L

v The F I R S T BOOK

OF

Natural Magick

Wherein are parched out the Causes of things which pro-duce wonderful Effects.

Chap. I»

What it meant by the name os Lftfagick.

Orpbjry and Apuleius, great Platonicks, in an Oration made inthe defence of Magick, do witness,that Magick took her nameand original from Persia. Tutty, in his book of Divination,faith, that in the Persian language, a Magician is nothing elsebut one that expounds and studies divine things; and it is thegeneral name of Wise-men in that country. S.Jerome writingto Paulmui )faith that Apollontus Tyanaus was a Magician,as thepeople thoughtjor a Philosopher,as the Pythagoreans esteem-ed him. Pliny faith, that it is received for a certainty among

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most Authors,that Magick was begun in Persia by Zoroastres the son of Ortmafim - or,as more curious Writers hold, by another Zoroastres., iurnamed Proconnestus, who li-ved a little before. The first Author that ever wrote of Magick, was Ofthancs^ whogoing with Xerxes king of Persia in the war which he made against Greece , did scatterby the way as it were the feeds and first beginnings of this wonderful Art,infectingthe world with it wheresoever he came ; insomuch that theGreciaDs did not onelygreedily desire this knowledge, but they were even mad after it. So then Magickis taken amongst all men for Wisdom, and the perfect knowledge os natural things:and those are called Magicians, whom the Latines call Wife-men, the Greeks callPhilosophers, of ^Pythagoras onely, the first of that name, as Diogenes writes : theIndians call them Brackmans,in their own tongue ; but in Greek they call them Gy-mnosophists, as much to fay as naked Philosophers: the Babylonians and Affyrianscall them Chaldean*, of Chaldxa a county in Asia: the Ccltes in France call themDruids, Bards, and Semnothices: the Egyptians call them Priests j and theCabalistscall them Prophets. And so in divers countries Magick hath divers names. But wefinde that the greatest part of those who were best seen into the nature of things,wereexcellent Magicians: as, amongst the Persians, Zoroastres the son of Or imasiui, whomwe spake of before; amongst the Romanes, NumaPompilius ; Thespian, amongst theGymnofophists • Zamolxis, amongst the Thracians; Abbaris , amongst the Hyperbo-reans ; Hermes , amongst the Ægyptians and Budda , amongst the Babylonians. Be-side these, Apuleiw reckons up Carinondas , < Damigeron,Hismoses,Apolloniut,vadi Dar-danus, Vlho all followed Zoroastres and Ofihanes,

Chap. II.

what U the Nature of CMagtcl^.

'J'Here are two forts of Magick: the one is infamous,and unhappie,because it hath

to do with foul spirits, and consists of Inchantments and wicked Curiosity ; andthis is called Sorcery ; an art which all learned and good men detest ; neither is itable to yeeld any truth of Reason or Nature, but stands meerly upon fancies andimaginations, such as vanilh presently away, and leave nothing behinde them ; asfambliehus writes in his book concerning the mysteries of the Ægyptians,. The other

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Magick