 #dcc1 #dcd1 #ddf1 #ddh1 #dfa1 #dfb1 #dfg1 #dig ,louis ,,xviii1 #ddh ,lucifer1 #aa1 #ab1 #ad1 #ahg1 #ahh1 #aib ,lucretia1 #aed ,lully1 ,raymund1 #cai-ccj ,luther1 ,martin1 #bh1 #cdg-cdi ,macrocosm1 #eaa1 #eab ,magi1 #a1 #ee1 #ei1 #fb1 #fg1 #adg1 #afj1 #ahj1 #ahf1 #bbh1 #eae ,magi1 the ,three1 #a1 #ff1 #adf1 #adg ,magic3 as the science of the ancient ,magi1 #a2 as certitude in philosophy and religion1 #b2 its profanation1 #d2 as the science of the devil1 #i2 its ,great ,secret1 #ag2 opens the ,temple of ,nature1 #cj2 does not explain the mysteries of religion1 #cj2 its chief attraction1 #ca2 distinction between good and evil1 #de2 spurious ,magic of ,india1 #de2 term of1 #eh2 its perfect doctrine in ,egypt1 #gc2 its summary in the ,emerald ,tablet1 #gd2 miracles of ,moses not referable to ,magic1 #gi2 ,magic of ,light1 #ahj2 ,magic of the old sanctuaries1 #aic2 ,magic of works1 #bfb2 why ,magic is proscribed by the ,church1 #ebd2 the future of ,magic1 #ebd1 #ebe ,magic1 ,black1 #ag1 #fd1 #ga1 #hi1 #ij1 #aah1 #abf1 #abi1 #acj1 #ach1 #aij1 #bji1 #bbc1 #bee1 #bfj1 #bgc1 #bia1 #cej1 #cfa1 #dfh1 #dgf1 #ejg1 #eae ,magnetism1 #ai1 #bj ,mahomet1 #bh1 #bda ,maia1 #aeg ,maier1 ,michael1 #ceg ,maimonides1 #cic ,malkuth1 #ba ,manes1 #ed1 #add ,manicheans1 #af1 #aih ,mapah4 ,see ,ganneau ,marat1 #dg1 #dah1 #dci ,marcellinus1 #aih ,marcos1 #baj1 #bab ,mars1 #he ,martin de ,gallardon1 #dcb1 #dfb ,martinists1 #af ,mary the ,virgin1 #aj1 #bc1 #bd1 #hh1 #adi1 #aee1 #aeg1 #age1 #agf1 #bee1 #eag ,matter ,jacques1 #baj1 #bfi ,mead1 ,g4 ,r4 ,s41 #ef1 #eg1 #eh1 #gg ,medea1 #hd1 #he1 #ia ,medicine1 ,universal1 #acc1 #dad1 #ejh ,mediums1 #afd1 #dbg et seq41 #dge1 #dgi-dhc ,melchisedek1 #ahj1 #dja ,melusine1 #bcc1 #bcd ,memphis1 #aba1 #acd ,menander1 #ahf1 #dae ,mercury1 #gd1 #ajd1 #aif1 #ccb1 #ccc1 #ceh1 #ejd2 ,hymn of ,mercury1 #afb2 ,astral ,mercury1 #dad ,mesmer1 ,anton1 #eg1 #cif-cii ,methodius1 ,st41 #dd1 #de1 #dbe ,mves1 ,aug41 #dcc ,microcosm1 #bfc1 #eaa1 #eab ,minerva1 #hc1 #aej ,minos1 #afa ,mithraic ,mysteries1 #aag ,molay1 ,jacques de1 #bga1 #dbb1 #dbd ,moloch1 #aai ,montanists1 #baa ,mopses1 ,order of1 #ddj1 #dda ,morien1 #bfb ,moses1 #h1 #ah1 #db1 #gf1 #gg1 #gi1 #hj1 #aja1 #aae1 #ace1 #ade1 #bhc1 #cca1 #ebd2 ,wand of1 #h1 #db1 #gi1 #hj1 #aae ,muller1 ,philip1 #ceg ,musus1 #hf ,mustapha1 ,benjamin1 #ceg ,mysteries1 ,greek1 #ace ,mysteries1 ,ancient1 #h ,napoleon1 #dag1 #ddc1 #ddd ,naud1 ,gabriel1 #bie1 #ceh1 #dcc1 #dcd ,necromancy1 #add ,nehamah1 #dah ,nero1 #ahd1 #ahe ,netzach1 #g1 #ba ,nicholas ,,iv1 ,pope1 #cbh ,nicodemus1 ,gospel of1 #dc ,nica1 ,council of1 #bac ,nimrod1 #ei ,ninus1 #fa1 #fc ,noah1 #dj1 #df ,norton1 ,thomas1 #ceg ,nostradamus1 ,michael1 #ddd ,numa1 #ee1 #fj1 #ib1 #aeb1 #aee ,oberon1 #bdf ,odyssey1 #he dipus1 #hf1 #acd1 #eae ,olivarius1 #ddd ,om1 #fi ,omphale1 #acd ,oracles1 #agd1 #age ,orlans1 ,council of1 #bda ,orpheus1 #c1 #hb1 #he1 #hg1 #hh1 #abf1 #acd1 #adh1 #adi1 #aeb1 #eae ,ortelius1 #ceg ,osiris1 #be1 #hj1 #bjh1 #eje ,ostanes1 #bfb ,oupnek'hat1 #fg-gb ,pan1 #agd ,pantacle of ,mars1 #afg ,pantacle of ,mercury1 #afg ,pantacle of ,saturn1 #afg ,pantacle of ,venus1 #aff ,pantacle of the ,moon1 #aff ,pantacle of the ,sun1 #aff ,pantacle of ,jupiter1 #afg ,pantarba1 #aig ,pantheism1 #ff ,pantheus1 #adf1 #aeb ,paracelsus1 #aaa1 #bca1 #bfc1 #cdj1 #cda1 #cdb1 #cdd ,paradise1 ,earthly1 #da1 #aae1 #ada ,paris the ,deacon1 #ahe ,parmenides1 #aee ,pascal1 #ej1 #ea1 #dci ,pasqually1 ,martines de1 #ag1 #hi1 #daf ,paths1 ,thirty-two1 #gh ,patricius1 ,franciscus1 #ed1 #ef1 #eg ,paul1 ,st41 #aa ,penelope1 #aej ,pentagram1 #b ,pentheus1 #adh ,pepin the ,short1 #bdb ,pernety1 ,a4 ,j41 #he ,peter1 ,st41 #ahb1 #ahc1 #ahe1 #bad ,peter ,lombard1 #bfa ,peter the ,venerable1 #bfa ,petronius1 #ahe ,pharamond1 #bch ,pharaoh and his ,magicians1 #ag1 #ah1 #gi1 #hj ,philalethes1 #ceg ,philip1 ,st41 #ahb ,philip the ,fair1 #bfe1 #bgj1 #dbb ,philostratus1 #aic1 #aid ,photius1 #bfe ,physiognomy1 #ig ,picus de ,mirandula1 #aji ,pignorius1 ,l41 #gg ,pillars1 #adj ,pison1 ,lucius1 #ee ,pistorius1 #gh ,planis ,campe1 ,david1 #ceg ,platina1 #bic1 #bif ,plato1 #ef1 #hf1 #aba1 #abb1 #abd1 #ace1 #acf1 #ach1 #adb1 #adc1 #afg1 #bad1 #bae1 #eai ,pliny1 #ee ,plotinus1 #afe1 #bae ,polonus1 ,martinus1 #bid ,polycrates1 #ib ,porphyry1 #afj1 #afa1 #afe1 #bae ,postel1 ,william1 #dc1 #cce-cdj ,pot of ,manna1 #db ,poterius1 #ceg ,prometheus1 #he1 #hf1 #aaa1 #bjg1 #bfj1 #bfa ,proserpine1 #aeb1 #afa ,protestantism1 #ade1 #adf1 #agi ,protoplastes1 #aaj ,psyche1 #bje ,punishment1 ,eternal1 #g ,puritans1 #abh ,pyramids1 #agc ,pyrrhos1 #abj ,pythagoras1 #hh1 #ib-ajj1 #ace1 #adj1 #aee1 #ebc ,ragon1 ,j4 ,m41 #gj1 #chb ,regnum ,sanctum1 #a1 #ejb ,reichstheater of ,mller1 #bed ,reincarnation1 #ii1 #ajj ,reuchlin1 ,john1 #c ,richard ,cur de ,lion1 #bgj ,richemont1 ,baron de1 #dcc ,robert the ,pious1 #bef ,robespierre1 #dg1 #dcj1 #dca1 #dcb ,roland1 #bdf1 #bdg ,romance of the ,rose1 #aae1 #cea ,romarius1 #bfb ,rose-nobles1 #cbf ,rosenroth1 ,baron ,knorr von1 #di1 #dai ,rosicrucians1 #d1 #bi1 #ajj1 #aaf1 #bdi1 #cdf1 #ceb1 #cec1 #ceh1 #cei1 #chb1 #dja1 #djb1 #dje1 #djf ,rossetti1 ,gabriele1 #cdf ,rousseau1 #dg1 #abe1 #agg1 #dbb ,rulandus1 ,martinus1 #gd1 #dad ,saint-,foix1 #bbi ,saint-,germain1 ,comte de1 #bcd1 #djj1 #djf1 #djg1 #djh1 #dji ,saint-,martin1 ,l4 ,c4 de1 #af1 #ag1 #daf ,saint-,mdard1 #cgd ,saint-,simon1 #bf ,saint-,victor1 ,adam de1 #dd ,salic ,laws1 #bch-bda ,salmanas1 #bfb ,salt1 #de1 #ajd1 #aif1 #ejd ,samaria1 #ahb1 #bjd ,sand1 ,carl1 #ddj ,sardanapalus1 #fb1 #fc ,satan1 #ab1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #aci1 #aeg1 #aib ,schroepfer1 #dcf ,schur1 ,edouard1 #ib ,second ,birth1 #acc ,secret1 ,great1 #b1 #bc1 #adc1 #aii1 #daa2 ,great ,magical ,secret1 #ejg ,secret ,societies1 #cc ,secret ,tradition in ,freemasonry1 #bfe1 #dcg ,semiramis1 #ei1 #fa ,sephiroth1 #g1 #ba1 #fe1 #ajc1 #aaf1 #acg1 #bdi ,sergius ,,iv1 ,pope1 #bif ,seth1 #da1 #de1 #df1 #dh1 #aja ,shelley1 ,p4 ,b41 #afb ,sibyls1 #aej1 #aea ,simon ,magus1 #ahj-ahf1 #bji1 #dae ,sisyphus1 #adb ,sixtus ,,iv1 #bif ,sobrier1 #dih ,socrates1 #fd1 #abj ,solomon1 #ade1 #chd1 #che1 #chf1 #dja1 #eaf2 ,keys of1 #aje1 #cic1 #ejg1 #eaj-eac2 ,ring of1 #ejb1 #ejg1 #eaj1 #eaa1 #eac2 ,seal of1 #ejg1 #eaj1 #eaa1 #eac2 ,star of1 #ge1 #bdi2 ,pillars of1 #ba1 #bg2 ,temple of1 #ade1 #adf1 #afg1 #agi1 #bfe1 #chc1 #chd1 #che1 #chg ,sphinx1 #dge1 #ejf ,spirits1 ,return of1 #ajf1 #ajg1 #ajh ,sprenger1 #cfb ,star1 ,blazing1 #a ,steinert1 #dce ,stone1 ,corner1 #agc2 ,stone of the ,philosophers1 #aif1 #aig2 ,philosophical ,stone1 #bfb1 #eaj ,stryges1 #ij1 #add ,sulphur1 #ajd1 #aif1 #ejd ,superstition1 #aeh ,swedenborg1 ,emmanuel1 #ea1 #cid-cif1 #dcc1 #dec1 #def ,sword of the ,cherubim1 #aag ,sylvester ,,ii1 ,pope1 #bib1 #bic1 #bid1 #bie1 #bif ,synesius1 #bjh1 #bae1 #baf1 #bag1 #eae ,table of ,bembo1 #gg2 ,table of ,emerald1 #gc1 #gd2 ,table of ,denderah1 #d2 ,tables of the ,law1 #db ,tabor1 #dbj ,talleyrand1 #big ,talmud1 #bj1 #agb1 #bci1 #bdj ,tantalus1 #adb ,taranis1 #bbh ,tarchon1 #ib ,tarot1 #eg1 #eh1 #gh1 #gi1 #aje1 #aea1 #cab1 #cac1 #cad1 #cae1 #caf1 #cag1 #daf1 #dde2 ,chinese1 #cia-cic ,tavernier1 #cdb ,telesma1 #gc1 #gd1 #eje ,templar1 ,knights1 #h1 #bfe-bga1 #bia1 #cbh1 #djf1 #dbb1 #dbc1 #dbd1 #dbe1 #dfg ,temple1 ,second1 #bff ,temporal ,power1 #eag1 #eah ,tenarus1 #adb ,teresa1 ,st41 #i ,tertullian1 #aj1 #bjd1 #baa ,tetrad1 #ic1 #ie ,teutas1 #bbh1 #bbi ,thales1 #adj ,thebes1 #c1 #hb1 #hc ,theoclet1 #bfh ,theosophy1 #ach ,thot1 ,catherine1 #dbi-dcb1 #ddf1 #dig ,thomas ,aquinas1 ,st41 #f1 #bei1 #bfa1 #ebc ,thoth1 #bbi2 ,book of1 #dc1 #aba4 ,see ,tarot ,tieck1 ,ludwig1 #cfa ,tigellinus1 #ahe ,tiresias1 #adi1 #aej ,tissot1 ,hilarion1 #ahi1 #bhc1 #cfj ,toldoth ,jeshu1 ,sepher1 #agb1 #bfh ,torneburg1 ,john1 #ceg ,torreblanca1 ,f41 #ij1 #aij1 #cfb ,tournefort1 #dhi1 #dic ,tree of ,knowledge1 #da1 #aae1 #aaf1 #cbc ,tree of ,life1 #da ,trent1 ,council of1 #ccf1 #cdj ,trevisan1 ,bernard1 #ccd ,tribunal1 ,secret1 #bej-bed ,trigonum1 #cib ,trimalcyon1 #ahd ,trithemius1 ,abbot1 #ccd1 #cce1 #ceb ,trois-chelles1 #cdi ,trophonius1 #aci ,tullus ,hostilius1 #ee ,typhon1 #be ,vaillant1 #caa1 #cac1 #cad1 #cae1 #caf ,valentine1 ,basil1 #baj1 #ccd ,vampires1 #aab1 #add1 #adg1 #dhi-dic ,vau1 #cd ,vaudois1 #abh1 #dbd ,vedas1 #fe ,velleda1 #bcb ,venus1 #fa1 #hb1 #aeg1 #aei ,vienna1 ,council of1 #cbh ,vintras1 ,eugne1 #bab1 #dfb-dgj ,virgil1 #hf ,vishnu1 #fd1 #fe1 #ff ,voltaire1 #c1 #ajf1 #aaf1 #aee1 #cgc1 #cgd ,westcott1 ,w4 ,wynn1 #gh ,william of ,brunswick1 #bec ,william of ,loris1 #cdf1 #cea ,william of ,malmesbury1 #bie ,williams1 ,eleazar1 #dcc ,woman1 #bb1 #be1 #bcb-bcg ,wonders1 ,seven1 #aff-afh ,word1 ,sacred1 c41 #c1 #bj1 #gf1 #hi1 #abd1 #ace1 #acg1 #afg1 #aga1 #agb1 #agc1 #bac1 #bhc1 #bhf1 #ccg1 #ded1 #ejh ,work1 ,great1 #hd1 #he1 #acc1 #aie1 #aig1 #bei1 #cea1 #cee1 #daf1 #eja1 #eji ,wronski1 ,hoene1 #dei1 #dfj1 #dfa ,yetzirah1 ,sepher1 #bj1 #dc1 #dh1 #di1 #eb1 #gg1 #gh1 #agc1 #bai1 #cca1 #ccf1 #cee1 #cia1 #ejd ,y-,kim1 #cib-cid ,zain1 #cd ,zedekias1 #bdc ,zerubbabel1 #bff1 #chc ,zohar1 ,sepher ,ha1 #bj1 #be1 #bg1 #cd1 #dj1 #da1 #df1 #dh1 #ej1 #ea1 #eb1 #hb1 #ih1 #ii1 #aji1 #aag1 #acg1 #ada1 #adf1 #adg1 #agc1 #aig1 #bjg1 #baa1 #bdi1 #bei1 #ccf1 #ceh1 #chc1 #cic1 #dbj1 #ejc ,zoroaster1 #c1 #ec1 #ed1 #ee1 #ef1 #eg1 #fj1 #fc1 #ff1 #ge1 #gf1 #hd1 #ahj1 #eae1 #ebb ,,the ,,end ,printed wholly in ,england for the ,,muston ,,company4 ,by ,,lowe ,,brydone1 ,,printers1 ,,ltd41 ,,park ,,street1 ,,camden ,,town1 ,,london1 ,n4,w4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,the word signifies reception1 and in ,rabbinical ,hebrew it denotes doctrine so communicated--that is to say1 by a tradition handed down or received from the past4 ,john ,reuchlin specifies it as symbolical reception1 signifying that the doctrine is not comprised simply in its surface meaning4 ,he says further that it is of ,divine ,revelation1 and that it belongs primarily to the life-giving contemplation of ,god4 ,this is in the universal sense1 but it is concerned also with secret teaching respecting particular things1 meaning things manifest--contemplatio formarum separatarum4 #b ,the reference is to ,l',origine de tous les ,cultes1 ou ,religion ,universelle1 #ab vols4 in #hvo1 together with an atlas in #dto4 ,paris1 #agid4 ,the work endeavoured to shew the unity of dogma under the multiplicity of symbols and allegories4 ,in other words1 it explained religion by astronomy1 the cultus in the light of the calendar1 mysteries of grace by means of natural phenomena4 ,an abridgment in a small volume appeared about #ahba4 ,the ,table of ,denderah or ,dendra was a great zodiac sculptured on the ceiling of the portico belonging to the ,temple at that place1 which was the ancient ,tentyrio4 #c ,sed omnia in mensura1 et numero1 et pondere disposuisti3 8,but ,thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight40--,,wisdom1 xi4 #ba4 #d ,the conventional ,hexagram presents in pictorial symbolism the root doctrine of the ,hermetic ,emerald ,tablet3 8,that which is above is equal to that which is below40 ,it is the sign of the interpenetration of worlds4 #e ,according to the ,zohar1 ,pt4 ,i41 fol4 #ba;a1 #ba;b1 it was with the guardian angel of ,esau that ,jacob wrestled at the place which he named ,peniel4 ,the angel could not prevail against ,jacob because the latter derived his strength from the ,supreme ,light1 ,kether1 and from ,chokmah1 which is the second hypostasis4 ,he therefore smote ,jacob on the right thigh1 which signifies the seventh ,sephira1 or ,netzach4 #f ,the more usual argument of high orthodox theology in the ,latin school is that a sin against the ,infinite ,being is one of infinite culpability4 ,if it were suggested in rejoinder that it must be one of infinite inconsequence1 so far as that ,being is concerned1 it might not be more reasonable than the argument1 but it would do less outrage to logic4 #g ,it is to be noted1 however1 that there was mockery of its kind in the middle ages1 that ,satan and his emissaries in folk-lore appear under ridiculous lights4 ,there is the prototypical story of the devil who gave a course of lectures on ,black ,magic at the ,university of ,salamanca and demanded1 as a consideration1 the soul of one of his hearers2 but he was cheated with the student's shadow4 #h ,in his earlier work1 ,the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 liphas ,lvi affirms 7a7 on the authority of a writer whom he does not name1 that the devil is ,god1 as understood by the wicked2 7b7 on another authority1 that the devil is composed of ,god's ruins2 7c7 that the devil is the ,great ,magical ,agent employed for evil purposes by a perverse will2 7d7 that he is death masquerading in the cast-off garments of life2 7e7 that ,satan1 ,beelzebub1 ,adramelek1 c41 do not designate spiritual unities1 but legions of impure spirits4 #i ,in speaking of evil and a possible ,prince of ,darkness1 it is necessary to proceed carefully1 if we are confined1 like liphas ,lvi1 within the measures of a theory of opposites4 ,the definition of evil as the absence of rectitude is entirely insufficient to cover the facts of experience2 it is that indeed1 but it is also as much more as may be necessary to account for its positive and active side4 ,the truth is that positive and negative are on both sides of the eternal balance of things postulated by the theory4 ,so far as it goes1 evil is the absence of rectitude1 and1 so far as it goes also1 rectitude is the absence of evil2 but the vital aspects of good and bad have slipped between the fingers of definition in both cases4 #aj ,saint-,martin recognises the existence of an astral region1 which is apparently that of sidereal rule4 ,there is1 in his view a certain science of this region1 and of this the active branch is theurgic1 while the passive engenders somnambulism4 ,these divisions constitute the elementary science of the astral1 but above these there is one which is more fatal and dangerous1 of which he refuses to speak4 ,there is no ,martinistic doctrine concerning the ,astral ,light1 understood as an universal medium4 liphas ,lvi seems to have used the term ,martinism in a general sense1 as if it included the school of ,martines de ,pasqually4 ,pasqually1 however1 has no doctrine concerning the ,astral ,light4 ,modern ,french ,martinism has read it into ,saint-,martin's rather ridiculous 8epico-magical poem0 or allegory1 called ,le ,crocodile1 much as another school of experiment might find therein a veiled account of the ,akasic records and the mode of their study4 ,i refer to the story of ,atlantis1 which begins at ,chant #fd and occupies a large part of the book4 ,the account of the ,chair of ,silence is very curious in this connection4 #aa ,if the word is of ,greek origin it seems to connect with the idea of watchers rather than leaders4 ,cf4 ,greek ho egrgoros ,vigil1 in the ,septuagint4 #ab ,the ,kabalistic explanation is 7a7 that ,egyptian ,magic was real ,magic2 7b7 that its wisdom was of the lowermost degree only2 7c7 that it was overcome by the superior degrees1 by which the serpent above1 or ,metatron1 dominates the serpent below1 namely1 ,samael4 ,see ,zohar1 ,part ,,ii41 fol4 #bh;a4 #ac ,elsewhere liphas ,lvi suggests that ,pharaoh's magicians refused rather than failed and that the production of flies was beneath the dignity of their ,magic4 #ad ,it should be mentioned that this enumeration is in the reverse order of chronology1 and it is not1 as it happens1 even in accordance with what may be called traditional chronology4 ,legend says--and liphas ,lvi himself mentions subsequently--that the ,sepher ,yetzirah was the work of ,abraham and that the ,zohar is in its root-matter a literal record of discourses delivered by ,r4 ,simeon ,ben ,jochai1 after the fall of ,jerusalem1 ,a4,d4 #gj4 ,the ,jerusalem and ,babylon ,talmuds are admittedly growths of some centuries4 #ae ,the meanings ascribed to the names and inscriptions on the two ,pillars of the ,temple will be of curious interest to members of the ,masonic ,fraternity1 who will be reminded of variants with which they are themselves familiar4 ,it must be said1 however1 that the explanation of ,lvi corresponds neither to ,masonic nor ,kabalistic symbolism4 ,according to the latter ,boaz is the left-hand ,pillar1 being that of ,severity in the scheme of the ,sephirotic ,tree2 it answers to ,hod1 and the meaning attached to its name is ,strength and ,vigour4 ,jachin is on the right hand1 answering to ,netzach on the ,tree2 it signifies the state of becoming established4 ,that which is made firm between ,hod and ,netzach is ,malkuth1 or the kingdom below4 ,this is the late ,kabalism of the tract entitled ,garden of ,pomegranates4 #af ,this is the particular construction which is placed by ,lvi on the texts with which he is assuming to deal1 and it is not really justified by these4 ,the ,zohar has1 however1 a doctrine of the ,unknown ,darkness4 ,the ,infinite is neither light nor splendour1 though all lights emanate therefrom4 ,it is a ,supreme ,will1 exceeding human comprehension1 and more mysterious than all mysteries4 ,see ,zohar1 ,part ,i41 fol4 #bci;a4 #ag liphas ,lvi does not seem always to have made the most of his opportunities as regards the texts of ,kabalism and the literature thereto belonging which were available at his period in ,latin and certain modern languages1 including his own4 ,he had otherwise little opportunity of learning the real message of the ,zoharic cycle4 ,taking all the circumstances into consideration1 his guesses were sometimes very shrewd1 and here and there carry with them the suggestion of intuitions4 ,the teaching of the ,zohar on the subject of sex postulates1 like so much of its doctrine1 a secret tradition to which it never gives expression in fulness1 though it is incessantly lifting now one and now another corner of the veil4 ,it is1 however1 impossible to speak of it within the limit of a note4 #ah ,it was not a master-word but a mode of greeting2 it was neither ,masonic nor ,kabalistic2 it was a ,rosicrucian formula4 ,it may be added that3 8,peace profound1 my brethren0--was answered by3 8,emanuel2 ,god is with us40 ,it is a perfect and highly mystical mode of salutation4 #ai ,perhaps the true explanation in respect of ,henry ,khunrath is that1 seemingly1 he was of the ,lutheran persuasion as one of the accidents of his birth1 but in the higher consciousness he was1 as he could be only1 catholic4 ,as regards the resolute protestantism1 liphas ,lvi says in his ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic that ,khunrath 8affects ,christianity in expressions and in signs1 but it is easy to see that his ,christ is the ,abraxas1 the luminous pentagram radiating on the astronomical cross1 the incarnation in humanity of the sovereign sun celebrated by the ,emperor ,julian40 ,see my translation of the ,doctrine and ,ritual of ,transcendental ,magic1 p4 #beg4 #bj liphas ,lvi has said previously 7a7 that the ,church ignores ,magic--for she must either ignore it or perish2 7b7 that ,magic1 as understood by him1 is absolute religion as well as absolute science2 7c7 that it should regenerate all forms of worship4 #ba ,if it be worth while to say so the translation of this passage does not follow the text1 which suggests that the act of conception--on the female side--involves suffering4 ,the text reads3 ,c'est le plaisir qui fconde1 mais c'est la douleur qui conoit et enfante4 #bb ,according to the ,zohar1 the letter ,aleph is a sacrament of the unity which is in ,god1 and it is thereby and therein that man obtains unity4 ,beth is the basis of the work of creation1 and in a sense also its instrument4 ,gimel represents the charity and beneficence which are the help of poverty1 designated by the letter ,daleth4 ,the letters ,he and ,vau are part of the mystery which is contained in the ,divine ,name-- 4 ,the letter ,zain is likened to a sharp sword or dagger4 #bc ,the account which follows may be compared with that which is found1 s4v4 ,apocryphes in liphas ,lvi's ,dictionnaire de ,littrature ,chrtienne1 mentioned in my preface to the present translation4 ,it describes the legend concerning the fall of certain angels as une assez singulire histoire4 ,he refers also to the various extant versions of the book1 and to those in particular which differ from the 8primitive0 codex1 being 7a7 that which he uses1 and 7b7 8that which ,st4 ,jude cites in his catholic epistle as an authentic0 work1 actually composed by the prophet ,enoch1 to whom it is attributed4 #bd ,the ,zohar says that the ,ark of ,noah was a symbol of the ,ark of the ,covenant1 that his entrance therein saved the world1 and that this mystery is in analogy with the ,supreme ,mystery4 ,at this point there is a sex-implicit throughout the ,kabalistic commentary1 and the nature of the 8unbridled appetite0 which brought about the deluge is identified with that sin which caused the destruction of ,judah's second son1 as told in ,genesis c4 xxxviii4 ,see ,zohar1 ,part ,i41 section ,toldoth ,noah4 ,it is intimated also that the souls of those who perished in the deluge were to be blotted out1 like the remembrance of ,amalek4 ,part ,i41 fol4 #be;a4 ,they will not even be included in the resurrection which shall go before the ,last ,judgment4 ,fol4 #fh;b4 ,at the same time the chastisement would have been suspended had ,noah prayed to ,god like ,moses1 but the tradition supposes him to have asked only concerning himself4 ,zohar1 ,part ,,iii41 fol4 #ad;b4 ,the ,holy ,land was not covered by the waters of the deluge4 ,part ,,ii41 fol4 #aig;a4 #be ,it was the ,rod of ,aaron1 not that of ,moses1 which1 according to ,heb4 ix4 #d1 was placed in the ,ark of the ,covenant1 together with the ,tables of the ,law and the ,pot of ,manna4 ,it is said1 however1 most clearly in ,i ,kings1 viii4 #i1 that 8there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone1 which ,moses put there at ,horeb40 #bf ,whatever the date to which the ,book of the ,penitence of ,adam may be referable1 it represents one form of a legend which was spread widely in the ,middle ,ages4 ,the ,gospel of ,nicodemus seems to have instituted the first analogy between the ,tree of ,knowledge and the ,tree of the ,cross4 8,all ye who have died through the wood which this man0--,adam--8hath touched3 all of you ,i will make alive again by the wood of the cross40 ,the legend of the triple branch1 under a strange transformation1 reappears in that chronicle of the ,holy ,graal which has been ascribed to the authorship of ,walter ,map4 ,there is no end to the stories which represent ,christ dying upon a tree which was a cutting from the ,tree of ,knowledge4 ,this is how the ,tree of ,knowledge becomes the ,tree of ,life in ,christian legend4 #bg ,the ,clavis ,absconditorum ,constitutione ,mundi1 which is the chief work of ,postel1 outside his translation of the ,sepher ,yetzirah1 affirms that ,enoch was born at the time when ,christ the ,mediator would have been manifested in the flesh as the incarnation of perfect ,virtue1 supposing that man had remained in his first estate4 ,there is no reference to a ,genesis of ,enoch4 #bh ,hic intrat vivus foveam--he1 being still alive1 enters the tomb1 says ,adam of ,st4 ,victor in his third ,sequence for ,dec4 #bg4 #bi ,there were two canonised bishops bearing the name of ,methodius at widely different periods1 and as both were writers it is an open question to which of them the reference is intended4 ,it is probably to ,methodius of ,olympus1 who was martyred about #caa4 ,methodius1 the ,patriarch of ,constantinople1 died in #hdf4 ,there is not the least reason to suppose that the ,apocalypse under the name of ,bermechobus was the work of either4 #cj ,compare ,lopukhin's ,quelques ,traits de l',eglise ,intrieure1 where the sanctuary which was inaugurated by ,adam is connected more especially with ,abel1 and was presumably maintained afterwards by ,seth4 ,in opposition thereto was the ,church of ,cain1 which was anti-,christian from its beginning4 ,see my introduction to ,mr4 ,nicholson's translation1 pp4 #f1 #g1 and the text1 p4 #ei--,some ,characteristics of the ,interior ,church1 #aiab4 #ca ,according to the ,zohar1 the intoxication of ,noah contains a mystery of wisdom4 ,he was really sounding the depths of that sin which was the downfall of the first man1 and his object was to find a remedy4 ,in this he failed1 and 8was drunken10 seeking to lay bare the divine essence1 without the intellectual power to explore it4 ,section ,toldoth ,noah4 #cb ,the ,sepher ,ha ,zohar affirms in several places that the ,law was offered to the ,gentiles1 and was by them refused4 #cc ,the authority for this statement is wanting4 ,the ,zohar dwells on ,genesis xxi4 #i3 8,and ,sarah saw the son of ,hagar10 c41 implying that she did not acknowledge him as the son of ,abraham1 but of the ,egyptian only4 ,the ,patriarch1 however1 regarded him as his own son4 ,sarah's desire to expel them is justified on the ground that she had seen ,ishmael worshipping the stars of heaven4 ,see ,zohar1 ,part ,i41 fol4 #aah4 ,there is no allusion to the alleged gifts of the father1 the scripture making it evident abundantly that the bread and bottle of water are for once to be understood literally4 #cd ,even at the period of liphas ,lvi1 it did not require a rabbinical scholar or a knowledge of ,aramaic to prevent any fairly informed person from suggesting that the ,book of ,concealed ,mystery1 being the text here referred to1 is the beginning of the ,zohar4 ,it follows the ,commentary on ,exodus1 about midway in the whole collection1 which covers the entire ,pentateuch4 ,it so happens that the little tract in question is the first of three sections rendered into ,latin by ,rosenroth1 and this must have deceived ,lvi1 as a consequence of utterly careless reading4 ,there was plenty of opportunity for correction in the ,kabbala ,denudata1 and so also in ,la ,kabbale--an interesting but very imperfect study by ,adolphe ,franck1 which appeared in #ahdc4 #ce ,there is no real analogy between the image attributed to ,pascal and that of the ,zoharic ,book of ,concealment4 ,i have not verified the reference to ,pascal1 as the opportunity is not given by ,lvi1 but ,i have explained elsewhere that the idea was probably drawn from ,s4 ,bonaventura1 who speaks of that sphra intelligibilis1 cujus centrum est ubique et circumferentia nusquam4 ,see ,itinerarium ,mentis ad ,deum4 ,i have inferred that ,s4 ,bonaventura himself derived from a ,hermetic book4 ,as regards the symbolism of the ,balance1 the ,book of ,concealed ,mystery says 7a7 that in creating the world1 ,god weighed in the ,balance what had not been weighed previously1 7b7 that the ,balance was suspended in a region where before there was no ,balance1 7c7 that it served for bodies as well as souls1 for beings then in existence and for those who would exist subsequently4 ,these are the only references to this subject found in the tract4 #cf ,as such it is old1 and a monograph on the subject is included by ,jacob ,bryant in his ,analysis of ,antient ,mythology1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ch et seq4 ,following the authorities of his period1 and especially ,huetius1 he says that 8they have supposed a ,zoroaster1 wherever there was a ,zoroastrian3 that is1 wherever the religion of the ,magi was adopted1 or revived40 ,the two ,zoroasters of ,lvi represent two principles of religious philosophy4 #cg ,an ,english translation of the ,chaldan ,oracles by ,thomas ,taylor1 the ,platonist1 claims to have added fifty oracles and fragments not included in the collection of ,fabricius4 ,mr4 ,mead says that the subject was never treated scientifically till the appearance of ,j4 ,kroll's ,de ,oraculis ,chaldaicis at ,breslau1 in #ahid4 #ch ,it must be understood that this summary or digest is an exceedingly free rendering1 and it seems scarcely in accordance with the text on which liphas ,lvi worked4 ,following the text of ,kroll1 ,mr4 ,mead translates the first lines as follows3 8,nature persuades us that the ,daimones are pure1 and things that grow from evil matter useful and good40 ,the last lines are rendered3 8,but when thou dost behold the very sacred ,fire with dancing radiance flashing formless through the depths of the whole world1 then hearken to the ,voice of ,fire40 #ci ,see my ,key to the ,tarot1 #aiaj1 p4 #cb1 and the cards which accompany this handbook4 ,see also my ,pictorial ,key to the ,tarot1 #aiaa1 pp4 #add-adg4 #dj ,one of the ,chaldan ,oracles has the following counsel3 8,labour thou around the ,strophalos of ,hecate10 which ,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead translates3 8,be active 7or operative7 round the ,hecatic spinning thing40 ,he adds by way of commentary that ,strophalos may sometimes mean a top4 8,in the ,mysteries tops were included among the playthings of the young ,bacchus1 or ,iacchus4 ,they represented 444 the fixed stars 7humming tops7 and planets 7whipping tops740--,the ,chaldan ,oracles1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #ag1 #ah4 #da ,accepting this definition of the term of occult research1 we can discern after what manner it differs from the mystic term4 ,the one1 by this hypothesis1 is lucidity obtained in artificial sleep which stills the senses1 and the other is ,divine ,realisation in the spirit after the images of material things and of the mind-world have been cast out1 so that the sanctified man is alone with ,god in the stillness4 #db ,this was ,la ,magie ,dvoile1 which was circulated in great secrecy4 ,later on1 and probably after the decease of the author1 it appeared in the ordinary way1 and in #ahhf an ,english translation was announced under the editorship of ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,farmer1 but ,i believe that it was never published4 #dc liphas ,lvi adds in a note that1 according to ,suidas1 ,cedrenus and the ,chronicle of ,alexandria it was ,zoroaster himself who1 seated in his palace1 disappeared suddenly and by his own will1 with all his secrets and all his riches1 in a great peal of thunder4 ,he explains that every king who exercised divine power passed for an incarnation of ,zoroaster1 and that ,sardanapalus converted his pyre into an apotheosis4 #dd ,the analysis of liphas ,lvi requires to be checked at all points4 ,he followed the ,latin version of ,anquetil ,duperron1 made from a ,persian text1 and this is so rare as to be almost unobtainable4 ,i shall therefore deserve well of my readers by furnishing the following extract from ,deussen's ,religion and ,philosophy of ,india1 regarding the ,oupnek'hat3 8,a position apart from the #eb and the #ajh ,upanishads is occupied by that collection of #ej ,upanishads which1 under the name of ,oupnek'hat1 was translated from the ,sanskrit into the ,persian in the year #afef at the instance of the ,sultan ,mohammed ,dara ,shakoh1 and from the ,persian into the ,latin in #ahja-b by ,anquetil ,duperron4 ,the ,oupnek'hat professes to be a general collection of ,upanishads4 ,it contains under twelve divisions the ,upanishads of the three older ,vedas1 and with them #bf ,atharva ,upanishads that are known from other sources4 ,it further comprises eight treatises peculiar to itself1 five of which have not up to the present time been proved to exist elsewhere1 and of which therefore a rendering from the ,persian-,latin of ,anquetil is alone possible4 ,finally the ,oupnek'hat contains four treatises from the ,vaj4 ,samh4 #af1 #ca1 #cb1 #cd1 of which the first is met with in a shorter form in other collections also1 as in the ,nilarudra ,upanishad1 while the three last have nowhere else found admission4 ,the reception of these treatises from the ,samhita into the body of the ,upanishads1 as though there were danger of their falling otherwise into oblivion1 makes us infer a comparatively later date for the ,oupnek'hat collection itself1 although as early as #afef the ,persian translators made no claim to be the original compilers1 but took the collection over already complete4 ,owing to the excessive literality with which ,anquetil ,duperron rendered these ,upanishads word by word from the ,persian into ,latin1 while preserving the syntax of the former language--a literality that stands in striking contrast to the freedom with which the ,persian translators treated the ,sanskrit text--the ,oupnek'hat is a very difficult book to read2 and an insight as keen as that of ,schopenhauer was required in order to discover within this repellant husk a kernel of invaluable philosophical significance1 and to turn it to account for his own system4 ,an examination of the material placed at our disposal in the ,oupnek'hat was first undertaken by ,a4 ,weber1 ,ind4 ,stud4 ,i1 ,,ii1 ix41 on the basis of the ,sanskrit text4 ,meanwhile the original texts were published in the ,bibliotheca ,indica in part with elaborate commentaries1 and again in the ,anandas'rama series4 ,the two longest1 and some of the shorter treatises have appeared in a literal ,german rendering by ,o4 ,bohtlingk4 ,max ,mller translated the twelve oldest ,upanishads in ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 i4 #ae4 ,and my own translation of the #fj ,upanishads contains complete texts of this character which1 upon the strength of their regular occurrence in the ,indian collections and lists of the ,upanishads1 may lay claim to a certain canonicity4 ,the prefixed introductions and the notes treat exhaustively of the matter and composition of the several treatises40 #de ,this forms the second book of the collection entitled ,orthodoxie ,maonnique1 which was published in #ahec4 ,the account of magical discs and the planets corresponding to them will be found on pp4 #dih-eja4 ,ragon pretended that there was a system of ,occult ,masonry in three ,degrees4 #df ,the legend concerning the ,emerald ,tablet is that it was found by ,alexander the ,great in the tomb of ,hermes1 which was hidden by the priests of ,egypt in the depths of the ,great ,pyramid of ,gizeh4 ,it was supposed to have been written by ,hermes on a large plate of emerald by means of a pointed diamond4 ,i believe that there is no ,greek version extant1 and it is referred by ,louis ,figuier to the seventh century of the ,christian era1 or thereabouts4 ,see ,l',alchimie et les ,alchimistes1 p4 #db4 #dg ,in his ,lexicon ,alchemi ,rulandus reminds us that 8the old astronomers dedicated the ,emerald to ,mercury10 and ,berthelot says that this was in conformity with ,egyptian ideas1 which classed the ,emerald and ,sapphire in their list of metals4 ,see ,collection des ,anciens ,alchimistes ,grecs1 premire livraison1 p4 #bfi4 ,the planet ,mercury was the planet ,hermes and it may be that some mystical connection was supposed between quicksilver and the precious stone4 ,this would have been in ,grco-,alexandrian times1 if ever1 as ancient ,egypt does not seem to have been acquainted with quicksilver4 #dh ,the text says3 le triple binaire ou le mirage du triangle1 but it is obvious that the reflected triad cannot be termed binary4 ,the expression is confused1 but the meaning is that the first triangle equals unity1 or the number #a2 the second triad corresponds to the duad1 or number #b2 the third triad to the number #c1 and so onward4 #di ,the reference is to ,athanasius ,kircher's dipus gyptiacus1 #c vols4 in folio1 bound usually in four1 published at ,rome1 #afeb-afed4 ,the ,mensa ,isiaca1 being the ,bembine ,tablet1 so called because its discovery is connected with the name of ,cardinal ,bembo1 is in the third volume--a folding plate beautifully produced4 ,the original is exceedingly late and is roughly termed a forgery4 ,in #affi the ,tablet was reproduced on a larger scale by means of a number of folding plates in the ,mensa ,isiaca of ,laurentius ,pignorius4 ,both works are exceedingly rare4 ,i suppose that these are the only records of the ,tablet now extant1 with the exception of a large copy in my possession made from the above sources4 #ej ,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead tells us that ,iynx in its root-meaning1 according to ,proclus1 signifies the 8power of transmission0 which is said in the ,chaldan ,oracles 8to sustain the fountains40 ,mr4 ,mead thinks that the ,iyinges were reproduced 7a7 as ,living ,spheres and 7b7 as ,winged ,globes4 ,he thinks1 also1 that 7a7 the ,mind on the plane of reality put forth 7b7 the one ,iyinx1 7c7 after this three ,iyinges1 called paternal and ineffable1 and finally 7d7 there may have been hosts of subordinate ,iyinges4 ,they were 8free intelligences40 ,it seems to follow that the ,iynx was not 8an emblem of universal being10 but a product of the ,eternal ,mind4 #ea ,it may be mentioned that the ,hebrew alphabet was divided into 7a7 ,three ,mother ,letters1 namely1 ,aleph1 ,mem and ,shin2 7b7 ,seven ,double ,letters1 being ,beth1 ,gimel1 ,daleth1 ,kaph1 ,pe1 ,resh1 ,tau2 and 7c7 ,twelve ,simple ,letters1 or ,he1 ,vau1 ,zain1 ,heth1 ,teth1 ,yod1 ,lamed1 ,nun1 ,samech1 ,ayin1 ,tsade1 ,quoph4 #eb ,the ,sepher ,yetzirah was first made known to ,latin reading ,europe by ,william ,postel4 ,publication took place at ,ble in #aedg4 ,it is said to have been reissued at ,amsterdam in #afdf4 ,the collection of ,pistorius1 entitled ,artis ,cabalistic ,scriptores1 belongs to #aehg4 ,later and modern editions of the ,book of ,formation are fairly numerous4 ,it was translated into ,french1 together with the ,arabic commentary of ,r4 ,saadya ,gaon1 by ,mayor ,lambert1 in #ahia4 ,an ,english version by ,dr4 ,w4 ,wynn ,westcott will serve the purpose of the general reader4 #ec ,the ,tarots of this period belong to the year #acic1 and it has been suggested recently in ,france that the artist ,charles ,gringonneur was really their inventor4 ,it is useful to note this opinion1 but ,i do not think that any importance attaches to it4 ,the extant ,gringonneur examples in the ,bibliothque ,nationale have also been said to be of ,italian origin and not therefore his work4 ,the ,venetian ,tarots have been sometimes regarded as the oldest known form4 ,the historical question is obscure beyond all extrication at present4 #ed ,in face of existing evidence1 the description of the ,tarot ,trumps ,major as a ,kabalistic alphabet has as much and as little to support it as the claim that they constitute an ,egyptian ,book of ,thoth4 ,it has been reported to me1 however1 that there is an unknown ,jewish ,tarot1 and it may interest students of the subject to know that before long ,i hope to be able to give some account at first hand concerning it4 ,there is little reason to suppose that it will prove 7a7 ancient or 7b7 ,kabalistic2 but as one never knows what is at one's threshold1 ,i put the fact on record for whatever it may be worth in the future4 ,meanwhile1 it is quite idle to say that our popular fortune-telling ,tarots are of ,jewish origin4 #ee ,the interpretation of ,lvi seems to hesitate between several fields of symbolism1 and what follows at this point suggests that the ,golden ,fleece is an allegory of metallic transmutation by means of alchemy4 ,it was so regarded by many of the later disciples of this art4 ,according to ,antoine ,joseph ,pernety1 the ,golden ,fleece is the symbol of the matter of the ,great ,work2 the labours of ,jason are an allegory concerning the operations therein and of the signs of progress towards perfection4 ,the attainment of this ,fleece signifies that of the ,powder of ,projection and the ,universal ,medicine4 ,see ,dictionnaire ,mytho-,hermtique and ,les ,fables ,egyptiennes et ,grecques1 both by ,pernety1 and in particular vol4 i4 of the latter work1 pp4 #dcg-did4 #ef ,among several bearers of this name1 ,i suppose that the reference is to him who1 by tradition1 was either the disciple or son of ,orpheus1 commemorated by ,virgil4 ,none of his poems are extant1 so that the argument seems to fail4 ,the antiquity of the ,orphic poems--,argonautica1 ,hymns1 etc4--is another question1 and the conclusions of criticism on the subject are well known4 #eg ,almost any of the demonologists will serve at need4 ,the ,jesuit ,martinus ,delrio1 who wrote ,disquisitionum ,magicarum ,libri ,sex has plenty to say about ,lami and ,stryges4 ,there is also ,joannes ,wierus1 the pupil of ,cornelius ,agrippa1 whose famous work on the ,illusions and ,impostures of ,sorcery--,histoires1 ,disputes et ,discours--was rendered from ,latin into ,french1 in #ahhe4 #eh ,i do not know how this fable originated and the question is not worth the pains which would be necessary to elucidate it4 ,it is narrated by liphas ,lvi as matter of historical fact2 but there is no question that ,m4 ,edouard ,schur1 who owes so much to the occultist who preceded him1 would have been glad to include it in his romantic biography of ,pythagoras1 if it had not been too mythical even for his purpose4 ,he is content as it is to suggest that the sage of ,samos had studied ,jewish monotheism during a stay of twelve years at ,babylon4 #ei ,the authorship of the ,golden ,verses is of course a debated point2 and it is an old suggestion that their real writer was ,lysis1 the preceptor of ,epaminondas and an exponent of ,pythagorean philosophy about #chh ,b4,c41 his master being referred to the beginning of the sixth century ,b4,c4 ,i should add that liphas ,lvi has presented the ,verses in a metrical form of his own1 which reflects the originals at a very far distance4 ,i have not followed this rendering but have had recourse to that of ,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead4 #fj ,among the appendices to the second part of the ,zohar there is a short section on physiognomy1 and it embodies some very curious materials4 ,we learn1 for example1 that if a man who has certain specified characteristics of colour and feature should turn to ,god1 a white blemish will form on the pupil of his right eye4 ,he who has three semi-circular wrinkles on his forehead and whose eyes are shining will behold the downfall of his enemies4 ,a man who has committed an adultery and has not repented is recognisable by a growth beneath the navel1 and thereon will be found two hairs4 ,should he do penance1 the hairs will disappear but the swelling will remain4 ,a man who has a beauty-spot on his ear will be a great master of the ,law and will die young4 ,two long hairs between the shoulders indicate a person who is given to swearing incessantly in an objectless manner4 ,it will be seen that these details belong to a neglected part of the science1 and ,i am a little at a loss to know how liphas ,lvi would have pressed them into his service1 if he had been fully acquainted with the work which he quotes so often4 #fa ,it happens that the hypothesis of reincarnation was personally unwelcome to liphas ,lvi1 and he did not know enough of ,zoharic ,kabalism to realise that it is of some importance therein4 ,the traditions concerning the teaching of ,pythagoras must be taken at their proper value1 but there is no question that1 according to these1 he was an important champion of what used to be called the doctrine of metempsychosis1 understood as the soul's transmigration into successive bodies4 ,he himself had been 7a7 thalides1 a son of ,mercury2 7b7 ,euphorbus1 son of ,panthus1 who perished at the hands of ,menelaus in the ,trojan war2 7c7 ,hermotimus1 a prophet of ,clazomen1 a city of ,ionia2 7d7 a humble fisherman1 and finally 7e7 the philosopher of ,samos4 #fb ,in memoria terna erit justus4 #fc liphas ,lvi has forgotten that the word 8ineffable0 means something which cannot be expressed2 he intended to say that1 according to the ,kabalists1 the efficacious name was hidden4 #fd ,all later ,kabalists agree that ,tetragrammaton is the root and foundation of the ,divine ,names4 ,in the ,sephirotic system one of the allocations makes ,chokmah1 or ,supernal ,wisdom1 to correspond with the ,yod of ,tetragrammaton4 ,kether1 which is the ,crown1 is said to have no letter attributed thereto1 because the mystery of ,ain ,soph1 the hidden abyss of the ,godhead1 is implied therein4 ,however1 the apex of ,yod does in a sense intimate concerning ,kether4 ,he is the second letter in the ,divine ,tetrad1 and it is ascribed to ,binah1 or ,supernal ,understanding1 wherein is all life comprehended4 ,this is the abode of the ,shekinah in transcendence4 ,the third letter is ,vau1 and it is said to contain the six ,sephiroth from ,chesed to ,yesod4 ,the second ,he is the fourth and last letter2 it corresponds to ,malkuth1 or the ,kingdom1 wherein is the mystery of the unity of ,god4 ,this is the abode of the ,shekinah in manifestation4 ,thus1 ,yod1 ,he1 ,vau1 ,he1 which we render ,jehovah1 contains all the ten ,sephiroth4 ,there are1 however1 other allocations4 #fe liphas ,lvi must have meant to say seven letters1 but the point does not signify4 ,according to ,rosenroth1 the ,tetragrammaton with vowel-points is the eighth ,divine ,name-- 4 ,the points are those of ,elohim and it is read as that ,name4 ,this signifies the concealment of the 8,ineffable0 ,name1 on account of the exile of ,israel4 #ff ,this is the ,divine ,name which is most in proximity to created things4 ,see the excursus thereon in ,kabbala ,denudata1 vol4 i4 pp4 #cb-da4 #fg ,cf4 the ,zohar1 ,part i4 folio #ae;a1 on ,exodus iii4 #ad3 8,and ,god said unto ,moses3 ,i am that ,i am0-- #fh ,according to the ,rabbinical ,lexicon of ,buxtorf1 ,agla is formed from the initial letters of the sentence ,tu potens es in sculum1 ,domine4 ,there seems to be no ,kabalistic authority for its explanation by ,lvi1 and the word occurs very seldom in the ,zohar4 #fi ,according to ,petrus ,galatinus1 in ,de ,arcanis ,catholic ,veritatis1 the word ,agla expresses the infinite power of the ,divine ,trinity4 ,like liphas ,lvi1 he gives us the separate significance of each letter and1 like ,buxtorf1 he makes them the initials of the sentence already quoted1 his rendering being3 ,tu potens in ternum ,dominus4 ,he terms ,agla ,nomen ,dei1 for which there seems to be as much and as little authority as there is for the suggestion that the ,divina potentia is that of the ,trinity4 #gj ,a very full exposition of this ,name will be found in the section entitled ,de ,cabale ,hebrorum1 forming part of ,kircher's magnum opus1 the dipus gyptiacus4 ,it is curious that a tract so important as this1 within its own measures1 and written with the uttermost simplicity1 does not appear to have been translated1 even into the ,french language4 #ga ,i must admit that this reference escapes me4 ,the ,tarot consists of four suits of #ad cards each and there are #bb ,trumps ,major1 making #gh cards in all4 #gb ,the axiom has rather a convincing air1 but the analogy is wrong1 and the word 8return0 is a blunder of popular speech4 ,the possibility of communication with those who have left this life is a question of the interpenetration of worlds4 ,to say that the human spirit departs or comes back is a symbolic expression1 like the statement that heaven is above us4 #gc ,the analogy is again wrong and the creation of a materialistic mind4 ,the return of the soul to ,god is not annihilation but life for evermore1 and it is union with all life4 #gd ,the soul sheds one envelope1 in which it has prepared another4 #ge ,this expression may tend to confusion4 ,the consciousness and activity of the soul are manifested by means of that vehicle in which it happens to reside4 ,it is not they that belong to the vehicle1 but it is the vehicle that is used by them4 #gf ,there is no ,kabalistic authority for the sun as the abode of souls4 #gg ,kabalism is silent on the question of communication with those who have left this life1 though tacitly it must admit the possibility on the evidence of the case of ,samuel4 ,the axiom that the spirit clothes itself to come down and unclothes itself to go up is one of the so-called conclusiones ,kabbalistic of ,picus de ,mirandula1 but it is found substantially in the ,zohar1 and as regards the descent1 this is just what occurs ex hypothesi in the phenomena of spiritistic materialisations4 ,as regards the parable of the rich man1 it has nothing to do with the question of so-called spirit-return2 those who were in the bosom of ,abraham had as much left this life as those who were in ,sheol4 #gh ,it depends on those who have left us4 ,what of the earthly and the evil8 ,why should the bond between them and us--supposing that there is a bond--be that of our highest feelings8 #gi ,the fact is that he was assassinated1 the inference is that it was by or at the instance of those whose secrets he was supposed to have betrayed4 ,the murderers1 also by inference1 were said to be ,brethren of the ,rosy ,cross4 ,it may be mentioned that the ,comte de ,gabalis contains the theory of communication with elementary spirits1 being those of earth1 air1 fire and water2 but the mode of treatment suggests that it is a jeu d'esprit4 ,the ,nouveaux ,entretiens sur les ,sciences ,secrtes1 ,gnies ,assistants and ,le ,gnome ,irrconcilable1 which are supposed sequels1 are forgeries1 of later periods4 #hj ,elsewhere in his works liphas ,lvi says that the ,astral ,light is 7a7 the ,od of the ,hebrews1 7b7 an electro-magnetic ether1 7c7 a vital and luminous caloric1 7d7 the instrument of life1 7e7 the instrument of the omnipotence of ,adam1 7f7 the universal glass of visions4 ,it follows the law of magnetic currents1 is subject to fixation by a supreme projection of will-power1 is the first envelope of the soul1 and the mirror of imagination4 ,he terms it also magnetised electricity4 ,it would seem that his contemporary disciples in ,france have abandoned the theory of their master1 or perhaps ,i should say rather its doctrinal part4 ,on the other hand1 it has perhaps reappeared1 under theosophical auspices1 as the reservoir of the akasic records4 #ha ,there are also references to ,lilith1 a demon-wife of ,adam1 in the ,zohar2 she is called the instigator of chastisements and was really the wife of ,samael1 the evil angel4 ,it may be added that1 according to ,paracelsus1 the elementaries non sunt progeniti ex ,adamo4 ,see ,liber de ,nymphis1 ,sylphis1 ,pygmis et ,salamandris1 ,tract4 ,i1 cap4 #a44 #hb ,in respect of male celibates1 the physiological particulars referred to are the blind yearning of ,nature after the nuptial state and1 with a tentative reserve in respect of the life of sanctity1 it is shame to those who neglect the warning or turn it to the account of sin4 #hc ,this is one construction of the symbol and is a little tinctured by liphas ,lvi's sincere admiration for the understanding which lay behind the ,romance of the ,rose4 ,the text of ,genesis says that a river rose to water the ,garden 8and from thence it was parted and became into four heads10 or four sources of rivers4 ,these rivers did not water the ,garden but the world without1 and their names are familiar in the geography of the ancient world4 ,the mystic pantacle of ,eden shews therefore an enclosure constituted by a ring or circle of water1 an island like that of ,avalon1 which is another ,garden of ,apples1 and the waters flow out therefrom towards the four points of heaven3 they form therefore a cross1 and in the centre of that cross is the ,paradise4 ,if the reader will bear in mind that1 according to the secret tradition1 ,adam was set to grow roses in the ,garden of ,eden1 he will understand at what place of the world the symbolism of the ,rosy ,cross takes its origin4 #hd ,this is true1 but it is only the science of this world in the sense that the greater includes the lesser4 ,it is really the supernal knowledge which is called ,daath in ,kabalism1 arising from the union of ,chokmah and ,binah1 or ,wisdom and ,understanding4 #he ,the commentary of the ,zohar on ,genesis1 vi4 #b--8the sons of ,god saw the daughters of men that they were fair0--affirms that the angels were cast out of heaven as soon as they had conceived the desire therein suggested4 ,aza and ,azael were the chiefs of these fallen spirits4 ,subsequently they taught ,magic to men4 #hf ,the design of the builders1 according to the ,zohar1 ,part ,i1 ,fol4 #ge;a1 was to abandon the celestial domain for that of ,satan4 ,they desired to rebuild heaven1 apparently in the likeness of their own evil desires4 ,they were the same quality of souls as the 8giants in the earth in those days0 and 8the mighty men which were of old1 men of renown40 ,see ,genesis1 c4 vi4 v4 #d and ,zohar1 ,part ,i1 ,fol4 #be;b4 #hg ,zoharic ,kabalism was dissatisfied with the visitation of the offence of ,ham on his apparently innocent son1 ,canaan1 and it accounted for the malediction pronounced upon the latter by the fact that he had removed the testes from the person of his grandfather ,noah4 ,on the surface this is a ridiculous enormity1 but it is a concealed intimation that the whole ,noetic myths is1 like ,paradise itself1 a mystery of sex shadowed forth in symbolism4 #hh ,it should be needless to say that this is a mere presumption and is not even founded on any legend concerning the travels of ,plato4 ,he is said to have been in ,egypt for a period which has been estimated at thirteen years4 #hi ,he was a disciple of ,plato who is supposed not only to have been illustrious for his knowledge of geometry but to have paid the usual pilgrim's visit to ,egypt and to have returned an adept in astronomy4 #ij ,we have1 unhappily1 to remember that liphas ,lvi himself wrote a great deal1 and assuredly to little purpose1 on the subject of squaring the circle and on perpetual motion4 ,elsewhere he tells us that the revolution of a square about its centre describes a circle1 and thus the circle is squared4 ,he also invented1 in imagination1 a clock which wound itself up in the process of running itself down1 and this was perpetual motion--presumably1 unless the mechanism happened to stop working or to wear itself out4 ,the reader may settle for himself whether in these phantasies he was in hiding like an adept or pursuing like a fool4 #ia ,the only remark which is requisite on this chapter is that it involves throughout an abuse of the word ,mysticism1 which has nothing to do with religious anarchy1 sects or magic4 ,see1 however1 my preface to the present translation4 #ib ,the history of persecution may be left to speak for itself on the validity of this plea and the postulated principle mentioned by liphas ,lvi may even be thought to have concealed a stab from behind in the dark4 ,in any case1 the alleged horror of blood is best illustrated by the method of pyre and faggot4 #ic 8,change not the barbarous names of evocation10 says one of the oracles attributed to ,zoroaster1 as we have seen1 and the reason given is because of their 8ineffable power40 ,this was the true ,zoroaster of liphas ,lvi1 and he was not1 ex hypothesi1 an exponent of ,black ,magic4 8,barbarian words and signs unknown0 are not less in favour with the so-called white variety4 #id ,see my ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 pp4 #ajj-ajb1 for a study of this ,grimoire4 #ie ,the reference is to a work entitled ,des ,hallucinations1 ou ,histoire raisonne des ,apparitions1 des ,visions1 des ,songes1 de l',extase1 du ,magntisme et du ,somnambulisme4 ,it was first published about #ahej and was of authority at its period4 ,its large array of materials will be always valuable4 ,i believe that it was translated into ,english4 #if ,there is no need to say that the ,second ,birth1 to which allusion is made by ,christ1 is not comprehended by any notion of a moral change1 though such change is involved4 ,morality is the gate of spiritual life but is not its sanctuary4 #ig ,the point which escapes in this synopsis of ,egyptian initiation is that which distinguishes the official mysteries--like ,masonry--from vital initiation1 and ,i mention it here because there are memorials of ,egyptian mysteries which suggest that they were no mere symbolical pageants but did communicate--to those who could receive--the life which is behind such symbolism4 #ih ,the analogy here instituted assumes in respect of the ,greek mysteries that which has been implied previously regarding those of ,egypt4 ,the laws and by-laws of the schools of philosophy1 whatever they exacted from pupils1 were not imitations of the grades of initiation and advancement communicated in priestly sanctuaries1 if there was mystic life in those sanctuaries4 ,even if they were merely pageants1 the comparison does not obtain2 for it is obvious that ,pythagoras and ,plato did not confer degrees by way of ritual4 ,matriculation and 8the little go0 are not ceremonial observances in the path of symbolism4 #ii ,the truth is that in so far as the ,jewish ,kabalah contains a ,logos philosophy1 so far it embodies confused reminiscences of ,alexandrian schools of thought4 liphas ,lvi reminds one of ,jacob ,bryant1 ,davies and the respectable ,mr4 ,faber1 who explained the whole universe of history by the help of ,shem1 ,ham and ,japhet1 the deluge and the ,ark of ,noah4 ,he saw the ,kabalah everywhere2 had he spoken of a secret tradition subsisting in all times1 of which ,kabalism is a part in reflection1 he would have been less confused and confusing2 but he applied to the whole a term which is peculiar to a part4 ,it is said in the ,zohar that the ,word which discovers unto us the supreme mysteries is generated by the union of light and darkness4 ,part ,i1 ,fol4 #cb;a4 ,it is said also that the ,word dwells in the superior heavens1 ,fol4 #cc;b4 ,and there are other references4 #ajj ,dacier was a translator in the latter part of the eighteenth century1 and his study on the ,doctrine of ,plato appeared in the third volume of a collection entitled ,bibliothque des ,anciens ,philosophes1 which began publication in #agga4 #aja ,those who may wish to be acquainted with the sources from which ,lvi drew some of his materials may consult ,clum ,sephiroticum1 by ,j4 ,c4 ,steebius1 an old folio which appeared in #afgi1 as well as ,reuchlin and ,rosenroth4 ,they will see how things change in his hands4 ,according to the ,zohar1 ,ain ,soph reflects immediately into ,kether on the path of manifestation4 ,it is not correct to say that the king is ,ain ,soph in ,kabalism and the letter of ,plato is devoid of sephirotic analogies4 #ajb ,it must be said that the ,greek word did not pass into ,latin in classical times and was unknown throughout the middle ages4 ,as an illustration of its occult prevalence1 ,i cannot trace that it was used by ,paracelsus4 ,in so far as it can be said to have become prevalent1 it was in a mystic sense only1 as in the proper use of words it could alone be4 ,it was made familiar by ,jacob ,bhme4 #ajc ,the classical authorities for the visitation of the cave of ,trophonius include ,pausanias of ,csarea1 who wrote the history of ,greece1 ,cicero1 ,pliny and ,philostratus1 not to mention the allusion found in the ,clouds of ,aristophanes4 ,the account of liphas ,lvi must be taken with certain reservations1 but it is not a matter in which accuracy or its opposite is of any consequence outside scholarly research4 ,there were various sacrifices and other ceremonies prior to the visitation1 and the candidate for the experience usually descended alone4 ,it is not1 ,i think1 on record that the effect of the visit was lasting4 #ajd ,the actual formula seems to have been3 8,he has consulted the oracle of ,trophonius40 #aje ,there is no question that1 according to the ,zohar1 the sun is the centre of the planetary system1 of which planets the earth is one4 #ajf ,there is extraordinary confusion1 at the least by way of expression1 in this paragraph1 which will inevitably create in the reader a notion that the work of ,cebes was a picture4 ,as a fact1 it is a description of human life contained in a dialogue1 to which the title of ,tabula was given4 ,it has been printed several times1 and once1 ,i believe1 at ,glasgow1 in #agdg4 #ajg ,i have intimated elsewhere that the ,zohar is in several respects a work of high entertainment1 and that its reading is much more diverting than ,arabian or ,ambrosial ,nights4 ,but liphas ,lvi is right in saying that it calls for some preliminary training4 ,he does not quite mean1 however1 what ,i mean in making the suggestion4 ,on the serious side the ,zohar is assuredly a work of initiation and one of the great books of the world1 though ,sir ,john ,lubbock and others of kindred enterprise did not happen to know of it4 ,lvi is substantially right also in saying that it requires a key1 though his meaning is not expressed rightly4 ,the explanation is that it is not a methodical system and presupposes throughout1 on the part of its readers1 an acquaintance with the tradition which it embodies in allusive form4 #ajh ,it is difficult to say what authority was followed in producing this account4 ,pentheus was the second ,king of ,thebes1 succeeding ,cadmus1 who built the city4 ,bacchus was the son of ,semele1 the daughter of ,cadmus1 by ,jupiter1 but he was never a candidate for the ,theban throne4 ,the offence of ,pentheus was not one of usurpation but of refusal to recognise the divinity of ,bacchus4 ,he was not torn to pieces by the daughters of ,cadmus1 but by a crowd of ,bacchanals1 among whom was his own mother4 ,it is impossible to turn this story into an allegory of pantheism1 as ,lvi proceeds to do4 #aji ,the classical story is the very contrary of this4 ,the effect of his experiments with the serpents was like that of passing through the foot of the rainbow2 ,tiresias was changed into a girl4 ,he married in this form2 but having met a second time with some other interlaced serpents1 he again smote them and recovered his original sex4 ,so far from being unable to consummate marriage in either case1 he became an authority with the gods on the comparative extent of satisfaction attained by the two sexes in the act of sex4 #aaj ,the term geometrical scarcely applies to the figures of geomancy4 #aaa ,the ,bacchus who was depicted with horns was the son of ,jupiter and ,proserpine4 ,as regards the androgynous nature of ,iacchos1 ,i do not know ,lvi's authority1 but such a characteristic was ascribed to several deities1 though sometimes against general likelihood4 ,it was even said of ,jupiter that he was a man but also an immortal maid4 #aab ,lvi affirms elsewhere that the satisfaction of all the calls of sense is required for the work of philosophy4 ,in the present place he confuses the issue by implying that chastity means either celibacy or the virgin state4 ,yet he did not fail to understand that the nuptial life is also a life of chastity2 he speaks eloquently of the home and its sanctity1 and he alludes elsewhere to the chaste and conjugal ,venus4 #aac ,there were two pagan festivals which have a certain likeness between them3 7a7 ,charisia1 which was in honour of ,aglaia1 ,thalia and ,euphrosyne1 the ,charites or ,graces4 ,it was celebrated by dances at night1 and the person who maintained the exercise longest was presented with a cake1 7b7 ,charistia1 a ,roman festival1 for the reconciliation of relations and friends1 at which food was eaten4 ,it could be wished for the perpetuity and catholicity of the sacraments that there were traces of an ,eucharist in the ,christian sense prior to ,christian times4 #aad ,it may be mentioned that #ac is also the number of resurrection1 or birth into new life4 #aae ,the ,grimoire mentioned under the name of ,little ,albert is called in the ,latin edition ,alberti ,parvi ,lucii ,libellus1 and is 8a treasure of marvellous secrets40 ,the original intention was to father it on ,albertus ,magnus1 and in fact there is another collection which is known as the ,great ,albert4 ,it is of similar value4 #aaf ,i have suffered these lines to stand as they are given by liphas ,lvi1 following the ,french translation of ,salomon ,certon4 ,shelley1 who rendered ,homer's ,hymn to ,mercury into verse which is unworthy of his name1 represented the ,greek original by asterisks at this point1 and ,i have taken a lesson from the counsel4 ,lvi gives some further lines--,i scarcely know why1 but they stand as follows in ,shelley's version3 8,phbus on the grass ,him threw1 and whilst all that he had designed ,he did perform--eager although to pass1 ,apollo darted from his mighty mind ,towards the subtle babe the following scoff3-- #8,do not imagine this will get you off1 8#8,you little swaddled child of ,jove and ,may6' ,and seized him3 #8,by this omen ,i shall trace ,my noble herds1 and you shall lead the way4'0 #aag ,we shall meet with this sect accordingly1 and it will be found that the present remark is either 7a7 not intended to justify the alleged traditional interpretation or 7b7 that the initial reference has to be qualified by its subsequent extension4 ,johannite ,christianity has been the subject of much romancing among the exponents of ,high-,grade ,masonry4 ,woodford's ,cyclopdia of ,freemasonry identifies its followers with ,nazarenes and ,nasarites1 and adds that they regarded ,st4 ,john the ,baptist as 8the only true prophet40 ,one order of ,templar ,masonry1 which is now extinct1 seems to have claimed connection with the ,johannite sect4 #aah ,i have quoted elsewhere the previous remark of the author on the same subject as a curious example of how things are apt to strike a ,french exponent of occultism at different periods of time and in other states of emotion4 8,st4 ,paul burnt the books of ,trismegistus0--not ,getic texts or works of necromancy2 8,omar burned the disciples of ,trismegistus 787 and ,st4 ,paul4 ,o persecutors6 ,o incendiaries6 ,o coffers6 ,when will you finish your work of darkness and destruction60 ,this is from the ,rituel de la ,haute ,magie1 p4 #cbg4 #aai ,in his ,fundamental ,philosophy1 ,james ,balmes seeks to shew that the ,eucharistic ,mystery1 understood in the literal sense of transubstantiation1 is not absurd in itself1 that is to say1 is not intrinsically contradictory4 ,to establish that it is1 one must demonstrate3 7a7 that to abstract passive sensibility from matter is to destroy the principle of contradiction2 7b7 that the correspondences between our sense organs and objects are intrinsically immutable2 7c7 that it is absolutely necessary for impressions to be transmitted to the sensitive faculties of the soul by those organs and that they can never be transmitted otherwise4 ,see ,book ,,iii1 ,extension and ,space1 c4 #cc1 ,triumph of ,religion4 ,i make this citation because it seems to me that liphas ,lvi acted incautiously in debating the observation of ,rousseau4 #abj ,the place of his birth is uncertain2 ,cyprus is one of the alternatives4 #aba ,this is ,dositheus of ,samaria1 who was contemporary with ,christ4 ,there is an account of him by ,st4 ,epiphanius and he is also mentioned by ,photius4 #abb ,it is1 ,i believe1 one of the ,christian apologists who mentions that ,helen was found by ,simon in a house of ill-fame at ,tyre4 ,it is said otherwise that she was ,helen of ,troy in a previous incarnation4 #abc ,because they were both favourites of ,nero1 or because the reference to a feast reminded liphas ,lvi of the celebrated ,banquet in the ,satyricon of ,petronius ,arbiter4 ,sophronius ,tigellinus was one of ,nero's ministers4 #abd ,the dispute between ,st4 ,peter and ,simon the ,magician is not a matter of popular rumour2 it is a methodical account contained in one of the forged ,recognitions ascribed to ,st4 ,clement4 ,it will be understood that the version presented by liphas ,lvi is decorated by his own imagination4 ,it seems generally regarded as certain that ,simon visited ,rome to enrol disciples1 and there is the authority of ,eusebius for some kind of meeting with ,st4 ,peter4 #abe ,it might be more accurate to say that there were many successors1 of whom ,menander was the chief4 ,so also there were many ,simonian sects1 including the school which followed ,dositheus1 described by ,lvi and others as the master of ,simon4 ,menander claimed to be the envoy of the ,supreme ,power of ,god4 #abf ,they were not included at the period--about #ahfe--;in ,la ,france ,mystique of ,erdan1 though it contained choses inouies2 and they are not found among les petites religions de ,paris at the present day1 though it contains a ,gnostic church confessing to a hierarchic government and1 ,i believe1 with an authorised branch at ,san ,francisco--perhaps less in partibus infidelium than is the sect in its own country4 #abg ,i have given ,lvi's version literally without pretending to account for it4 ,in the authorised version the passage reads3 8,if thou doest not well1 sin lieth at the door4 ,and unto thee shall be his desire1 and thou shalt rule over him40 ,genesis1 iv4 #g4 #abh ,i suppose that reference is intended to ,epitome ,delictorum1 sive de ,magia1 in qua aperta vel occulta invocatio ,dmonum1 c41 #dto4 ,i have no record of the first edition1 but it was reprinted at ,leyden in #afgi4 #abi ,it has to be observed that the ,hyphasis was a certain river of ,india which is assigned by tradition as the boundary of ,alexander's conquests4 ,had liphas ,lvi been acquainted with this fact he might have allegorised with success thereon4 #acj ,it is noticeable that the alchemists of past centuries1 who were so apt to see the ,hermetic ,mystery at large in all literature1 and who fathered many mythical treatises on the great and the holy men of old1 are silent regarding ,apollonius4 ,i am far from admitting the interpretation of liphas ,lvi1 as ,philostratus belongs to the dawn of the third century1 when alchemy may be said to have been unborn2 but ,i am sure that if the early expositors had known the life of ,apollonius1 they might almost have suspected something4 ,even the ,abb ,pernety missed the obvious opportunity in his discourse on the ,hermetic significance of the ,greek and ,egyptian fables4 #aca ,it must be remembered that the ,stone in symbolism is far older than the particular symbol which is called the ,philosophical ,stone1 or ,stone of ,alchemy4 #acb ,the last statement obtains in respect of the ,mystic ,stone1 as understood1 for example1 by ,zoharic writers4 #acc ,the introduction to the ,dogme de la ,haute ,magie says3 7a7 ,that ,julian was one of the illuminated and an initiate of the first order2 7b7 ,that he was a ,gnostic allured by the allegories of ,greek polytheism2 7c7 ,that he had the satisfaction of expiring like ,epaminondas with the periods of ,cato4 #acd ,the ,golden ,legend was compiled about #abge by ,jacobus de ,voragine1 ,archbishop of ,genoa4 ,his authorities were 7a7 ,eusebius1 7b7 ,st4 ,jerome1 7c7 legendary matter4 ,i am sure that ,kabalistic mysteries and ,johannite initiation must look elsewhere for their records4 ,the suggestion1 however1 is not worth debating4 #ace ,in the ,golden ,legend the story is entitled 8,of ,st4 ,justina10 whose festival is on ,september #bf4 ,st4 ,cyprian1 ,bishop of ,carthage1 is entirely distinct from the ,cyprian of legend4 #acf ,this pictorial sign appears in an old ,grimoire4 #acg ,with this reverie of liphas ,lvi on the subject of the mystic ass let us compare another which is of an entirely different order1 though it belongs to the same category1 7#a7 ,it is recorded by ,josephus that a certain ,jew named ,onias obtained leave from ,ptolemy ,philometor to build a temple in honour of ,god at a certain place in ,arabia which was subsequently called ,onium1 after the founder4 7#b7 ,this ,onium was not ,heliopolis1 as supposed commonly4 7#c7 ,the ,temple at ,onium1 on account of a similitude of sound1 was connected with the ,greek word 1 signifying ,ass4 7#d7 ,the ,greeks in consequence believed themselves to have discovered the secret object of ,jewish worship1 being the animal in question4 7#e7 ,it was asserted that there was an ass's head in the vestibule of every ,jewish temple4 7#f7 ,as the ,greeks did not closely distinguish between ,jews and ,christians1 the ass came also to be called the god of the ,christians4--,jacob ,bryant3 ,analysis of ,antient ,mythology1 #crd edition1 vol4 vi4 pp4 #hb et seq4 #ach ,the commentary of the ,zohar on ,genesis ii4 #bb1 says that the words--8which the ,lord ,god had taken from man0--signify that the ,tradition has issued from the ,written ,doctrine4 ,the words 8and brought him to man0 indicate that the ,traditional ,law must not remain isolated3 it can only exist in union with the ,written ,law4 ,part ,i1 ,fol4 #dh;b4 ,it follows1 and is made plain elsewhere1 that man is the ,written ,law and woman the ,secret ,doctrine4 #aci ,in one of the pictorial symbols of ,alchemy the head of the winged solar man is represented rising from a chest4 ,it is a recurring image4 #adj ,it is obvious that liphas ,lvi pictures only the dark side of ,gnosticism2 he says nothing and perhaps knew nothing of the higher aspects4 ,his stricture on the copulation of ,eons reads strangely for a defender of ,kabalism1 seeing that the ,zohar abounds in similar images4 #ada ,this statement requires to be checked by a ,french authority of the period1 with whom liphas ,lvi could not fail to be acquainted4 ,i refer to ,jacques ,matter and his ,histoire ,critique du ,gnosticisme1 a second and enlarged edition of which was published in #ahdc4 ,according to the testimony of this writer3 7a7 ,some ,gnostics rejected the ,eucharist entirely2 7b7 ,those who preserved it never taught the real communication of man in the flesh and blood of the ,saviour2 7c7 for them it was an emblem of their mystic union with a being belonging to the ,pleroma2 7d7 ,the wonder-working ,eucharist was particular to ,marcos1 but according to ,st4 ,irenus it was the result of trickery2 7e7 ,he filled chalices with wine and water1 pronounced over them a formula of his own1 and caused these liquids to appear purple and ruby in colour4 ,op4 cit41 vol4 ii4 pp4 #cdd-cdf4 #adb ,this assertion is merely a matter of inference4 #adc ,the materials here embodied come direct from ,matter1 and the last sentence is almost in his own words4 ,the earlier writer says that he caused women to bless the chalice4 ,nothing is said as to the intervention of men1 other than ,marcos1 in the celebration4 #add ,the dream ascribed to ,marcos and his followers is that1 however1 of the ,zohar1 the opening section of which describes the letters of the ,hebrew alphabet as coming before ,god in succession1 praying to be used in the work of creation which was about to begin4 ,they were set aside in their turn for the reason applying to each1 with the exception of ,beth1 which was taken as the basis of the work1 while ,aleph was installed as the first of all the letters1 the ,master of the ,universe affirming that ,his own ,divine ,unity was in virtue of this letter4 ,the meaning was that ,aleph corresponds to the ,no4 #a4 ,this1 says the ,zohar1 with ingenuous subtlety1 is why the two first words of ,scripture have ,beth as their initial and the two next words have ,aleph4--,zohar1 ,part ,i1 ,fols4 #b;b-#c;b4 #ade ,it will be seen in a later section that this charge against ,vintras rests upon the evidence of persons expelled from the sect which he founded1 and1 so far as ,i am aware1 it has not been put forward seriously4 #adf ,the question1 however1 stood over until the appearance of ,la ,clef des ,grands ,mystres1 a considerable part of which is embodied in the digest of ,lvi's writings which ,i published long since as ,the ,mysteries of ,magic4 ,the ,astral ,light is explained as 8magnetised electricity 8--as already quoted4 #adg ,in my ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic ,i have given full opportunities for the judgment of this so-called occult ritual1 which should certainly have been kept in concealment1 or better still allowed to perish1 not on account of its secrets but because it is in all respects worthless1 and its ascription to ,leo ,,iii an insult to that pontiff4 #adh ,it is laid down in the work of ,synesius 7a7 that chastity and temperance are indispensable for the knowledge of divination by dreams2 7b7 that these being granted1 divination by dreams is both valuable and simple2 7c7 that all things past1 present and future convey their images to us2 7d7 that there is no general rule of interpretation2 7e7 that each should make his divinatory science for himself1 by noting his dreams4 ,the philosopher gives some account of the profit which he had derived personally from a study of the images of sleep4 ,divination also preserved him from the ambushes laid by certain magicians1 so that he suffered no harm at their hands4 #adi liphas ,lvi's knowledge of the works attributed to ,dionysius is doubtless derived from the translation of ,monsignor ,darboy1 ,archbishop of ,paris1 which appeared in #ahde4 ,there is an elaborate introduction designed to establish the authenticity of the texts and this is excellent1 at least for its period1 as a piece of special pleading4 ,the reader who refers to the treatise on ,divine ,names need not be distressed when he finds that it embodies no mysteries of rabbinical theology4 ,to many of us at the present day the most important of the ,dionysian writings is that on ,mystical ,theology1 which is omitted in the enumeration of ,lvi and not perhaps unnaturally1 as it is a pelagus divinitatis over which he would not have ventured to sail4 #aej ,goethe4 #aea ,this explanation is not in accordance with the recorded facts for which ,phlegon and ,proclus are the authorities4 ,the works of ,phlegon were published at ,leyden in #afbj1 under the editorship of ,meursius and again in #agge at ,halle1 by ,franzius2 they contain the story of ,philinnion--as the name is spelt by ,phlegon4 ,machates was a foreign friend of ,demostratus from ,pella1 not an innkeeper4 ,philinnion appeared to him after her death in the house of his parents and declared her love4 ,her intercourse with ,machates was discovered accidentally by a servant1 and the denouement is much as it is given in the present place4 ,philinnion said1 however1 that she acted with the consent of the gods4 liphas ,lvi accounts for his discrepancies by an appeal to the narratives of ,french demonographers1 but he makes no references by which we can check him4 ,he states1 however1 that they are answerable for the alleged fact that ,machates was the keeper of a tavern4 ,the date of the actual occurrence is the reign of ,philip ,,ii of ,macedon1 and the 8,emperor0 referred to should be ,king ,philip4 ,lvi confuses the date of ,phlegon 7,hadrian's reign7 with the date of the incident4 ,phlegon was merely a collector of curious stories1 and could not1 of course1 have witnessed an incident which took place #ejj years before his birth6 #aeb ,it will be understood at the present day that this is reverie and only serves to remind us that ,aristotle ascribed the philosophy of ,greece to a source in ,gaul1 while it is affirmed by ,clement of ,alexandria that ,pythagoras derived therefrom4 ,it is thought now1 on the other hand1 that ,druidism in its later developments may have been influenced not only by ,greek but also by ,phnician ideas4 #aec ,in ,druidic mythology1 ,belen1 otherwise ,heol1 was the sun-god2 ,camael was god of war4 ,the highest divinity is believed to have been that ,esus who is mentioned by ,lucan4 ,he is represented by the circle1 as a sign of infinity1 and all fate was beneath him4 ,the most important goddess was ,keridwen1 who presided over wisdom4 ,the conclusion of ,lvi's enumeration is like the beginning--a dream4 #aed ,a note by liphas ,lvi says that a ,druidic statue was found at ,chartres1 having the inscription3 ,,virgini ,,paritur4 ,it is curious that ,druidic inscriptions should be in the ,latin tongue4 #aee ,it was supposed to increase the species by preventing sterility1 and it was dignified by other ascribed virtues2 it was the ethereal tree and the growth of the high summit4 ,it was included among the ingredients of the mystical cauldron of ,keridwen1 in which genius1 inspiration and serenity were said to dwell4 #aef ,the same occult importance attaches to this statement as to another in the ,dogme et ,rituel1 where liphas ,lvi1 explaining the superstitions of the past1 affirms for those who can suffer it that the toad is not poisonous but is a sponge for poisons4 ,i suppose1 however1 it is obvious that if 8popular confidence0 can render mistletoe magnetic1 popular distrust may instil poison into toads4 #aeg ,the floating traditions and chansons concerning ,melusine were collected by ,jean d',arras into a beautiful romance of chivalry1 at the close of the fourteenth century4 #aeh ,whether this hypothesis of antiquity is warranted or not1 the fact that it is adopted should have prevented liphas ,lvi from characterising the romance of ,melusine as an imitation pf the fable of ,psyche3 it is obviously the reverse side4 ,the allegory in the latter case is that of the assumption of the soul by the ,divine ,spirit1 so that all which is capable of redemption in our human nature1 its emotion1 its desire and its love1 may enter into the glorious estate of the mystic marriage4 ,the allegory in the former case is that of the union instituted between the psychic part and all that is of earth in our nature2 but this earth is not capable of true marriage1 and whereas the other experiment ends in the world of unity1 this terminates1 as it can only1 in that of separation4 #aei ,see ,jules ,garinet3 ,histoire de la ,magie en ,france1 #ahah1 pp4 #aa1 #ab4 #afj ,the story of ,fredegonde and her connection with sorcery is told by ,gregory of ,tours1 but liphas ,lvi derived it from ,jules ,garinet1 already cited4 ,the particulars concerning ,klodswinthe appear to be his own invention1 of which her imputed discourse bears all the marks4 #afa ,see ,garinet1 ,histoire de la ,magie en ,france1 pp4 #ad-af1 and ,th4 de ,cauzons1 ,la ,magie et la ,sorcellerie en ,france1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ajj4 ,the original authority is again ,gregory of ,tours3 ,histoire des ,francs1 ,book ,,vi1 c4 #ce4 ,the account of ,lvi is rather incorrect1 for after unheard-of tortures1 the life of ,mummol was spared1 but he died on the way to ,bordeaux4 ,it does not appear that he defied his executioners and the renewed torture was ordained by ,chilperic4 #afb ,the work in question is called ,acta ,disputationis cum quodam ,nicolai4 #afc ,a story of the days of ,st4 ,louis is obviously not ,talmudic and the antiquity of the idea of immortality among the ,jews fortunately rests on a better foundation than this4 ,the criticism exposes the carelessness of ,lvi if he is regarded as a man of learning4 ,some will think that he traded on the ignorance of his readers4 #afd ,what was actually intended by the expression amatores diaboli should have been perfectly well understood by liphas ,lvi4 ,it corresponds to the legends concerning incubi and succubi4 ,for a specific example see ,brierre de ,boismont1 ,des ,hallucinations1 p4 #aea et seq4 #afe ,the story comes from ,gregory of ,tours4 #aff ,the account of ,zedekias and the atmospheric marvels is taken from ,garinet1 pp4 #cd et seq4 #afg ,see pp4 #cd-cg of his ,history4 ,but the account in ,garinet is derived from the ,cinquime ,entretien in the romance entitled ,le ,comte de ,gabalis4 #afh ,it is not in reality an occult tradition2 it is simply the unauthorised claim of the grimoire4 #afi ,it should be mentioned that this enumeration of assumptions expressed or implied in the claims of occult tradition1 by the hypothesis of its present exponent1 has nothing to do with the ,enchiridion1 which makes only two claims1 and these are particular to itself4 ,they are 7a7 that it was sent to ,charlemagne by ,pope ,leo and 7b7 that certain prayers1 which rank as its chief feature1 possess mysterious power4 ,the suggestion of ,lvi's next paragraph notwithstanding1 there is no other point of view from which the book can be regarded4 #agj ,it is said elsewhere by liphas ,lvi that the ,enchiridion has never been published with its true figures1 and one is led to suppose that a more important ,,ms4 copy may have been in his possession4 ,the plates which he describes belong to a printed edition1 but there are no particulars concerning it4 ,most of the symbols are perfectly well known otherwise1 and ,i have given them in the ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 where they were taken from examples with which ,i am acquainted4 ,some of them correspond to the description of ,lvi4 #aga ,adonai according to the ,zohar is one of the titles of ,shekinah4 #agb ,he has said elsewhere 7a7 that to pronounce the word ,agla ,kabalistically is to undergo all the trials of initiation and fulfil all its works2 7b7 that the occult forces which comprise the empire of ,hermes are obedient to him who can pronounce1 according to science1 the incommunicable name of ,agla2 7c7 and that its letters represent 7#a7 unity1 7#b7 fecundity1 7#c7 the perfect cycle1 and 7#d7 the expression of the synthesis4 #agc ,he means that it symbolises the ,creative ,intelligence rising over the waters of creation4 ,it is not1 strictly speaking1 ,zoharic symbolism1 but it corresponds to his own construction of one of the sections1 namely1 the ,book of ,concealment4 #agd ,it is more especially a ,rosicrucian number1 and its importance in ,kabalism arises from its frequent recurrence in the scriptures of the ,old ,testament4 ,when the days of the greater exile draw to their close1 and judgment is coming upon all the peoples and all the kings of the world who have oppressed ,israel1 it is said that a pillar of fire shall be raised from earth to heaven and shall be visible to everyone for a period of forty days4 ,the ,king ,messiah will leave that place which is called the ,bird's ,nest in the ,garden of ,eden and will manifest in the land of ,galilee4 ,at the end of the forty days a splendid star of all colours will appear in the ,east1 c4 ,zohar1 ,part ,,ii41 fol4 #g;b4 #age ,a reference to ,plate ,,iii in the ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic will shew that the emblem in question is not the ,labarum4 ,for a design which is intended to represent the latter1 see ,plate ,,iv1 ,fig4 #b4 ,there is really no connection between the ,sigils of the ,enchiridion and the text of the work4 #agf liphas ,lvi wrote and published much after the ,history of ,magic1 but the intention here expressed did not pass into realisation4 #agg ,at the period in question ,westphalia comprehended the region between the ,rhine and the ,weser4 ,its southern boundary was the mountains of ,hesse2 its northern the district of ,friesland1 which at that time extended from ,holland to ,schleswig4 #agh ,no secret mission in the sense intended by liphas ,lvi was ever entrusted by ,charlemagne4 ,he had overcome the ,saxons of ,westphalia after a thirty years' war1 had enforced the religion of the conqueror upon them1 and had established a ,frankish system of government therein4 #agi ,the origin of the ,secret ,tribunal is clouded1 like all the history of its period1 but it is quite certain that it is referable to the middle of the thirteenth century4 ,it should be added that liphas ,lvi was by no means author of the ,charlemagne hypothesis1 which had been advanced many years previously4 ,the competitive views are numerous4 ,it will be seen directly that a document of the ,tribunal claims that it originated in the days of ,charlemagne1 supposing that it has been quoted correctly4 ,jules ,garinet supported the claim without shewing any knowledge on the subject4 #ahj ,the meetings of the ,tribunal were frequently held in the town-house and the castle1 sometimes in the market-place1 and on rare occasions in churchyards4 ,there is only one record concerning a session underground4 ,the general place was under trees in the open air4 #aha ,an accused person had the right to conduct his own defence1 or he could bring an advocate with him4 ,there were also certain circumstances under which there was the right of appeal4 #ahb ,the evidence is wanting for this extraordinary statement4 liphas ,lvi seems to have been under the impression that the ,tribunal was like a ,masonic ,grand ,lodge1 with one mode and place of meeting4 ,it was naturally composed of many tribunals and met1 as we have seen1 in all kinds of places4 #ahc ,that this statement is amply justified may be seen by a reference to ,la ,magie et la ,sorcellerie en ,france1 by ,t4 ,de ,cauzons1 a work of considerable research published within the last few years in #d vols4 ,the section entitled ,la ,magie sous les premiers ,captiens is a record of trivialities concerning diabolical manifestations and can have been included only for the sake of chronological completeness4 #ahd ,the story of ,rabbi ,jechiel's device of self-protection is told by ,bartolocci1 s4v4 ,r4 ,jechiel de ,parisio1 in the ,magna ,bibliotheca ,rabbinica1 vol4 iii4 pp4 #hcd1 #hce4 ,it is on the authority of ,r4 ,ghedalia ben ,david ,iacchia4 ,but although ,jechiel is supposed to have been a magician there was neither electricity nor magic in his process1 only a kind of trap at his own door step or threshold4 #ahe ,it so happens that he went to see him and fell into the trap of the ,jew4 ,garinet is the authority for the imaginary visit to the court of ,st4 ,louis4 ,he follows ,sauval4 #ahf ,this paragraph is adapted from ,garinet1 ,hist4 de la ,magie en ,france1 p4 #gf4 #ahg ,many treatises on alchemy have been fathered on ,albertus ,magnus1 including ,libellus de ,alchymia and ,concordantia ,philosophorum4 #ahh ,according to the ,zohar1 ,adam was formed of earth brought from the four quarters1 and this is really an allusion to the symbolic correspondence between the parts of his personality and the four elements of ancient physics4 #ahi ,the universal secret which was sought by mystic ,alchemy was more truly that of the life of life2 it was the quest of transmutation in ,god4 #aij ,the thesis of physical ,alchemy was that ,nature always intended to produce gold but was thwarted by the impurity of the media amidst which she worked under the earth4 ,the inferior metals resulted4 ,the end of ,hermetic art was to complete the design of ,nature and raise what is base to perfection4 #aia ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas wrote eight treatises on alchemy1 if the ascriptions of the literature could be trusted4 ,they are of the same authenticity as those of ,albertus ,magnus4 #aib ,the study in question was enjoined in a particular manner by ,leo ,,xiii4 #aic ,i do not know or have forgotten how this legend originated1 but in any case no works on transmutation have been imputed to ,st4 ,dominic1 which leads me to think that the story of his adeptship did not attain any considerable currency4 #aid ,a fragment of ,ostanes is included in the ,byzantine collection of ancient alchemists4 ,romarius should read ,comarius1 whose tract in the same collection is supposed to be addressed to ,cleopatra4 ,salmanas wrote on the fabrication of artificial pearls and was supposed to be an ,arab4 ,a treatise on weights and measures is attributed to ,cleopatra and there are also some ,latin forgeries4 ,the other names are well known in the literature of ,alchemy4 #aie ,this must be understood in the general sense of the ,secret ,tradition perpetuated in various forms through ,christian times4 ,the ,templars had no concern in the secret schools of ,jewry4 ,on the basis of the official process which resulted in their condemnation1 they have been accused of ,black ,magic1 ,sorcery and of entering into a league with the ,order of ,assassins4 #aif ,i have dealt with the claims of this speculation in my ,secret ,tradition in ,freemasonry1 vol4 i4 p4 #cjj et seq4 #aig ,the reference is really to the fourth chapter of the apocryphal ,book of ,nehemiah1 which is the ,second ,book of ,esdras1 and to the ,masons of ,nehemiah1 not of ,zerubbabel4 ,the latter was concerned with the building of the ,second ,temple and the former with that of the walls about ,jerusalem4 ,half of the young men did the work of restoring the fortifications and half stood in readiness to fight4 ,the builders also were girded with a sword about the reins4 ,the sword in one hand and trowel in another is a symbolical expression4 #aih ,it is obvious that the arrangement of four triangular blades in a cruciform pattern would constitute an ordinary ,maltese cross or cross of the ,knights of ,st4 ,john4 ,this was an ,assyrian emblem in pre-,christian times4 #aii ,the blasphemous fiction is well known and its root is in the ,sepher ,toldos ,jeshu2 it is inaccurate to call it a tradition2 more properly it is a lying invention4 ,i have failed to discover a source for the ,theoclet story1 but it is barely possible that it may have risen up within the circle of ,fabr ,palaprat's ,ordre du ,temple4 #bjj ,in the year #ahdd ,jacques ,matter made a special study of the accusations against ,knights ,templar in his ,histoire ,critique du ,gnosticisme1 vol4 iii4 p4 #cae et seq4 ,he states that the alleged preference of the ,templars for ,st4 ,john's ,gospel is nowhere attested by the history of the ,order4 ,they were not therefore tinctured by remanents of ,paulician ,gnosticism1 as it is not likely that they would be4 #bja ,elsewhere liphas ,lvi says3 7a7 ,that the hypothetical idol ,baphomet was a symbolical figure representing the ,first ,matter of the ,magnum ,opus1 which is the ,astral ,light2 7b7 ,that it signified further the god ,pan1 which may be identified with 8the ,christ of dissident sacerdotalism02 7c7 ,that the ,baphometic head is 8a beautiful allegory which attributes to thought alone the first and creative cause02 and finally1 7d7 ,that it is 8nothing more than an innocent and even a pious hieroglyph40 #bjb ,the suggestion is that they were summoned by ,jacques de ,molay to appear before the ,divine ,tribunal within a year and a day1 there to answer for their injustice1 and that they died within the time mentioned1 which does not happen to be true4 #bjc ,the revision of the process which condemned the ,maid of ,orlans was begun by ,charles ,,vii himself in #addi4 ,in #aeeb twelve articles were drawn up1 designed to exhibit its illegality and injustice4 ,for political reasons1 meaning the relations between ,france and ,england1 the mother and brothers of ,joan were made plaintiffs at ,rome1 and ,pope ,callixtus ,v appointed a commission4 ,in #adef the commission pronounced its judgment1 reversing and annulling the first process on the ground of roguery1 calumny1 injustice1 contradictions and manifest error in fact and law4--,la ,magie et la ,sorcellerie en ,france1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #ead-eah4 #bjd ,it has been suggested that the charge of sorcery covered a political conspiracy for his destruction and was of the same value as the same charge in respect of the ,knights ,templar4 #bje ,francesco ,prelati seems to have been a magician by profession and as regards ,gilles de ,sill1 it is said otherwise that he was a priest of ,st4 ,malo4 #bjf ,this was ,catherine de ,thouars1 and it was to her that the bulk of his fortune was due4 ,he is said to have been one of the richest nobles in ,europe4 #bjg ,it will be understood that what follows is merely romantic narrative4 ,see ,gilles de ,rais1 dit ,barbe ,bleue1 by ,bossard et ,maulde4 #bjh ,the account at this point represents the admixture of the ,blue-,beard or folk-element and may be read in conjunction with ,perrault4 #bji ,it does not appear that ,francesco ,prlati and ,gilles de ,sill were brought to account subsequently4 #baj ,he was really cited to appear before ,jean de ,malestroit1 ,bishop of ,nantes and ,chancellor of ,brittany4 ,he obeyed this summons4 #baa ,the records say that he was insolent at the beginning but soon changed his methods1 and the confession which he made involved two of his servants1 named ,henri and ,poitou4 #bab ,it was the servants of ,gilles de ,rais who accused him under torture4 #bac ,this explanation is absolutely supposititious1 there being no tittle of evidence for the existence of such a process in the records of ,black ,magic4 ,it is of course possible that some readers may ascribe secret sources of information to liphas ,lvi4 ,speaking generally1 ,black ,magic and the synonymous white variety were concerned little enough in alchemical processes1 good or bad4 ,their amateurs and adepts sought enrichment by the discovery of buried treasures with the assistance of demons2 they sought also to communicate with evil spirits who could bring gold and precious stones from the mines1 or who could themselves accomplish transmutation4 #bad ,it is just to say that ,gaffarel wrote in defence of the ,jews and to clear them of many accusations besides those made by ,philo4 ,his thesis was that many things were falsely imposed upon them4 #bae ,his fate was shared by the servants already mentioned1 who are said to have been his accomplices4 #baf ,the ,marquis ,eudes de ,mirville wrote ,des ,esprits et de leurs ,manifestations ,fluidiques devant la ,science ,moderne1 #aheh1 and other large books1 which were highly recommended by ecclesiastical authority of the day4 ,he saw the intervention of ,satanism everywhere in psychic and occult phenomena4 ,remove the personality of ,satan and liphas ,lvi says exactly the same thing4 #bag ,the reference is to ,la ,ralit des ,esprits et le ,phnomne ,merveilleux de leur criture ,directe4 ,it appeared in #aheg and is a very curious collection of materials4 ,long after1 or in #ahge1 the same writer published ,la ,morale ,universelle1 which seems to be a plea for secular education4 #bah ,the reader should understand that liphas ,lvi is only giving expression to a point of view2 it must not be supposed that there were adepts--either true or false--who said or thought the things which are here set down at the period in question1 or indeed at any other period4 #bai ,see ,gabriel ,naud3 ,apologie pour les ,grands ,hommes faussement accuss de la ,magie4 #bbj ,bartholemus ,platina was assistant-librarian of the ,vatican1 and his ,opus in ,vitas ,summorum ,pontificum appeared at ,venice in #adgi1 two years before his death4 #bba 8,let the popes see to it10 he remarks1 according to a ,note of ,lvi2 8it is they who are concerned in the question40 #bbb liphas ,lvi1 in his defence of the ,catholic ,religion1 by which he means that of ,rome1 reminds one of ,talleyrand proceeding to consecrate and entreating his familiars about him not to make him laugh3 in the symbolic language of the man in the street1 his tongue is so evidently in his cheek4 ,an open enemy of ,rome would think twice before saying that the pope who authorised the instruments which were used in the execrable massacres of ,albigensians and ,vaudois was 8so eminently catholic40 #bbc ,i refer the readers of this section to my ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 where the content and history of this ,grimoire are considered with special reference to the criticism of liphas ,lvi4 #bbd ,i have mentioned in the ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic that the first edition of the ,grimoire of ,honorius is referred to #afbi1 being about #ijj years after the death of its alleged author4 ,i have also referred it to its proper source in the ,sworn ,book of ,honorius1 which belongs to the fourteenth century4 ,the ,honorius here in question was the spokesman of magicians assembled at a mythical place4 ,he is described as the son of ,euclid and ,master of the ,thebans4 #bbe ,this is another way of stating that it is precisely of the same character as the ,key of ,solomon the ,king1 the ,keys of ,rabbi ,solomon and the ,magical ,elements of ,peter de ,abano1 which correspond to the description given4 #bbf ,the ,grimoire is1 on the contrary1 a ,ritual for the evocation of evil spirits and1 granting only the legality of this operation1 it is conformable in all respects to the doctrine of the ,latin ,church4 ,now1 it is idle to say that this ,church substitutes the passive for the active principle1 the cultus of the ,blessed ,virgin notwithstanding4 #bbg ,i am not acquainted with this frontispiece1 but ,i have seen a copy having a design on the title-page representing the sun within an inverted triangle4 #bbh ,this exegesis is personal to liphas ,lvi and has no authority in ,kabalism1 as there is no need to say1 seeing that the ,secret ,tradition in ,jewry did not maintain the hierarchy of the ,latin ,church4 ,in the ,zohar1 ,adonai is a title of ,shekinah1 as already stated4 #bbi ,on the assumption of course that the letter ,aleph stands for ,adam1 while ,cheth and ,vau are the first letters in the name of ,eve4 ,the interpretation throughout is of the same value and liphas ,lvi was not more serious in expressing it than ,i am in translating it4 ,the ,grimoire of ,honorius is no such abyss of decorative philosophical iniquity4 #bcj ,i have used the translation made from the ,grimoire itself1 published in my ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 p4 #ajg4 #bca ,it affirms that the power to command demons is resident in the ,seat of ,peter and then proceeds to communicate that power by dispensation to 8venerable brethren and dear sons in ,jesus ,christ10 being those comprised in the ranks of the ecclesiastical hierarchy4 #bcb ,it must be explained that the oration in the ,grimoire is not rhythmic1 but the 8when ,i shall impose my will upon them0 recurs several times1 literally or in substance4 ,in this manner liphas ,lvi gets the refrain of his verses3 ,je leur imposerai ma volont pour loi4 ,his metrical rendering is well conceived and executed4 #bcc ,i have rendered in prose that which is given by ,lvi in verse1 which is anything but in the words of the ,ritual4 ,compare my translation of the prayer taken from the ,grimoire in the ,book of ,ceremonial ,magic1 pp4 #bhj-bhb4 #bcd ,the ,ritual proceeds to the conjuration of the ,kings presiding in the four quarters of heaven and the evil angels who rule over the days of the week4 #bce ,the presence of the gipsies in ,europe can be traced prior to the fifteenth century4 #bcf ,the authority of ,george ,borrow is quoted for this statement4 #bcg ,long before ,vaillant1 this ,chinese inscription was described by ,court de ,gebelin1 who also believed that it was a form of the ,tarot4 #bch ,if certain beautiful ,tarot cards preserved in the ,bibliothque du ,roi and at the ,muse ,carrer are the work of ,jacques ,gringonneur1 which is disputed1 as we have seen1 then the ,tarot is first heard of in #acic and as it was in #adbc that ,st4 ,bernardin of ,sienna preached against playing cards1 which were no doubt ,tarots1 it is probable that they were put to the same use at the earlier date that they were put to at the later4 #bci ,the romantic history of ,raymund ,lully on which liphas ,lvi worked was written by ,jean ,marie de ,vernon4 #bdj ,what is certain historically is as follows3 7a7 ,that the story of ,ambrosia di ,castello1 so far as regards its root-matter1 concerns the original and only ,raymund ,lully1 who was the author of the ,ars ,magna2 7b7 ,that it is in all probability fictitious2 7c7 ,that it has been decorated and dramatised by liphas ,lvi1 who has done his work admirably2 7d7 ,that concerning the father of the illuminated doctor we know only that he was a great soldier2 7e7 ,that the author of the alchemical treatises was not the author of the ,ars ,magna2 7f7 ,that the alchemical writer is said to have been 7#a7 another ,raymund ,lully1 which1 ,i think1 means only that he assumed the name in order to father his works upon a celebrated person1 and 7#b7 a proselyte of the gate1 being a person who becomes a ,jew1 but this is manifestly contradicted by the evidence of the alchemical texts2 7g7 ,that when the works of ,raymund ,lully were collected1 at the end of the eighteenth century1 into eight enormous folio volumes1 we find1 as ,i have said elsewhere1 a third ,raymund ,lully1 who was a mystic2 but as to his real identity we know nothing4 #bda ,rose ,nobles were replaced by ,angels in #adfe1 temp4 ,edward ,,iv4 #bdb ,louis ,figuier wrote occult romances under the guise of history1 and did not know what he was talking about in respect of the ,ars ,magna4 ,there is no reason to suppose that it had even passed through his hands4 ,it was otherwise as regards the little alchemical texts2 and there is no reason to question what he says concerning them4 #bdc ,the story of a transmutation performed by some one called ,raymund ,lully in ,england depends from the alchemical texts mentioned1 and is therefore no evidence1 and from a forged ,testament of ,john ,cremer1 who called himself ,abbot of ,westminster1 but no person of this name filled the office in question1 either at the supposed period or any other4 #bdd ,the tracts extant under the name of the alchemical ,raymund ,lully are enumerated by ,lenglet du ,fresnoy in connection with those attributed to the author of the ,ars ,magna4 ,mangetus printed sixteen in his ,bibliotheca ,chemica ,curiosa1 #agjb4 ,the ,codicillus1 ,vade ,mecum1 or ,cantilena is a considerable work1 divided into #gd chapters4 #bde ,the reader may consult at this point my study of the life and writings of ,raymund ,lully in the ,lives of ,alchemystical ,philosophers1 pp4 #fh-hh4 #bdf ,there is no reference to a title in the original text4 #bdg ,it is stated once only in the ,apocalypse that 8there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour40 ,see ,chapter ,,viii1 verse #a4 #bdh ,the ,book of ,nicholas ,flamel describes the symbols as follows3 7#a7 ,a ,wand and serpents devouring one another2 7#b7 a ,cross1 on which a serpent was crucified2 7#c7 ,deserts1 in the midst of which were many fair fountains1 whence issued a number of serpents that glided here and there4 #bdi ,mercury and ,saturn--as ,flamel supposed them to be--were depicted on the obverse side of this leaf and the symbolic flower was on the reverse side4 ,it is not said to be a rose1 but simply a fair flower4 ,the rose-tree was on the obverse side of the fifth leaf4 #bej ,the original has no reference to solidified air4 #bea ,otherwise1 ,arisleus1 who figures prominently in the discourses of the ,turba ,philosophorum4 #beb ,there is an old story that he translated the ,sepher ,ha ,zohar into ,latin1 but the manuscript has never been found4 #bec ,it was first published at ,basel and afterwards at ,amsterdam in #afdf4 ,in #ahii the second edition was rendered into ,french4 ,it deserves and will repay careful reading from the mystic point of view4 #bed ,this promise represents another unfulfilled intention of liphas ,lvi4 #bee ,see ,les ,six ,voyages de ,jean ,baptiste ,tavernier1 en ,turquie1 en ,perse et aux ,indes1 ,paris1 #afgf4 ,there were five ,french editions1 and the work was also translated into ,english4 #bef ,this is really the title of a particular treatise1 but as it is exceedingly long and may be said to be de omnibus rebus1 it may not be taken unjustly to represent his philosophy at large4 #beg ,the latest and most successful apologist of ,paracelsus says that the charge of intemperance was invented by his enemies4 ,see the ,life of ,paracelsus1 by ,miss ,anna ,m4 ,stoddart1 #aiaa4 #beh liphas ,lvi1 who rather misquotes ,dante1 held that he had performed the same kind of mental pilgrimage1 and had escaped in the same manner--by reversing dogma4 ,he says elsewhere3 8,it was after he had descended from gulf to gulf and from horror to horror to the bottom of the seventh circle of the abyss 444 that ,dante 444 rose consoled and victorious to the light4 ,we have performed the same journey1 and we present ourselves before the world with tranquillity on our countenance and peace in our heart 444 to assure mankind that hell and the devil 444 and all the rest of the dismal phantasmagoria are a nightmare of madness40 #bei ,the interpretation of the ,divine ,comedy as embodying an act of war against the papacy was begun by ,gabriele ,rossetti1 about #ahcj1 in his ,disquisitions on the ,anti-,papal ,spirit which produced the ,reformation4 ,for the obscure and dubious tenets to which liphas ,lvi gives the name of ,johannite1 he substitutes the doctrines of ,albigenses and ,waldenses4 ,the same thesis1 taken over from its ,italian deviser1 was maintained in the same interest by ,eugne ,aroux1 firstly in ,les ,mystres de la ,chevalerie1 and afterwards in the great body of annotation attached to his translation of ,dante4 ,the latter work appeared in #ahef4 ,the interpretation of ,lvi is a variant of that of ,aroux4 ,the disquisitions of the ,french writer are a fountain of joy for criticism4 ,he produced yet another monument1 being ,dante1 ,hrtique1 ,revolutionnaire et ,socialiste1 #ahed4 ,he was a devoted member of the ,latin ,church1 though ,i think that there would have been joy among the faithful had his books been burnt at ,rome4 #bfj ,the authority is the demonographer ,bodin4 ,trois-chelles confessed to the ,king that he had given himself over to a spirit who enabled him to perform prodigies4 ,he was forgiven on condition that he denounced others who were guilty of sorcery4 ,it is supposed that his subsequent condemnation was the consequence of new operations on his own part4 #bfa ,that is1 ,pierre de l'toile4 ,see ,vritable ,fatalit de ,saint ,cloud1 art4 #h4 #bfb ,this account is drawn from ,garinet1 who cites two pamphlets of the period3 7,a7 ,les ,sorcelleries de ,henri de ,valois1 et les ,oblations qu'il faisait au ,diable dans le ,bois de ,vincennes1 #aehi2 7,b7 ,remonstrances ,henri de ,valois sur les choses horribles envoyes par un enfant de ,paris1 #aehi4 #bfc ,compare ,aroux3 ,la ,comdie de ,dante1 vol4 ii41 p4 #cc of his ,clef de la ,comdie4 ,the ,rose is 8the ,albigensian ,church and its doctrines 444 transformed into a mystic flower40 ,hence the immense vogue of the romance of ,william of ,lorris1 despite the anathemas of ,gerson4 #bfd ,the words of ,flamel are as follows3 8,on the fifth leaf was a fair rose-tree1 flowered1 in the midst of a garden1 growing up against a hollow oak1 at the foot whereof bubbled forth a fountain of pure white water1 which ran headlong down into the depths below4 ,yet it passed through the hands of a great number of people who digged in the earth1 seeking after it1 but1 by reason of their blindness1 none of them knew it1 except a very few1 who considered its weight40 ,le ,livre de ,nicolas ,flamel4 #bfe ,it will be seen that this is the counter-thesis to the explanation of the spiritual world by means of natural law2 it is the explanation of the natural world by means of spiritual law4 ,so also liphas ,lvi is right when he goes on to affirm in substance that the religion of supernatural grace is the font of natural religion4 ,it is in the light of the instituted sacraments that we find the hidden grace of those in ,nature4 #bff 8,we do now securely call the ,pope ,antichrist1 which was formerly a capital offence4444 ,we do hereby condemn the ,east and the ,west1 meaning the ,pope and ,mahomet4444 ,he 7the ,pope7 shall be torn in pieces with nails1 and a final groan shall end his ass's braying4444 ,the judgment due to the ,roman impostor who now poureth his blasphemies with open mouth against ,christ4444 ,the mouth of this viper shall be stopped40 ,see ,confessio ,fraternitatis1 ,r4,c41 #afaf4 #bfg ,the ,masonic title of ,sovereign ,princes ,rose-,croix ascribed in ,france to the members of the ,eighteenth ,degree1 under the obedience of the ,ancient and ,accepted ,scottish ,rite1 has been changed in ,england to ,excellent and ,perfect ,princes4 ,the old ,rosicrucian title was that of ,frater1 and the head of the ,order was termed ,imperator4 #bfh ,i have let this date stand1 as it is difficult to say what liphas ,lvi is driving at4 ,khunrath was born in #aeei or #aefj1 and he died early in the seventeenth century4 #bfi ,this is a mistake4 ,the ,amphitheatrum appeared in #afji1 the licence having been obtained previously4 #bgj ,the work contains 7a7 #cfe versicles drawn from ,proverbs and the apocryphal ,book of ,wisdom1 the ,latin ,vulgate being printed side by side with a new translation by ,khunrath4 ,these versicles are divided into seven grades4 7b7 ,an interpretation at length of each versicle4 7c7 ,an introduction to the first engraved plate2 7d7 to the second2 7e7 to the third2 7f7 to the fourth2 and 7g7 an epilogue or conclusion to the whole work4 #bga liphas ,lvi has misplaced most of the plates1 and it is difficult to follow his descriptions4 ,no4 #a is the laboratory and oratory of the adept4 ,no4 #b is apparently that which he calls the ,path of ,wisdom4 ,no4 #c is the ,philosophical ,stone4 ,no4 #d is that which ,lvi describes as the ,dogma of ,hermes1 because the sentences of the ,emerald ,tablet are inscribed on a ,rock of ,ages or ,mountain of ,initiation4 ,no4 #e is the ,gate of the ,sanctuary1 but it is enlightened by three rays4 ,no4 #f is that which ,lvi terms a ,rose of ,light1 but it is really the sun with ,christ in the centre4 ,nos4 #g and #i correspond to the descriptions given2 but ,no4 #h is scarcely a doctrine of equilibrium3 it is the doctrine of regeneration through ,christ1 in ,whom the law is fulfilled4 #bgb ,the ,basilica ,chymica was translated into ,french by ,j4 ,marcel de ,boulene and published at ,lyons in #afbd4 ,it was reprinted at ,paris in #afcc4 ,the third part is the ,book of ,signatures4 ,the ,latin edition appeared at ,frankfort in #afjh4 #bgc ,some of these names are exceedingly obscure1 and no importance attaches to their literary remains4 ,philip ,muller wrote ,miracula et ,mysteria ,medico-,chymica1 #afad4 ,it was printed eight times at various places4 ,of ,john ,torneburg ,i have no record4 ,ortelius was a commentator on ,sendivogius2 ,michael ,poterius or ,potier was the author of ten alchemical tracts1 but ,i have never heard that they were in estimation among lovers of the art4 ,the ,baron de ,beausoleil was still more voluminous and is better known4 ,the works of ,david de ,planis ,campe were collected into a folio in #afdf2 he is regarded as an alchemical dreamer4 ,duchesne was ,sieur de la ,violette1 and his writings are in six volumes4 ,benjamin ,mustapha1 or rather ,mussaphia1 wrote on potable gold4 ,the other names are known to science1 as ,lvi would express it1 and are famous therein4 #bgd ,the sum of this intimation is a little obscure4 ,see my ,real ,history of the ,rosicrucians1 pp4 #chh-cij1 for various versions of the proclamation4 #bge ,i have been unable to find the authority for this discourse1 as a whole1 but some fragments of it are cited by ,gabriel ,naud4 #bgf ,there does not appear to be a story with this title either in ,the ,phantasus or elsewhere in the works of ,tieck4 #bgg ,see ,pierre ,de ,lancre3 ,tableau de l',inconstance des ,dmons1 ,book ,,vi41 ,discourse #d4 ,but liphas ,lvi seems to have followed the summary account of ,garinet4 #bgh ,the account is in ,bodin and in the record of ,henri ,boguet4 ,her physical peculiarity is described as un trou qu'elle avait au dessous de sa parti gorrire4 ,the work of ,boguet is entitled ,discours ,excrables des ,sorciers1 #afjb4 ,it is exceedingly rare4 #bgi ,the prosecution and execution of secular priests and monks recur frequently throughout the annals of sorcery4 #bhj ,the names appear to have been ,madeleine de ,mandol1 daughter of the ,seigneur de la ,palud and ,louise ,capel4 #bha ,the actual charges were 7a7 that ,madeleine was seduced by ,gaufridi when she was nine years old1 7b7 that he had taken her to the ,sabbath1 7c7 that he had sent her #fff devils4 ,to ,louise he had sent four only4 #bhb ,see ,l',histoire ,admirable de la ,possession et de la ,conversion d'une ,pnitente sduite par un ,magicien1 by the ,inquisitor ,michalis1 #afab4 #bhc ,he was a priest of ,marseilles and cur of ,accoules4 #bhd ,the confession included3 7#a7 ,visions of ,lucifer1 7#b7 compact with him1 7#c7 obtaining the love of women by breathing upon them1 7#d7 visiting the ,black ,sabbath1 7#e7 celebration of ,black ,masses1 c4 #bhe ,louise is heard of no further in the history of the period4 ,madeleine was cast out by her family and lived on alms at ,avignon1 till in #afec the ,parliament of ,aix condemned her to perpetual seclusion4 #bhf ,the historical facts are that ,grandier insisted on one occasion in taking precedence of ,richelieu1 then ,bishop of ,luon and in disgrace at ,coussay4 ,it is not even quite clear that the priest appealed to the ,king1 but he was involved in much litigation on charges of immorality4 ,it is just1 however1 to add that1 according to ,garinet1 ,grandier went to ,paris and pleaded his cause before the ,king4 #bhg ,the first victim of the phenomena appears to have been the ,lady ,superior4 #bhh ,the director of the convent was named ,mignon1 and he called to his assistance not only certain ,carmelites but a secular priest of the district1 who was a great believer in diabolical interventions4 #bhi ,this letter is quoted by ,garinet1 pp4 #bah1 #bai4 #bij ,notwithstanding the application of what was called the ordinary and extraordinary torture1 no confession of guilt in respect of the charges was ever extracted from ,grandier1 who indeed refused to reply4 liphas ,lvi's picture of his deportment is throughout accurate as well as admirably told4 #bia ,this took place as stated and1 moreover1 the inhabitants of the town1 after a meeting in the town hall1 wrote to the ,king complaining of the pretence1 absurdity and vexation of the process4 ,see ,garinet1 ,pices ,justificatives1 ,no4 ,,xvi4 #bib ,this remark1 in which ,i concur unreservedly1 may be noted by students of ,masonic history as an offset against the pretentious nonsense which has been talked on the subject by ,french makers of fable and especially by ,j4 ,m4 ,ragon1 the dullest and most imbecile of all4 #bic ,this opinion is showing signs of recrudescence at the present day1 and it is well to say that there is no evidence to support it4 #bid ,it may be mentioned that ,masonry1 wheresoever established1 is elective and not hierarchical4 #bie ,the ,legend of ,hiram has been told after several manners4 ,english ,masons will see that the present version is utterly incorrect1 and it may be added further that it incorporates reveries borrowed from old ,high ,grades4 #bif ,the names ascribed to the three assassins are ,high ,grade inventions1 and so also is all that follows concerning them4 #big ,it is understood that liphas ,lvi entered ,masonry in the ordinary way1 but it is quite true that vital integration therein and real understanding thereof are consequences of personal work4 #bih ,it has been called the most ancient of all the ,chinese books1 being ascribed to the year #cdfh ,b4,c4 ,it consists of #aj chapters4 #bii ,see my translation of this work3 ,transcendental ,magic3 ,its ,doctrine and ,ritual1 #ahif4 #cjj ,it will be observed and appreciated at its proper value that liphas ,lvi does not attempt to elucidate the ,chinese puzzle of which he claims to possess the key1 and the explanation is that if he had known his subject critically he would not have attempted to create ,zoharic analogies which in the nature of things are non-existent4 #cja ,the ,book of ,concealed ,mystery is not a key to the ,zohar2 it is one of the tracts inserted therein and its influence on the text at large is almost nil4 #cjb ,it will be noticed that this remark is not borne out by the instance which is supposed to illustrate it and that the lucubration on ,china is a curious preamble to a study of remarkable authors of the eighteenth century1 who had nothing to do with ,china4 #cjc ,emmanuel ,swedenborg never gave expression to this view1 and in respect of the criticism as a whole1 it must be remarked that the communications which came to him came unawares1 his psychic states not being self-induced4 #cjd ,the ,kabalah has no principle of the hierarchy2 its one counsel is the study of the ,doctrine and that study continually brought forward new developments of the deep meanings which lay behind 7a7 the ,law1 7b7 the prophets and 7c7 the historical books of the ,old ,testament4 ,the ,zohar presupposes throughout a widely diffused knowledge of its ,secret ,doctrine1 as already intimated4 #cje ,he was the recipient of a revelation and was not concerned with assisting those whom he addressed to attain the interior states into which he entered himself4 ,he was bent only on delivering the message which he had received4 #cjf liphas ,lvi refers to a work entitled3 ,mesmer--,mmoires et ,aphorismes ,suivis des ,procds d',eslon1 #ahdf4 ,the ,aphorisms of ,anton ,mesmer have been frequently reprinted4 #cjg ,the reference is probably to a ,french work1 which in the absence of date and fuller description cannot be identified with certainty4 #cjh ,the writer in question certifies 7a7 that the ,comte de ,gabalis was a ,german1 7b7 that he was a great nobleman and a great ,kabalist1 7c7 that his lands were on the frontiers of ,poland1 7d7 that he was a man of good presence who spoke ,french with a foreign accent4 ,saint-,germain testified on his own part to ,prince ,karl of ,hesse that he was the son of ,prince ,ragoczy of ,transylvania4 ,perhaps the latter place will be regarded as sufficiently in proximity to ,poland to make the story of liphas ,lvi a little less unlikely than it appears on the surface4 ,but the prince in question was ,franz-,leopold ,ragoczy1 who spent his life in conspiracies against the ,austrian ,empire1 8with the object of regaining his independent power0 and the freedom of his principality4 ,no more unlikely person can be thought of as the original of the ridiculous ,comte de ,gabalis1 and the ,comte de ,saint-,germain never intimated that he belonged to a line of ,kabalists1 least of all such a ,kabalist and occultist as is depicted by the ,abb de ,villars4 ,see ,mrs4 ,cooper ,oakley's ,monograph on the ,comte de ,st4 ,germain1 ,milan1 #aiab4 #cji ,see ,madame la ,comtesse de ,genlis3 ,mmoires ,indites pour servir l',histoire des ,,xviiime et ,,xixme ,sicles4 #caj ,see the ,essai sur la ,secte des ,illumins1 which appeared anonymously in #aghi1 the author being the ,marquis de ,luchet4 ,the story here reproduced is given in ,note ,,xv to the essay in question4 ,it affirms that the ,order of ,initiated ,knights and ,brethren of ,asia became the ,order of ,st4 ,joachim about #aghf4 ,there is no mention of ,saint-,germain in this ,note4 #caa liphas ,lvi explains in a note that the neophyte whose experience is related1 and who was mistaken for a corpse1 was in a state of somnambulism induced by magnetism4 ,in respect of the green arbour1 and the effects produced by the harmonica1 he refers to ,deleuze3 ,histoire ,critique du ,magntisme ,animal1 #bnd edition1 #ahbi4 ,it contains curious accounts of the magnetic chain and trough1 magnetised trees1 music1 the voice of the mesmerist and the instruments employed by him4 ,lvi adds that the author was a partisan of mesmerism which does not leave his opinions open to suspicion4 ,i do not know what this is intended to convey1 but the work of ,deleuze was of authority in its own day and is still worth reading4 #cab ,it will be observed that liphas ,lvi is taking the story more seriously than he proposed to do at the beginning4 ,if therefore ,i may on my own part take the ,marquis de ,luchet for a moment in the same manner and assume that he was right in saying that the ,order of ,saint ,joachim was a transformation of the ,knights and ,brethren of ,asia1 it seems certain that the latter did not owe their origin to ,saint-,germain and that their connection with ,rosicrucianism was of the ,masonic kind only1 members of the fifth degree being called ,true ,brothers ,rose ,croix1 otherwise ,masters of the ,sages1 ,royal ,priests1 and ,brothers of the ,grade of ,melchisedek4 #cac ,compare the ribaldries of the ,marquis de ,luchet respecting the ,harmonica and his supplementary account of its use in the evocations of ,lavater4 #cad ,jachin is connected in ,kabalism with the ,sephira ,netzach1 because it is the right hand pillar1 and on account of ,netzach1 ,jachin is in correspondence with and 4 ,the ,divine ,name ,tetragrammaton cannot be said on ,kabalistical authority to be veiled in ,netzach4 ,it was really veiled in ,adonai because of ,shekinah1 and the cohabiting glory between the cherubim was the manifestation1 vestment and concealment of ,jehovah4 #cae ,there is no secret as to the authorship of the tract on ,illuminism1 and ,lvi could have been enlightened on the subject by his friend1 ,j4 ,m4 ,ragon4 ,so far from being imbecile1 the monograph of the ,marquis de ,luchet is entertaining if it is not brilliant4 ,as to the transmutations of ,saint-,germain1 it is meant that there is no evidence of gold being produced by his methods1 but it is otherwise in respect of precious stones4 ,for the exoneration of ,de ,luchet it does not signify that the evidence is bad4 #caf ,see ,l',alchimie et les ,alchimistes1 by ,louis ,figuier1 pp4 #cbj et seq4 ,i have intimated that it is very difficult to trust this writer in matters of historical fact1 but he represents ,lascaris as appearing in ,germany at the end of the seventeenth century1 being then about fifty years old1 and in any case it is a mistake to say that he was in evidence when the ,comte de ,saint-,germain was making a sensation in ,paris4 ,lascaris had long since vanished from the theatre of ,hermetic events4 #cag ,it was in the presence of the rack that the testimony of his wife was extracted1 and ,i suppose that there is no one at this day who will count it as infidelity on her part4 #cah ,this device is inscribed on the symbolic bridge which is mentioned in the ,grade of ,knight of the ,east1 or of the ,sword4 #cai ,according to the account of himself which ,cagliostro gave at the famous trial arising out of the ,diamond ,necklace affair1 ,acharat was the name which he bore in the years of childhood which he spent at ,medina4 ,his 8governor0 was ,althotas1 who has been sometimes identified with ,klmer1 the instructor of ,weishaupt in ,magic4 #cbj ,in his ,lexicon ,alchimiae1 #afab1 ,martinus ,rulandus explains that1 according to the system of ,paracelsus1 ,azoth was the ,universal ,medicine1 though for others it is one of the names ascribed to the ,philosophical ,stone4 ,it was evidently neither in the process of ,cagliostro1 but--if questioned--he might have identified it with ,philosophical ,mercury1 a substance which can be extracted from any metallic body4 #cba ,it is interesting to note that ,mr4 ,w4 ,r4 ,h4 ,trowbridge1 who has made the latest attempt to exonerate ,cagliostro1 has omitted all reference to the regeneration processes and the alleged attempt to renew thereby the youth of ,cardinal de ,rohan4 #cbb ,as seen already1 ,menander was the successor of ,simon ,magus1 and the baptism which he performed was claimed to confer immortality4 #cbc ,this story has been altered from the original narrative to make it appear that ,cagliostro escaped4 ,he did nothing of the sort1 for the monk proved the stronger of the two4 ,prince ,bernard of ,saxe-,weimar is the authority for the account1 and he is said to have guaranteed its accuracy4 #cbd ,saint-,martin did not continue the school of theurgic ,masonry founded by ,martines de ,pasqually4 ,he abandoned the school and all active connection with ,rites and ,lodges4 ,the evidence for his acquaintance with the ,tarot rests on the fact that his ,tableau ,natural des ,rapports qui existent entre ,dieu1 l',homme et l',univers happens to be divided into #bb sections1 and there are #bb ,tarot ,trumps ,major4 ,on the same evidence the same assertion is made in respect of the ,apocalypse4 ,that which seemed adequate for liphas ,lvi continues to be found sufficient for the school of ,martinism to-day and for its ,grand ,master1 ,papus4 #cbe ,see ,deleuze3 ,mmoires sur la ,facult de la ,prvision1 #ahcf4 #cbf ,the reader who is in search of romances may also consult ,p4 ,christian3 ,histoire de la ,magie1 published about #ahga4 ,it pretends that ,court de ,gebelin left an account in ,,ms4 of the interrogation of ,count ,cagliostro in the presence of many ,masonic dignitaries1 including ,cazotte1 at the ,masonic ,convention of ,paris4 ,the date was ,may #aj1 #aghe4 ,cagliostro on that occasion predicted the chief events of the ,french ,revolution1 and1 at the suggestion of ,cazotte1 gave the name1 then unknown1 of the ,corsican1 ,napoleon ,bonaparte4 #cbg ,the ,tractatus de ,revolutionibus ,animarum was the work of ,r4 ,isaac de ,loria1 a ,german ,kabalist4 ,it is contained in the second volume of ,kabbala ,denudata4 ,it is not allegorical and it has no ,talmudic or ,zoharic authority4 ,as it was translated into ,french in #aije1 most people can judge for themselves on the subject4 #cbh ,the reference is here to the latest development of ,templary under the gis of ,fabr-,palaprat4 ,it came into public knowledge about #ahje1 and its invention is not much earlier4 ,its documents were fictitious1 like its claims4 #cbi liphas ,lvi mentions in a note that he quotes these words as they were given to him by an old man who heard them4 ,they are cited differently in the ,journal of ,prudhomme4 #ccj ,i have failed to trace this story to its source1 but liphas ,lvi was curiously instructed in the byways of ,french occult history1 and though he could seldom resist the decoration and improvement of his narratives1 they had always a basis in fact4 #cca ,christian ,antoine ,gerle was born in #agdj and died in #ahje4 ,he was a ,carthusian1 who came into some prominence under the ,constituent ,assembly4 ,on ,april #aj1 #agij1 ,dom ,gerle proposed a decree that 8the ,catholic1 ,apostolic and ,roman ,church was and should remain always the religion of the nation1 and that its worship should be alone authorised40 ,see ,albert ,sorel3 ,l',europe et la ,rvolution ,franaise1 vol4 ii4 p4 #aba4 ,he was imprisoned at the ,conciergerie but was liberated1 and during the reign of ,napoleon he was appointed to an office in the ,home ,department4 #ccb ,she is said to have been imprisoned in the ,bastille1 but this seems to be an error1 for it is certain that she died in the ,conciergerie at the age of #gj4 ,she called herself the mother of ,god1 prophesied the speedy advent of a ,messiah and promised that eternal life would then begin for the elect4 #ccc ,see my ,studies in ,mysticism1 pp4 #ii-aaa1 for a summary account of the ,saviours of ,louis ,,xvii4 #ccd ,st4 ,hildegarde died in #aagi at the age of #ha4 ,she wrote three books of ,revelations1 which were approved by the ,council of ,trves1 and ,latin authorities have termed her one of the most illustrious mystics of ,germany4 ,in the fifteenth century the ,council of ,basle approved the ,revelations of ,st4 ,bridget1 who was born about #acjg and she died on ,july #bc1 #acgc4 ,a translation in full of her memorial was published at ,avignon in four small volumes1 dated #ahej4 #cce ,out of a great body of claimants1 computed by one writer to have been forty1 and by another two hundred in number1 there are four who may rank as competitors at least one with another for recognition as the escaped ,dauphin3 they are the ,baron de ,richemont1 ,augustus ,mves1 ,eleazar ,williams and ,nandorff4 #ccf ,the work of ,de ,luchet is quite worthless from the evidential standpoint1 but the so-called correspondence is cited in a ,note on pp4 #ahb-ahf of the essay4 ,it appears that the ,house ,magical had been sold to ,king ,frederick ,william1 but the person who assisted at the evocations is called un grand ,seigneur1 which may or may not veil the royal identity4 ,moreover1 ,steinert was the adept who compounded the 8magical elixir10 and was pensioned on this account2 but it is not stated that he was the magus of the ceremonial proceedings4 ,i have been unable to check the recital of ,eckartshausen1 which is very difficult to meet with in ,england4 #ccg ,in the ,secret ,tradition in ,freemasonry ,i have indicated that ,schroepfer is1 on the whole1 rather likely to have possessed some psychic powers1 which notwithstanding his story ran the usual course of imposture4 ,as he practised evocation perpetually1 his suicide can be accounted for owing to the conditions which supervened on this account4 ,there seems no real reason to suppose that he killed himself because he doubted his powers2 however1 the question does not signify4 #cch ,it is just to say that another side of ,lavater is shewn in his ,secret ,journal of a ,self-,observer1 which is a very curious memorial--or human document1 as it would be termed in our modern language of inexactitude4 ,it contains no suggestion of evocations and dealings with ,jewish ,kabalists1 in or out of the flesh4 #cci ,cahagnet is the author of the following works3 ,arcanes de la ,vie ,future1 #c vols41 #ahdh-ahed2 ,lumire des ,morts1 #ahea2 ,magie ,magntique1 #bnd ,edition1 #aheh2 ,sanctuaire du ,spiritualisme1 #ahej2 ,rvlations d'outre ,tombe1 #ahef4 #cdj ,this account is taken from ,note ,,xv4 appended to the ,essai sur la ,secte des ,illumins1 but the ,marquis de ,luchet depended on another writer1 the latter drawing from ,lavater's ,spiritus ,familiaris ,gablidone1 published at ,frankfort and ,leipsic in #aghg4 #cda ,it is suggested by ,clavel that when ,charles ,,vi suppressed ,masonry in ,austria1 owing to a ,bull of ,pope ,clement ,,xii1 the brethren of certain lodges instituted the ,order of ,mopses to fill the gap4 ,see ,histoire ,pittoresque de la ,francmaonnerie1 #crd edition1 #ahdd1 p4 #aed4 ,ragon reproduces the opinion in his ,manuel de l',initi1 #ahfa1 p4 #hh4 #cdb ,liber ,mirabilis3 qui ,prophetias3 ,revelationesque3 nec non res mirandas3 preteritas3 presentes3 et futuras aperte demonstrat1 #aebb4 ,the work is in two parts1 of which the first is in ,latin and the second in ,french4 #cdc ,i have used the seventeenth century ,english translation4 ,the original says3 ,en l',eglise au plus pire1 traiter les prtres comme l'eau fait l'ponge4 ,i do not quite see how ,lvi's explanation follows1 but the point is not worth discussing4 #cdd ,les ,dernires ,prophties de ,mlle4 ,lenormand appeared in #ahdc and are joyful reading4 ,she was born at ,alenon in #aggb and died on ,june #be1 #ahdc4 #cde ,i have failed to verify the statement that this person had access to the ,emperor ,alexander4 #cdf ,it should be understood that ,valrie appeared at ,paris in #ahjc1 when the writer was thirty-nine years old4 ,her acquaintance with the ,russian ,emperor was eleven years later1 and it was during the intervening period that her spiritual development took place4 ,she was no longer an amiable coquette1 though the description may once have applied to her4 ,there is no question that the portrait of ,valrie was1 and was intended to be1 her own portrait4 ,as to the identity of her hero1 he was her husband's secretary and there was no intimacy between them in the evil sense of the term1 though she was not of unblemished reputation in other respects4 #cdg ,it was the ,empress ,elizabeth1 wife of ,alexander1 who first brought ,madame de ,krudener to the notice of her husband4 ,she shewed him some of her letters to draw him under religious influence4 ,the ,king and mystic met1 under singular circumstances1 on ,june #d1 #ahae4 ,madame de ,krudener was #ac years older than the ,emperor1 with pale1 emaciated and drawn features4 ,the story repeated by liphas ,lvi1 whencesoever it may come1 is an execrable calumny4 ,the acquaintance began at ,wrtemberg and continued during the ,emperor's residence in ,paris1 or till ,september #bh1 #ahae4 ,those were the days which ended in the proclamation of the ,holy ,alliance1 and ,madame de ,krudener's part in that work is a matter of history4 #cdh ,thomas ,ignatius ,martin is said to have foretold the revolution of #ahcj1 but the fact is dubious4 ,in his interview with ,louis ,,xviii he is said also to have told the ,french ,king that he was not the rightful occupant of the ,french throne1 but this is more than dubious4 ,the particular legitimacy which he supported was that of ,nandorff4 #cdi ,see ,la ,france ,mystique1 by ,alexandre ,erdan1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ace et seq4 for notices of four chief disciples of ,fourier1 the maddest being ,victor ,hennequin4 #cej ,he was the prophet of a third and final alliance between ,god and man4 #cea ,it is said that after the rupture of his relations with ,wronski1 ,m4 ,arson instituted a kind of humanitarian religion on his own account1 and combined it with some aspect of metempsychosis speculations4 #ceb ,the discourses of ,st4 ,michael with ,vintras are said to have concerned 7a7 the destinies of ,france1 7b7 the future of religion1 7c7 the reform of the clergy4 ,the ,blessed ,virgin1 ,st4 ,joseph and ,christ ,himself also visited the seer1 according to his own testimony4 #cec ,l'uvre de la ,misricorde prit une teinte fleur-de-lys trs prononce4--,alexandre ,erdan4 #ced ,see my ,mysteries of ,magic3 a ,digest of the ,writings of liphas ,lvi4 #cee ,the charges are contained in a pamphlet entitled ,le ,prophte ,vintras1 published by ,gozzoli in #ahea4 ,i do not think that ,geoffroi wrote anything4 #cef ,vintras was arrested at ,tilly-sur-,seules in #ahdb on a charge of roguery2 he was tried at ,caen and condemned to five years' imprisonment4 ,after his release in #ahdh1 he found an asylum in ,england4 #ceg ,see ,la ,france ,mystique1 vol4 i4 p4 #cf et seq4 for a contemporary account of ,du ,potet and of the periodical magnetic sances which took place au dessus du restaurant des ,frres ,provenaux1 au ,perron du ,palais-,royal4 #ceh ,according to another account1 the ,magic ,mirror was an ordinary circle of evocation drawn with charcoal4 ,wandering spirits were supposed to be conjured therein4 #cei ,his madness is said otherwise to have been partial1 or characterised by many lucid intervals4 ,his second work was ,religion1 and it preached the doctrine of reincarnation1 with periodical changes of sex4 ,it described the ,deity as an infinite substance in which circulated myriads of soul-entities4 #cfj ,his other works include the ,gospel of the ,people1 #ahdj1 to which liphas ,lvi refers subsequently4 ,for this he was imprisoned4 ,in #ahdg he published a ,histoire des ,montagnards4 ,at the end of #ahea he was compelled to leave ,france1 and seems to have lived in ,england4 ,henri ,alphonse ,esquiros was born in #ahad4 #cfa ,henri ,delaage seems to have taken the question of physical beauty rather seriously to heart4 ,in #ahej1 under the title of ,perfectionnement physique de la ,race ,humaine1 he made a collection of processes and methods for acquiring beauty1 drawn--as he claimed--from ,chaldean ,magi and ,hermetic ,philosophers4 #cfb ,the glise ,franaise was forcibly closed about #ahdj1 but in #ahdh an attempt was made to reopen it in a small room4 ,a particular kind of ,mass was celebrated in the ,french language1 and it appears that the church had fixed festivals of its own4 ,in doctrinal matters1 ,abb ,chtel regarded the relation between ,god and the universe as comparable to that between the soul and body1 8but in an infinitely more excellent manner40 ,paradise1 ,purgatory and ,hell were alike abolished1 and in their place two states were substituted1 one of glory and felicity1 the other of reparation4 #cfc ,see the appendix to ,essai sur le ,secte des ,illumins1 by the ,marquis de ,luchet1 already quoted4 #cfd ,joseph ,pitton de ,tournefort3 ,relation d'un ,voyage du ,levant1 #agag1 #b vols4 ,it was translated into ,english and published in #c vols41 #agda4 #cfe ,i wish that it were possible to quote the moving panegyric on ,ganneau in a letter addressed by liphas ,lvi to ,alexandre ,erdan and printed by him in ,la ,france ,mystique1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ahd-ahh4 ,he is described as one of the lite of intelligence1 an artist1 a poet of original and inexhaustible eloquence4 ,he was sometimes bizarre but never absurd or wearisome4 ,he was1 finally1 one of those hearts under the inspiration of which the zealous will crucify themselves with joy for the ungrateful4 ,erdan once saw ,ganneau addressing a crowd in the ,place de la ,concorde1 8uplifting his great arms and raising to heaven his beautiful ,christ-like head40 #cff ,i suppose that this would be a ,st4 ,andrew's cross with the addition of a vertical branch1 on which would rest the head of the crucified person4 #cfg ,there was a son of this marriage1 and in #ahee ,m4 ,alexandre ,erdan was inquiring what had become of him4 #cfh ,to suggest that the ,zohar exists to propound and interpret a thesis of equilibrium is like saying that the vast text is written about the legend of the ,edomite ,kings or that it is a violent attack on ,christianity1 because there is a reference to each of these subjects4 ,the symbolism of the ,balance is practically confined to a single tract imbedded in the ,zohar4 #cfi 8,god stretched forth ,his right hand and created the world above1 and ,he stretched forth ,his left hand and created the world below4444 ,god created the world below on the model of the world above1 for the image is found beneath of all that abides on high40--,zohar1 ,part ,,ii41 fol4 #bj;a4 #cgj ,joseph de ,maistre3 ,soires de ,st4 ,ptersbourg1 #ahba1 p4 #cjh4 #cga ,for the sake of completeness1 ,i have included this preface1 though from some points of view it might have been reasonably omitted altogether4