A N H I ST OR Y

MA G I C WI T CH CR A F T
, ,

A ND

A NI MA L M A G N E T I S M .
 A N H I ST OR Y

MA G I C WI T CH CR A F T
, ,

A ND

A NI M A L MA G N E T I S M .

J C CO L Q U H O U N
. . ES Q .

A UT H O R O F lSlS REV EI A T A , &c .

I N T W O V O L U MES .

V OL . I .

L OND ON

L O N G M A N, B R O W N, G R E E N , L ON GMA N S ;
A DA M CH A R L ES B L A CK, ED INB UR G H .

M D . CCC LI . .
 P R E F A CE .

T HE RE is no term perhaps w hic h has been more

, ,

frequently and more grossly abused and misapplied

than that ofSc ie nc e The word in its proper and
.
,

legi t imate se nse unquestio nably denotes somethin g

,

known or a t least something worthy of being

, , ,

known ; and it is generally and most correctly , ,

employed t o denote a series of combined fac t s

whi ch tend to es t ablish a certai n general law o r ,

series of laws of Nature either in the physical

, , ,

the intellectual or the mor al w orld

, .

I n order to serv e as a founda tion for any general

conclusion in matters of science however it is , ,

necessary to demonstrate in t he first place that , ,

those facts upon which we rely do really and per

, ,

m a ne nt ly exist in nature under certai n conditio ns

,

of development that they are not exceptional fi c ,

t it ious or illusory ; that they un d er the requisi t e

, ,

con d itions are not merely insulated phenomena of

,

an a c c i d e nta l or capricious equivocal and transitory

,

V OL . 1 . a
fi PR E F AC E .

nature ; and that their existence and character fully

warrant us in drawi ng the g eneral inferences which ,

on the principles of a sane philosophy and sound

logic we are disposed or compelled to deduce
, , ,

from them .

We may remark however t hat in recent times , , ,

and particularly in this country t he term sc i e nc e ,

has been generally and we thi nk most improperly , , ,

restricted to Physics alo ne ; for there are facts in

psychology and moral philosophy w hich are equally ,

if not mo re important equally susceptible of ana ,

lysis and e qually capable of being reduced under

,

g ener a l laws ; and the s e facts and t hese laws t here ,

fore are at least a s deservi ng of our research and

, , ,

invest igation as those w hich have been discovered

,

in the economy ofthe physical universe na y the ,

former are even of more real i nterest and utility

,

to m an as an i ntelligent a nd rational being

, .

There are some persons says PLA T O w ho ,

’
,

draw down to the earth all heavenly a nd invisible

things g rasping with their hands rocks and trunks
,

of trees maintai ning that there is no t hing real

,

exists but what o ffers resistance and can be fel t ,

holding body and existence to be syno nymous .

A nd when others say that somethin g m a y exist

that is incorporeal they pay no re g ard t o this and
, ,

w ill no lo nger listen to the subj ec t — P L A T O E d . .

S t e p ha n p 2 4 6 , . .
 PR E F AC E . fii

The study of physics it is true as well as that

, ,

of psychology has been di scour a ged by influential

,

individuals and sec t s at various periods under

, ,

the mistaken impression t hat the knowledg e thus

,

acquired mu s t ultimately prove prej udicial to cer

t ain o t her moral or social interes t s which ough t i n , ,

their es t imatio n to be held p a ramou nt amongst

,

mankind ; and consequently t he progress of all

, ,

science has been occasionally much impeded and ,

its cultivation discouraged during almost every ,

period oft he history of the world ; as if ignorance

w ere productive of t he most perfect happiness and ,

most conducive to the interest s and well being of -

the species .

These lat t er notio ns however in so far as they

, ,

relate to phy s ical scie nce have no w been pretty,

nearly exploded ; we are no w permitted freely t o

examine the material obj ects and physical law s of
the universe without becoming liable to an imputa
,

tion ofheresy ; and the same result we apprehend , ,

must ul t imately follow in the case ofpsychological .

investigation in re g ard to the presumed tendency

,

ofwhich much prej udice still continues to be enter

t aine d
. I n this latter department of scie nce in deed , ,

facts are daily in progress of development which ,

ar e not only of reat practical importance but also

g , ,

in other respects ofthe highest interest t o mankind

, ,

as social intelligent rational and responsible beings

, , , .
 PR E FA CE .

A bout eighty years have now elapsed since ,

announced a new and very remarkable discovery

he had made in t he course of his researches w hich , ,

although little appreciated upon its first promulga

tion was after w ards found to be ofno small import
,

ance towards the enlargement of our scientifi c

knowledge of nature and especi ally of the cons ti
, , ,

t ut ion ofman .D uri ng a considerable period as i s ,

well known this very i nteresti ng discovery made

,

tardy progress in the learned world I t w as .

,

indeed new and startling ; it was supposed to be

,

inconsistent with some of the already accredi t ed

principles of established science and therefore , , ,

it received little countenance from the reputed

learned men of the day I t w as moreo v er
.
,

—
although upon manifestly false grounds accounted
a dan g erous doctrine —a downright scientific and
religious heres y The few who ga v e it t heir honest
.

support and encourageme nt therefore were pub , ,

lic ly denounced as mystics and ridiculed as fools, ,

or commiserated as madmen The magnetic dis .

c ov e r
y ,indeed was
, genera lly regarded even by ,

man y philosophers as a gross imposition upon t he

,

ignorance and credulity of the a g e ; and no t erm s

o f contempt were considered too strong to be
applied to the few faithful supporters ofthe appa
r e nt l extrava a nt and heretical doctrine Time
y g .
,
 P R E FA C E .

however works wonders in t he moral as well as in

,

the physical world and science has its revolutions

and reactions as well as empires A considerable .

number of intelligent and inqui s i tive men— unap

palled by the denu nciations ofthe ignoran t and the
interested— gradually ob t ained instruction from the
modern discoverer of A nimal M agnetism or his ,

—
immediate disciples made experiments themselves
— succeeded in eliciting the much controverted phe -

no me na and thus became con v inced o f the t ru t h of

,

the facts and of the utility and importance of the

,

pro s cribed magnetic doctri ne But t he more obst i .

na t e amo ng the scep tics w ould not even look a t t he

fac t s alleged to have be en discovered ; or if they ,

did condescend so far they wo ul d not belie v e their

,

o w n eyes unless the causes in operation were imme

,

d ia t e ly and satisfactorily explained to them S uch .

an explanation in these early times ho w ever was

, , ,

not an easy m a tter ; and at all events even had

, ,

it been practicable probably M E S M E R was not the

,

m a n to a f ford it Besides it is well known tha t

.
,

ma ny phe nomena may be observed long before it

becomes possible t o explain them or t o dem ons trate ,

t heir rank and v alue in the scale of human ac quire

ment ; and therefore the sceptics were t oo unr e a

, ,

sonable and impatient H o w many nat ural pheno

.

mena are there t oo which have been known for

, , _

centuries before their scientific causes and various ,

vi PR E FA C E .

uses in the economy of n a t ure could be discovered ,

by philosophers ? A nd how many similar facts

m a y not still await a sa t i s fa ctory analysis and
explana tion
I n the meantime the adversaries ofA nimal M ag
,

ne t ism —and these were a very numerous class — m

found it more convenie nt to de ny the facts alto

gether than to submit t o the requisi t e labour of
,

investig atio n ; a nd in adopting this course they ,

were sure to have a ll the weak the indolent the , ,

timid the ignorant and t he i ncompe t ent upo n their

, ,

side Besides they mi g h t prob a bly have heard a

.
,

g reat deal about supernatural powers fascin a tions , ,

ench a ntments d ivinations magic w itchcraft sor

, , , ,

cery — and perh a ps thousands of ridiculous stories

, ,

calculated to estrange a ll sober perso ns from the

serious exami nations of phenome na which wi thout , ,

due i nvest i g ation must have a ppeared very mar

,

vellons a nd utterly incredible ; a nd conse quently , ,

a fa ir subj ect for scepticism M oreover t here is .

,

al w ays a multit ude of i ndividuals even amon g the ,

better educ a ted classes who themselves inc a pable

, ,

of conducti ng a new a nd serious i nv esti g a t io n or ,

unwillin g to u ndertake t he task a r e content t o ,

await the decision of those who are accustomed to

g uide the Opi nion of the public i n such m a tters ,

before t hey consent to give in their adhesion to

ne w and unaccredited doctrines But in t his par .
,
 PR E FA C E . vfi

t ic ula r instance unfortunately those who ou g ht to

, ,

have been most capable of directi ng the opinion of

t he public o n the subj ect of ME SM ER s alleged dis
’

c o v e r ie s thou ht proper to assume an a tt itude of

, g
perfect indifference or of actual an d violent a nd , , ,

uncompromising and most unreasonable hostility

,
.

I t may he remarked however that all of the , ,

great contemporary l uminaries of science did not

thus contemplate the reality of the early magnetic
discoveries ; and the Opinions of such men as J 0 8
SIE U L AP L ACE C U V IER T R E V I R A N U S H UFELAN D
, , , , ,

S P RENGEL SC H L E IR MA CH E R O K EN R E I L A U T EN
, , , ,

R I E I H B U R D ACH H UM B O L D T a nd of ma ny other
’ ‘

, , ,

emi ne nt au thorities —philosophers naturalists phy , ,

sio lo ist s
g a nd
, professional physicians—ought to
have possessed more weigh t w i t h the intellige nt
and candi d portion of the pub lic N ay the very .
,

simple yet prolific a nd mo s t interesting nature of

,

the discoveries alleged to ha v e been made by M E S

M E R and his associates and disciples ought at least , ,

t o have had the e f fect of stimulating curiosi ty and

ofpromoti ng inquiry

I n the whole his t ory of philosophical discovery ,

i ndeed there is nothing perhaps more inc ompr e

, , , ,

he nsible —w e mi g ht add more paltry and contemp

tible —than the i ndifference a nd hostility w hich
w ere so lo ng displ a yed towards the i nteresting

labours of the early M a g netists What could be .

 P R E FA C E .

more strange in a pretended age of reason and of

, ,

scien t ific progress than to find a discovery so sim

,

ple yet so prolific in its consequences —a discovery

,

w hich was calcul ated to throw so much new light

o n our knowledge of human nature and the fl e xi ,

bilit y of the animal organism in general and to ,

i ncrease our therapeutic powers —to see such a dis

c ov e r
y confined within the contracted circle of a
small number of i nquisitive individuals who made ,

no mystery of the acquisition they had made yet ,

who dared not speak of the tru t hs t hey had disco

v ered and embraced without exposing t hemselves
,

t o the opprobrium or ridicule o f powerful and

influential an tagonists even amon g the otherwise

,

learned and in g enious ?

H ad the question related merely to certain equi

v ocal theoretic a l notions or t o t he adoption of some
,
o

n ovel system o fabstract truths w e may easily con ,

c e iv e that there might have bee n ample m a terials

for controversial discussion ; but here the subj ect

in dispute was merely a matter of fact which was ,

cap able of being almost immedia t ely verified or

disproved by a direct appeal to experime nt and
observation and moreover t he relative investiga
, , ,

tion was exceedingly simple and besides open and

, , ,

accessible to all the world .

But it would appear that a lar g e maj ori t y of the

learned men of the age were for one reason or ,
 P R E FA C E . ix

another obstinately prepossessed against the sub

,

e c t of inq uiry a nd lit t le di sposed to lend their

j ,

a ssistance in investi a ti ng the relative facts The

g .

members of the medical professio n al t hough per , ,

haps the most interested in the ultimate result of

,

t he i nquiry disti ng uished themsel v es throughout

,

by their virulent opposi t ion t o the ne w discovery ,

and that from very obvious although not very ,

generous or even creditable motives .

The greater part of o ur scientific prej udices no ,

doub t arise from mental prepossession — from the

,

parti a lity or inade quacy of our previous inquiries .

Bei ng unable t o comprehend the whole of the

diversified phenome na of nature and therefore , , ,

co nfini ng our attention t o a small portion of those

which are most familiar to observation we never , ,

t he le ss proceed upon this partial view t o form

, , ,

o ur j udgme nt in regard to the to t ality of her laws .

This premature and therefore contracted process

necessarily conducts us t o a partial and unsa tisfa c
t ory fallacious and imaginary concep t ion of the
,

powers and operations of nature which w e feel ,

ourselves incompe t e nt or indisposed to embrace in

t heir ge nerali t y or in the i nfinite variety of her
,

manifes t ations A ccide ntal circumstances t oo fr e

.
, ,

quently determine the attention of mankind in ,

e v ery age towards a par t icular line of inquiry t o

, ,

the neglect of almost every other acquisition ; and ,

X P R E F A CE .

hence there arise at di fferent periods totally diffe

, ,

rent a nd sometimes contradictory notio ns in r e

, ,

g ard to the probability or the possibili

, t y of certain
a lle ed facts
*
g .

E ven at such times when the phenomena which

,

no w cons titute the b a sis of the magnetic doctrines

w ere generally know n and recognized they were , ,

unfortunately enlisted into the service of super

,

s tit io n
, a nd regarded as much too sacred to be
investigated on the principles of profane science .

M a nkind are unwilling to look a t the phenomena of

nature u nless throu g h the clouded spec t acles of
their prej udices and accordin g ly eve n t he mos t
, , ,

simple fa c t s a r e fre quently enveloped in a shroud

o fmys t icism a nd fallacy F ro m this source of illu
.

sion all t e fables of

h m ic and sorcery — once so
a
g
—
pre v alent throu g hout the world a ppear to have
derived their ori g in A ges freque ntly elapse in
.

t his state o f mental darkness and delusion ; and

mankind actu ally become afraid of even attempti ng

N o m an l e arn wh at he has not pr e p ar at i on for

c an

l e arni ng A ch e mis t m ay t e ll his m os t pre ci ous s e cre t s t o

.

a c arp e nt e r a nd he sh all be ne v e r t he wis e r ; t he s e cr e t s he

,

would not ut t e r t o a ch e m is t for an e s t at e G od scre e ns us

.

e v e r m or e fr om pr e m at ur e id e a s O ur e y e s are h old e n t h at
.

w e c annot s e e t hi ng s t ha t s t ar e us in t he fac e unt il t he h our ,

a rriv e s wh e n t he m i nd is rip e ne d ; t h e n w e b e h old t h e m ,

a nd t he t i m e wh e n w e s a w t h e m not is lik e a dr e am
”
.

E M E R S ON ; Essay o n Sp ir itua l L a w s .
 P R EF A CE .
X1

to emerge out of this obscurity of ignorance into

t he ligh t ofkno w ledge They are surrounded for. ,

a long period by a dense clo ud of prej udices and

,

fa lse notions which at le ngth min g ling with their

, , ,

habitual conceptio ns it becomes exceedingly d ith

,

c ult to dispel by the torch of science and of truth .

T he simple facts which may now b e s a tisfactor ily

,

explained by the moder n psychological discoveries

o f A nimal M a gnetism are in a great meas ure , , ,

iden t ical wi th those which in former times ,

adopted without any investi g ation in t o their true

origin and nature and disguised by the colour
,

ing of a vi vid imag i nat ion and a lively fancy

la y at the foundation of all the fables of magic
and sorcery with which they were subsequently
,

identified
So m nia , te rr o r es mag ic os , m irac ula , sa g as .

Ma nkind in barbarous ages

, are accustomed to ,

look at nature through the mist of their ignorance

and prej udices which conce a l t he true aspect of
,

t he obj ec t s from their bewil dered eyes H e nc e .

the long reign of i ntellectual darkness fa lse philo ,

sophy and impure reli g ion

, .

E rroneous no t ions i ndeed which h a ve been suf

, ,

f e r e d to prevail f
or ages are with difficulty e r a d i
,

c ate d
,
even from such mi nds as have become
emancipated in some measure from many of the
, ,
xfi PR EFA C E .

errors a nd prej udices of previous and less e nlig h

tened ag es ; a nd even those philo s ophers who ha v e
addi cted t hemselves t o the cultivation ofwhat have
been called t he exact sciences are not al ways ex
,

empted as it is sometimes imagined from the com

, ,

mon infirmity of being seduced by the vulgar pre

j udices of less enlighte ned minds T Y C H O B RA H E
.
,

the modern restorer of astronomical science that ,

most indefatigable observer of the starry heavens ,

who made such a numb er of valuable observations

w i thin the department of his favourite studies and ,

was so indefat igable in the investi g atio n offacts

e v en this g reat mat t er offact philosopher di vided his
- -

t ime between t he study o f astro nomy a nd the r e

searches of alchemy H e also patronized the doc

.

trines ofj udiciary astrology a nd a g reat portion of

,

his books w as devoted to the defe nce and pr opa

a t ion of these empty reveries H is successor
g .
,

KE P L E R the precursor of N ewton the most pro

, ,

found physical philosopher of his age attributed ,

t he m otions ofthe celestial bodies to certain animal

forces and wrote a treatise on the mys t erious pro

,

p e r t ie s o f numbers
. N E W T ON himself— the mos t

illustrious physical philosopher of his own or of ,

any age aft er explaining the laws of the material

-

univ e rse wrote a comment ary on the A pocalypse

, .

I ndeed the influence of this mystical disposition

, ,

even amo ng very practical men appears to be ,

 P R E FA C E .

a ttempted to s o lve o nly one portion of the grand

problem of N ature ; na y we suspect that the very
,

success of their achievements ha s ha d a tende ncy

t o di scoura g e, a nd consequently t o retard the
, ,

solution of the o t her and still more interesting

,

portion ofthe inquiry .

Nature —w e would observe — presents us with

two di ffere nt — but in o ur opinion c o relat i v e
, ,
-

subj ects of investi g ation —the external universe ,

and the percipient m ind A ll philosophy must be

.

incomplete if it does not embrace both of these

,

obj ects of research Witho ut a mind to percei v e

.

and comprehend it no external universe could

,

exist ; and mind has its peculiar proper t ies as well

as mat ter.

B ut in the midst of that scientific re g e neration

which has take n pl a ce in modern times philosophy ,

has become almost e ntirely one sided — our atte n -

t ion is princip ally ,

or almost wholly directed
t owards external obj ects ; and the study o f the

intelligent and percipient mi nd with all it s active

,

energies and passive susceptibilities (p syc holog y) ,

has been utterly neglected or even contemned

, ,

amidst the materialistic tendencies of the a g e I n .

shor t we would appear to have become inc a pable

,

o f distinguishin the various accidental modes of

g
t he exercise of our perceptive fa culties occasioned ,

by the dif ferent conditions of our psychical organs ,

 PR E FA CE . XV

1 11 the various states and conditions of the sensi t ive

powers The conseque nce of this has been t ha t
.
,

when we happen to stumble upon a phenomeno n

which appears foreign to the usu a l train of our
ideas but which we find it impossible to rej ect i n
,

to t o we beco m e i ncapable o f appreciating it s true

,

nature and value and are induced either t o over

,

look it altogether as something utterly anomalous

,

and incomprehensible or t o refer it to certain,

imaginary causes I n such cases the reputed

.
,

learned are probably the least capable of ex or

, ,

cising a sound and impartial j udgment in c o nse ,

u e nc e of their preposses s ions T o all such

q p ro .

hle m s they a t once g ive a dogma t ic solution

, , , ,

without giving themsel v es the trouble ofinstituti ng

an experimen t a l in quiry .

A new truth however which when rightly

, , ,

apprehended is capable o f throwin g additional

,

light upon some particular depar t ment of our know

ledge frequently substitutes reality for illusio n
, ,

and shows that things are occasio na lly di f f

erent in
nature from what they appear to be in our pr e c on
c e iv e d sy stems But u nreasonin g dogmatism is
.

itself a mental diseas e ; frequently a very obstinate

or even incurable distemper ; and it is always a
very difficult ma t ter to abandon opinions once seri
o usl entertained even upon insufficient evidence
y ,
xvi PR E FA CE .

and a particular habit of thinking according , to a

common proverb becomes a second nat ure
,

P one r e d if
fi c ile e st quae pla c ue r e d iu .

I f we cast eyes over the ages which are past

o ur ,

we shall probably find that a considerable number

of t he obstacles opposed to the introduction ofne w

t ruths generally a rise from the par ticular direc tion

given to inquiry by the previous speculat ions Of

otherwise distinguished men N ew di scoveries in .
,

every succeedin g age may i nfrin g e upon some of

,

the opinions and do g m a s or even the prej udices of

,

the learned men of their day a nd ge nerat ion ; a nd

t he learned also —or the reputed learned— ha v e
, ,

at all times been the mos t obstinate opponents o f

,

new truths .

T urp e p uta nt p a r e r e m ino r ibus, e t g uc e

I m be rbe s d id ic e re , se ne s p e r d e nd a fa te r i .

I n the investig a tio n ofnature indeed it is a very , ,

difficult thing to shake of

f —
prepossessions to main
t ain the clearness and u nbiassed impartiality ofo ur

j udgment and to avoid being misled by our pr e j u

,

dices I t is almost un necessary to recal to the

.

recollection of our readers the well known example s -

of GA LIL E O CO L UM B US H AR V E Y J E N NE R
, , & c or , , .
,

to enlarge upo n the Opposition made to the i ntro

duction of I nnoculation Quinquina A ntimo ny & c
, , ,
 PR E FA CE . xvfi

into medic a l practice ; or t o sig nalise t he dav s not ,

very long p a st when t he use of these remedies and

,

preventi v es was char a cterised as m ur d e r ous c r i m i ,

na l a nd m a i c a l It was n lo n er than the

, g o
g . a
g e

middle of the 1 8th century t hat the F acul t y thus ,

spoke of i nnocula tion a nd with t he sam e spiri t of ,

hos tility towards the i nnoc ulat or s as more recently , , ,

in the case of the M agnetis t s denounced them as ,

ha ng m e n a nd i mp ostor s and their patients as d up e s ,

and i d i ots I t is noto rious that the v a c c i ne upon

.
,

it s firs t introduc tion w a s equally ob noxious to the

,

fac ul t y This last me ntio ned discovery ha d been

.
-

originally made wi thi n the memory ofliving men

, ,

i n a provi nce of E ngl a nd a t some dista nce from t he ,

capi tal ; a nd the pr a c t ice like that of M agne tism , ,

w as placed in t he ca t egory of d a ngerous supe r sti

tions and delusions until JENNE R aft er its c on , ,
l

d e m na t ion by the fa culty at length Obtained a ,

s i g nal triumph over all prej udices by its general

i nt roduction in prac t ice *
.

T he foll owi ng j us t a nd g e ne ro us Obs e rv at ions up on t his

s ubj e c t occur in t he bi og r aphy ofJ E N N E R
L e t no one h e r e aft e r a b a t e t he h one s t z e al of us e ful
p urs ui t b e c a us e his ide a s are chill e d at firs t by an univ e rs al
,

frigid s ne e r or by c ar e l e ss ridi cul e Such has e v e r b e e n

, .

t he fa t e of t h os e w ho l ab o ur f or t he b e ne fi t of m ankind

e v e n t he wis e s t a m ong us Opp os e i nnum e r a bl e pr ej udi c e s t o

t he ack nowl e dg m e nt of a ne w t r ut h ; and h appy are t h os e

w ho lik e J e nne r s urviv e to wi t ne ss t he t ri umph of t h e ir

, ,

V OL . I . b
x vfii PR E F ACE .

S uch ins t ances assuredly ou g ht to have the

, ,

ef fect of re ndering us more cau t ious in rej ectin g

fa c t s wi t hou t an adequat e i nvesti g at ion of t hei r
nat ure truth and value merely bec a use they may
, , ,

a ppear at first sight to be inconsistent with some

, ,

o f the notions we may have been previously led t o

entert a i n in regard to the po w ers and phenomen a

o f nature Theories —fre quently the O ffspring of
. ,

misconception or of too par t ial and limi t ed inquir V

,
'

mus t not be permitted to invalidate fa cts ; and

t here is no t hing more adverse to the adva ncement 2

a nd ul t im a te establishment of truth t han invetera t e

prej udices a nd preco ncep t io ns .

p ai nful s tr ug gl e s in i t s promul g at i o n —Se e. L ive s f

oB ri t is h

P hy sic ia ns .

A c as e si mil arly ill us t rat iv e oft he j e al ousy oft he m e d ic al

pr ofe ssi on occurr e d not v e ry l ong ag o in F ra nce
, , , .

M B O U D I N at t ai ne d e mi ne nce a s C hie f P hysi ci an t o t he

.

a r my Of t he A lps H e is c onsid e r e d a l e a di ng aut h ori t y in

.

m ilit ary m e di ci ne a nd wr ot e s om e i ns t ruct iv e l e t t e rs on t he

,

Fre nch col ony Of A l g e ri a Som e y e ars ag o he w as one of

.
,

t he m anag e rs of t he H ospi t al
T oul on and aft e r s om e
at ,

i nt e re s t i ng e x p e ri m e nt s on t he e ffe ct s of ars e ni c he i nt ro ,

d uce a an ars e nical t re at me nt of t he m arsh fe ve r und e r ,

whi ch t he s oldi e rs fr om A lge ri a s uf

‘

fe r e d T he fa cul t y at .

P aris m ad e a gr e at out c ry ; t he M i nis t e r w a s b e si e g e d wi t h

r e mons t rance s M B O U D IN w as st e ppe d in his t re a t me nt
.
,

a nd t hr e a t e ne d wi t h a j udi c i a l i nquiry B ut he ha d suc .

c e e d e d ; t he G ov e rnm e nt pr ot e c t e d hi m he w a s s uf
fe re d t o

proce e d ; and his m e t h od w as s oon aft e rwards profe ssi onally

r e cog nis e d H e aft e rw ards r os e r apidly in his profe ssi on
. .
 P R E FA CE . xix

A ni mal M agnetism upon it s first introduction

,
to

the scientific world experienced the same fate with

,

those other discoveries to which we have alluded .

By t he learned men oft he day it w as scouted and ,

ridiculed as an arrant impo sture and it s a dherents

were s tigmatised as mountebanks and dupes B ut .

aft er the elapse of years of contentious contro v ersy

— and that too in a scientific age — this importa nt
, ,

discovery also obt ained a signal triumph over it s

igno ra nt interes ted and prej udiced opponents
, ,
.

Many Of those who had previou s ly controverted it

u po n philosophical grounds ha d at len g th the can , ,

dour to ackno w led g e their error and bec ame its ,

mos t valuable supporters : the serious opponen t s ,

i ndeed are now reduced t o a very small n umber

, ,

and t hose not remarkably distin g uished for their

s cie ntific attainments o r ph ilosophical c a ndour .

I t must not be di s guised however t hat w hile , , ,

m agnetic science is becoming more and more e xten

s iv e l
y di f
fu sed there are , still a few w ho regard this

branch of science with co nsiderable j ealousy and

suspicion as apparently t ending in i t s c onse
, ,

ue nc e s t o subver t cer t ai n other notions which are

q ,

supposed to be of primary impor tance t o socie ty .

But t his idea t oo in o ur humble opinion is entirely

, , ,

founded upon a misapprehension NO one truth . .

can possibly militate agains t another truth ; the

a ntagonism if any consists not in the things them
, ,
XX PR E FA C E .

selves but in the erroneous conceptions of the

,

human mind ; and we must not de t ermine the

realit y of one fact by its p r e sum e d i nco nsi s te ncy
with ano t her We ought to accept the phenome na
.

of nature as we find t hem d eveloped by o ur e x e

p
ri c uce and endeavour to reconcile them with each
,

other a nd not to ag gra v ate presumed d isc r e pa n

,

cies ; for by adopting the latter course we shall ,

retard instead of promoting the advanceme nt o f

,

general scie nce That the sun makes a diurnal

.

circuit round the earth is believed to be a fa ct by

many even a t the present d a y Their belief is .

founded upon the a pparent evidence of t heir

senses ; and they l a ug h a t the philosophers w ho
mai ntain the cont rary proposi t ion as visionaries ,

and mystics .

We are all co nvince d or at least profess to be

, , ,

co nvi nced oft he u ncerta i nty ofme r e theories and

, ,

of the absurdity of denyi ng posi tive facts merely ,

because they a ppear t o be hostile to our pr e c on

c e iv e d notions of the powers of nature a nd t heir ,

various modes of ma nifestatio n ; a nd yet we still

fi nd individuals who although appare ntly s a t isfied
,

of this tru t h do not hesit a te t o rej ec t the doctri ne of

,

A nimal Ma gne t ism not ex a ctly bec a use it absolutely

,

co ntradicts any of the k nown laws ofn a ture — for

t hat has never y e t been pro v ed —but mere ly because

the phenomena it prese nts to our view appear to

 xfi PR E FA CE .

causes . do we not dail y find men who con

A nd -r

ti nually reproach t he ma g netists for rela t ing fac t s

?
w hich they do not pretend to be able t o explai n
B ut it may be reason a bly asked Wh a t do w e ,

?
actu a lly know of w hat can we t horoughly ex
plai n t he causes ? L e t us suppose two pheno
mena A and B which are so co nnected together
, , ,

t hat when A appe a rs B will invariably follow ; w e

, ,

necessarily assume that B takes place because A

exists a nd t herefore we say t hat A is the cause Of
, , ,

B U pon t he present occasion we have no need

.
,

t o en t er in t o any abs t ract met a physical discussio n

in reg a rd to the nature o f the co nnection bet w een

cause and e f fect : I t is sufficient for our presen t
purpose to state the simple fa c t Whether t hi s .

connection results from repeat ed experience or ,

from a necessary la w of our me ntal constitution ,

we m a y lea v e to the determination of m e t aphy si

eiaus ; we ar e only concerned with the fa ct itself .

But the human mi nd is not content to rest at this

s t age of the i nquiry —it desires to proceed farther
and aft er havi ng found the proximate cause Of a
particular phenomeno n it at t empts to discover t he
,

cause of t he cause and so onward un t il it arrive s

, ,

a t a primitive cause beyond which it cannot go

, .

S everal phenomena appear to stand in no re g ular

rel a tion towards e a ch other ; a nd when we attemp t
t o ascend to their common source we feel ourselve s ,
 PR E F A CE . x xfi i

compelled to ascribe them to the same general la w

w hich we recognise as primitive —a s one of t he
fundamental conditions which are necessary to t he
existence Oft he universe This process ofreducing
.

se v eral phenomen a u nder one general law is wha t ,

i s commo nly called inductive reasoning S uch a .

process conducted N E WT O N from the m ost simple

,

obser v ation to the disco v ery of the great law of

,

universal a ttr a c tion or g r a vi ta tion A somewha t

,
.

similar process originally founded it is true upon

, , ,

an hypothesis led CO P E R N I C U S t o his grand disco

,

v ery. From the mo t ion Of t he ear th be inferred ,

t he movements of all t he celestial bodies and this ,

i nference was confirmed by c orrect calculations .

Bey ond t his we cannot procee d When we have .

once established a ge neral law of nature we have ,

reached the limit assigned to our faculties and m ust ,

tak e our stand on t he primitive will and fi a t ofthe

great C reator of the u niverse for who w ould other
wise attempt to explain the cause ofa g e neral law ?
The t rue philosopher endea v ours to connect the
v arious phenomena ofthe universe in such a man
ner as to elicit one or more Of these general laws ;
and it is in t his way and in this w ay alone — that
-

we can best contribu t e t o the completion of t he

sciences To attempt to go beyond this point is a n
.
,

error into which no man Ofsound sense and philo

sophical tact will readily fall .
 PR E FA C E .

When we have once a rrived therefore at such , ,

g eneral l a ws in a n
y o ne depar t me nt of in v es t i a t io n
g ,

it is e v ide nt th a t we c a n proceed no far ther in t he

expl a na t io n of p a r ticula r nat ural phe nome na B ut .

it is equally e v ide nt that as we canno t fla t t er our

,

selves w ith the notion that we have arrived at a

knowled g e of all the la w s ofna ture in t he material
and t he moral world we are not enti tled to rej ec t
,

an
y re a l phe nome non merely
,
because we can not

immediately explai n it upo n a ny of the se theories

deduced from t he fa cts which have been already
discovered S uch conduct w ould imply a g ra tui t ous
.

a nd u nwarrant a ble limi t a t io n of t he pro g ressive

march a nd developme nt oft he huma n mi nd a nd an ,

attempt t o describe a narro w ci r cle beyo nd which

w e m ust de ny th a t a ny t hi ng can exist or become
k no w n I n some cases i ndeed we resor t to t he
.
, ,

expression oc c ult c a use but as a primary cause c an

, ,

only be known from t he e ffects it produces it is ,

e v ide nt t hat by o c c ult c a use we c a n o nly mean a

cause of which t he whole e ffec t s have not yet been

properly de t ermi ned — if it were otherwise we ,

should be compelled to a ck nowled g e t hat every

t hi ng in the u niverse was g o v erned by occul t cau s es .

What we w ould a sk is t here more occul t t han t he

’

, ,

i nfluence ofman s will on his corporeal movements

’
?

N ow w hat is the obj ectio n ge nerally m a de to

,

a im a l mag netism The a n t ag onists ofthis branch

n ?
 P R E F AC E . XXV

of science assert that the admission of t he phe no

mena it embraces has a tendency to r e introduce t he -

belief in occult causes D o they mean to allege bv

. ,

this expression th at the ultimate cause which pr o

,

duces these phenomena is unknow n to us ? I f so ,

t hey are quite ri g ht in a cer tain sense ; a nd Ma g

ne t ism has this in common with every branch of

o ur knowledge .D O they mean to allege on t he ,

other hand that the e ffects Of Magnetism are not

,

e t su fficiently known t o enable us t o determine

y
exactly how they may be modified by the organic
s ta t e and idiosyncrasy of the individual w ho pro
duces or manifests them and by other influent ial
,

causes a nd conditions yet unknown ? H ere they are

righ t again ; but what are we entitled t o infer from
?
this N othi ng more than t hat t hese phenomena
ought to be more carefully observed and more ,

att ent ively studi ed under all their conditions a nd

, ,

in all their bearings t han has hitherto been the

,

case .

T he se individuals w ho have made every possible

ef fort t o attract public attention t o the interes t in g
phenomena of A nimal M agnetism who endeavour ,

t O reduce them under one or more gener a l la w s ,

and t o determine t he mode and conditio ns of t heir

production and manifestation cannot surely be ,

j ustly accused of a desire to introduce a lax method

into philosophy ; such a charge w e presume t o ,

V OL I
. . 0
 xxvi PR E FA CE .

think is much more applicable to those w ho decline

,

t o observe the facts prese nted to them by nature ,

under the pretence that they are impossible — who

proceed to decide upon mere presumptions and ,

refuse to recognise a particular faculty in man ,

which is capable of being substantiated by the most

demonstrative ofall evidence — that ofo ur senses
a lsa o m ni s
qui ni si sunt v e r i , r a ti o f uo ue
q g fi t .

N E W T ON ascribed the physical motions of the

universe to attraction The C artesians attributed
.

the same motions to certain uor ti c es which o n their , ,

hypothesis drew these bodies alon g with them in

,

their moveme nts ; and the latter accused t he for

mer o f havi ng recourse to an oc c ult cause V O L .

T A I R E who was one of the first propagators of the

,

Newtonian doctrines in F ra nce said in discussing , ,

t his subj ec t Those who believe in occult causes

°

are subj ected to ridicule ; but we ought rather to

ridicule those who do not A nd in truth we find
.
, ,

n othing but oc c ult c a use s in the universe not even ,

excepting the c or tic e s of D E S C AR T E S were they ,

otherwise admissible The hypothesis of N E WT O N

.
,

however became generalised into an universal law

,

of material nat ure and thus explained the principle

,

of the mundane motions .

Without entering farther however into the dis, ,

cussie n of the question regarding cause and e ffect ,

we shall proceed to remark that a vast number of

,
 PR E FA CE . XXVII

phenomena have occurred since the creation oft he

world which have been variously ascribed t o cer
,

tain Obscure and supposititious causes These phe .

n om e na have been observed in a ll ages of the

world from the earliest period of history down t o

,

o ur o w n times S o strange and unaccountable

.

have they appeared to be that until a very recen t

, ,

period mankind seem to have universally agreed

,

in ascribing them t o supernatural causes and in ,

referring them to the immediate action of the

D eity or at least o f certain divine or d ae moni a c a l
, , ,

beings I n comparatively recent times however

.
, ,

certain inquirers into the phenomena of nature

ha v e attempted to explode this superstitious view
of the matter and t o expl ai n the phenomena in
,

question upon natural principles and t o reduce ,

t hem under general laws The facts themselves

.

have been carefully collected and exposed t o the

torch ofphilosophical investigation .

S ome of those in dividuals however who had , ,

previously asserted a prescriptive rig ht to t he

exclusive possession of these facts have frequently ,

risen up in arms ag a inst the new claimants and ,

endeavo ured by force or fraud to exclude the

, ,

alleged intruders from this hitherto reputed sacred

t erritory ; and in this attempt they have been

seconded and encouraged by the vulgar and unin

quiring But when the title of these fiery anta
.
x xv fii PR E FA C E .

onist s comes to be ri idly examined it will be

g g ,

found to be surreptitious defective and c onse , , ,

q uent ly in v alid,
.

I n the follo w i ng pages it will be our business t o

,

demonstrat e that the phenomena in question are

merely t he natural e f fects Of natural causes They .

have i ndeed been indiscriminately appropriated to

, ,

t hemselves by the en t husiastic devotees of all reli

g ions denomina t io n s since the creation of the un i

v erse and pressed in t o the service of every sec t
,

while extravagant zeal and devotio nal excitemen t

have been fou nd t o be a fertile source of their
development a nd manifestation But the v iew s .

here alluded t o ha v e been the prolific source Of

many and serious aberrations The bli nd zeal of .

t hese sectaries indeed while i t has confirmed the

, ,

evidence in fa v our of the reality of the facts in

q uestion only te n,
ded t o place their reli ion upo n
g
a false and untenable foundation and consequen t ly , , ,

to weaken its supports and to diminish its perma

ne nc e A religion built up entirely on the substr a
.

tum Of pretended miracles must necessarily be a

weak and perishable t hing ; and t he progress o f
g e n eral intellige n ce makes sad havoc upo n all

miraculous be lie fsfi t

ph e nome na pr e s e nt e d t o us by t he pract i ce of
T he
A nim al M a gne t is m are s a id by sh a m e fully i g nor ant impu ,

d e nt or silly p e rs ons t o be p re te nd e d mira c le s I f t his be

, ,
.
X XX PR E FA CE .

men t of succeeding times —many erroneous notions

are exploded —many new truths are discovered ;
and the human intellect gr a dually expands during
this u nceasing process of mental development .

N ew truths are gradually elicited ; and although

these may be for a considerable period defaced
, ,

by some erroneous conceptions imperfect generali ,

sa t i ons
, and false interpretations yet these last ,

may ult imately be corrected by farther research ,

until the whole of o ur knowledg e approaches ,

nearer and nearer to absolute or at least to

, , , ,

relative certainty
I n the follow m g p a ges the author has humbly
,

endeavoured to contribute his mite towards the

advancement of one particular branch of human
research The subj ect he has attempted to c luc i
.

date has been hitherto much misrepresented and

vilified. H e shall feel happy if his well meant -

endeavours however inadequate shall succeed in

, ,

a ttractin g the attention of more powerful minds to

t he i nvesti g ation Of t hose interesting but hitherto ,

ne g lected phenomena which he has endeavoured to

,

bri ng under their notice .

Ve ra d iu la tita nt, se d lo ng o te mp o r is us u
E me rg unt ta nd e m g uc e la tue r e d iu .
”

The author of this work is perfec tly aw a re that

many of the facts founded upo n in the following
p a ges must appear exceedingly startling to such of
 PR E FA CE .

his readers as may come t o the perusal of these

narrat ives without any previous preparation But .

he would entreat all such persons otherwise c om ,

peten t t o the investigation to lay aside all pr e j u ,

dices and prepossessions and to weigh the evidence ,

wi t h calmness candour and impar tiality

,
I f in , .

this mood we thi nk he cannot fail t o perceive th at

,

a series of phenomena has been presen t ed to his

notice from t he earliest records of human society
,

down to the present t imes which if fairly exami ned , ,

and atte ntively s t udied cannot fa il t o produce a ,

firm convic tion of the e ssen t ial truth of those curi

o us fac t s which however occasio nally disguised by
, ,

t he false notions of former ages in regard t o their ,

origin and character have in compara t ively recent

, ,

times been investigated with more philosophical

,

accuracy and acumen and legitimately relied upon

, ,

by the d isciples ofA nimal M agnetism as solid and ,

permanent proofs of the authenticity and uni ver

sa lit of the facts upon which their science is
y
founded .

F inally the author has appealed t o an unint e r

,

r u t e d series of phenomena of a consentaneous cha

p
r a c t e r and complexion occurring in all ages of the
,

w orld s history and related by numerous authors

’

, ,

wi t hout a ny view to the establishment or support

of t he modern doctrine of A n imal M ag netism which , ,

indeed was until lately entirely unkno wn These

, , , .
X xxl l P R E FA CE .

facts are generally rela ted and attested by various

authors Of reputation and credit ; a nd they have
been laid before the reader of t his work with as
much accuracy as a diligent inquiry could i nsure .

The various authorities for these facts have been

a dduced when possible ; so that the reader may

have an opportunity of testing the accuracy and

the value of the evidence upon which the di fferent
narratives rest .

With these prefatory observations the author ,

submits his labours to the j udgment of the i nquisi

tive and candid reader .

S ome time after the preceding portion this of

Preface was written my ingenious a nd respected

,

frie nd D r B RAI D of M anchester was kind enough

, ,

t o t ra nsmit to me a copy of his recently published

O bse r va ti ons on T r a nc e , or H um a n H ybe r na

t i on in which some curio us cases are narrated of
individu a ls who permitted themselves to be buried
alive for considerable periods of time and were
, ,

afterwards disinterred and brought to life a gain .

I f t hese cases can be considered as perfectly a uthe n

tic they must assuredly be very interestin g to
, , ,

physiologists as constituting a new chapter t o the

,

science of life ; but without attempting to impugn

,

the veracity ofthe narrators ofthese singular occur

 P R E F A CE . xxx fi i

re we should feel disposed t o suspend our j udg

nc e s,

ment in regard t o their reality until we Obtained ,

farther evidence of the perfect authenticity of the

facts .

But this is not a subj ect upon which we feel d is

posed to animadvert upon the present occasion .

O ther topics are alluded to by D r B RAI D and other ,

opinions expressed by the author Of the Obse rv a

t ions which we are sorry to say we consider rather
, , ,

uncandid uncourteous a nd unj ust towards his fel

, , ,

lo w labourers in the magne t ic mine and which the

-
,

learned D octor himself would not be slow t o resent

in an adversary of hi s ow n peculiar doctrines .

U pon these sensitive ebullitions the author of the

present treatise deems it his duty to animadvert as
briefly as possible .

I believe says D r B RAI D

,
”
that the great ,

cause of the opposition which has been o ffered to

t he acceptance of the truth of the genuine pheno

mena of H yp notism and M esme r ism has arisen ,

from the extravagance of the M esmerists who ,

ha v e contended for the reality of c la i r v oya nc e in

some of their patients such as seeing t hrough
,

opaque bodies and investing them with t he g ift s

,

and graces of omniscience M esmeric intuition and

, ,

universal knowledge —pretensions alike a mockery

,

o f the human understa n ding as they are opposed ,

to all the known laws of physical science I n sup .

 PR E FA CE .

port ofthe above sentime nts continues D r B R A I D

,

I gladly avail myself of t he follo wi ng q uotatio n

fro m an article in F r a se r s M a g a zine for July 1 84 5
’

page by m ost a c ut e o bse r v e r a nd forcible and

( a

clever writer When writing regarding the feats

.

of the Pythoness ( whom the writer no doubt

”
, ,

m ost a c ute ly obse r v e d ) , the author says Now

w e t a ke i t that the Pytho ness not by the o b, j e c t i ve

operation ofM agnetism from w i thout but by the ,

r sona l infl uence ofi nte r na l agencies

sub j e c t i v e or
p e ,

was enabled intensely to concentrate her c onceptive

faculties ( aided by the workings of her p e r ceptive
powers which had drunk in certain t r ansactions of
t he outer world and stored the m up in her m e m or y )
,

from the thousand influences which must ever be at

work around her in her waking state and c onc e n ,

trate them upon a given purpose whether it were

t o forecast the probable duration ofa man s life o r
’
,

t he fall of a kingdom . By throwi ng herself i nto

t he nervous sleep described by M r Braid ( and we

mean to show how commonly t his has been pr a c

t ise d fro m the earliest times ) she becomes as i t, ,

were isolated from external influences a nd trans

,

a c t ions , and intensely concentr a t ed in the w or ld

w i thi n he r se lf I n this condition the memory is
.

al most supernaturally vivid ; she remembers cir

c um st a nc e s in the character o f a man s life and
’
,

remarkable vicissitudes in the history of the kin g

 PR E F A CE . X XX V

dom ; she reasons logically from the p e titio p r in

c ip i i to the rational conclusion ; all t he material
f a c ts i n both cases ( that o fthe man and that of t he

kingdom ) pass in review before her ; she weighs

t hem with scrupulous nicety in combination and in ,

t heir relative beari ngs and she arrives at a conclu

,

s ion which surprises everybody because it is so ,

much more accurate and positive than any which

could have been attained by faculties di stracted and
disturbed by the ever varying and constantly suc
-

c e e d in events fthe outer world ’

g o .

I t w as by such a long and laborious and c onc e n

t r a t iv e proce s s no doubt that the Pythoness dis
, ,

covered t hat C r oesus Ki ng of L y dia was actually

, ,

dressi ng a turtle A nd t his

. says the dogmatic ,

w riter oft he article in question is what the M es ,

m e r ist s call c la irv oya nc e I ndeed Well if thi s

”
.
,

be so then is the author of this treatise free t o

,

admit that aft er studying M esmerism with con

,

sid e r a ble assiduity a nd attention during near ly ,

half a century he m ust now in his Old a g e be

, , ,

content to retrac e his steps to go to school again , ,

and to fall back upon his books and his experiments

and observation Of t he facts .

But in reality thi s is not what the M esmeris t s

, ,

call c la ir v oya nc e nor any thing like it but the very

, ,

reverse ; and we are actually astonished that any

gentleman of ordinary intelligence and pe r spic a
 PR E FA C E .

city upon mature study of the subj ect he attempts

,

t o elucidate and a strict a nd impar t ial observatio n

,

of t he relati v e facts should have been be t rayed

,

into such a manifest absurdi t y E very individual .

who professes to enlighten the public upon any

philosophical subj ect shoul d recollect that his obj ect
,

—
ought to be non fumum e a: fulg or e se d e wfum o ,

d a r e la c e m .

We cannot stop to point out and ani madvert

upon the manifold blunders pervading the foregoin g
exposition if blunders they be and not wi lful mis
, ,

representations —for we would rather impute them

t o ignorance ; but must return to our friend M r

B RAI D who at least ought t o be better informed

, , ,

although we are disposed to doubt whether even he

has yet succeeded in sounding the depths of the
doctrine he attempts to explain We have not in .
,

deed had the good fortune to meet with any sc ie n

,

t ifi c M esmerist who invested his patients with t he

gifts and graces of omniscience although no ,

”
,

doubt there may be certa in religious enthusiasts

,

w ho misled by their ill regulat ed feelin g s travel a

,
-
,

considerable way upon this path Of mystical e xa g

e r a t ion
g .

But to us we are sorry to say it now appears

, ,

pretty evident from his depreciatory inue nd os that

, ,

M r Braid is very desirous of entirely supplan t

ing A nimal M agnetism or M esmerism by his ow n , ,
x xxvfi i P R E FA CE .

more usefully towards the interests of science by ,

associating his labours with t ho se of his elder

brethren the Magnetists than by merely adop t ing
, ,

a portion of their discoveries depreciat ing their ,

merit s and attemptin g to supersede their interest

,

ing results by the introduction of a new and partial

,

science of his ow n D r B RAI D indeed speaks of .

, ,

of the M esmerists as alike a

”
t he p r e t e nsi ons

mockery oft he human understanding as they are ,

opposed to all the known laws of p hysic a l sc i e nc e .

D oes D r B R A ID then acknowled g e no science but

, ,

the merely p hysi c a l and is he moreover ao

?
, ,

u a int e d with a ll the laws even Of physical science

q ,

with all their various modifications under peculiar

circumstances ? Were this the case we should in , ,

deed have reason to dread an encounter with such

,

a formid able antago nist for our pretensions are far ,

more humble .

F or our o w n —
part indeed and we believe we ,

may answer for all our fellow magnetists—w e -

make no such pretensions as those ascribed to us

bv D r B R A i D We merely profess to interrogate
.

N ature and so far as possible endeavour faith

, , ,

fully to record her answers L ike other mortals .

,

—
indeed and even D r B RA I D himself we think with , ,

his ally t he m ost a c ut e obse r v e r a nd for c ible

, ,

a nd c le ve r w r i te r
”
will scarcely be bold enough to
,

plead an exemption from this common infirmity Of

 PREFA C E . xxxix

our nature —w e may be occasionally liable to m is

t ake —hum a num e st e r r a r e ; but we are ever ready

to correct such mist akes when candidly pointed out

to us We advance no claims to infallibj lit y nor d o
.
,

we recognise it in others and the censure even of

D r B RA I D must be more temperate more d isint e ,

rested as well as more just before we can bring

, ,

ourselves to bow t o his authority and submit to his

castigation .

A MI C U S P LA O AM I C U S
T , So c R A T Es , SE D M AG I S A M I GA
”
V ER ITA s .

Will D r B RA I D permit us to call hi s attention t o

a late interesting publication by a gentleman whom
the learned D octor himself we should think must , ,

admit t o be no mean adept in physiolo g ical science ,

and no unqualified arbiter bet w een us ? T o us in ,

deed it is quite delightful t o find that gallan t

,

veteran physiologist and most learned and amiable

man D r H E RB E R T M A Y O once more buckling o n
, ,

his scientific armour in defence of the facts and

principles ofM agnetic scie nce —( S ee L e t te r s on the .

T r uths c onta ine d i n P op ula r Sup e r sti ti ons by ,

H E R B E R T M AY O M D This small but

, . .
,

v ery valuable volume is written in a li g ht and

pleasing st yle The propositions which the learned
.

a nd accomplished author endeavours to establish ,

are confirmed by many apposite and striking ex

x1 P R E FA CE .

amples and the theoretical vie ws propounded must

,

have great weight with all those who are capable

o f appreciati n them a s proceedin from one f
g ,g o

the most ing e nious and s uccessful investigators of

t he nervous system The views of such a disti n
.

u ishe d physiolo g ist as D r M AY O therefore upo n

g , ,

such a subj ect must be very valuable ; and the ease

,

and vivacity with which his opinions are communi

c a t e d must render his lucubrations most acceptable
,

t o every descrip t ion of readers .

The followin g treatise having been wholly w ritte n

before the author had an opportunity of seeing D r
MA Y o s publication he was of course precluded
’

, , ,

from availing himself to the full extent ofthe vie w s

, ,

of the great physiologist upo n this most interestin g

subj ec t ; but he would earnest ly recomme nd the
book to the notice ofall who feel an interest in the
subj ect .

The publication as its title denotes appears in

, ,

t he epistolary form and in the several letters the

reader will find a nu mber of ingenious disquisitions
o n t he follo w ing subj ects connected with the Me s

meric doctrines : B AR ON R E I C HEN B A C H S e xpe r i ’

ments — discovery of the 0 d force or Od i le ; the ,

divining rod ; V a mpy r ism ; G hosts ; Trance ; D reams ;

-

S omnambulism ; C atalepsy ; R eligious D elusions

Witches and Witchcraft ; M esmerism & c A ll , .

these subj ects are treated in a most pleasant and

 PR E FA CE . xli

attractive style and a t t he same time with grea t

, , ,

philosophic acumen ; and for the mos t part the

, ,

in g eni ous author di splays a profound and acc urate

knowledg e of the principles of M a gne t ic science .

S ome of his professio na l brethre n indeed of the , ,

scep t ical and H ypnotic s chools m ay perhaps be , , ,

disposed to tax the learned writer ofthese let t ers

as they do all other Magnetic philosophers —with
credulity ; but the accomplished au t hor gives at ,

least sound and substanti al reasons for t he faith

,

t hat is in him C reduli t y m a y be said t o be a

.

belief contrary t o reason or resting upon insuf

, ficient
g rounds o f evidence . This ho w ever,
is an error ,

w ith which D r M AY O cannot j ustly be charged ,

without demonstrating the fa lsehood or inadequacy

o f the evidence upon w hich he relies A n o bi te r .

d i c t um in such circumstances is of no v al ue ; and

, ,

irrational abuse of M esmerism and its intelligen t

a dvocates has now gro w n quite stale and alt og e ,

t her unpalatable in the present position Of t he

science . F ools deride — philosophers investigate ;

and D r MA Y O is a philosopher as well as a physi ,

c ia n and physiologist .

D r MA Y O j us t ly Observes t hat ,a new truth has

t o encounter t hree normal stages o fopposi t ion In .

t he first it is denounced as an i m posture

,
I n the .

second that is when it is beginning to force itself

, ,

VOL I. . d
xlii P R E FA CE .

into notice it is cursorily examined a nd plausibly

, ,

explained away I n the third or c ui bono st a ge

.
,
’
,

it is decried as useless and hostile to religion A nd

, .

when it is finally admitted it passes only under a

'

protest that it has been perfectly known for ages

a proceeding inte nded to make the new tru t h
ashamed of itself and wish it had never been born
, .

S uch indeed has been the treatment which A nimal

, ,

M agnetism has experienced from the vulgar or

t rading class o f medical practitioners an d t he olo

g ians in thi s country The learned and intelligen

. t

have preserved a more prudent reserve S o m e of .

the latter i nd eed have not been ashamed to j oin

, ,

the ranks of the M agnetists .

The high a nd well merited reputation indeed o f

-
, ,

D r M A Y O t oge t her with his natural candour e nable

, ,

him t o speak with much more discrimination a nd

impartiality in regard to the character a nd mani
f e st a t ions ofsome of t hose clairvoyants who have ,

occasion a lly exhibited their extraordinary faculties

—
in public than the unintelligent at least the unin
,

formed— sceptics H e speaks thus of A LE X IS the

.
,

Parisian somnambulist whose powers of c lair voy ,

ance have been depreciated and even ridiculed by , ,

some ofthe less candid members oft he medi cal pro

fe ssion in this coun t ry .

The most celebrated of these persons at pre

sent says D r MAYO
, is M Al exis A friend , . .
 PR E FA C E . x liii

and patient of mine a g entleman ed ucated to the

,

bar took occasion recently to consult M A lexis

, .

about his health The opinion which M A lexis

. .

delivered when entranced on the case is more

, , ,

precise and minute than I had v entured t o express ;

but it agrees with all I had observed and I see no ,

reason why it should not be stric tly exact The .

t reatment w hich M A lexis has recommended does

.

not differ at all from that w hich any medical man

of experience might reasonably have ordered in

such a case I have known other instances in

.

which the intuition Of entranced persons has fur

nishe d the m wi t h a seemi n ly e ually accurate
‘

g q
knowledge of the complaints of persons either
brought into their presence or otherwise i nto rela,

tion with them The prescriptions of persons in

.

a lucid trance seem to me mostly shrewd guesses

fou nded upon the nature of the case and what is ,

popularly known ofthe action of remedies S ome .

times however particularly when M esmerism or

, ,

loss of blood are advised the ingenious author

”

might have added when certain drugs are pre

,

scri bed the performers seem to have an extra

ordinary sagacity in measurin g the dose of the
remedy .
”

A fter mentioning the answers of the clairvoyan t

t o some other profound questions D r M AY O pr o ,

c e e ds M y friend then put into the hand of

xliv PR E F A C E .

M A lexis my note and asked him if he could tell

.
,

any t hing a bout the w riter ? M A lexis said .

,

The writer is bald short in stature ; somethi ng ,

above fift y years of age ; has lost t he use of his

legs ; he is in bed he has a very active mind he
is a physician —E ach shot hit the mark
.
’
He .

lives o n the sea coast —This my friend denied

-
.

N o said M A lexis on reflection

,
’
. it is not t he ,

se a ,but a river H e lives on the banks of t he

.

R hine about twenty leagues from F rankfort

, .
’

The bull s eye again ’

.

We might refer t o a considerable number of

additional instances Of t he ma nifestation of si milar
phenomena to those exhibited by M A lexis a s .
,

d escribed by D r M A YO We shall adduce only the .

foll owin g which was observed by M V AN G H E R T

, .
,

and related in his work entit led : M NE M O S YN E ;

o r a C ollection ofR emarkable C ases ofA nimal M ag

ne t ism which was published at A msterdam in t he

year 1 81 5 .

The patient was a you ng m an who possessed a n ,

extraordinary acuteness in discoverin g ( or rat her , ,

in feeling ) the diseases of other persons This g ift .

w as manifested not only w he n the pa t ient placed his

hand in that of the clairvoyant but eve n when ,

clothes were sent to him which had been worn for

some days on t he body placed imme d iat ely in a ,

silken wrapper sent to him and felt with the points

, ,
 lvi PR E FA CE .

the right hand had been broken and in consequence , , ,

became sti ff .

D r M A Y O afterwar ds very properly observes tha t ,

“

the entranced person is probably always liable t o

mislead y ou either through his view being at that
,

time accidentally obscured ; or through the influence

of preconceived notions o n his mind ; or throu g h
the thoughts of o t hers who are at present influencin g
him A nd an observer must alway s be on his guard
.

a ainst these unintentional so urces of error as well

g ,

as against premeditated deception This is a c an

.
’3

tion worthy of bein g more stric t ly Observed by

careless and perhaps scep t ical experimentalists
, .

A ccording to D r M AY O it is easy theore t ically

,
“

t o explain the beneficial results which follow from

t he daily induction of trance for a n ho ur or so in ,

various for ms of disorder of the nervous system

in epilepsy — i n the t i e d o le ur e u w— in nervous palsy ,

a nd the like A s lon g as the state of trance is

.

maint ained so long is the nervous system in a stat e

,

o frepose I t is more or less completely put out of

.

g ear I.t experiences the same relief which a

sprained j oint feels when you dispose it in a relaxed
, ,

position on a pillo w A chance is thus given to the

,
.

strai ned nerves of recovering their tone of health .

A nd it is wonderful how many cases ofnervous dis

o rder e t well a t once through these simple means
g .
 PR E F ACE . xlvii

As it is certain that there is no disease in which t he

n ervous sys t em is not primarily or secondarily im

plicated i t is i mp ossi ble to for e se e w ha t w ill p r ove

,

t he li m i t to the be nefi c i a l a
pp li c a t i on o fM esm e r ism

i n m e d i c a l p r a c ti c e .

I n operative surgery the a r t is not less avail ,

able I n trance the patient is insensible ; and a

.
,

limb may be removed without the Operation e xc it

ing disturbance ofany kind A nd what is equally .

important in all t he after treatment at every dress

,
-
,

ing the process ofM esmerising may be resorted t o

,

a ain with no possible disadvant a ge but being

g , ,

rather soothing and useful to t he patient ind e pe n ,

d e nt ly ofthe extinctio n of the dread and su f fering

of pain .

The following account given by D r M AYO ofthe , ,

phenomena exhibited by a patie nt in a state ofcata

le ptie trance is applicable to a variety ofother cases
, ,

and may as sist us in explaining many Of the most

curious phenomena ofM esmerism .

1 The organs of sensa t ion are deserted by their

.

na t ural sensibility The patient neither feels with

.

the skin nor se e s w i th t he e ye s nor he a r s w i th t he

, ,

e a r s, nor t a st e s w i th the m out h .

2 . A ll these
senses however are not lost S igh t , , .

and hearin g if not smell and t aste r e appear in

, ,
-

s ome other part ; at the pit of the stomach for

instan c e or the tips of the fingers
, .
x lviii PR E FA CE .

3 The patien t manifests new perceptive powers

. .

S he discerns obj ects all around her a nd t hrough any ,

Obstruc t ions partitions walls or houses and at inde

, , ,

fi ni t e dista nces S he sees her ow n i nside as it w ere

.
,

illuminated and can tell what is wrong in t he heal t h

,

Of others S he reads the t houghts of others whe

.
,

t her present or at indefinite distances

, The or d i .

nary Obstacles of space and matter vanish to her .

S o likewise that of time ; she foresees future even t s .

S uch a nd more are the capabilities ofcataleptic

patients most ofwhom exhibit them all
, ( p . .

D r M AYO thus discusses the subj ect Of phy siolo

ic al materialism The author of t his t reatise feels
g .

much gratified in having such an able coadj utor in

t he dissemi nation of views for the propagation of ,

which he has been ridiculed by the sceptics and the

sco ffers especi ally of t he medical schools L e t us
,
.

at t end to the opinions of the great physiologist upon

t his important question .

The school Of physiolo g ical materialists hold

t hat the mind is but a function or product of t he

br a in and cannot therefore admit its separate action

,
.

But t his funda mental t enet is unsound even upo n ,

considering the analogies ofmatter alone .

What is meant by a product ? I n what does

production consist ? L e t us look for instances —a

metal is produced from an ore— alcohol is produced

from saccharine matter— the bones and sinews of
 P R E F A CE .

an animal are produced from its food Production .

,

in the strict sense of the word means the conversion ,

of o ne substance into another w ei g ht f

or weight , ,

agreeably with or u nder mechanical chemical and

, , , ,

vital l a ws If mind he the product of the brain it

.
,

must be the conversion of so muc h brain weigh t ,

for weight into thought and feeli ng which is an

, ,

absurdity .

I t is indeed true that with the manifestation of

, , ,

each thought and feeli ng a correspondi ng d e c om

posi t ion ofthe brain takes place But it is equally .

t rue t hat in a V olt a ic battery in action each movement ,

ofelectric force developed there is attended with a

waste of the metal plates w hich help to form it .

But that waste is not converted into electric fluid .

The exact quantity ofpure copper which di s appears

may be detected in the form Of sulphate of copper .

The electricity was not p r od uc e d ; it was only se t

i n m oti on by the chemical decomposition H ere is .

t he t rue material an a logy o ft he relation ofthe brain

to the mind M ind like electricity is an impond e r

.
, ,

able force pervading the u niverse and there happe n

to be known to us certain material arra ngements ,

t hrough which each may be i nfluenced We cannot .

,

indeed pursue the analogy beyond this step C on

,
.

sc iousne ss and electricity have nothing farther in

common Their farther relation to the dissimilar

.

arrangements through which they may be excited

,

V OL I
. . e
 PR E F AC E .

or disturbed are subj ects of t otally distinct studies

, ,

and resolvable int o la w s which have no affinity a nd ,

a dmit ofn o comparison .

I t is singular how early in the history of m a n

ki nd the belief in the separate existe nce of the soul
de v eloped itself as an ins tinct ofour nature .

We ar e truly happy to find our opinions upon ,

t hese abstruse subj ects corroborated by the ing e ni

,

ous researches Of a g entleman w ho stands in t he

v ery first rank of British physiologists .

Without farther comment we leave these opinion s

, ,

w hich we adop t as our o w n t o be di g es t ed a t t heir

, ,

leisure by the hypno t is t s a nd other medical sc e p

, ,

t ics
. A nd in the mea nt ime we sincerely t rust that
, , ,

n ot w iths t a ndi ng the corporeal infi r m it ie s i ncide nt to

a e t he life a nd spirits Of D r M AYO may e t lo n

g, y g
be preserved to enable him t o please a nd i nstruc t
his friends a nd the public in general w ith his valu,

able lucubrations upon scie nt ific subj ec t s a nd the ,

chaste and playful ch a racter of his style of writin g .

The only fault we ha v e been able t o detec t in

t his spiri t e d and entertainin g volume is the inge mi,

ous a uthor s appreciation of M ESME R whose labours

’

, ,

a s it appears to us he has much undervalued

, TOO .

little allowance is made for t he character of t he

t imes the nature of t he disco v ery and t he peculi a r
, ,

circumstances in which the modern resuscitator o f

the m agnetic doctrines was placed .
 P R E FA C E . M

We ha v e remarked t oo th a t in speaking of , ,

G R EA T R A K E S D r M A
,
Y O calls him D OC T O R G r e a t r e x

w hereas G r e a tr ak e s was a pr ivat e gentleman who

had served in the army a nd had no pretensions to ,

any knowledge ofmedicine or philosophy But ubi .

p la ra ni t e n t , &c .

E ver since its first introduction into public notice ,

in modern times by M ESMER the science of A ni

, ,

mal M ag netism has been exposed t o much pe r se c u

t ion oblo quy and ridicule which have considerably
, , ,

re ta rded the progress of its advancement I t i s .

pret t y obvious however that all t hi s opposition ha s

, ,

arisen from ignorance misconceptio n or interested

, ,

mo t ives The opponents therefore may be di vided

.
, ,

into t w o classes The first includes those who are

.

u nable or un w illing to i nstitute such an investiga

t io n as might terminate in reasonable conviction

The second embrace s a considerable proportion of

t he members o fthe medical profession w ho after a , ,

l a borious course ofprofessional study are unwillin g ,

t o g o to school again a nd are therefore disposed to

, , ,

depreciate t he real value and practical utility of

t he ma g ne t ic discovery A mong t he greater pr o
.

portion indeed of t hose who are uni ns t ructed in

, ,

t he principles Of this discovery or have no t t he ,

rou g hly exami ned the phenome na with which it is

conversant there is a strong a nd perhaps not
, , , ,

p
a ltogether unnatural pro ensity to scepticism To .
hi PR E F A CE .

this we do not much obj ect : F or it is a remarkable

fact as the author has else w here observed that all
, ,

t he most obstinate scie ntific opponents ofthe system

have been subse quently converted i nto wa rm adhe

re nts of the magnetic doctrines and that so far as , ,

our enquiries have extended not a sin g le rational

,

con v ert has afterwards been induced to abandon his

conviction On the contrary many of these or i
.
,

ina l sceptics have become the most v a lu a ble adhe

g
re nts and practical expositors of the science and ,

a m ong these we find many of the most eminent

physicians and philosophers in E urope .

I t is quite true indeed that we frequently mee t

, ,

in society perso ns who exhi bit asto nishment and

,

scepticism when any app a rently extraordinary or

anomalous magnetic fact happens to be alluded to ;
but this astonishment and scepticism are t he of f
spring Of ignorance ; and t his in particular is a , ,

subj ect upon which no individu a l is compete nt to

pronounce a decided opi nion without previous care
,

ful and candid investigation I t is consolatory how

.
,

ever to Observe that in the prese nt times the doc

, , ,

t rine of A nimal M agnetism i s gradu ally becomi ng

less mysterious and that m any new discoveries of

,

the reality of these fac t s are a lmost daily d issipat

ing scep t icism and extending co nv ictio n in the pub
lic mi nd S ober en quiry is rapidly t a kin g place of
.

i
irrational doubt and illibe ral prejudice .
 hv PR E FA C E .

to set due bounds to the natural credulity or incre ,

d ulit y of his disposition

,
H e ough t to believe a t .

o nce when he finds t hat nat ure presents sufficien t

data t o warrant his belief ; and in all doub t ful ,

cases he ought to encourage a disposition imp a r

,

t ially to receive evidence o n either side of a propo

sitiou more especially when custom prej udice

, , ,

prior opinions drawn from analo g y or any other ,

c a use may have induced him to adopt particular

,

v iews There are few howe v er who become

.
, ,

capable of maintaining this moral and intellectual

equilibrium .

I t is well kno w n for example what a perplexity

, ,

a n eminent professor of mathematics in E dinburgh

( M r M ACLAURIN ) was once thrown , into o n r e c e iv ,

ing from a friend abroad an account ofa few oft he

firs t d iscovered and least remarkable e f fects of tha t
astonishin g power the e le c tr i c f luid , The pr ofe s .

sor liberal knowi n and candid as he was could

, g, , ,

hardly credit the t es timo ny Of his friend ; and not

doub t ing t he veraci t y of a man he hi g hly est eemed ,

concl uded that a delirium had seized his imagina

t io n . A more satisfactory instance o fthe necessi t y
of suspending a positive ju d gment in many t hings ,

w here one is inclined to decide w i t hout adequate

investigation c a n hardly be im agined I t shows
, .

v ery forcibly the propriety of a disposition t o

receive evidence concerning the existence of a ny
 PR E FA CE . lv

phenomenon in nat ure or e v ent in human affa irs

, ,

however inconsiste nt either may seem with the

received principles of science or w ith t he maxims ,

that are derived from a limi t ed e xperience .

G OE T H E the
,
celebrated G erm a n author — a kee n

a nd mos t intellige nt Observer of na t ure al t hough ,

no t exactly so f a r as w e k no w a professed m a
, g ,

ne tist — appears to h a ve been firmly convinced o f

t he existence and phenome na of t he magne t ic

power and suscep tibili ty as appears in p a rtie n
, ,

lar from his con v ersations wi t h E C KE R M ANN ; and

,

he give s several ins t ance s of t heir manifestatio n .

H e appears t o co nsider t he magne tic influence as

something inst i nc t ive and peculiar t o t he animal
,

sensibili t y . We are all groping say s b e ,

”
,

“
among mys t eries and w onders Besides o ne .
,

soul may have a decided influence upon another ,

merely by m eans ofit s silent presence of which I ,

could relate many i nstances I t ha s often hap .

pened to me t hat when I ha v e been walking w i t h

,

an ac q uaint a nce and h a ve had a lively image o f

,

s ome thing in my mind he has at once begun to

,

speak t o me of that very thing I have also .

known a m a n w ho w it hout sayin g a word could

, ,

s uddenly silence a par t y en g a g ed in cheerful con

v ersation by the m or e po w er of his mind N ay
, .
,

he could introduce a tone which would make every

body feel uncomfortable We ha ve a ll som e thing
.
 vi PR E FA CE .

f e le c tr i c a l a nd m a g ne ti c
o
f or c e s w ithi n us ; a nd

we p ut f or th, li ke the m ag ne t i tse lf, an a t t r a c ti v e or

re
p ulsi v e
p ow e r , a c c or d i ng as we c ome in c ont a c t

si m i la r or d issi mi la r , &c
”
w i t h som e t hi ng .

The follo w i ng observations of the same illustriou s

author are equ ally j ust and appropriate to our sub
j c et . I n the sciences said he that also is
,
”
,

looked upon as proper t y which has been handed ,

down or taught at the universities A nd if any

,
.

one ad vance any thing new which contradicts per ,

haps t hreatens to overturn the creed which w e ,

have for years repeated and have handed down to ,

o thers all passions are raised a g ai nst him and

, ,

every e ffort is made to crush him People resist .

with all their might ; they act as if they neither

heard nor could comprehend ; they speak of the
new view with contempt as if it were not wor th ,

the trouble of even so much as an investigation or

a re g ard ; and thus a new truth may wait a long
ti m e before it can make its w a y .

The medical applic a tion of A nimal M a gnetism ,

or M esmerism has al w a ys been viewed with great

,

j e a lousy by t he profession especially in this cou ntry ;

,

and the most extraordinary subterfuges are occa

sionall resorted to in order to evade the e v id e nc e
y , ,

or at least to render the practice suspicious A

, , .

periodical writer has j o c ose ly Observed that eriti

cis m s on M esmeric cases are very curious I f
”
.
 PR E F A CE .

you call in a doctor the cure is ascribed to him

,
.

I f you do not call in a doctor it is said that nothin g ,

was t he matter The world has often desired to

.

know who is t he i nfa lli ble doctor who is sur e to

cure y ou We have found it out I t is the las t
. .

doctor w ho g i v es y ou up before y ou call in t he ,

mesmeriser H e it is w ho alway s cures y ou You

. .

don t know it —y ou are dyin g in ignorance of it

’
.

B ut he is the man When t he mesmeriser has

.

res t ored you to health t he critics fi nd out t hat the

,

doc t o r did it all .

This ple a santr y is not a mere j oke —it is a serio us

t ruth
r id e nte m d i c e re v e r um

Qui d ve ta l?

In co ncludi ng t his Preface the author may Oh ,

s er v e tha t he has retained t he designation ofA nimal

Mag neti s m for reasons which appear t o him t o be

perfectly satisfac t ory I t was the firs t appellation
.

which was gi v en to the science upo n t he origin a l

discovery oft he facts I t w as used by P AR A C E LS U S
. ,

V A N B E L M O N T and the early writers upon the

,

subj ec t and it w a s retained by M E SM E R himself

t he modern res t orer oft he doctrine The desi g na .

t ion of M e sm e r ism is inappropriat e M E S M E R was .

not t he original discoverer of the science ; he merely

re v i v ed co nfirmed and enlarged it ; and nothing
, ,

is g ained by the change of a nam e : O n the con

lviii PR E F A CE .

frary , it can only produce confusion and embar

r a ssm e nt .

The author feels exceedingly unwilling to ex t e nd

t his Preface w hich m a y perhaps be considered a s
, , ,

a lready t oo long ; but while preparing his trea t ise

for p ublication t here came into his hands a volume

,

enti tled L e t te r s on the L a w s ofAl a n s N a tur e a nd ’

D e ve lop me nt by H G A T K INS O N F G S
, . . a nd , . . .
,

H A RR I E T M A R T I NE A U which he considers t oo im
,

portant to be passed over w ithout such notice a nd

a nimadversio n as his cursory perusal o f the book

and his limit ed t ime will admit of M any years .

a o —probably before M r A nd M i s s M com

g a . .

m e nc e d their physiolo g ic a l s t udies t he au t hor of ,

t he followi ng treatise publicly avowed his appro

he nsio ns in regard to t he co ntempl a ted combination

o f the sciences of A nim a l M a netism a nd Phr e no
g
logy a s a circumstance which would probably
,

operat e in a m a nner prej udicial to the former H is .

a pprehensions have no w been fully v erified ; a nd

t he volume alluded to may be co nsidered as the

hybrid produc t ofthe unnatural co nj unc t io n .

Time has not altered his first convic t ions in regard

t o t he fa t al co nsequences of this unhappy combina

t io n . E mbarked on board the same frail v e s sel

w it h Phrenology A nimal M agnetism becomes ex
,

posed to the fat e of suf feri ng shipwr eck alo ng w ith ,

it s a ssociated science The author at the same

.
,
 PR E F A C E .

t ime , took t he liberty o f e xpressing his decided

conviction that Phre nology when pursued into its ,

legi timate consequences must ultimately terminat e,

in A theism The connection was at that period

.
, ,

faintly denied or a t least evade d by the Phr e no

, , , ,

lo g ist s G ALL the i nventor of the science ho w

.
, ,

ever boldly acknowledged the direct result I n

, .

t he volume before us it is a t length fully admi t

, , ,

te d
, in one of the most wanton and gratuitous
a ttacks tha t h a ve ever be e n made no t upon t he ,

C hristian re ligion only but upon all religion w ha t

,

ever We are now t aught by the conclusions a t

.

which t he authors of these L et t er s ha v e arrived ,

t hat there is no G o d n o so ul no f , ut ur e sta te n o , ,

p r os e c t
p for m a nki nd be ond t he
y g r a ve O ur an t i .

c i a t io ns ha v e t hus been fully realised

p .

Tha nk God ! F or —ho w e v er disposed to qualify

some ofit s more stringent doctrines when pushed ,

t o the extreme we have still retained an i ne ra d i

,

cable conviction of the existence Of a S upreme

Bei ng and of the truth of the essent ial doc t ri nes
,

of C hris tiani t y —w e never became conver t s t o the

pseudo science ofPhrenology ; w e never could hold
-

t hat t ho ught w a s the pure and unmodified produc t

of mat t er .

D uring nearly forty years ofhis life t he au t hor ,

h a ppened to be placed in a situation peculiarly

fa v ourable for the observation Of those fac t s which
lx PR E FA C E .

lie at the bottom of phre nological speculatio n and ,

he made ample use of his opportunities H e has .

carefully examined the heads of hundreds of indi

v i d uals notorious for the manifestation Ofp a rticu lar

faculties a nd prope nsities ; and the ge neral resul t

only demonstrated the utter fallacy of any such
test Of character as that which has been assumed
by the Phrenologists I ndeed it frequently hap
.
,

pened that he discovered the very opposite of tha t

Ofwhich he was in search .

We fully concede to the Phrenolo g is t s —should

they consider this any advan t ag e to their science
t hat the brain is a most important or g an in t he

animal economy and that much may depend upon

,

its regular and he a lthy development But the .

same is the case in regard to the stomach the ,

liver the heart and t he intes tines g enerally —o n

, ,

t he normal development and healthy action of the

whole internal viscera But far t her than this it is

.
,

conceived we cannot g o — beyond this speculatio n

, ,

cannot proceed wi t h a ny certainty of a satisfac t ory

result Thought is not to be found in the v iscera
.
,

any more than music can be considered as i nheren t

in t he strings of a fiddle or the keys of a harpsi
,

chord but in the latter case in the undulations of

, ,

the air But there are secrets in nature connected

.

with the science of mind which perhaps never will

, , ,

be r evealed to our perceptive faculties .

lxh PR E F ACE .

of human life It is t herefore perhaps now too

.
, ,

late for him to think of comme nci ng a ne w work

for the purpose of exposin g the recent fallacies of
t he Phr e no M a g ne t ists
- H e trusts however tha t
.
, ,

t his task will speedily be undertake n and more ,

effectually accomplished by a younger and a far

abler hand .

In the meantime we m a y be permitted to ex

,

press our entire and decided dissent from the spe

c ula t iv e conclusions of the authors Of t he volume

now before us expressi ng , at the same time our ,

g ratefu l a cknowled ments for

g the communication
of some c urious fa cts which had previously escaped
,

o ur attention but have not altered our previous

,

views and convictions .

To all such avowed at heists as M r A T KI N sO N and

M iss M A R T I N E A U we would in the meant ime op
, , ,

pose instead of prosaic argument the followin g

, ,

beautiful and appropriate lines ofthe great G erm a n

poet S CHILLE R in his animated and hi g hly inte
, ,

restin g and philosophical t ragedy of D O N C A R L O S .

T he M A R Q U IS P O S A is represented as thus address

ing Kin g Philip ofS pain
L ook
r d t h e e Sir e a oun , ,

Throug h out t his gl ori o us uni v e rs e ! O n Fr e e d om

A r e i t s found a t i o ns l a id— and oh how ri ch ,

Throug h fre e d om H e t he g re at C re at or t hrows

T he w orm i nt o a drop of d e w —
, ,

p e rmi t s
C apri ce t o r e v e l in t he d ark ab od e s
 PR E F AC E . lxfi i

O f foul corrup t ion Y our cr e at i on Sire

H ow s ma ll—how p oor—h o w life l e ss !
, ,

H E—t o l e av e
T he gl ori ous m ar ch Of fr e e d om und ist ur b d
’

P e rm i t s t he gri m ly h os t of ills t o r ag e
T hroug h out his b oundl e ss univ e rs e —W e se e
N ot H I M —t he art is t ; H E wi t hdr aws fr om sigh t ,

A nd v e ils H i ms e lf i n his e t e rnal l aws .

T h e s e t he F re e t hink e r s e e s —not H I M A nd why

.

A G od ? s ays he t he w orld is s e lf suf

’
,
- fi c ie nt .

A nd ne e r did C h ris t i an s h om ag e more e x al t

’ ’

T he e t e rnal and i nvisibl e L ord ofall ,

Th an t h is Fre e t hi nk e r s e mp ty bl asph e my
’
.

The Freethinker indeed merely adop t s a chan g e

, ,

o f na mes . The Theist speaks of G od and Provi

dence the A t heist talks ofN ature a nd N ecessity .

B ut what is N ature ? and w he nce comes Ne c e s

?
sit
y A r e they not a mere paltry substitute for the
'

C reator and His eternal and immutable laws 9

 A N H I ST O R Y OF MA GI C

CHAPT E R I .

TH E RE is no part Of the wide field of science ,

perhaps which has been less cultivated especially

, ,

in modern times than the philosophy ofthe human

,

constitution comprehendi ng its peculiar endow

,

ments and the various phases in which its more

,

interesti ng phenomena may be occasionally pre

sented to our serious contemplation The study of .

this particular subj ect indeed appears to be not only

, ,

unpopular in the present age ; it is even seriously

reprobated by many timid or pr e j ud ibe d inquirers ,

w ho seem to be Of opinion erroneously we pre

, ,

s ume to think that the results t o which such an

,

investigation te nds to conduct us may eventually ,

prove adverse to certain other dogmas of belief ,

w hich they have bee n accustomed t o cherish and ,

t o regard as demonstrated and i ncontrovertible

t ruths ; or to subvert some other opinions which

they may have inconsiderately embraced as essen
t ial and paramount facts S uch notions and such
.

V OL I
. . A
2 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

co nduct however betray a degree not of ig no

, , ,

rance m erely but of moral weakness or cowar

, ,

dice which is utterly degrading to a n intelli g e nt

, ,

candid and inquiring mind i ncompatible with all

, ,

freedom of thought and impartia lity ofj ud g ment ;

and consequently they become a serious impedi
, ,

ment to the progressive advancement ofscience a nd

civilisation B ut in oppositio n to all such pr e j u
.
,

dices we are disposed to hold with the poet that

, ,

T he prop e r s t udy o f m ankind is m an

and we may be perfectly certain that no one truth ,

when once satisfactorily ascertained to be a truth ,

can possibly militate against another truth ; t he

incompatibility exists o nly in the mind w hich cre
ate s it and demo nstrates the narrowness Of it s
,

conceptions N O one truth was ever subst an

.

t ia lly i nj ured by another truth when both were ,

properly understood and duly restricted within ,

t he j ust limits of their o w n particular application ;

althou g h indeed our conceptions may be occasion

, ,

ally enlar g ed modified or corrected by the dilige nt

, , ,

exercise of our intellectual facul ties in the g radual

i nvestigation of nature in all its various forms and
s t ag es of development We hear much indee d .
, ,

about credulity in the acceptation of phe nomen a .

N ow credulity may be defined to be a belief with

,

out any adequate g rounds ofconviction in regard to

the reality of its Obj ect ; a nd such a credulit y when ,

it i s combi ned as it fre quently is wi t h superstit io n

, , ,

or with some other mental hallucination becomes ,

 A N H IS T O R Y O F DI A U I U ,

o ne of the most powerful but most fallacious and , , ,

in some instances the most mischievous incentives to

.

erroneous beliefs The superstitious man is unable

.
,

or afraid to exercise his reasoning faculties H e is

, .

unwilling t o i nquire or incapable of di recting his

,

intellectual and moral faculties towards the impar

tial in v es ti g ation oft ruth H e is perfectly satisfied
.

with the firs t partial convictions which his undis

c i line d mind has once been led however i nca n
p ,

t iously to embrace and obstinately in d isposed to

, ,

suffer them t o be disturbed or modified bv any other ,

even more matured views H ence the powerful and .

permanent influence which all false systems of reli

gion and philosophy have exercised over the minds
o f their respec t ive devotees and the mischievous ,

ef fects they have fre q uently exercised on society .

C hristianity alo n e when embraced in its genuine

,

purity and truth c a n submit to the test of t he stric t

,

est philosophical investigation and come out from ,

t he trial unscathed But even the C hristian religion

.

itself may be and has been corrupted and debased

, , ,

in all times by i nj udicious cul t ure in an erroneous

,

.
—
direction S uperstition t he O f fspring o f false and
degrading views Of religion—when opposed as it fr o ,

q uently is , to science has a powerful tendency

, t o

subserve the purposes of ignorance by discouraging ,

the cultivatio n of learni ng a nd philosophy which ,

last can never prove detrimental to g enuine and

pure religion however inimical they may be to false
,

views and a degrading worship The more enlight .

ened the mind the more will it be disposed to ren

,
4 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c .

der due and acceptable homage to the great A uthor

ofall created bei ng and to submi t with reverence
,

to the laws H e has framed for the government Of

the universe .

The intellectu a l education Of mankind however , ,

in conse que nce of the limited nature and gradual

developme nt of his several facul t ies is very slowly ,

p rogressive and continually exposed to various

,

i nterrup tio ns The k nowledge of one a g e is fr o

.

q uently modified or entirely superseded by that

,

which follo w s in t he next ; and it occasionally hap

pens that duri ng the on w ard march ofimprovement
, ,

w hile many errors may ha v e been abandoned some ,

n o t u nimporta nt t ruths if not entirely lost are in , ,

s ome dan g er ofbeing obliterated or s a crificed along

w ith the previous untenable hypotheses I t becomes .

of some consequence therefore to pause at certain , ,

s t a g es Of ci v ilizatio n a nd to take a re trospecti v e view

,

of our past pro g res s for the purpose of systematis

,

ing our real ac quisitions and of ascertai nin g whe ,

t her some importa nt a r ticle —some m a terial link in

the chain of social intelligence —ma y not have bee n
accidentally d ropt in the course of our too inc onsi
,

derat e a nd unr e fl e c ting advancement .

We may obser v e at the outset of our inquiry

, ,

t hat in the i nf
,
ancy Of human socie t y as in that of ,

t he individual t he orga ns of sensitive perception

, ,

a dmir a tion and re v eren tial awe a r e prob a bly first

, ,

developed in manki nd by the multitudinous pheno ,

me na presented by nature t o their contempl a tive

faculties The secondary causes of these various
.
 6 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

as we shall presently se e were also the primitive ,

philosophers .

There are few subj ects t herefore more interest , ,

ing to the philosop hi cal inquirer than the history

of hum a n superstition which itself results in a
, ,

reat measure from the ignorance of the exis t ence

g ,

and operation ofproximate causes This branch of .

research indeed when diligently accurately a nd

, , , ,

imp a rtially prosecuted indepe ndently Of it s v alue

,

in other respects cannot fail to disclose to our v iew

,

some Of the most powerful springs Of speculatio n

a nd action in t he mind o fman and it must nu ques
t ionably tend to m ake us more intimately acqu a i nted
w ith many of the more important a nd apparently , , ,

the more mysterious a ffec t ions a nd impulses of our

common nature S ome not unimportant truths t oo
.
, ,

may thus be developed in the course of our inqui

,

ries ; altho ugh these last may frequently be d is

t or t e d or rendered Obscure in co nse que nce o ftheir
, ,

being directly attributed t o erro neous perhaps even ,

to fic t i t ious causes .

B efore enterin g i nto the particular investigation

of t his i nterest ing subj ect however it may be ne c e s
, ,

sary to impress upon the atten t ion of the re a der ,

t h a t supersti t ion —the O f fspri ng not of actual d e pr a ,

v it
y
,
as has been alle g ed but of i g norance and cre
,

d ulit y — may be manifest ed either in arbitrary fa lse , ,

and fantastic notio ns oft hings which ha v e no essen ,

t ial being or in crude and erro neous ideas respec t

,

ing the true character and proximate causes of

phenomena which have an actu al existence in
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
St e . 7

nature I t becomes the more important t o keep

.

t his d istinction steadily in view beca use as shall , ,

hereafter be Shown many serious and influential

,

errors have arisen in conse quence of confounding

facts wi t h the false imperfect or unsatisfactory
, ,

explanations which have been vulgarly given of

them by ignorant and consequently incompetent
,

in t erpreters F acts themselves ma v be perfectly

.

authentic while the e xplanations commonly given

,

o fthem are false and fantas t ical having their or i

gin in ignorance misconception or prej udice ; and
, ,

opinions of this nature are frequently transmitted un ,

questioned from generation to generation long after

, ,

these explanations ought t o ha v e been rectified and

superseded by t he general dif fusion of a more e n
lightened and rational science This circumstance .
,

indeed as we shall have an opportunity Of showing

,

more at large in the sequel is believed t o have been

,

a principal source of the many erroneous and per

v erted notions so generally entertained in society
in regard to the interes ting conclusions to which we
are naturally led by the curious phenomena Of A nimal
M agnetism which have been so fully elucidated by
,

the disinteres t ed labours ofthose learned and inge

nious m e n who in defiance o f scepticism obloquy
, , , ,

and ridicule have endeavoured t o expiscate the

,

facts and to expl a in the M esmeric doctrines

, .

I n the infancy of knowled g e we may remark every

, ,

particular portion ofnature was an obj ec t of simple ,

but profound and mysterious admiration and w a s ,

placed by the poetic fancy ofman under the special

8 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

government and tutelary guardianship of its o w n

peculiar presidin g deity The earth the ocean t he
.
, ,

stars the winds the mount a ins t he w oods the

, , , ,

rivers ; & c were all placed u nder subj ection to a

.
,

particular supernatural influe nc e —each had its own

special and appropriate god The diseases which .

occasionally afflicted humanity — probably less fr e

quent in the earlier than in the more adva nced
st ages of society were believed to be produced by
-

m ale fi c e nt G enii ; dreams were the gift O fbe ne fi c e nt

spirits ; nervous crises originating in an ab normal
,

condition ofthe organism were held to be prophetic

,

inspirations H ence that motley mytholo g y em

.
,

braced in the devotional co nviction of entire na tion s ,

a nd subse q ue ntly e nlarged embellished and per

, ,

e t ua t e d by the fa n cy of the poets which although

p , ,

long since discredited and exploded by the revel a

tion ofa more pure a nd ge nuine reli g ion and the ,

gradual development of a more sound and rational

philosophy may still be recognised in ma ny of the
,

habits a nd prej udices and ceremonial Observances of

t he people down to a recent period
,
I n process of .

t ime ho w e v er a spirit of me d itative in quiry was

, ,

combined wit h the contemplation of nature meta ,

physical systems were e xc og it at e d by men ofpower f

ful faculties and cultivated minds more reasonable , ,

i ndeed a nd better concocted but still for the mos t

, , ,

part fou nded upo n no substantial b a sis ; and which

, ,

being addressed only to men of superior under

standings were incomprehensible and therefore
, ,

valueless to the generality of mankind A t length .

,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
9

in the fulness of time Christianity superseded Pa

,

a nism ; and althou h a consider a ble leaven of

g g
a ncient hea t henism still remai ned incorporated with

t he popular acceptation of t he new faith yet t he ,

mind of man gradually became emancipated from

t e thraldom of ma ny erroneous conceptions
h — a

more accurat e observatio n of the phe nomena Of

nature and of their causal co nnection ultimately
, ,

led to more ri g orou s and more j u s t methods of

investigation a nd reas oning ; and physical as well
as intellectual science at leng t h re nouncing t he
,

errors and halluci nat io ns of premature spe c ulat ion ,

ultim a tely cast Of f the trammels of superstition and

fable
T he old fant a s t i c fa i th ha d l os t i t s p owe r ;
T he a nci e nt g ods w e r e e x il e d fr o m t he e ar t h .

I t appears to be now universally a d mitted by the

learned that science and ci v ilisa tion had their origin
,

in the E astern regions of the earth among the ,

ancient A ssyria ns Bactrians C h a ldeans B aby lo

, , ,

nia ns E gyptians
, ,
H indoos M edes and Persians
, .

N ow it is of some importance to Observe that

, , ,

among these primitive natio ns of the world the ,

term M AGIC appears t o have been employed t o

desig nate bo t h n a tural and supern a tural science
philosophy a nd reli g io n— i ncludin g pri ncipally t he ,

ology astronomy and medicine The i ndividuals

, , .

who addicted themselves t o these studies and were ,

presumed to ha v e made the g reatest proficiency

in their acquiremen t were de nominated MAGI or
, , _

—
M
“

wise men philosophers ; the students and teachers

10 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

alike of natural a nd of moral wisdom ; the pr ofe s

sors the priests and the prophets amo ng the peo
, ,

ple and as learning of any ki nd was a rare acqui

sit iou in these e arly ages these priest philosophers ,
-

w ere universally regarded wi t h veneration and awe

by the uninstructed and supersti t ious vulgar who ,

conceived that their superior knowledge a nd endow

ments could only be Obtained by means ofan habi
tual i ntercourse and intimate converse with cer t ai n
bei ngs of a superhum a n order The study of .

nature accordi ngly a mon g the e a rly E aster n na

, ,

tions thus came to be a m a lgamated wi th reli g ion and

, ,

bo t h were co ns idered a s t he exclusi v e pro vi nce of

t he MA G I — t he Pr ie s t hood ; by w ho m t he k no w
ledg e t h us a c qui r ed w a s combi ned with their devo
t iona l w or s hip a nd ceremonial Observances .

The origin of MAGIC therefore in it s prese nt , ,

acceptation mus t be t ra ced b a ck t o t he most ancie nt

,

traditionary reco r ds of t he primi t ive n a tions Of the

world a nd t he e a rliest da w n of human civilisatio n
, .

Babylon C h a lde a A ssyria Bactri a Persia M edia

, , , , , ,

E g yp t a nd I ndia were probably the cradles of

, ,

i nfa nt science in early times —the chief seats oft he

a ncien t MAGI and consequently of the primiti v e
,

philosophy promulgated amo n manki nd Z ORO

g
—
.

A S T E R a personage now difficul t to i ndividualise

t he C h a ldean astronomers and soothsayers the ,

E gyptian priests and the I ndian Brahmins appear

,
,

t o have been the early depositaries and professors

o fthis mysterious
knowled g e which was considered ,

too sacred to be communicated to the promiscuous

 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 11

vul g ar ; and upon these personages also devolved

t he superintendence over the religious tene t s wor ,

s hip,
sacrifices and ceremonies of the people the
, ,

cure of the sick and above all the due conserv a

, , ,

tion of the sacred science .

I n a ll a g es k nowledge may be said t o be power

, ,

or
, a t least t o a f
, ford the most e f
fectual means o f
ac quiring and retaining dominion over the mass of
t he people ; but this is more especially t he case in

t he infancy o f human socie t y when learning and ,

ignorance are separated by a wider interval and ,

when all science is generally believed to have a

superhuman origin .

The M agi therefore in these early times were

, , ,

held in the highest es t ima tion by mankind as the ,

venerated deposita ries of all scie nce sacred and ,

profane co nsequently as t he mediators between

, ,

earth and heaven the i nterpreters of t he divine,

will to t he i nhabi tants ofthis lower world Their .

social rank corre s ponded wi t h the dignity of their

sacred functio ns They were ei ther themselves
.

princes of the land or t he chief tutors and indis ,

pensable councillors of princes as we learn from ,

the O ld Testamen t S criptures and from o t her a n ,

cient records A s their duties however w ere

.
, ,

paramou nt so were their respo nsibilities g reat and

,

strin g ent The qualifica t ions required of them in

.
,

a ddition to learning and practical wisdom were a ,

'

strict devo t ion t o truth a nd j ustice a nd a pure dis ,

i nterestedness Of moral character The neglect of .

their appropriate duties or the violation ofany of ,

12 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
St e .

t hese essential virtues subj ected the delinquent to ,

t he severest pu nishme nt — O fwhich history has pre

ser v ed some no t able examples .

F rom all t hat has bee n said it would a ppear ,

that t he word MA G US in its original si g nific a tio n , ,

denoted at once a philosopher a nd a priest a

, ,
—
lover and cultivator of all n a tural a nd moral wis
dom ; a nd as in the primitive notions ofmankin d
,
,

all science was believed to emanate directly from

above —from the immediate inspir a tion of divine
power and wisdom and was c ar e fullv preserved , ,

from g eneratio n to ge ner a tion as the peculiar inhe ,

r it a nc e of the priesthood ( t he MAGI ) the indi -

v id ua ls of tha t consecra t ed caste were regarded ,

not only as t he S pecial favourites of H eaven and ,

the heredi tary ministers of the natio na l religio n ,

but as the rulers t he advisers and t he physician s

, ,

of the people for eve n medici ne itself was in t hese ,

times regarded as a mystery a nd co nsequen tly

, ,

considered as a portion of the sacred sc ie nc e fi “

9"
Th at in e arly t i me s m e dici ne forme d a p ortion ofm agi
, ,

c al s c i e nc e app e ars from t he t e s t i m ony of v ari ous anc i e nt

,

a ut h ors a s w e ll a s fr om t he Scrip t ur e s Of t he O ld and N e w

,

Te s t am e nt s P L I N Y ( H is t N a t L x x x 0 1 ) e v e n d e riv e s
.

Na ta m p rimum e m e d ic ina ne mo
. . . . .

t he l a t t e r from t he form e r
d ubita t ma g ia m PL AT O als o consid e rs M ag i c a s t h a t s ci e nce
.

whic h is c s cr e d o e s e rvi ce o r e ligi on Sw m i

on e a t t t h f — a “

3 7 ; and A P UL E I U S as w e ll a s ot h e r anc i e nt a ut h ors i n

5 0 11 , ,

form s a s t h a t t he word MAG U S si g nifi e d a pri e s t ( Sa c e rd os)

in t he P e rsi an l ang uage ; a nd t h at am ong t he v ul g ar a , ,

IWa g us w as prop e rly sp e aking consid e r e d as a privil e g e d

, ,

p e rs on w ho m aint aine d an inte rcours e wi t h t he gods The .

mos t ge ne r al m e ani ng Of t he e x pr e ssi on M A GI C h ow e v e r , ,

14 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
80 5
.

CHAPT E R II .

IN ancient as well as in modern times M AGIC

, ,

or t hat species of learni ng and science which was

t hought t o be beyond t he reach of the vulgar
mind—was also believed to comprehend the art
o f exercisi ng powers which have a lw a ys been a c

counted super natural ; such as the endowments Of

divina tion a nd prophecy a nd t he faculty of oper ,

a t ing miraculou s ly as it ha s been generally held

, ,

upon other persons either present or at a distance

, , .

MAGIC thus understood was sedulously cultivat ed

, ,

by its de v otees throughout the whole of the E astern

world I t co nstitut ed the esse nce of the a ncient
.
'

mysteries in E g ypt a nd in G reece of which we ,

sh all have occ a sion to speak in the se quel ; a nd it

w as propag at ed at a lat er period by t he Je w i s h
, ,

sect of the Esse nians by PY T HAG O RAS and his

,

disciples a nd subse que ntly by the school of the

, , ,

Neo Platonists a t A lex a ndri a The supposi t itious

-
.

derivation of this scie nce so g e nerally prevalent a t

,

d if ferent periods ofhis t ory was manifestly founded ,

upon i g nor a nce and conse quent misapprehe nsio n of

,

t he a ct ual powers and established l a ws of nature ;

and the belief itself was fostered by t he se super

st it io us feelin s which to a certai n extent predo
g , , ,

mi nate over the intellect in all ag es and are pe c u ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 15

liar ly characteristic of barbarous and uncult ivated

times M AGIC indeed when considered as a science
.
, ,

t ranscendi ng the limits ofm or e human acquirement ,

was a natural product of the i nfancy of learnin g and

civilis a tion The extent of the powers ofNature
. ,

even in her more ordinary and Obvious manifes t a

tions could not yet ha v e been g enerally ascertained
,

and determined far less accurately defined and

,

correctly appreciated ; and consequen t ly all those , ,

more re markable occurrence s which surpassed the

most famili ar experience of life or of which the ,

rude knowledge ofthe times was incapable ofc om

prehending the scientific causes were at once ,

accounted supernatural and ascribed to the imme ,

diate interventive agency of the gods or to t h a t ,

Of be ne fi c e nt spirits or of malignant d aemons

,
.

M iracles prodigies and portents are things of

, , ,

frequent occur rence in the e a rlier ages of t he

world ; but they become rare in propor t ion as
science a nd civilisation advance and dispel the ,

darkness of mental v isioh A s a learned and elo .

quent author has Observed the farther m e n ,

advance into the light the less apt are they to ,

start .
”

But the exclusive possession of this mystical

science by the pries t hood —the M AGI —in these
rude times was natural enou g h and mi g ht in
, , ,

some respects have been beneficial as it nuques

, ,

t ionably constituted a powerful spri ng in the engi ne

of government The continuation of this associa
.

t ion of the sacerdotal with the scientific character ,

 16 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
81 0 .

however in later ages —when knowledge had he

,

come more generally dif fused throughout a wider

circle —as in the i nstance ofthe more modern Pope
dom — w as manifes t ly productive of much serious
i nj ury bo t h to religio n and to science which in
, , ,

process of time instead of bei ng permitted to exist

,

together in union and harmony it became custo ,

mary to represent as incompatible with each other .

H ence the many abuses that have arisen a nd the ,

many enormities which have been perpetrated at ,

v arious periods by i ndividuals and by governments

, ,

in their preposterous and insane attempts to enforce

conformi t y with particular dogmas of faith and to ,

p r o t ect a nd promote the i nt erests of the natio nal

reli g ion by a rrest i ng t he pro g ress of scientific k now
ledge ; as if an ig nora nt and blind belief were pre
f e r able to an enlightened and reaso nable convic t ion .

Whene v er inordinate power has been conferred

upon the priesthood or gr a du ally u s urped by that
,

ambitious influenti a l and it may be irrespo nsible

, , , ,

body especi ally in the more advanced sta g es of

,

s ociety it ha s been almost in v ariably abused to the

,

i nj ury and re t ardation of truth and consequently

,

t o the g reat disad v a ntag e of the general comm unity .

The very sanctity of their calli ng and the prestige ,

of their divine authority in the g eneral estimat io n

,

of the people appear to absolve the members of

,

t hat profes s ion from all t hose responsibilities which

operate as a sal utary restraint upon the co nduct of

every other class Of the people and which tend to
,

prevent them from abusin g th at power over the

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 17

lives and consciences of their fellow — men with ,

which from accident or policy they may have

, ,

been entrusted Besides as L ord Bacon and other

.
,

distinguished philosophers have justly Observed ,

every e ffort that has been made in any stage of ,

civilisation to combine physical science with thee

,

logy has u niformly terminated in giving us bad

,

philosophy and worse religion When confined .

w ithi n the appropriate limits of their respective

spheres there is really no necessity for any rude
,

collision between them The fou ndations of the .

o ne rest upon veneration fai t h and hope ; those of , ,

t he other upon Observation experie nce and reason

, , ,

ing. I t would be manifestly absurd to attempt to

demonstrate a mathematical proposition by moral
reasoning or t o prove the rectitude ofa reli g ious
,

dogma or ofan ethnical principle by mathematical

, ,

demonstration —by the properties oft he circle the ,

s quare the triangle or t he hypothenuse Ille g iti

, , .

mate reas oning is equally i nj urious to relig ion and

t o science .

L ike almost every other branch ofhuman know

ledge accordingly —to whatever cause the circum
,

—
stance may be ascribed the early M agic o r super ,

natur a l science as it was then accounted—along

,

w ith all the practices resulting from its study and

application —degenerated in subse quent t imes ; it
ceased to be held in general repute among the
influential classes ; and it is alleg ed to have been
frequen t ly employed in subserviency to the most
ignoble the most dishonest and the most d angerous
, ,

V OL I . . B
18 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

p urposes I t became incorporated with the most

.

vulgar and perverted reli g ious notions Of antiquity ,

and gradually came to be dis t i ng uished i nto two

disti nct kinds — the the urg i c and the g oe tic — the
legi t imat e and the diabolical magic— the w hi te a nd
the bla c k art ; according to the particul a r sources
from which it was supposed to be derived and the ,

di ff erent obj ects to which it was sought to be

applied I n process of time the original sig nifi c a
.
,

tion of the term was almost entirely lost Sight of

the science itself became totally perverted from it s
original purposes and the reputatio n ofM A GI C in
, ,

this state of degeneracy conse quently fell into

,

gener a l discredit .These fac t s may be elicited

from various narratives in the Old Testament
S criptures The ultimate introduction of t he J e w
.

ish or rather of the C haldean devil and of his

, ,

infernal agents and emissaries upon t he theatre of

,

the super nat ural world soon after t he di f

,
fusion of
C hri s tia nity throughout the semi barbarous nations
-

of E urope as shall be seen hereaft er occasioned a

, ,

transferen c e of many natural phenomena to the

alleged i nfl ue nce of his S at anic M aj esty ; a nd as ,

will be seen in the sequel Of our history these per ,

nic ious notions ultimately engendered a series of

the most extraordinary the most absurd the most

, ,

mischievous and brutalising hallucinations that ever

afflicted and de g raded humanity : hallucinations
‘
which presented a formidable barrier to the pro
r e ssiv e development of science and civilisa t ion and
g ,

b e cam e productive ofm ore barbarous and shocking

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
Am . 19

at rocities than ever signalised and disgraced the

darkest superstitions and relative practices o f the
Pagan world .

CHAP T E R III .

TH Edoctrine of the antagonist and rival powers

o fG od and the D evil is certainly ofgreat anti uity
q ,

and was we thi nk unquestionably derived from

, ,

t he ancient eastern superstition — from the tenets ,

ascribed t o Z O R O AS T E R relative t o the good and,

t he evil principles personified in the dominant

—
,

spirits O RMU Z D and A HRIMAN *

I t is extremely .

R O LL IN his A nc ie nt H isto ry ( B iv ch ap
in . .
g iv e s a .

v e ry fair and i mp art i al acc ount of t he re ligious d oct ri ne s of

t he MA GI . H e a d op t s t he O pi ni on of Dr P R I D E A U X t h a t ,

t h e r e w e r e t w o p e rs ons na me d Z O R OA S T ER b e t w e e n wh os e ,

live s t h e re migh t be t he dis t ance o fSix h undre d y e ars H e .

o bs e rv e s t h at t hr ough o ut al l t he E a s t e rn c ount ri e s id ol at ry

w as divid e d i nt o t w o pri nc ip al s e c t s—
, ,

t h at of t he SA B E A N S ,

wh o ad ore d im ag e s a nd t h at of t he MA GI fo und e d by
, ,

Z O R OA S T ER w ho utt e rly abh orr e d i m ag e s and w orshipp e d

, ,

G od only und e r t he f or m Offi r e a s t he m os t p e If e c t sy m

bol or r e pr e s e nt a t iv e of t he D e i t y
”
Th e ir chie f d oct ri ne
w as t h at t h e r e w e r e t w o pri ncipl e s ; one t he c a us e of a ll
,

g oo d ,
a nd t he o t h e r t he c a us e o f all e v il T he fo r
. m e r is
r e pr e s e nt e d by ligh t t he ot h e r by d ark ne ss T he good G od
,
.

t h e y nam e d Y A SD A N a nd O R M U Z D ; t he e vil G od A H R I ,

MA N . C onc e rning t h e s e t w o G o ds t h e y ha d t his di f fe r e nc e

of O pi ni on t h a t wh e r e a s s o m e h e ld b ot h of t h e m t o h a v e
,

b e e n from all e t e rni ty oth e rs cont e nd e d th at t he good G od

,
20 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

probable if not absolutely certain that the Jews

, ,

received this doctrine from the Babylonians and

on ly w as e t e rnal and t h at t he oth e r w a s cr e a t e d B ut t h e y

, .

b ot h a gre e d in t his t h at t h e r e will be a cont i nual Opp osi ti on

,

b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o t ill t he e nd Of t he w orld t h a t t h e n t he
,

g oo d G o d S h a ll o v e r c o m e t h e e vil G o d a n d t ,h a t fr om t h e n c e

forw ard e ach oft h e m sh all h av e t his w orld t o hi m s e lf ; t h at

is t he g ood G od his w orld wi t h all t he g ood and t he e vil
, ,

G od his w orld wi t h all t he wi ck e d .

T he s e c ond Z O R O A ST E R is s aid t o h av e i nt rod uce d a c on

sid e r able r e for m at i on in r e g ard t o t he firs t pri ncipl e of t he

M ag i an r e li g i on F or me rly t h e y h e ld as a fund am e nt al
principl e t he e x is t e nce of t w o s upr e me firs t caus e s —L i g h t
,
.
,

and D ark ne ss ; a nd t h a t of t he m i x t ur e of t h e s e t w o as ,

t h e y w e r e in a c ont i nual s t r uggl e wi t h e a ch ot h e r all t hi ngs ,

w e r e m ad e T he s e c ond Z OR O A ST E R e mbr ac e d and inc ul

.

c a t e d t he d oct ri ne ofa s up e ri or pri nc ipl e one s upr e me G od , ,

w ho c r e at e d b ot h li g h t a nd d a rk ne ss and w ho out oft h e s e, ,

tw o s ub ordi na t e pri ncipl e s m a d e all ot h e r t hi ngs acc ording

t o his ow n will and pl e as ur e —B ut t o a v oid m aki ng G od t he
,

auth or o f e vil his d oc tri ne w a s t h at t h e r e w as one s upr e m e

“
, ,

B e i ng i nd e p e nd e nt and s e lf e x is t i ng from all e t e rni ty ; t h at

,
-

—
,

u n d e r h i m t h e
, r e w e r e t w o a n g e ls one t he ang e l of ligh t ,

w ho is t e h a u t h or o f a ll g o o d — a n d t h e o t h e r t h e ang e l of

d arkne ss w ho is t he a ut h or of all e vil ; t h at t h e s e t w o out

, ,

of t he m i x t ur e of li g h t and d ark ne ss m a d e all t hi ng s t h a t ,

e x is t ; t h at t h e y are in a p e rp e t ual s t r uggl e wi t h e ac h ot h e r

t h at wh e r e t he ang e l of ligh t pr e v a ils t h e r e g ood r e ig ns ; ,

and t h at wh e r e t he a ng e l Of d ark ne ss pr e v a ils t h e r e e v il ,

t ak e s pl a c e ; t h a t t his s t r uggl e sh all c ont i nue t o t he e nd of

t he w orld ; t h a t t h e n t h e r e sh all be a g e ne r al r e s ur re ct i on
a nd a d ay ofj udg me nt wh e r e i n all sh all r e c e iv e a j us t r e t ri
,

but ion a ccordi ng t o t h e ir w orks ; a ft e r whi ch t he ang e l of

, ,

d ark ne ss and his dis cipl e s sh all g o i nt o a w orld oft h e ir ow n ,

wh e re t h e y Sh all s uffe r in e v e rl as t ing d arkne ss t he punish

, ,

m e nt oft h e ir e vil d e e ds ; and t he ang e l ofli g h t and his dis

c iple s shall als o g o i nt o a w orld of t h e ir ow n wh e re t h e y ,

sh all r e c e iv e in e v e rl a s ting ligh t t he r e ward d ue t o t h e ir

, ,

g o o d d e e ds ; a n d af t e r t his t h e y sh a ll r e m a in s e p a r a t e d f o r
22 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c .

son, and to commo n se nse There cannot be but .

one G od—one sole C re a t or of all things The .

supreme C reat or a nd G over nor of the universe can

have no e qual no a nt a gonist no riva l The very
, , .

idea Of such a n antago nism indeed in v olves a con , ,

t ra d ic t ion in terms a nd has g iven bir th to many

,

false fa ntastic and mischievous n otions includi ng

, , ,

all the monstrous barbarities of witchcraft and sor

cery .

I n process of time after the de g e neration and

,

corruption of MAGI C and the misapplication and,

perversion of the very name —t he D evil Of course , ,

the reputed author of all mischief evil a nd heresy , , ,

c a me to be considered as the great pat ron and

- r l —
high priest of the M ag ical o B a c k A r t ofwitch
craft sorcery and every species ofimagi nary e n
, ,

chantment ; and to these supposititious practices ,

in particul a r the term MAGI C was universally and

,

exclusively applied But this D evil appears to

.

have been in re a li t y the mere fa nciful creation of

, ,

ignorance a nd superstit io n or of a depraved imagi ,

n ation -
the rude im pe r sonifi c a tion as we have ,

already observed of the e v il principle A nd if the

, .

D evil can be sho wn to be a merely supposititious

being the vain creation of human fancy —it fol
—
lows of course that t his ficti tious perso nage can not
, ,

be reasonably regarded as the real author of any

such e f fects as have been vulgarly ascribed to his
agency ; and if it can be proved moreover tha t , ,

t hese diabolical phe nome na are the m or e product of

nat ural causes the whole of this satanic system

, ,
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
so . 2 0
0

wit h all its associated notio ns ofrivalry and ant a

onism to the one supreme C reator and G over nor
g
o ft he entire universe is utterly and for ever ever
,

thrown .

N ow it does appear to us that the d e g e ne

,

racy and fa ll of m a n was i nduced solely by his

co ntempt of the commands of his M aker ; by
the violation of those laws which were imposed
upon him a t the period Of his creat io n H e was .

tempted by his ow n evil passio ns and he for ,

fe it e d his paradise The whole history Of his

tempta tion a nd fa ll is obviously a n allegory The .

D evil the tempter co nsisted of t he weakness and

, ,

consequent disobedience of o ur first parents The .

v ulgar notio n of the D evil a ppears to have crep t

surrepti t iously into religio n in co nseque nce no , ,

doubt of a misconstruction of cert ain figurative

,

or metaphorical expressions in the sacred S crip

tures.

O ne ofthe principal Obj ects ofthe blessed adven t

of Jesus C hrist moreover appears to have been to
, ,

abolish this pernicious satanic doctrine so dero ,

g a t or
y as
,
it is to the di,g nity and prerogatives of

the only one S upreme Bei ng —to overthro w the

empire Of the D evil in the minds of men and to ,

introduce a milder a purer and a more be ne fi c e nt

, ,

theology .

B ut then it will no doubt be obj ected that Jesus

, ,

C hrist and his disciples are said to have cast out

d e vi ls from the bodies of men This expression .
,

however according to the opinions of the m os t

,
24 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

learned commen t ators e v ide ntly refers to the mira

,

culons cure Of diseases To be possessed by a devil .

or a d aemo n were expressio ns used in t hose times

, ,

a nd lo n a ft er to de note di s eased perso ns chiefly

g , ,

such a s were afflicted wi t h epilepsy p a lsy leprosy , , ,

or i nsani t y — disorders to which the Jewi s h people

appear t o have bee n peculiarly subj ect The terms .

appear to have been pri ncipally app lied to ind iv i

duals who were accounted insane H e ha th a d e vi l .
,

or i s m a d , is an expression used by some of the

E v a n g elists ; and MA L D O N A T the Jesui t and a stre , ,

nuous defe nder of the doc trine of devils and o f

diabolical possession tells us ,A lii p ut a nt D w ,

m one m ha be r e , ve l D oe m oni a c um e sse , m od um fuisse

log ue nd i , g uo non sig nifi c a r e nt e a m v e r e ha be r e
D ce m one m , se d m otoe e sse m e nti s, d e li r a r e , i nsa ni r e fi‘

This opinion has been held by many other le a rned

and respectable a uthors and particularly by t he , , ,

celebr a t ed D R M EA D as may be seen from his,

M e d ic a S a c r a .

We may therefore reasonably hold th a t in

, , ,

S criptural lan g uage to be possessed of a devil or

, ,

t o be d ae m onia c al is to be mad or diseased ; a nd to

,

drive out a devil or de v ils means to cure the disease ; ,

a nd this view is supported not only by reaso nable ,

construction but by the phenomena and relat ive

,

doctrines of A nimal M ag netism to be explained i n

O t h e rs t hink t h at t he e xpr e ssi on

h av e a D ae m on , to ,

or t o be d ae moni a c al w a s a m o d e Of S p e aki ng
, S i g nifyi ng , ,

not t h at he r e ally ha d a d ae m on but t h a t he w a s dis t urb e d

—
,

in his m i nd d e liri ous i ns ane & c

, ,
”
.
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
5

the sequel of this treatise I n the meantime how .

,

ever we may Observe that the notion of diabolical

, ,

possession was sub s e quently extended to those indi

v i d uals in particul a r w ho were subj ect to any O f
, ,

the forms of the ec s t a tic a ffectio ns .

—
The terms D e v il and S a ta n di a bolical and satanic
,

-
whe n o nce familiarly in troduced a nd clothed wi t h ,

subs t a ntial existence a ft erwards c a me to be em

-

ployed met a phorically to denote wicked perso ns

, ,

and e v il dispo s i t ions ; nay they were even extended

,

so as to apply to such i ndividuals a s were supposed

to be i nimical to any portion o ft he established reli
—
gions belief to those heretics w ho ventured to im
pu g u a ny ofthe do g m a s of the or t hodox church or ,

eve n t o t hose persons who cul tiv a t ed such studies

as were the n accou nted profane .

S oo n aft er t he i ntroduc tion of C hristianit y indeed ,

so rea t was t h e i ntolerance o f the proselytes to

g
the ne w faith —all lear ning a nd science unco nnected ,

with t he prevailing reli g ious doctrine s were supposed ,

to be a llied t o Pa g a ni s m a nd to M agic in the mos t

,

depra v ed se ns e Of the expressio n ; while those who

addic t ed t hemsel v es to such profa ne studies were
reputed to be here t ics a nd suspected of carryi ng on
,

an u nh a llowed i ntercourse wi th e v il Spirits H e .

who w a s mo s t profoundly skilled in the H ebre w

lang u a g e was believed to be a Jew and therefore , , ,

e qu a lly obnoxious a s a heathe n or a heretic Those .

whose enterpri s i ng minds ha d enabled t hem to

penetrate farthest in t o the secrets of nature and to .

VOL I
. . C
26 A N HIS T ORY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

enlarge the boundaries of science were accounted ,

heterodox and irreligious ; and many of those

learned and intelligent individuals were subj ected t o
t he most violent persecution and the most cruel ,

punishment by their rude and ignorant and into

, , ,

l orant contemporaries I n these unhappy times

.
,

learning was indeed a very dangerous t hing and ,

frequently proved fatal to its unfortunate possessor .

D uring those days of blind and bi oted zealotry

g ,

it was no easy matter for men of indepe ndent and

philosophical minds to escape the imputation of
heresy and its concomitant persecution
, There .

w ere probably as many or more martyrs to sc ie n,

t ifi c heresy than to orthodox C hristianity

,
.

The C hristian zealots i ndeed of every sect and

, ,

persuasion were deeply imbued w ith t he spirit of

,

a dark and virulent intolerance of all di f ferences o f

opinion in regard t o m atters of religious belief ;
and e v ery thing was accoun t ed heresy which did
not exactly accord in the mi nds of the vulg a r
,

de v otees with the prevailing doc t rines Of the day ;

,

w hile the po w erful influence of a bigoted pries t

hood sanctioned and encouraged t he most intolerant
delusions and superstitions of the people E ve n .

t hose in t ellectual indi v iduals who v entured t o devo t e

any portion oftheir time to the perusal oft he clas
sic a l works of antiquity were accused of a leanin
, g
t owards t he superstitious worship of the he a t he n

world w hile t hose w ho addicted themselves to the

study of the mathematics and natural philosophy ,

w ere more than suspected of being m agicians and

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
2 7

fensive sense ofthe words

conj urors in the most o f .
*

A ll profane studies indeed were generally repro, ,

bated and anathematised by the early C hurchme n ,

as inimical to the orthodox belief and C hristianity ,

w a s constantly opposed not merely to Paganism , ,

but to all scie nce whatever which the professors ,

and expounders of the new faith endea v oured by ,

e v ery means in their power to discourage and sup ,

press But C hristi a nity in t he earlier period of

.
,

its development and progress was like all other , ,

religious systems deeply imbued with superstitio n

,

and intolerance ; and these have always proved t he

most formidable enemies of learning and of the ,

would app e ar th at in F r ance a nd pr ob ably in s om e

It , , , ,

ot h e r E ur op e an c o unt ri e s d uri ng t he 1 3t h and 1 4 th c e n

,

t urie s e v e n t he s t udy of t he M at h e m at i c s w a s p urs ue d

,

c autiously and in s e cre t on account of t he dre a d of i ncur

,

ring the fe arful i mp ut at i on of d e ali ng i n s or ce ry Ind e e d .

t he M a the ma t ic i w e r e fr e q ue nt ly ass oc i a t e d wi t h t he m agi

c i ans and c onj ur ors

M M ON T E I L i n his H istoire d e s F ra nga is d e s d ive rs e ta ts

.

.
, ,

& c p ublish e d i n P ari s in 1 82 7 m ak e s one ofhis i m a gi na ry

.
, ,

ch arac t e rs t he C ord e li e r ofTours e x pre ss hi ms e lf up on t his

, , ,

s ubj e ct in t he foll owing m anne r

,
I will not diss ua d e y o u
from t e achi ng m at h e m at i cs if y ou are d e t e rmi ne d up on i t
,

but s uch i ns t r uc t i on m us t be giv e n wi t h pr e c aut i on a nd wi t h

pr ud e nce —t h at is i n a r e t ir e d ap art m e nt wi t h out p e rm i t
,

, ,

t i ng t h at g e om e t ri c a l fig ur e s alg e br ai c a l l e t t e rs or c onj unc

, ,

t i ons sh ould be t r ace d on t he w a lls or fl oors

, T he ch ar act e r .

of no p e rs on sh oul d be e nd a ng e r e d ; m or e e sp e c i a lly ou h t
g
one t o guard a g a ins t a tt achi ng t o any p e rs on t he i mp ut at i on

ofs orc e ry
”
.

Such w a s t he c ondi t i on of l e a rni ng pr e v i o us t o t he r e li

g i ons r e form at i on s ubs e que nt ly t o whi ch t he h um an m i nd
,

g r a d ua lly r e c o v e r e d it s e l a s t i c i t y a nd fr e e d om .
28 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

free and unfettered exercise of the reasoning fa c ul

ties The first ce nturies aft er the est a blishment of
.

C hristianity co ns t itu t e perhaps the darkest period

, ,

in the history of semi barbarism in E urope ; a nd

-

many enormities were c ommit ted under the pretext

of guar di ng the i nterests or Of advancing the tri
,

umph of the domi na nt religion The times i ndeed

.
, ,

are no w no doub t greatly impro v ed ; the pro g ress

, ,

of learni ng and ci vilisat ion has mitigated many of

the harsher and more o ffensive features ofrelig ious
zeal ; but a lthough t he fire and the faggot h a ve
long been abolished as instrume nts of con v ersio n ,

somethi ng analogous to what we have de scribed

above — a hatred t o scie nce a nd an intolerance of
,

freedom ofthought and liber a li t y of opinion —may

still be detected although in a more cautious and
,

subdued t one among some of t he most blind and

,

bi g oted of the modern C hristian and sectarian

devotees .

CHAPTE R IV .

IN the previous chapters we have endeavoured

,

to trace the origin of MAGIC and the M AGI ; and

before proceeding to the narrative of the gradual
corruption and ultimate decay of tha t ancient sys
tem we deem it expedient to anticipate the more
,

interesting portion of our subsequent narrative by ,

30 A N HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

both foreign and domestic have since greatly con ,

tributed to our theoretical and practical knowledge

Of the subj ec t I t is more consistent with the obj ect
.

of the present pub li cation to point out some of the

ulterior consequences of this prolific disco v ery in ,

enabli ng us at length t o demonstrate the reali ty

, , ,

and to unra vel the causes ofmany ofthose obscure

historical facts to which we have already partly
,

alluded and which had previously been regarded

,

by many of the otherwise learned e v en in more ,

recent times with feelings Of the most inveterate

,

scepticism .

The labours of M ESME R himself—a professional

physician — were princip ally directed to the deve
lopm e nt and illustration of the medicinal e f fects of
the new and powerful agency he had discovered and ,

to the controversies which arose upon the subj ect of

its actual reality its true nature and the value of
, ,

its application in practice The attention of his .

disciples and successors in the exercise of the art ,

however wa s specially attracted to a di f

,
ferent series
Of very extraordinary phenome na resulting from ,

t he magnetic treatment which appeared t o open up,

an entirely new field of philosophical inves tigation .

I n the course of their magnetic practice a variety ,

of c ur ious symptoms were observed to be manifested

by their patients w hich although apparently irre
, ,

c onc ile able w ith the very simple mea n s employed ,

were both excee di ngly interesting in themselves ,

and conseque ntially of no small utility towards

, ,

the explanation of many obscure passages in the

 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
31

w ri t ings ofthe ancients as well as in those ofsome

,

more modern authors which had been pr e v iouslv

,

misunderstood and misrepresented ; and which ,

moreover seemed to af ,
ford materi als for an e u
t ir e ly new chapter in t he philosophy of huma n
nature .We allude t o all t he se modifications ofthe
ecstatic affections which have occ a sionally made
their appearance in one form or ano t her in every
, ,

from the beginning of t ime a nd which are

a e
g, ,

recorded in almost every page of the records of

history T o signalise t his fact
. t o demonstrate
t he universality of the occurrence of t he a f fection
in question w ith all its curio us and diversifie d phe
,

n om e na ; to trace the causes ofits misapprehension

a nd consequent neglec t ; a nd if possible t o discover , ,

t he principle — the r a t i ona le — Oft he relative facts

these are the peculiar obj ec ts of t he present publi

cat ion A nd in order t o facilit ate t he a ttainment
.

o fthese Obj ects we tru s t that o ur readers will have

,

t he patience to accompa ny us in o ur inquiry into

the history of t hese v e r v rem a rkable phenomena
a mo n the various nations o f the earth from the
g ,

e arliest records ofhuman socie t y do w nwards t o our

o w n t imes We are much mista ken if the research

.
,

t edious as it m a y appear t o be will not be found to ,

afford ample mat ter both ofrat ional entertai nme nt

and ofsolid and permanent instruction .

Before we enter upon o ur historical investigatio n ,

howe v er we deem it necessary to call the attention

,

o f our readers to one or t w o circumstances which , ,

if previously unexplained might leave an unfavour ,

32 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
St e .

able prej udice upon their mi nds at the very outset ,

o f the i nquiry .

I n the first pl a ce the n we would observe that

, , ,

for some time a fter the disco v ery of M ESME R t he ,

phenomena of S om nambulism and the ec s ta t ic a f fec

t ions which a s we shall see by a nd bye w ere

, ,
- -
,

occ a sio na lly de v eloped duri ng the m a g netic tre a t

ment cons t ituted somethi ng which w a s g e ner ally
,

believed to be q uite ne w app a rently miraculous , ,

and r a ther apocryph a l if no t e nt irely supposi t i

,

t ious —a bnormal s t a t es of the or g anism in w hich ,

t he hum a n mi nd w a s a lle g ed to ac quire cer t a i n

peculiar a nomalous fa culties previou s ly unk now n ,

a nd u n dreamt of w hich enabled it

,
as it were t o , ,

carry on a n i nt ercourse wit h disembodied spirits ,

and to acquire super nat ur a l i ntellige nce from ultra

mundane sources No w m a ny of these notio ns in
.
, ,

re g ard to the nature of the discovery in qu es t io n ,

were notoriously incorrec t— some of the m were

quit e preposterous ; a nd it ought to have been
well k nown to e v ery physician at least if not t o , ,

every philosopher t h a t the a ffectio ns in quest io n

,

were merely t he result of certain p a thologic a l st ates

of t he human organism of r a t her u ncommon occur
,

re nce w hich sometimes appear nat ur a lly spont a

, ,

ne ously or w ithout a ny immedi a t ely percep t ible

,

cause —w hic h are no t u nfre quently developed in

m

particular diseases a nd in cert a in ab norm a l s t a tes

,

of the nervous system a s well a s by t he applic a tion

,

of a rtifici a l excitants : a nd t h a t the phe nome na

manifested in such circumst a nces were perfectly
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

fact however t hat the R oman C a tholic ecclesiastics

, ,

— much as they professed t o be scandalised at t he

impious worship and idolatrous practices of the
h eathen world — condescended to borrow a fragmen t
from the p a gan creed ; and ecstatic and nervous
crises having a natural or constitutional origin or
, ,

arising from a diseased or anom a lo us conditio n of

the corpore a l system were according to the pe e n
, ,

liar nat ure and manifested symptoms of the affe c

tion reputed to be the immediate e f
,
fects Of divine
age ncy or of satanic ar tifi c e s and to be capable
, ,

o f being impro v ed to e d ifi c a t ion in the one case or ,

cured or alleviated in the other by the invocation ,

of the D ei t y or of some patron saint in t heir

, ,

solemn prayers and exorcisms I n these dark ages

.
,

it seems never to have occurred to even the most

learned among the ecclesiastical body — or at leas t , ,

they carefully eschewed the task — to institute a

philosophical investigation into the true psy c holo
g ic al causes of these extraordinary phe nomena ,

with a v ie w to discover whether they might not

have had their origi n in the natural order ofthin g s ;
t hus superseding the necessity of havi ng con t inual
recourse to the immediate and direct interposi tio n
of G od or of S atan or t o any other preternatural
,

influence S uch an investigation indeed in t hose

.
, ,

t imes would probably have been held su f

,
ficient t o
warrant the imputation of impiety .

I n the third place — and in orde r to prepare our

readers for a subsequent explanation of these curious
phenomena—w e may observe that the powers and
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 35

s usceptibilities the human constitution may be

of

a rranged under two distinct cl a sses — those which

have their origin in the I nte lle c t and those which ,

ar i se from the S e nsi bi li ty each of these ha ving its

separate offices and distinct manifestations in t he
animal co nstitution ; and these a r e Shared by di ffe
rent indi v iduals in di ffere nt degree s a nd relati v e
proportions accor d ing to a g e sex natural confor
, , ,

mat ion and temperame nt and v arious other influe n ,

t ial causes H ence we find some persons who are

.

naturally predisposed to addict themselves to such

pursuits as af ford exercise to t he intellectual fa c ul

ties w hile others manifest a decided i nclination t o

,

devote themselves to those studies which are m ost

gratifying to certa in natural feelings I n common .

language o ne indi v idu l has more head

, a — another
more heart one is more intellectual — another more
sensitive The di f
. ference is conspicuously displayed
i n the distinctive characters of the philosopher and
the poet The sensibility is unquestio nably more
.

predominant in the earlier st a ges of human society

— the intellect on the other hand is more promi
, ,

uently developed at a later period M E RIC CA U S A .

B O N coincides in the opinion of PLU T ARCH and

A RIS T O T LE — and the fact is supported by historical
—
eviden ce that manki nd long before the time of ,

S O CRA T ES had a nat ural predisposition to the sen

,

s itivo or ecstatic a f fections and a decided mental ,

tendency towards alle g ory and poetry *

Poetry .
,

V e t e r um nonnu ll i obs e rvant ,

m ul t is sae c ulis ant e Soc r a
36 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c .

indeed preceded philosophy ; and the earliest phi

,

losophy was of a poetic a l character The more .

ancient poets were prob a bly also the earlies t philo

sophers .

S e nsi bi li ty a nd I nte lle c t appear to bear the same

relation towards each other a s I nsti nc t and R e a son ;
a nd each class of fa culties and susceptibili t ies pro

bably has its own peculi a r seat and source in a dif

f e r e nt por t io n O fthe nervous system The sensi t ive .

faculties a nd the i ns t i nct also a r e generally found

, ,

to be predominant a t the earlier periods of life and ,

more especia lly in the fem a le sex ; the i ntellectual

powers a r e more fully developed in perso ns of
mat ure age the l a tter re quiring exercise and exp o
-

ri c uce in order to bri ng them to perfectio n The .

same observation ap plies t o the infa ncy a nd matu

ri t y ofhuman society a s will become more apparent ,

in the progress of the prese nt i nves t ig a tio n The .

moral sense a nd even t he relig ious feeli ng ha v e

, ,

both t heir source in the se nsitive system o f the

hu m an economy a nd both may be impro v ed by ,

j udicious culture or become depraved by neglect

, ,

or by Improper treatment .

t e m , na t urale m d isposi tione m hom inum fuiss e ali quo m od o

e c st at i c a m , in ac t ioni bus u s is p le r os u
q e e x st it i sse t um id os et

l
a at e s in v e rbis v e r o a d poe sin e t alle g ori as pr oc liv e s in
, ,

Om nib us a ut e m ap t os om nino q ui d uc e r e nt ur a ph a nt a si a
,

e t e x t e rnis r e r um sp e c i e bus A ni m o e os fuiss e s umm a

.

r e li g i one prae d it o se d e o m ag is sup e rst it ioso in plurimi s

, ,

s uis ope ribus c omit a t os p ot ins c e r t o ali quo subit oque in

st inc t u aut r apt u q ua m r a t i one non e x aliquo huj us c on
, ,

t e m t u, se d def
e c tu .
-
M CA U SA B
. ON , D e E nthusia sm o .
 38 AN H I S T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

t he proceedings in t hese temples did no t consist of

such mere disin g e nuous t rickery and delusion or ,

other mean and disreputable practices as has been ,

represe nted by many modern writers on the sub

j cet with a view to discredi t the whole system
, .

The proceedings to which we allude were m anifestly

.

founded upon a knowle d ge from whatever source ,

derived ofthe e fli c a c y ofcertain ar t ificial process es

,

in producing t he se abnormal phenomena in the

l iving organis m to which o ur attention has been
,

mo r e rece ntly directed by the practical M ag netists

o ft he prese nt d a I n modern times ho w ever the
y .
, ,

natural i nsti ncts and s usceptibili ties of the hum a n

cons t itution have been almost entirely overlooked
a nd neglected — the s t udy ofthe psychical m a nif es

t a t ions has been utterly abandoned ; and all o ur

educational e f for t s have been exerted in the traini ng
Of the intellectual and mech a nic a l powers The .

former therefore might perhaps be a ppropriately

, , , ,

denomi na t ed the a g e of i ns t inct ; the latter the a g e ,

of reason I n conse quence of this altered t endency

.

of men t al cult ivatio n t he study of t he primi t ive

,

powers a nd susceptibilities of the sensitive portio n

of the human constit ution —which form a most
impor t ant i ngredient in the m ixed nature of the
species —have been almost entirely superseded by
t ha t o f the purely in t ellectual processes and the ,

formal ded uctions ofreasoning psychological facts

-
,

however inter esti ng are generally viewed with,

scepticism coldness and i ndi f

,
fere nce ; and c onse
, ,

q ue ntly the,mag n etic states — now so little though t

 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&e . 39

of
,
far less —
comprehended are manifested only
occasionally in a few individual instances princi
, ,

pally in the phenome na accidentally witnessed in

certain cases of morbid or abnormal ac t ion in the
vi t al organism which a ppear to us to be utterly
,

anomalous and ine xplic a ble inc apable of bei ng

w

brought withi n the li mits of a ny general rule or ,

reduced under any distinct classificatio n I n most .

cases i ndeed they are generally ascribed altogether

, ,

to deception and a spiri t of imposture ; unless when

elicited in t he service of religion when t hey are ,

a ccounted the products ofdi vine inspira t ion .

I t was di f
feren t among the nations of an t iquity ,

when the M AGI were physicians and philosophers ,

as w ell as di v ines — the healers Of t he sick and t he ,

t eachers of wisdom — the pries t s and the prophets

of the people The origin and true nature indeed

.
, ,

of the phenomena which were occasionally elicited ,

may have been misu nderstood and ascribed to erro

neons causes ; but t he facts themselves were no t o
r io us, and acknowledged equ ally by the learned
and the vul gar .

CHAPTE R V .

IN ancient times in consequence of those pre

-

vailing causes t o which we have alluded t owar d s

t he conclusion of the last chapter —individu a ls
40 AN H IS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

appear to ha v e been much more fre quently predis

posed by natur a l impulses to the ecs t atic affections
, , ,

than in the modern a nd more ar t ifici a l s ta te of

society a nd accordi ng ly we fi nd tha t t hese a ffe c
, ,

tions a c t u a lly occurred in a much g re a t er varie t y

Of i ns t a nces in t he e a rly history oft he world F o r .

t his re a so n prob a bly in t hese remote periods phi

, , ,

lo sophy as well as reli g ion assumed a much more

, ,

mystico poetical form a nd sensi t ive complexio n

-
, ,

than in the l a ter ages of t he world ; as w e fi nd

them developed in the mi nds of PY T HAG O RAS ,

S O CRA T ES PLA T O and the disciples of the A lexa n

, ,

drian school —PL O T I N U S P O R P HYRIU S I A M B L I C H U S

, , ,

PR O CLU S & c a nd a s t hey a r e fou nd to h a ve existed

, .
,

amon g t he ancient M AGI t he I ndian Bra hmi ns and , ,

the Jewish prophe t s a nd seers I n t he works a nd .

myths Ofall the s e philosophers a nd of ma ny other ,

individuals to who m w e m a y have occasio n t o allude

hereaft er w e c a n have no dif fi cul t y in t raci ng the

eleme nt s of the M agnetic Phi losophy as w ell as ,

various allusions more or less direct t o the facts

, ,

—
upon which it was fou ded all demons t rati ng the
n

predomin a nce of the se nsi t ive o v er the intellectual

organs PLA T O in his P hoe d r us a nd in other
.
, ,

dialo g ues ascribes many beneficial consequences t o

,

what he denomi na tes the ecstatic mania—which

T E —
even H I P P O C R A s the first great master of medi
—
cal observatio and science co ns idere d to be a
n

fa vourable symp t om in certai n d iseases ; and the

former ( PLA T O ) a sserts th a t the Priestesses of D e l
phi in their ecstatic parox y sms a nnounced or pre
, , ,
42 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

intellectual subtleties of its learned comme ntators

and expounders ha v e in re a lity simplified and
, , ,

purified the religious se ntiments and ex a l t ed the ,

moral conduct of it s disciples and e ntirely emanei ,

pated us from the t rammels of superstition ? A nd

is the sensitive spiritualism of the early heathen
sages less favourable to t he di g nity of religio n or ,

t o t he elevation o f the human character a nd feel

ings than the more gross intellectual materialism

,

o f the present C hristia n age ? Ma n i ndeed is not , ,

entirely the cre a ture of abstract reason ; a nd the

sensitive facul t ies of our nature t herefore ou g ht , ,

to be i nt erested in our relig ious opi nio ns and devo

t io na l exercises as well as o ur rational and intel
,

lectual powers .

The M AGI then especially among t he more

, ,

anci ent E astern nations a s w e have already oh

,

served were the wise and lear ned m e n of t heir day

,

and generatio n — the philosophers the physici a ns , ,

t he pries ts and the prophets amon g their cou ntry

m e n A s a consecrated caste t hey were held in the
.
,

highest estimation by all r a nk s of the people and ,

w ere consulted even by the rulers of empires in

, ,

all cases of dif fi cul t y and natio nal importa nce as we ,

learn from t he Old Testament S crip ture s as well ,

as from other sources Their wisdom w a s essen

.

t ially founded upon a more profound and more

accurate study of the phenomena of nat ure both ,

physic a l a nd psychical and much of their scie nce ,

and consequently of their celebrity a ppears to

, , ,

have been derived fro m the use they made of the

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
St e . 43

preva len t disposition towards the ecstatic af fections ,

which appears to have been more frequently mani

fe st e d duri ng the i nfa ncy of the wo r ld and which , ,

even in these early times i t was fou nd possible to

,

develope by artificial means H e nce not o nly the .

spo nt a neous manifestat ion of prophetic powers in

indi v idua l i ns ta nces but the esta blishme nt a nd
,

e ndo w ment of many public i nstitutions specially ,

dedicated to particular divinities for t he mag ical ,

o r magnetic cure of the sick and t he cul t ivation ,

and evolution of t he divinatory faculty The

Temple s ofH ealth O racles,
These celebrated
,

instit utions at o ne ti me so flourishi ng were it is

, , ,

true like a ll thi ng s human liable to degeneracy

, ,

and consequent a buse ; but there is no doubt t hat ,

origina lly t hey were pure a nd highly benefici a l in

, ,

t heir tende ncies a nd it appears to us to be a rea t

g
misco nception oft heir origin and purposes to sup
pose wi t h ma ny otherwise le a r ned and d isti ng uished
,

writers on the subj ect t hat they were founded and

,

co nducted entirely on foolish delusive and impious , ,

pri nciples We have evidence of t heir havin g been

.

productive of salut ary consequences w hile in a

flourishi ng state ; a nd at t he s a me t ime that they
are believed to have become corrupt M AGIC i t self , ,

at first syno nymous wi t h knowled g e and wisdom ,

had be g u n t o dege nerate like many other ancien t

,

religious institutions and do g mas into w orldly craft , ,

mischievous superstition and consummate folly

, .

There was o ne very remarkable phenomenon ,

however frequently elicit ed in the institutions t o

,
44 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

which we have j ust alluded which although a s , ,

completely demonstrated as any other fact in na

ture has afforded a fertile theme for scepticism
, ,

ridicule and vituperation to our modern material

, ,

—
ist s and g eneral sceptics the phenomenon ofC lair
voyance ; in re g ard to which we shall probably
have a good deal to say by way of examp le and ,

illustration in some of the subsequent chapters of

,

this work This most remarkable physiological or

.

psychological affection indeed as we shall aft er

, ,

wards see was well known and much appreciated

, ,

in ancient times ; and in those days of theosophic

simplicit y the explanation Of it was attended with
,

no difficulty The O riental sages without having

.
,

recourse to any profound and elaborate philosophi

cal investigation ofthe subj ect a t once ascribed the ,

a pparently mysterious phenomenon to the imme

diate agency of the D eity or of celestial spirits ; ,

while the Jews attributed it to subordinate angel

and d mm ons who were supposed to be of various
,

ranks and endowed with di f

, ferent functions and to ,

hold familiar intercourse with the human race A .

s imilar belief appears to have prevailed amo ng the

G reeks and R omans I n modern times the S tates
.
,

t o which we have alluded have been presumed ,

both by C atholics and Protestants to be occasioned ,

by diabolical or demo niacal possession I t is a very .

remarkable circums t ance however that in all reli

, , ,

gions systems the facts themselves have been amply

,

recog nised and their reality acknowledged The

, .

only di fference lies in the explanations they have

46 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

and more particularly Of reli g ious e x citement we

, , ,

can clearly tr a ce the occasio nal and sometimes very ,

g enerally pre v alent deve lopment of t he ecst a tic

phenomena — the e ffects oft he predomi na nce oft he

sensi t ive o v er the i nt ellectual fa culties I nd e pe nd .

ently of the immediately exci t i ng extern a l causes ,

t his psyc hical developme nt m a y depend partly , ,

upo n n a tural predispo s itio n and temper a me nt or ,

corporeal i nfirmity ; a nd par tly upo n educatio n , , ,

climat e addiction to mys t ic a l and asce t ic habits or

, ,

other preponderati ng infl ue nces ; and these dispo

sit ions m a ultimately become strengthened n d
y , , a

confirmed i nto permane nt st a tes of t he organic sys

tem To this latter cl a ss belo ng the reli g ious e n
.

t husia st s mys t ics fa natics and ecstatics of e v ery

, , ,

a e
g, of every country and under every, variety of
—
form and character the Brahmi ns the Bo nzes , ,

the F a kirs the D e r vise s the I sraeli t ish Prophets

, , ,

t he Pa g a n a nd the C hristi a n S eers ; whose revela ~

tio ns pro v isions divinations de nu nciations of every

, , ,

ch aracter fre que ntly expressed in an e nnobled

, ,

poetical or symbolical di c t ion and a llegorical s t yle

, , ,

have freque ntly astonished and awed t he mul t itude

by t heir prophetic warnings admonit ions com , ,

mands promises a nd threat e ni ngs These pheno

, , .

mena althou g h similar in kind and possessing a

, ,

commo n ori g in have been found t o be character

,

ised by S pecific dif fere nces amo ng di f ferent natio ns ,

a nd a t di f ferent periods ; mo di fied no doubt by , ,

S ituation and circumstances by peculiari t ies oftem ,

e r am e nt by education and religious belief

p ,
.
 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGI C ,
so . 47

Passing over the subj ect Of dre a ms a nd vi s ions

for the prese nt we would first d irect the a tte nt ion
,

of o ur readers to the opi nio ns of some of the most

emi nent authors of anti qui t y in reference t o the ,

realit y a nd probable n ature of some of t hose phe no

me na of Cla i r v oy a nc e or lucid visio n w hether
, ,

natur a l or a r t ificial w hich al t hou h fully a uthe nt i

,
g ,

c a t e d by ma ny compete nt a nd credible observers ,

have very na t ur a lly perhaps excited the greatest

, , ,

amount of i ncreduli ty in the mi nds of the moder n

physical philosophers ; for there is a fu nd of ex
tremely irrational a nd stubbor n bigotry of u nbelief
in philosophical scepticism as well as in religious
,

fanaticism ; a nd many perso ns even of limited ,

attai nme nts are easily i nduced to rej ect such facts
,

as they can not immedi a t ely explai n upo n t heir ow n

a rbitrarily assumed principles however co ntr a cted ,

a nd inapplic a ble they m a b *

e
y .

A mo ng t he most remarkable the best attested , ,

and the most violen tly co ntroverted of the pheno

mena oft he class to which we h a ve alluded we may ,

comme nce w ith the occasional ma nifestation of the

faculties of pr ov ision and prophecy w hich we may ,

fi nd to have been a mply developed a t v a rious histo

In a l e ct ure d e liv e r e d by an e m ine nt m e di c al profe ss or

i n t he U niv e rsi t y of E di nb ur g h t he a ut h or of t his t r e a t is e
,

h e ard t he l e a rne d g e nt l e m an d e cl ar e t h a t t he fac ul t y now

,

a d m i t t e d a ll t he ph e nom e n a o fA ni m a l M a g ne t is m wi t h t he ,

e xc e p t i on of C l a irv oy a nc e . T he a ut h or t h e r e for e ha s , ,

r e s olv e d t o p ay p ar t i cul ar a tt e nt i on t o t his br anch of his

s ubj e ct c onc e ivi ng it e q ua lly c ap abl e ofb e i ng d e mons t r at e d
,

a s any oft he ot h e r p or t i ons oft he s c i e nc e .

48 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

r ic a periods and indeed in all times A nd first

l , , , .
,

of all let us listen to the Opinions Of some of t he

,

most celebrated a m ong the ancient philosophers

upon this curio us and controverted subj ect .

C ICE R O as is well known has writte n a parti e n

, ,

lar treatise (D e D iv ina tione ) specially directed t o ,

the question relative t o t he prophetic faculty in ,

w hich he commences by calli ng the at t ention of his

readers to the universality of the belief in such a
po w er— a belief which we apprehend must ne c e s , ,

sar il have been founded upon ample and direc t

y
evidence of the truth of the facts although this ,

belief may not always have been supported by the

most correct and cogent philosophical reasonin g .

The ancients indeed do not appear to have always

, ,

a dverted to the maxim that demonstrated facts are

independent of all ratiocination Ubi e ap e r i e nti a .

c ons t a t , r a ti o
p e t i non d e be t .

C I CE R O
proceeds to Observe that there is no
people whether civilised or rude among whom this
, ,

belief has not to a certain exte nt prevailed ; and

, ,

he reprobates the scepticism which would pervert

o r calumniate things so generally accredited and ,

corroborated by such ample and unimpeachable tes

t im o ny .
( Q uoe ig itur c a lli d i ta s,
e st res ve tus t a t e

busta s a lum ni a nd o be lle

ro c ) p e r v e r te r e .

I ndeed the prophetic faculty occasionally mani

, ,

fe st e d in certain states Of the human organism ,

appears to have been more accurately observed

as it was probably more prevalen t— from causes
already adverted to —and to have attracted more
50 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

earlier school of Z ENO in particular were favourable

, ,

to the belief of the existence of such a power ; and

in the writin g s of P L U T ARCH the inquisitive reader ,

will fi nd much eloquent and beautiful disquisition ,

illustrative of the development ofthis extraordinary

faculty . I n process of time however it would , ,

appear that the number Of t he sceptics gradually

increased ; until at leng t h C I CE R O himself— never
, ,

particularly steadfast in his philosophic a l opinions

and convictions —havin g evide ntly passed over into
t he current free thinking notions of his o w n times
-
,

rej ected this doctrine altogether as u nfounded , .

A t the commencement of our modern era the ,

more ancient belief ag ain revived although under a ,

somewhat altered form D uring the middle a ges .

ofE urope and even down to a late perio d it pre

, ,

vailed to a great extent among the E uropean

, ,

nations ; while in our own times it appears to have

, ,

been ag ain almost utterly abandoned in couse ,

ue nc e o f the indefatigable e fforts o f the sceptical

q
philosophers and the materialistic tendencies of the
,

age Thus it wo uld appear that in the earli er

.
, , ,

periods Ofancient learni ng and philosophy and also ,

of C hristianity scepticism and in the later period

, ,

o f both belief in the existence of the prophetic

,

faculty was the exception from the rule .

PLA T O in his P hoe d r us as is well known distin

, , ,

uishe s two modes of divination — the one by means

g
of the intellect the other by inspiration C I CE RO
, .

mentions that the S toics also assumed two modes of

the exercise of this faculty : unum (g e nus) g uod
 AN HIS TO RY OF MAG I C ,
&c . 51

p a r ti c e
p s e r a t a r ti s, a lte r um
quod a r te c a r e r e t ; t he
former derived from Observation of the present and ,

a conj ecture founded upon this Observation in ,

regard to t he future ; the latter bei ng produced

solely by a peculiar exaltation of the mind or spi ,

ritual faculties to a p r e se nti m e nt of futurity : i e

,
. .

either a conclusion drawn from given premises or ,

a n immediate i ntuitio n of the soul wi t hout any ,

assistance from the reasoni ng faculties The latter .

—the immediate intuition of the future — was the

most highly appreciated by the ancients as the ,

—
most pure and infallible the more immediate and
more precious gift Of the gods Ca r e nt a ute m a r te .

ii says C ICE R O qui non r a t ione a ut c onj e c t ur a

, , ,

o bse rv a tis a c not a t is si nis, se d c onc i ta ti one uad am

g g
a ni m i , a ut solut e libe r og ue m otu futur a p r ce se nti unt .

The same accomplished although no t always very ,

consistent author gives us the following remarka ble

,

account ofthe Opinions entertained by the ancients

on the subj ec t of the phenomena of S leep and
D eath ; t o which we refer w ith the greater satis
faction because as shall be shown hereafter it is
, , ,

corroborated by numerous apposite insta nces in

almost every period Of human history and has bee n , ,

in our j ud g ment fully substantiated by the recent

,

most important discoveries of A nimal M ag netism .

H is words are : Cum ve r o e s t se voc a t us a ni mus a

soc i e t a te e t a c ont a g io ne c orp or i s, t um m e m i ni t p r ae
r oe se nti a c e r ui t ,
t e r it or um , p f t ur a
u
p r oe vi d e t . J a c ot
e ni m c or us d or m i e nti s ut m or tui ; v ig e t a ut e m et
p
v i vi t a nim us . Q uod m ulto m a g is fa c i e t p ost m or
52 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

t e m , c um omni no c orp or e e x c e sse r i t I t a g ue ,

.
pp a ro

i
p gn ua n t e m or t e , m ulto e st d iv ini or . N a m e t id ip
sum v i d e nt ,
q ui sunt m or bo g r a v i e t m or tif ero

a
fi ec ti , i ns t a r e m or t e m . I t a g ue his o c c ur r unt p le
r um g ue i m a g ine s m or t uor um ta m que ve l m a xi m e
la ud i s tud e nt ; c osq ue , qui se c us quam d e c ui t }l
7

r unt ,
p e c c a tor um snor um m a xi m e p oe ni t e t .
*

The foregoin g Observations might with equal ,

propriety have proceeded from the pen of a moder n

,

magnetist ; the phenomena described being pre

c ise l similar in character t o those which are of
y
almost daily occurrence in the course of his practice
and observation .

We may p a ss o v er as founded entirely upo n ,

v a gue observa t ion and fallacious conj ecture a nd , ,

t herefore foreign to our prese nt purpose all those

, ,

ancient modes of divination which were derived from

the flight and cries of blI d S— ww m n— the actio ns ‘
’

ol or
f

of other animals i nspection ofthe entrails of animals

, ,

meteorological phenomena & c a nd confi ne o ur ,

.

B ut wh e n t he m i nd is abs t r act e d from the s oci e ty and

t he c ont ag i on oft he b o dy i t t h e n r e me mb e rs t he p a s t p e r
, ,
!

c e iv e s t he pr e s e nt and for e s e e s t he fut ur e

, F or t he b ody .

oft he sl e e p e r li e s lik e t h at of a d e a d p e rs on ; but t he mi nd

is aliv e and act ive A nd t his will be m ore r e m ark ably the
.

c a s e wh e n i t sh all h av e d e p ar t e d al t og e t h e r fr om t he b o dy .

Th e re fore on the a ppr oach of d e ath it is of a m uch m ore

, ,

divine nat ur e ; for t he se als o w ho are l ab ouri ng und e r

, ,

g r a v e a nd m o r t a l dis e a s e s se e t h a t t h e ir diss ol ut i on is a t
h and T h us t h e y fre que nt ly se e the app ari t i ons of t he
.

d e a d ; and at s uch t i me s th e y b e com e m or e st udi ous o f

pr ais e ; whil e t h os e w ho h av e not liv e d as t h e y oug h t t o h av e
d one are more p e ni te nt on account oft h e ir S i ns .
”
 54 AN HIS TO RY O F M A GI C ,
&c .

where unconstrained and perceives future events , .

The spirit of prophecy frequently manifested on ,

the approach of death was a phenomenon well ,

known even in the most ancient times This belief .

in the prophetic powers occasionally manifested by

t he dying was so prevalent in G reece that in PLA ,

To s A o lo SO CRA T ES is made o speak of it as a

’

p gy , t
thing universally accredited C IC E R O expresses .

himself to the same purpose ; as also A R R I A N ( d e

c a e d A le x vii
p .
) A (
R E T JE U S d e c a us e t si n m or b
. .
g . . .

a out & c ) and a great variety of other learned

,
.

and distinguished writers .

I n the ecstatic a f fections whether occurring spon ,

t a ne ously or as a symptom in certain morbid or

,

abnormal states of the human organism the occa ,

sioual manifestation of the prophetic faculty is a

fact which has bee n generally recog ni sed ; as also , ,

in many cases of reputed insanity ; a nd the pheno

menon has been ascribed partly t o the imme di ate , ,

divine agency and partly to the operation of cer

, , ,

t ain physical causes This phenomenon was deno .

m inat e d by PLU T ARCH in his M or a ls n n m g,/ m ,

o / ay ay

w : m m P L A T O Speaks of the former species of

a a .

t he prophetic m a ni a in his P hwd r us ; and Pliny a d

duces several remarkable instances of the cataleptic

ecstasis F or examples o f the moribund c la irv oy
.

a nc e the reader m a consult H I PP O CRA T ES G ALE N

, y , ,

A V I CENN A A R E T ZEU S PLU T ARCH , C ICE RO & c, , , .

The reality of this very remarkable phenomenon ,

i ndeed appears to have been kno w n to H OMER

, ,

who describes H ector as foretellin g the death of

 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
St e .
55

A chilles . CA L A N U S
when mounting the funeral
,

pile foretold the death of A lexander the Great

,
.

P O SIDONIUS relates the story of a dying R hodian ,

who predicted which out of six persons was to die , ,

first second th ird & c and the prophecy was verified

, , , .
,

by the event We shall probably have occasion in

.
,

a subsequent part of this work to re fe r to sever a l ,

other remarkable and authentic modern instances of

the unquestionable manifestation of this peculiar
prophetic fac ulty .

P L U T ARCH considers it improbable that in these ,

circumstances the human soul should for the firs t

, ,

time ac quire an entirely new power ; but thinks it

,

much more likely that thi s faculty always exists ,

although in an undeveloped state and t hat the soul ,

is only enabled to manifest it when no longer ,

oppressed by the burthen of the decayed members

and corrupted humours of the body A R E T JEU S .
,

and several other philosophical physicians appear ,

t o have entertained a Similar opinion ; and the late

accomplished S ir H enry H alford publi shed a n ele

gant treatise upon this subj ect of the moribund
c la ir v oya nc e .

C HAPTE R VII .

TH E phenomenon of
the natural Somna m bulism ,

or N oc ta m bulis m was also well known to the

,

ancients I t has been frequently Observed and

.
56 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&e .

described by the G reek a nd R oman authors ; and

o ur modern physiologists — to whom it ha s generally

proved a most embarrassing theme —have occasion

ally attempted to explain it upon principles almost
a lways u nsatisfactory a nd in many respects incor , , ,

r e c tl
y or ,g ratuitously assumed *
.

By the terms S omnambulism and Noc t ambulism ,

we denote an affection of a very peculiar nature ,

which may occasionally occur by day or by night ,

in which the patient in a state of apparently pro ,

found Sleep performs a variety ofOperations r e quir

,

ing the utmost attention O f the waki ng man ; and

this a s has been abundantly demonstrated by
,

innumerable examples of the natural and artifici a l

crisis when entirely deprived of the use ofthe natu
,

ral organs of the external sensibility The S e mnam .

bulis t walks or runs about with great freedom and

c onfi d e nc e —he reads writes and performs whi le , , ,

in this state the most diffi cult and dangerous feat s

, ,

w hich no sane man would ever think ofattemptin g .

N umerous i nstances of the operations performed in

these states have been adduced in the author s for ’

It is lit tl e r e m ark abl e t h at a ph e nome non so

not a

c uri ous in i t s e lf and so fre que nt ly d e v e l op e d Sh ould for so

, , ,

l ong a p e ri od h av e at t r act e d so li tt l e of t he at t e nt i on of
,

phil os ophi c al m i nds T his c ircum s t ance i nd e e d c an only

.
, ,

be e x pl ai ne d p e rhaps by t he fac t t h at t he ph e nom e non

, , ,

i t s e lf w as ge ne rally h e ld t o be of a s acre d ch aract e r and , ,

cons e que nt ly pl ace d far b e y ond t he limi t s ofprofane sp e e n

,

l at i on E v e n wh e n it w a s e x am i ne d t he att e nt i on Ofphil o
.
,

s oph e rs w as princip ally dir e ct e d t o the ph e nom e na e x hibit e d ,

a nd not t o t he p e culi ar s e nsi t iv e c ondi t i on of t he p a rt i c ul ar

or g ans .
58 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

carefully and impartially investigated the facts

D r ENN E M O SE R observes that the eyes ofS emnam ,

bulist s are usu a lly closed ; in some rare instances ,

they are found to be more or less open ; but even

w hen in this l a tter state it has been completely ,

demons t rated by the most ample and most irre

,

fr a able evidence
g that they
, are utterly incapable
of exercising the ordinary functions of vision I n .

another work the author ha s referred to the deci

,

si ve experiments ofmedical and scientific men upon

this particular point *
.

N octambulism we may Observe i s not unf

, re ,

quently complic a ted with certai n morbid states of

the corpore a l system — such as H ysteria C atalepsy , ,

M elancholi a E pilepsy S t Vitus s dance infl a mm a

, ,
’
,

tory and intermi ttent fevers worm complaints , ,

& c —and it ha s bee n sometimes mistaken for tem

.

p or ar
y delirium or actu a l ins a nity
, .

S omnambulism was a subj ect of serious investi

at ion from the most ancient times and many vari
g ,

ous V iews have been entertained in regard to its

peculiar nature and phenomena By the G reeks .
,

it was denominated é m c n m ; —by the R omans o a ,

N oc ta m bula ti o and S omna m buli smus I n regard .

to the par ticular causes and characteristics ofthis

remarkable af fection various opinions appear to
,

have been entertained at different periods by , ,

t he se authors who have observed the manifes t ation

ofthe p henomena ; while there exists a very striking

Se e W I EN H O L T ’
S L e c ture s on Somna mbulism .
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c . 59

uniformity in their descriptions ofthese phenomena

themselves by the most accurate Observers I n .

addition to the ancient writers upon this interesting

subj ect we would refer our readers for the most
, ,

ample information to the views of F O R E ST U S ET T

, ,

M U LLE R PA RACELSUS VA N H ELM ON T J U N KE R

, , , ,

H ALL ER WE I C H A R T U N Z ER F H O FMA N N B RA N
, , , .
,

DIS VA N S W I F T E N D E H AEN S AU V AGES DE LA

, , ,

CR O I x J F R A N K D AR W IN PE T E T IN PUYSEG UR
, .
, , , ,

WI E N H O L T D ELE U Z E G E O RGE T G ME LI N H E IN
, , , ,

E C K EN R EN A R I) B ER T RAN D B E D E R N PASSA V AN T
, , , , ,

KIESE R NASSE N E ES V O N ESEN B E C K F ISCHE R and

, , , ,

the numerous authors w ho have written upon the

phenomena Of A nimal M ag netism I t is not the .

least interesting fact in relation to this peculiar ,

af fection th a t it has been found capable Of being

,

produced by ar t ificial means as we shall see in the ,

sequel I t is remarkable likewise that almost all

.
, ,

the authors to whom we have referred especially ,

the most recent writers upon the subj ect however ,

much they may dif fer in their theoretical views are ,

perfectly at one in regard t o the facts .

A remarkable variety o f the apparently natural

development Of the prophetic faculty SO frequently ,

manifested in the idiopathic as well as in the arti

fi c ial somnambulism ha s been occasionally found to ,

exist constitutionally among the inh a bi t ants oft he

, ,

H ighlands of S cotland as well as in vario us other ,

countries These phenomena are unquestionably

.
, ,

produced in consequence of some peculiar m od ifi c a

tion of the somnambulistic or ecstatic affection .
60 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
ac .

But to this p a rticular branch of our subj ect we

Shall have occasion to refer with more propriety , ,

in the sequel I n the meantime we may refer t o

.
,

M AR T I N S D e sc r ip tion of the We ste r n I sla nd s of

’

S c o t la nd ; and to Professor KI E SE R S A r c hi v fi ir
’

d e n t hi e r i sc he n M a g ne tism us Vol viii NO 3 , . . . .

Visions and apparit ions similar to those which ,

occur in the magnetic sleep waking state have been -

,

frequently observed in various diseases a nd in many ,

abnormal states ofthe or g anism by medical writers ,

of e v ery a e ; ind e e d almost all the most minute

°

g ,

phenomena of the Ma gnetic S omnambulism ha v e

been not iced by ancient authors A RIS T O T LE oh .

serves that the development Ofthe prophetic faculty

,

is by no means an extraordinary occurrence i n

individuals aff licted with m e la nc holia ; and C I CE R O
speaks of divination as bei ng frequently manifested
in dif ferent species of insanity I ndeed both the .
,

G reek and the R oman authors were accus t omed t o

speak of the ecstatic af fections a s a species ofIlI a ni a ,

t o which ho w ever they ascribed the character of

, ,

divine PLU T ARCH and PLI N Y have made similar

.

obser v atio ns as also A R E T JE U S GA L E N and many

, , ,
~

of the more modern w riters The I dio S e mnam .

-

bulism occurri ng in nervous a f

, fections has been ,

described by several of the most eminent patho

log ist s .

The deliriu m which accompanies certai n inflam

m at or y disorders especially of the brain fr e
, ,

q ue n tly assumes a prophetic char a cter D E S E Z E .

( R e h he s sur la Se nsi bi li t e holds it to be undis

'

c e r c
)
62 AN HIS T O RY O F MA GIC ,
et c .

of many serious m a ladies ; a fa ct whi c h appears t o

have been well known and appreciated in ancient
times but which has been much disregarded by the
,

moder n physicians ; altho ugh the recent most suc

c e ssful pr a ctice ofthe disciples of M ESME R was suf

fi c ie nt to have recalled their attention to its great

utility as a medical agent ; a nd moreover it has , ,

been found to be e flic a c ious in almost all diseases ,

and in some almost a specific The g reatest natu

, , .

ral predisposition to the ecstatic affec tions seems to

occur in all cases of chro nic spasms hysteria St , ,

Vitus s dance a nd epilepsy but the a rtificial pr o

’
,

cesses m a y be safely a nd even beneficially employed ,

to a certain extent in almost all di sorders of the

,

system That eminent physician and physiologist

.
,

D r H E R B E R T M AY O has given substantial reasons

,

f or this salutary e f fi c a c y — ( S ee L e t te r s on P op ula r

Sup e r sti t ions by H ER B E R T M AY O )
, .

The mos t remarkable inst a nces ofthe apparently

natural occurrence of these extraordi nary states
S omnambulistic or ecst a tic V isio ns accompa nied in , ,

many cases with cataleptic insensibility and the

, ,

development ofthe faculty of c la i r voya nc e — appear

to have occurred amon g the religious mystics and
fanatics o f —
all ag es amon g the E astern Brahmi ns
and Bonzes the H ebrew Prophets the early C hris
, ,

t ian S ai nts a nd M artyrs the M ahometan de v otees, ,

and the Protestant sectaries in F rance G ermany , ,

E ngland S cotland a nd A merica The same phe

, , .

nom e na under S imilar cir cumstances r e appeared

, ,
-

in those remarkable occurrences which took place ,

 AN HIS T O R Y OF MAGIC ,
&c . 63

towards the middle and end of the last century at ,

the tomb of the A bb é Paris at S t M edard and , ,

which have been fully recorded by CA R R E DE

M O N T GE R O N in his work ent itled L a Ve r i te d e s
, , ,

IlI i r a c les Op e r e s p a r l I nt e r c e ssion d e M P a r i s,

’ ’

C ologne , 1 74 5 . S imilar sce nes took place among

the early M e thodists —the di sciples ofWesley and
W h it fi e ld — i n E n g la n d and A merica — a nd to a cer ,

t ain degree among the S cotch C ovenanters ; and

,

various a t tempts have been subse que ntly made in ,

di fferent cou ntries and at different t i mes to rene w ,

these extravagances particularly in S cotland and

,

the United S tates by the modern R e vi v a lists

, .

S om nambulism may thus arise in some one or ,

other ofits various de g rees or modificatio ns either ,

as an idiopat hic affection or as a symptom in other

,

disorders Ofthe sensitive or intellectual systems .

I t is not at all surprisi ng that previous to the ,

great discovery of M ESME R and the subse q uent ,

elucidation of the magnetic doctri ne occurrences , ,

such as we have alluded to should have been g ene ,

rally regarded as miracles the immediate work of -

G od —and that they should have been appealed to ,

by the enthusiastic religious sectaries as ind isput abl ,

proofs of di v i ne favour and oft he orthodoxy oftheir

,

o w n particul a r fa i t h S uch a belief could only be

.

dispelled by a more searchi ng in v e s ti g a t ion into the

susceptibilities ofthe human co nsti tutio n a nd a dis ,

c ov e r Of the natural causes of the phenomena in

y
question But religious fan a tics are seldom much
.

disposed to philosophic al research or very acces ,

64 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

sible to reason I t is a singular fact however

.
,

and thi s may serve as a powerful warni ng t o

theologians—that with equal reason and equal
, ,

confidence s uch phenomena have been by some

, ,

zealots ascribed to divine i nfluence and by other s

, , , ,

t o S atanic agency But we must not anticipate

. .

I t is not v ery surprisi ng we repeat that suc h , ,

occur rences Should in these times have been r e, ,

garded as miracles The phenomena it is true .

, ,

w ere apparently very wonderful ; and at those

, ,

di f ferent periods science ha d yet no means of

,

affording a rational and adequate explanation of

t hem . The facts t hemselves i ndeed were abun , ,

dautly attested— they were notorious a nd und oni

able and as no natural cause could be assigned for
t heir manifestation we cannot wonder that they ,

should have been directly attributed to superhuman

influences .

I n the affection called S t Vitus s dance patie nts

’

sometimes acquire transient visions of a divinat ory

character rel ating to themselves and others A curi
, .

o us instance o fthis symbolical somnambulism is rela

t e d in the B ld tte r a us P r e v o rst ; a nd a similar case

was Observed by D r EN N E M O SE R The same phe .

nom e na occasionally occur in syncope and in appa ,

rent death There is a curious and very interest

.

ing narrative of a case of this last description in ,

t he person ofthe daughter of M ontez uma in CL A ,

V I G E R O S H i stor
’

y y
< M e xi c o We shall probably
”
.

have occasion to advert more particularly to some

of these cases in the sequel .
66 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

language of the soul in these states resembles in , ,

spiration and oc c a sI onally exhibits a symbolical

,

character I n L unatic A sylums it is not unusual

. ,

to hear son g s sung in the purest dialec t and most ,

perfect intonation by entirely uneducat e d persons

, .

I n one of those brilliant coruscation s Of his

powerful ge nius in which he frequently exhibits the
,

most profound intuit ive conception of human na

t ure in all its various phases SH A K SPE A R E has
, ,

expressed in poetical langu a ge an idea —

, or rather , , ,

a fact — which modern scientific investi g ation has

demonstrated to be a general philosophi cal truth .

L o v e rs , a nd h a v e s uch se e t hi ng br a ins
m a d m e n, ,

Suc h sh api ng fant a si e s t h at appr e h e nd ,

M ore t h an cool r e as on e v e r compre h e nds .

T he l una t i c t he l ov e r and t he p oe t
, , ,

A re of i ma gi na t i on all c om p ac t .

T he p oe t s e y e i n a fi ne phre nz y r olli ng
’
, ,

D ot h g l anc e from he av n t o e art h fr om e a rt h t o he av n ;

’

,
’

A nd as i m agina t i on b odi e s f
, or t h

T he for m s oft hi ngs unknown t he p oe t s p e n

’
,

T urns t h e m t o S h ap e and g iv e s t o air y not hi ng

,

A l oc al h abi t at i on and a name , .

We may regard these states in gener al as the , ,

symptoms of a predisposition to the ecstatic affe c

t ions . E very man of ori g inal genius is in fact in , ,

cer t ai n respects a Som na m bulis t a Cla i rv oya nt

, , .

The close alliance between G enius and M ad nes s ,

i ndeed is proverbial :
,

G re at wi t s t o m adne ss are so ne ar alli e d

t hi n p ar t i t i ons d o t h e ir b ounds divid e —P O P E
,
”
B ut . .
 AN HIS T O RY O F M A GIC ,
&c . 67

Nullum m a g num ing e nium si ne m ix t ur a d e m e nt zw

'

.
*

Exc lud it s a nos H e lic o ne p o e tas D e mo c r i t us f

H O R A T D e A r te P oe tic a
. .

C ICE RO says , D e Or a t .
( L . I I n 64
. . P oe t a m
bonum ne m i ne m sin e i nfl a mm a ti one a nim o r um c a is

is te r e , e t si ne f g uo d a m a
fi la t u ur or is .
i —H ence the
proverb : N a sc i m ur p oe ta —fi m us o r a t or as § A
' '

great orator howe v er may be inspired —may be a

, ,

genius as well as a poet We are disposed to

, .

think that G enius proceeds not from the cerebral

—
portion of the ner v ous system the head the —
seat of t he i ntellect ; but from the g a nglionic
—
nerves the seat of the instinctive feelings of the—
sensibility .

L U CRE T I US the poet was subj ect t o fi t s o f in

, ,

sanity T A sso composed poe t ry during his severes t

.

paroxysms ; L E E the dr amatist w as subj ec t t o

, ,

insanity ; and B A B IE U F is said to ha v e written his

best verses durin g the most viole nt deliriu m of
fever A ll great poets too have been accounted
.
, ,

prophets and seers ; and the poetic fur or or m a nia , ,

is a common expression S ome curious disquisi .

tions upon this subj ect will be found in several of

PLA T O S dialogues
’
.

The poet the painter the sculptor t he musi

, , ,

Th e re is no g re at g e ni us wi t h out a m i xt ur e ofm a dne ss .

I D e m ocri t us e xcl ud e s all s ane p oe t s fr om H e li con .

it Th e r e c an be no g ood p oe t wi t h out an i nfl a mm a t ory

s t ate of t he m i nd and a ce rt ai n afi a tus of fury ( furo
,
r

p oe ti c us)
p oe t s —w e
.

We are bor n be c ome r

o at o rs .
68 AN HIS TO RY or MAGI C ,
&c .

c ian, &c may all be arranged under the same cate

.
,

gory They idealise all the obj ects of percep t ion

. ,

addressi ng themselves chi efly to o ur hi g her se nsi

tive faculties The minds of all the most eminent
.

artists in every departme nt appear to have been

, ,

in a state of enthusiastic rapture or phr e nzy , ,

while engaged in the composition of their most

celebrated works There is a n holy i nspiration an .
,

enthusiasm ofgenius which enables it to transcend ,

the formal rules ofart This truth was recog nised .

by that succe ssor ofthe apostle Peter when he in ,

quired of G ua m R ENI into what heaven did s t ,

“

thou look when thou paintedst this angel — the

,

Madonna R AP H A E L said ofhimself and his produc

.

tions — A certain idea arises in my mind — to this

“

I hold fast and endeavour to realise it unco ncerned

, ,

about its artistic value H e trusted in short to .

”
, ,

the inspiration of his ow n g enius I n one of his .

letters the same distinguished painter i nforms us

,

that he could give no reason why his pictures should

have assumed one form or another The world .
,

says he discovers many excellencies in my pic

,

tures so that I myself frequently smile when I find

,

t h a t I have succeeded so well in the realisation of

my own casual conceptions But my whole work .

has been accomplished as it were in a pleasan t , ,

dream ; and while composing it I have always, ,

thought more of my obj ect than of the manner of

representing it That I have a certain manner of .

pain t i ng as every artist g enerally has his own

,

this seems to have been originally imp lanted in my

 A N HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&0 .

one thing sometimes another comes into my he ad

, ,

to help to make a piece of confectio nary according ,

to the rules of cou nterpoi nt and the tone Of the ,

different musical i nstruments & c N ow this warms , .

,

my soul provided I a m not disturbed Then my

, .

mental work gradually becomes more a nd more

extended and I spread it out farther and more
,

clearly u ntil the piece really becomes in my head

,

almost ready even should it be of considerable

,

length ; so that I c a n survey it in spirit with a , ,

g lance
,
as if I saw before me a beau t iful picture or ,

a han dsome person ; and I hear it in im a gination ,

not in detached portio ns but as it were alto g ether , , , ,

as a whole N o w this is a feast A ll my feelings

.
, .

and composition go on withi n me only as a lively and

delightful dream But to hear all this together is
.

t he best
”
.

I ndeed the poet the painter the sculptor the

, , , ,

musician— in short every e nthusiast in art —a c c om

,

lishe s his most striki ng perfor m ances in a s tate Of

p
intellectual transport— as if in an ecstatic dream ;
and he is himself i g norant of the m od us op e r a nd i ,

and Of the reasons of the excellence Ofthe product .

H is intellect is overpo w ered by his genius I nspi .

ration produces ma s terpieces which the most labo ,

r ious study can never attain .

A patient subj ect to periodical attacks ofinsanity,

,

w a s always deli g hted at the approach of a fit ,

because as he said every thing succeeded with him

, , ,

when in that state Of which he was a t other times

, , ,

incapable and upon such occasions he felt himself

, , ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
71

particularly happy M ay not many of the appare nt.

eccentricities of men of genius be capable ofe xpla

nation upon some similar principle
A ll somnambulists and ecstatics appear t o be
endowed wi t h a peculiar intuitive power when in ,

these s t ates a nd describe their sensations at such

, ,

times as uncommonly agreeable The prophetic

, .

g li mpses Of the partially insa ne also are Oft en very , ,

remarkable ; and these are occasionally manifested

as immediate sensitive intuitio ns frequently e x ,

pressed in symbolical language or representative ,

a ction C LAUS the reputed fool upon o ne occasion

.
, , ,

entered hurriedly i nto the pri v y council room at -

Weimar and exclaimed

,
There you are consulting ,

no doubt about very important matters but nobody

,

is thinking how the fire in C olmar is to be e xt in

i she d A this very moment as was afterwar d s
”

g u t
.
,

learnt an al a rming fire w as actually ra g ing in the

,

town ofC olmar .

N ICE T AS G O N I A T E s relates in his life Of I SAAC ,

A NGE LUS that when the emperor was a t R o d ost e s

, , ,

he paid a visit t o a man called B a si la c us w ho had ,

the reputation of possessing the faculty of seein g

into futurity but who was other w ise regarded by
, ,

all sensible persons as a fool B a sila c us received , .

t he emperor wi t hout any particular marks of respect ,

and returned no answer to his questio ns I nstead .

of doing so he walked towards the emperor s pic

,
’

t ure which hung in the apartment scratched out

, ,

t he eyes with his staf f and attempted to strike the ,

hat from his head The emperor took his leave

.
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

considering him to be a perfect fool But shor tly .

afterw a r d s a rebellion broke out among the mag

,

nates of the empire who deposed I saac and placed

, ,

his brother A lexis upon the throne ; and the latter

caused the late emperor to be deprived Of his sight ;
thus realising the symbolical prophecy ofB A SI L A CU S .

We may observe however that the varieties and

, ,

nua nc e s of the sensitive and ecstatic a f fections are

exceedin g ly numerous and that many of them are ,

frequently referred to certain eccentricities Of indi

vidual character I ndeed it is difficult in many
.
, ,

instances to determine exactly where mere e c c e n

,

tr ic it ie s terminate and insanity be g ins

,
fl‘

9“
M adne ss or Ins ani ty s ays L ord B yron—and it is
, ,

curi ous t o fi nd t he r e mark com i ng from t h at quart e r is

m uch m or e pr e v al e nt t h an p e opl e i m a gi ne ; i nd e e d t h e ir ,

not i ons r e sp e c t i ng t he nat ur e of i t are v e ry l oos e T h e re

are t hr e e s t a g e s of i t a nd i t g oe s by t hr e e nam e s —oddi t y
.

, ,

e cc e nt ri c i t y a nd i ns ani ty
,
O ne w ho di f
. fe rs a li t t l e from t he
r e s t of t he w orld in his whi ms t as t e s or b e h avi our is
, , , ,

c all e d od d ; he w ho di ffe rs s t ill m ore is c all e d e cc e ntri c ;

and wh e n t his di f f e r e nc e p ass e s a c e r t a in b ound i t is t e rm e d ,

i ns ani ty A ll m e n ofg e ni us cont i nue s his L ordship are

.
,
”
,

a li tt l e m a d and m any p e rs ons i t is b e li e v e d w ill be of

, ,

opi ni on t h a t t he nobl e P oe t hi m se lf w a s no e xc e p t i on fr om

t he ge ne r al r ul e .
 74 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

in her su f feri ngs a nd a calm resignation to the

,

divine will F our weeks previous to her death

.
,

she at length awoke out of her long dream Those

, , .

who had previously seen and known her could now

n o longer recognise her as the same person ; so

enlar g ed and exalted were her intellectual powers ,

and so refined was her langu a ge S he expressed .

the most sublime truths with such clearness and

internal lucidi ty as a r e seldom developed in com
mon life S he was visited by many individuals o n
.

her deathbed and all who saw her declared that if

, , ,

during the whole period Of he r insanity she had ,

been holding intercourse with the most c ultivated

minds her ideas could not have been more e n
,

li g htened and comprehensive *

.

A mo ng the abnormal manifestations ofSom nam

bulism which are somewhat similar t o those of
,

delirium and the visions of the insane we may in ,

c lud e the phenomena of all those anomalous states

which either occur accidentally or may be volu m ,

t ar ily produced by means of certain poisons In .

these cases we find a species of temporary int oxi

,

cation combined w ith mental exaltat ion which are

, ,

frequently succeeded by a greater or less degree of

debility and stupor S uch e f fects are generally
.

produced by all narcotics S everal examples Of .

t hese states have been collected by D r PASSA V A N T ,

in his Unte r suc hung e n ube r d e n L e be ns—

m a g ne tismus ,

F or t he full p art icul ars his curious c as e Dr ST E IN

oft ,

B E C K r e fe rs t o t he B a sle Co lle c t io ns f
or t he y e ar 1 788 W hi ch ,

t he aut h or has not ha d an opp or tuni t y ofc ons ul t i ng .

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 75

&c .
—( S also a L atin treatise D e Op u Usu a uc
ee, , ,

tor e D O R I N G I O Jena 1 6 2 0 p. G ASSENDI

, ,
.

relates that a shepherd in Provence prepared him

self for the visionary and prophetic state by using
str a m oni um The E g yptians we are told prepare
.
, ,

an intoxicating extract from the j uice of hemp ,

which they call A ssis and make it up into balls of ,

the size of a chesnut H avi ng swallowed some of .

these and thereby produced a species of intoxica

,

tion they experience ecstatic visions J O HN WIE R

, .

speaks of a plant growing on M ount L ebanon , ,

which places t hose who taste it in a state of vision

ary ecstacy — ( J O HANNES WI E nus ; D e L a miis )
. .

I nteresting and satisfactory accounts of the sta tes

prod uced by the use Of op ium will be found in
KAE M P FE R ; PINE L S N e c og r ap hy ; the Confe ssi ons
’

o
f an O p i um E a te r a nd various other works .

H e nba ne and probably most other poisonous sub

,

s t ances in certain doses may produce simi lar

, ,

e ffects ; as also some of the gases The int oxi

, , .

ca t ing and sedative e f fects of some of these sub

sta nces have recently proved a welcome relief— a
perfect G o d send—to some of our British physi
-

eia us who had become seriously alarmed at the

,

signal success atten di ng the more simple and salu

t if e r ous M esmeric methods which latter however , ,

will always retain their advantage of being more

safe and inn ocuous besides being in other respects
, , ,

g e ne r allv restorative V A N H E LM ON T relates

. a
curious instance Of the ef fects of an experiment
made upon himself with the root of the A c onitum
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

nap e llus, which t he author of this treatise has

ad v erted to in t he A ppendix to I SIS R E V ELA T A
, .

S ir H UM P H RY D A V Y has left us a graphic and

very i nterest ing description of the states produced
upon himself by the inhala tion of some ofthe gases ;
and we Shall probably have occasion hereaft er t o , ,

make some Observations upon the rece nt exhibitio n

of these and o t her narcotics in medical practice .

V A N H E LM O N T by the bye appears t o have bee n

,
- -
,

v ery well acquai nted w ith the various phenome na

O f the v isionary a nd ecstatic states and of the ,

causes which operate in producing them H e w as .

one o f the first philo s ophers w ho seem to ha v e

anticipated the modern discoveries ofM ES M E R a nd
his disciples in magne t ic science ; and that aecom
p li she d physicia n ga v e explanat ions of the fa cts he

elicited very nearly akin t o those which have been

,

e ntertained and promul g a ted by the later m a g

ne t ist s —( S ee in particular his treatise e nt itle d
, , ,

I m a g o JlI e nti s .
)
The state of E c sta si s consti t utes t he highes t
degree of w hat m a y be c a lled the visio nary life
the term v isi ona r y bei ng used in a sense somewhat
di fferent from the ordinary meaning of t he expre s
sion Thi s peculiar st a te O f the organi s m may be
.

produced either by constitutional causes a s a sy m p ,

~

t om in other morbid or abnormal a f fectio ns Of t he

,
—
s ystem or although perhaps more rarely by
,
— ,

the processes ofM ag netism I n ecstatics the inter

.
,

nal sensibility and the imag inat i v e powers are

, ,

isolated and exalted to such a de g ree that the body ,

78 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGIC ,
the .

principles may prove somewhat more successful ;

,

and we presume to think that along with every ,

other species of these anomalous states the variety ,

in question is capable of being more satisfactorily

explained upon scientific principles without the ,

necessity of havin g constant recourse to the inter

v e nt ion of any immediate supernatural agency in

every particular instance ofthe affection

Ne c D e us inte rsit ,
nis i d ig nus v ind ic e no d us .

E xample s of this peculiar species of the ecstatic

af fection ( reli g ious ecstacy ) will be found in abun ,

d ance in the lives of ST F RANCIS ST A N T HONY

, , ,

S T MA CA R I US ST BE RNAR D ST I GNA T IUS ST

, , ,

C A T HARINE ST B RI GI T T A ST H I L D E G A R D I S & c
, , , .

in short of almost all the distinguished S aints in

,

the R oman C atholic calendar ; and the actions and

passions of these memorable personages have been
carefully recorded and regarded by the orthodox
,

as divine inspirations —as pregnant and decisive

proofs ofan immediate intercourse with the angelic
world The Protes tants too are not without their
.
, ,

ecstatics ; althou g h those on record are neither so

numerous nor so remarkable as those belonging to
the C atholic community A ll Of these cases how .
,

ever afford ample materials for magnetic history

, .

But ofall this we shall have occasion to treat more

a t length in the sequel .

I n the meantime we may observe that some

, ,

recent and rather remarkable instances of the devo

t ional ecstacy have been f ullv and carefully com
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
79

m e m orat e d in our o w n times—such as t hose of t he

ecstatic patients M ARIA V O N M O RL called the E c sta ,

ti c a at C aldero ; the miller s daughter D OMI N I CA

’

, ,

L A Z ARI called the A d d olor a ta at Capr iani in t he

, , ,

Tyrol ; and of several other individuals similarly

af fected in various other countries
, I ndeed cases .
,

ofthis description occasionally diversified in regard

,

to some of the phenomena manifested by the seve

ral patients especially in C atholic countries are by
, ,

no means very rare althou g h seldom publicly e xhi

,

bited The two last mentioned E cstatics ha v e been

.

visited and described by the E AR L O F S HRE W S B URY ,

amongst others to whose interesting publication

,

upon the subj ect as givi ng the orthodox C atholic

,

view of the question we beg leave t o refer o ur ,

readers The similar case of A K E MME RI CH

. . .
,

called the N un ofD ulm e n in G ermany has been , ,

noticed and amply described by a number o f

, ,

authors .

From ignorance ofthe true nature and real causes

o fthese very curious s ta tes or from the less credi ,

table motive of conferring an adventitious suppor t

upon a system ofsuperstitious worship such nat ural ,

ecstatics h a ve been occasionally canonised a nd ,

awarded a place in the calendar of sain t s ; nay ,

they have even been elevated by pious zeal into , ,

Obj ects of reli g ious adoration or invoked as inter , ,

c e ssors at the throne of the A lmighty But in

,
.

regard to all abuses of this description passing over ,

the obvious impiety we may take the liber t y of ,

using similar langua g e (m uta tis m ut a nd i s) to that

 AN HIS T O RY O F M AGI C ,
&c .

w hich was long a g o appll e d by PO M P O NA T I U S ( a

R oman C atholic heretic however ) to the Old necro , ,

m anc e rs A li g ui m ulta sunt op e r a ti se c unolum

.

n a tur a le m e t a s tr onom i c a m sc i e nt i a m , e t t a m e n v e l

e m sa nc ti ta t e c r e d i ti sunt ista o r a r i , ue l e m ne c r o
p
f
e

m a nti a c um t a m e n ne que sa nc t i ne ue ne e r om a n
q
ti c i —D e nat uralium a d mir and or um c ausis & c
si nt .
, .

The vulgar beli ef to w hich PO M P O N A T I U S here ,

alludes appears to have been transmitted in some

, ,

measure even to our ow n times and all such extra

,

ordinary althou g h perfectly natural occurrences

, ,

which we cannot immediately explain upon scientific

—
principles including the abnormal phenome na of
—
organic metastasis are still ascribed by many ,

persons who ought to be bet t er instructed to super ,

natural and imaginary causes — eit her to the direct

agency o fthe S upreme Being or to the unhallowed ,

a r t ifi c e s ofS atan .

The study of A nimal M agnetism tends to dis

pel all those erroneous fanta stic and mischievous , ,

n otions by endeavouring to explain the natural

,

causes Of the phenomena in question upon phy siolo

g ic al ,
psychological and rational principles I n , .

t his respect indeed it may be o fthe most essential

, ,

and s a lutary use by obviating popular delusions ,

and scientific difficulties dispelling groundless and ,

superstitious fears and referring all such pheno ,

mena to their appropriate nat ural causes S uch .

explanations cannot fail to be of service both to

orthodox religion and to sound philosophy .
82 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

was always made between the true S EE RS and the

vulgar miracle mongers - .

I n consequence of the sc a nty knowledge of the

inherent powers of nature in early times as has ,

been already observed and the gross ignorance and ,

superstition of the great mass of the people the ,

operation of these powers was utterly inc om pr e

he nsible by the multitude ; and hence many , ,

phenomena however familiar in themselves were

, ,

generally accounted miraculous and attributed to ,

the action of supernatural influences The super .

st it ious n otions comprehended in the Pagan worship

had their source in this cause E ven the magnetic .

cures to which we have already alluded were

, ,

g enerally considered to be the immediate e f

fects of
a divine influence communicated to the priesthood
the sole me di ators between manki nd and the D eity .

F aith therefore implici t faith was held to be a

, , ,

necessary and indispe nsable condition of the bene

fi c ia l e f
ficacy of the means employed ; and the
magical magnetic or remedial virtues supposed t o
, , ,

be i nherent in certain substances were believed to ,

be excited into action by the mysterious e nergy of

the will of the operator fortified by the use Of cer ,

tain words prayers incantations and other cere

, , ,

monies which were preserved in the worship of the

,

G ods T O these remedial operatio ns belon g ed the

.

cure ofdiseases by the imposition ofthe hands by ,

breathing & c or by the use of t a lismans and

, .
-

amulets wearing of co nsecrated rings and so forth

, , .

H ence arose a systematic treatment of diseases ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
83

analogous to that employed with such signal suc

cess by the modern Ma gnetists I t would even
, .

appear from various facts and circumstances that

, ,

some of the di f fere nt methods ofproducing the arti

fi c ial sleep and S omnambulism were known and prae
t ise d in ancient times ; as shall hereafter be shown ,

particularly when we come to speak ofthe T emple

processes and the doctrines propounded by the
,

E astern M AG I the N e o Platonic philosophers ofthe

,
-

A lexandrian school and the mystical writers of all ,

ages I ndeed at di fferent periods long previous to

.
,

the discoveries of M ESMER and his immediate suc ,

c e ssor s in magnetic science the somnambulistic ,

af fection and its characteristic phenomena had

, ,

been fully and Correctly described bo t h by ancien t

authors and by others ofa more modern date Of
, .

this fact we shall have occasion to adduce many

proofs hereafter but in the meantime for the , ,

sake of brevity we shall restrict ourselves to the

,

following
I A MB L I CH U S in his treatise D e M yste r i i s E g gp
,

t ior um has described the somnambulistic af

, fection
with g reat accuracy and precision The author has .

quoted the passage referred to in a former publi

cation . C O RNE LIUS A GRI PPA in his work D e Oc
*
,

c ult a P hi losop hi a speaks very distinctly in regard

,

to the phenomena of the particular s t ate in ques

tion H is words are P ote st e nim a nim us hum a nus
.
,

Se e WI E N H O L T ’
S L e c tur es on Somna mbulis m . Int rod .
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

r ce se r t i m si m le x et ur us , sa c r or um u r und a m
p p p g o

a uoc a m e nto ac d e li ne a m e nt o se
p a ra ri et e x te r na r i

ad
p r ce se nt i um o blivi one m i ta ut , r e m ot a c orp or i s

m e m or i a , re d i
g a t ur in n a t ur a m s ua m d i ui na m ;
at
que s i c d iv i no lum i ne lus tr a tus , ac f ur or e d iv ine
a
fi a tus , ut ur a r e r um
f p r c e sa
g i r e , t um e ti a m m i r a

bili um g uor und a m fi t uum c um hoc

'

e ec sus c ip e r e v ir

tute m f
f
I t is a great mistake therefore or a , ,

signal proof of ignorance to ascribe t he original ,

discovery of these phenomena to M ESME R or t o ,

any other modern inquirer I ndeed w e shall .

,

have occasion t o Show hereafter that the states , ,

in question have been known from the earlies t

t imes .

There is now no doubt indeed that the cure Of , ,

diseases by means of the touch the imposi tion of ,

the hand and other magnetic methods prevailed

, ,

amongst all the most ancie nt nations of the world

the H indoos the Parsi the C h a ldeans the Baby
, , ,

lonia ns the E gyptians the H ebre w s & c —

, and , , .
,

especially among the Jews as we learn from the

, ,

S criptures of the O ld Testament The same me .

t hod s also appear t o have been practised from the ,

remotest times among the C hinese ( S ee A T HA

,
.

h um an m i nd e sp e ci ally wh e n simpl e and p ure

T he , ,

by m e ans ofce rt ain s acr e d ce r e m oni e s m ay b e com e e st r ang e d ,

int o an oblivi on of pre s e nt t hi ngs ; so t h at t he corp ore al ,

m e m ory b e i ng obli t e r at e d i t m ay be r e s t or e d t o it s di vi ne
,

nat ur e ; and t h us p urifi e d by t he divi ne li g h t and fill e d

, ,

wi t h divi ne r ap t ur e it b e com e s e nabl e d t o pre dict fut ur e

,

e v e nt s and t o e x e ri e nc e at t he s am e t i me c e r t ai n w on
, p , ,

d e rful affe ct i ons .

”
86 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

of M ESME R by c ertain vulgar fanatics ! We unhe ,

sit at in lrepeat our conviction that the pract ice

g y, ,

in question is expressly sanctioned by the Word Of

G od approved by the example and precept of
,

Jesus C hrist a nd recommended by the A postles of

,

C hristiani t y to their brethren in the faith M ost .

j ustly may the M esmerists maintain in the words ,

o fthe poet ,

N os ha bita t no n ta r ta r a , se d ne c s id e r a c oe li
”
Sp ir i t us in nobis qui v ig e t , i lla fa c it .

E t e nim s a na t i o i n Chr i sto d om i no i nc ep i t , says

’

VA N H ELM O N T e r a ost o los c ont inua vi t , e t m od o

, p p
e st , a t
p que p That
e r e nni s
t he magnetic e r m a ne t fi
‘e

methods for the cure of the sick were employed

, ,

by the C hristian C hurch from the earliest times , ,

is again rem a rked by the same distinguished phy

sic ian and philosopher in his treatise D e Vi r t ute , ,

M a g na Ve r bor um et R e r um .

s a na nd i le sia , p e r v e r ba , r i t us ,
Op e r a ti o f ui t in ec c

e x or c ism os a ua m , sa le m , he r ba s i d g ue n e d um
, g
c on tr a d i a bo los et
fi
e ec t us m ag i c os , se d et m or bos
o m ne s
j The practice indeed has been partially , ,

retained eve n to the present times especially by

, ,

if
N or h e ll d o w e i nv ok e nor s t arry ski e s ,

T he s oul wi thi n us all our for ce s uppli e s .

F or our h e ali ng p ow e rs are d e riv e d fro m J e s us C hris t ;

t h e y w e r e c ont i nue d in t he A p os t l e s t h e y e x is t now and , ,

sh all for e v e r r e m ai n .
”

T T h e O p e r a t i on ofh e ali ng dis e a s e s e x is t e d i n t he c h u r ch ,

by m e ans of w ords ri t e s e x orcis m s w at e r s al t h e rbs

, , , , ,

a nd not only in t he c a s e ofdi ab oli c al and m a gi c al af fe ct i ons ,

but ofall morbid s t at e s

”
.
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
87

the R oman C atholi c priesth ood in their solemn ,

ritual Of e xorcism .

The e fli c a c y of fervent faith and zealous d evo

tion in producing the ecstatic states can be demon
, ,

st ra t e d by numerous examples both of individu al s ,

and of entire communities at all times and under , ,

e v ery form Of religious worship S ome striking .

fa cts and Observations upon this subj ect will be , ,

found in I SIS R E V E LA T A and many more will ,

occur incidentally in the farther progress Of our

, ,

present investigation O ne instance of m oder n.

dat e however m a y now be referred t o as it has

, , ,

been related by a well known physician a nd philo -

sopher as a fact consistent with his own know

ledg e a nd therefore rests upon t he most unsuspi
, , ,

c ious testimo ny I n his learned work entitled

. ,

S yste m d e s T e llur is mus , Od e r T hie ri sc he n M a g ne t

the A ulic C ouncillor and Professor KIESE R
i sm us ,
of Jena observes t hat he is acquainted with a man
,

who procures prophetic visions at night by means , ,

of fervent prayer frequently upon a mou ntai n o n

, ,

w hich he lays himself down upon his stomach ; and

this gift he exercises in the most unpretending ,

manner for the c ur e of d ise a ses I t is not said

, .

that this individual prepares himself for this sta te

by the use of any narcotic substance These visions .

the learned Professor describes as partly prosaic ,

partly poetical and partly plastic ; and besides

, ,

diseases they occasionally have a reference t o

, , ,

other important affairs of life and even t o poli t ical ,

events ; so that in this respect this seer bears

, ,
88 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC , &c .

some resemblance to t he Prophets of the Old T e s

tament .

O ur prese nt generation Of D octors and Pr of es

sors however skilful in t he mere technicalities of

,

their art and however learned in all the knowledge

,

o f a meagre material and narrow minded system

, ,
-

of philosophy are for the most part — or at leas t

, , ,

—
profess to be utter sceptics and infi d e ls in regard
to the influence of any spiri tual powers o v er the
modificatio ns and manifestations of the human or
a nism They endeavour to depreciate all de v o
g .

t ional feeling by branding it with the epithet of

,

mere mysticis m ; as if the v alue of facts could be

annihilated by the use ofcontemptuous expressio ns .

But when they make use of the epithet m ystic i sm ,

we may well be permitted to doubt whe ther they

really attach any intelligible and definite meani ng
to the term or whether they have not resorted to
it for the purpose of conce a lin g their o w n i g norance
a nd incapacity T O the true philosopher the entire
.
,

u niverse Of matter and thou g ht and feeling m a y

, , ,

be said to be in one se nse a great complex ofmys

, ,

t ic ism w hich cannot be comprehended by the

,

human mind without adopting the hypothesis—if

,

it be but an hypothesis —of some great spiritual

influence under divine direc t ion and t he con trol Of
,

inscrutable power a nd wisdom constantly pe r v a d ,

ing actuati ng and governing every portion of the

, ,

entire system E ven the most ancient philosophers

.

appear to have been aware of this necessity ; and

without subj ecting ourselves to the imputation of
90 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

rior lore a nd worldly wisdom the most profound ,

and the most valuable secrets of nature will ever

exist for them as a t e r r a i nc og ni ta —nu unint e lli
g ib le cypher .

B ut to those o n the other hand who are d is

, ,

posed and enabled to penetrate beyond the mere

external surface Of things —the outer crust of na
—
ture the physica l body a nd its merely corporeal ,

powers adapted no doubt t o our present e phe

, , ,

meral state of bein g appear only as the material

,

levers by means of which the immateri a l ener

, ,

g etic, living spirit acts upo n material nature a nd is ,

enabled to re nder it subservient t o the purposes of

t he operati v e voli t ion T he M aterialis t s indeed
.
, ,

in t heir utter blindness overlook or disregard the

, , ,

mighty influence of the human will and its inc om ,

prehe nsible energy when excited and invigorated

,

by a lively and undoubtin g fai t h — as announced by

Jesus C hrist hi m self to his disciples ; a power of -
,

w hich the extent may be said t o be yet u nknown .

But to this most important topic we shall prob a bly

h a ve occasion to revert in the sequel .

CHA PTER X .

INthe infancy of science the na me of MA GI C ,

w a s frequently employed especially a mong the ,

G reeks to denote views and doctrines with which

, , ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 91

properly speaking it had no essential connection,

as for example the doctrine ofA NA X AG O RAS in

, ,

regard t o eclipses which like many other branches

, ,

of science w as origi nally propou nded in secret

, ,

from the fear Of o ffe ndin g the dangerous prejudices

of the vul ar who could not easily be brou h t to
g , g
recog nise t he distinction be t w een proximate and
ul tim ate cause s Even the divine PLA T O himself
.
,

accordi ng to his o w n confes s ion put forth his pe c u ,

liar doc t rines in the names of other individu als in ,

order to avoid a similar respo nsibili t y S O CRA T ES .

t ha t Old man eloquent — fell a victim t o his sin

c e r it
y .

I n later times t he
term MAGI C was brought into
,

discredit from dif ferent causes The science itself .

came to be considered as a relic of Paganism —a

rem nant of heathenish divini t y ; and as such it , ,

w as violen t ly denounced by the C hristian converts ,

duri ng the barbarous ages of E urope ; and the

s t igm a then afii xe d t o the name has not yet bee n
, ,

en tirely e fl a c e d even in the present more enli g h t

'

ened times I n the very mil d est sense the ancien t

.
,

M AGIC is s t ill regarded by many as a mere sys t em ,

o fj u glery and deception

g I n how far it deser v e s .

t his degradatio n w e sh a ll have occasion to inquire

,

hereaft er .

I t is remarkable however that all of those , ,

a ncient philosophers who travelled into I ndia or

,

E g ypt in pursuit of knowledge became devoted t o ,

the study of MAGI C as it was then called ; a nd ,

that after their return home they propounded

, , ,
92 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

among their countrymen the doctrines they had ,

been led to embrace for the most part in secret , ,

but sometimes more or less ope nly A mong the

, , .

chief Ofthese sages we may reckon P Y T HAG O RAS

, ,

along with his disciples and followers E M P E D O CLE S , ,

D EM O CRI T US PL A T O & c , We cannot consent to

, .

rank these distinguished men among the mere Jug

le rs and Professors of L egerdemain ; yet they
g
have sometimes been included in the category of
M agicians The doctrines taught by PY T HAG O RAS
.

were also imbibed and propagated amo ng the

R omans and other nations ; and the p hi losophers
o fthat school were pre emine ntly disti n uished by
g
-

their earnest cultivation of arithmetic the mathe ,

mati e s astrology and divination ; all of which

, ,

sciences appear to have had their origin in the

early E astern world Of these Pythagoreans .
,

A P O LLONI US T YA N JEU S subsequently became most

famous for his mag ic a l proceedings as we shall see ,

hereafter I n conse quence of hi s extraor di nary

.

magical and therapeutic powers and his fa culty ,

of divination his countrymen and contemporaries

,

paid him al m ost divine honours ; and after his ,

death a temple was erected and dedicated t o him

, ,

near the city ofTyana We Shall have occasion to .

speak more at large ofthis remarkable character I n

the sequel ofour narrative .

M any of those ancient philosophers and physi

e iaus of whom we have spoken
, devoted much of ,

their attention to the phenomena of S leep and

D reams ; a nd especially to the prophetic cha
, ,
94 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c .

c id e nc e of
these notions with the philosophy Of the
ancient H indoos G ALEN also confesses that he
.

derived some portion of his own practical kno wled g e

from the accurate Observation Of such phenomen a .

H ence it would appear that these ancient physicians

,

and philosophers were pre t ty well ac quai nted with

some at least o f the more remarkable phenomena
, ,

of Sleep and dreams and even with many Of the ,

characteristic feat ures Of t he somnambulistic or

ecstatic s t ates A g reat deal of the professional
.

knowled g e and tac t possessed by G alen indeed , ,

may no doubt have been derived fro m actual per

, ,

sonal experience Of diseased ac t ion ; but his p r og

n ose s were sometimes of such singular acutene s s

and exactitude a s can only be explained by assum

ing the existence of an internal magnetic i nstinc t .

Thus for example he foretold that the senator

, , ,

S E X T US at that time in perfec t health should on

, , ,

t he t hird day thereafter be attacked by fever , ,

whi ch would abate on the sixth day return on t he ,

four teenth a nd finally leave him on the seventeen t h

,

day in consequence ofa general perspiration —

,
a ll

which was verified by the event The physicians .

w ished to bleed a yo ung R oman who lay sick Of a ,

fever ; but G ALEN remarked that this was unne c e s

sary because the pat ient would be relieved in a
,

natural manner by losing a sufficien t quant ity of

,

blood through the left nostril and thereafter recover , ,

which actua lly happened .

XENO P H O N remarked that nothing so much

resembled death as Sleep but that in the latter ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
so .
95

state the human soul most distinctly exhibits its

,

divine nature : I t sees future events ; being in that ,

co ndition most freed from t he t rammels of the body

, .

A R E T JE US in his treatise D e Sig ni s e t Ca usis Mor

,

bo r um expresses himself with equal clearness and

, ,

decision upon this subj ect I t is astonishing says

, .
,

he to ob serve what sick persons occ a sio nally

, , ,

thi nk se e and express Their whole i nternal se n

, , .

sibilit is exceedi n ly pure and perfect and their

y g ,

souls sometimes acquire a general prophetic faculty .

( E x c ut o
g ue sor d i bus a nim o, ue r a c issi m i y a te s
g uan

d og ue or i unt ur .
)
PLU T ARCH , also in his Wfor a ls makes some strik
, ,

ing observa t ions of a S imilar import upon t he ,

faculty of di v i nation PLA T O and A RIS T O T LE have

.

likewise wri t t en l a rgely upon this subj ect and to ,

these philosophers we must for the sake Ofbrevity , ,

merely refer our inquisi t ive readers S ome of these .

ancient sag es considered it no more wo nderful t ha t

man should be enabled to foresee the future than ,

t hat he should be capable o f recallin g t he past .

Bo t h facul ties they held to have been originally

implanted in o ur human constit ution and called ,

i nt o exercise under their proper conditions C I CE RO .

,

in his t reatise D e D i v ina tione has gi v en us a tole ,

r abl satisfactory summary o f the Opi nions of t he

y
a ncients upon the whole of this interesting subj ec t ,

illustrated by many apposite and curio us facts .

I f the author may here be allo w ed a short d ig r e s

s io n from the subj ect more immediately under con
sideration he would beg leave to refer his readers
,
96 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

to the remarkable fa ct that many of the ancien t ,

philosophers entertained the hypothesis of an uni

versal aether or a nim a m und i as noticed in parti
, , ,

c ular by C ICE RO and A P ULE IUS

, A e r e m c omp le c .

t it ur i mm e nsus te the r , q ui c onst a t in ltissi m is ig ni

a

bus .
( C I CE RO , d e N a tur a D e or . Lib I I c. . .

Cc e lum ip sum ste lla sg ue c o lle g e ns , om ni s

g ue si d e r e a

c a mp a g o t e the r uoc a tur no n, ut uid am ut a nt ,

, g p
quod i g ni t us si t et i nc e nsus, se d
quod c ur si bus

ra
p id is r o t e t ur .
) ( A P ULE IUS , D e M un d o . U pon
thi s hypothesis it is by no means wonderful that
, ,

among the nat ions unenlig hte ned by divin e revela

tio n this universal circum a mbie nt ae t her should have
,

been regarded as an actual manifes tation Of the

D eity nay as the D eity H imself—the supreme
, ,

mover and regulator of all created material being

t he A nim a M und i .

Jup ite r e st g uo d c ung ue v i d e s , q uoe unque moc e ri s .

This same hypothesis of an universal ae ther per

vadin g all space was under certai n modifications , , ,

entertained in modern t imes by D ESCA R T ES NE W

, , ,

T O N M ESME R and other philosophers

, ,
with a view ,

no doubt to assist them in the explana tion of their

,

physical and cosmologic a l theories ; a nd a similar

principle has been adopted by several of the most
eminent Magnetists in order to enable them to ,

account for the phenome na Of their science MO .

dern investi g ation i ndeed does not absolutely rej ect, ,

this idea Philosophical rese a rch seems rapidly

.

tending towards an identification under various ,

 98 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

selves as he admits had not yet been suf

, f
,i ciently

developed ?

Phenomen a of this attenuated nature indeed , ,

cannot easily be made the obj ects of direc t e xpe r i

ment the productive cause is not immediately c og
niz able by our senses ; but reason compels us t o

assume on probable grounds what we canno t

, ,

directly or sensibly demonstrat e ; and the analogie s

of magnetism electricity and galvanism seem to
, , ,

warrant us in t he assumption of other and eve n ,

more subtile invisible and impalpable agencies than

, , ,

those w hich are more immediately recognised by

the senses The theory of percep t ion itself is still
.

a puzzle to even the most profound philosophers .

They may indeed describe the process to a cer

, ,

tain extent ; but they are ignorant ofthe r a ti ona le

of the phenomenon itself NO syste m Of mere .

materialism it is thought can fully explain the

, ,

facts .

We may be permitted to observe that in many ,

passages of S cripture G O D is said to be Light ; and

, ,

in others L ight is represented to be the dwelling of

,

GO D . M IL T ON has expressed this idea in his

immortal poem
is L igh t G od ,

A nd ne v e r but in unappr oach e d L igh t

Dwe l t fr om e t e rnit y .
”

This opinion of the identity of the S upreme

Being with the essence of Li g ht or Of L i g ht bein g ,

t he element in which the D eity resides appears t o ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 99

have given rise to the ancient relig ious creed O f

Z OROAS T E R and to the fi r e worship of the Persians -

and other early E astern nations B ut we must not .

pursue this subj ect any farther at present as it , ,

might lead us into a wide philosophical discussion

rat her forei g n t o our present purpose .

I t is Of some importance however to observe , , ,

that those among the ancient philosophers who

a dvocated the doctrine of an immaterial and inde

st r uc tible soul in man considered this soul a s an

,

ef fl ue nc e or emanation of the divine spirit or ethe ,

real essence — d i vi nce p a r ti c ulum a ur as— and there ,

fore as undecayin g and immortal There were .

other philosophers no doub t —among whom C ICE RO

,

mentions PH E R E CRA T ES and D I CJEA B CH U S— Who

rej ected all immateriality ; w ho held that the soul
is an empty word —an absolute nonentity ; that
t here is nothing but matter in t he universe ; and

that all the sensitive and active faculties Of man are

merely the properties or functions ofmaterial str uc
t ure .
( N i hi l esse om n i no a ni m um e t hoc e sse t otum ,

n o me n i na ne ; ne g ue in ho m ine i ne sse a ni mum , &c .

C I CERO ,Quee s t I
T usc .A doctrine somewhat
. .

similar t o this appears to be held by our modern phy

siolo ic al and phrenological M aterialists w ho seem
g ,

disposed to refer all human action and passio n t o

t he organic structure and peculiar functions of the
brain ; and who speak of mind soul spirit & c a s , , , .

vain and empty notions—nay as mischievou s phan ,

t asms which ought t o be ridiculed and extermi nated

,

by all sound philosophers They appear t o forge t .

1 00 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

that matter i t self is only cogni zable through the

mind or spiritual principle .

CHA PT ER XI .

M A GI C as w e have already Observed had it s

, ,

principal sea t and became most universally di f

, fused ,

amon g the primitive O riental nati ons O f the his .

tory and phenomena Of this early science w e sh all

prese ntly ha v e occasion to speak a t some length ;
but in the meantime w e may take the opportunity
, ,

o f observi ng t h a t it is impossib le t o conceive ho w

,

that history and these phenomena can be correctly

, ,

appreciated without keeping steadily in view the

,

great modern di s covery ofM ESMER and the labours ,

of his mos t ingenious successors in the magnetic

art Without some such preparation i ndeed we

.
, ,

may become ac quainted with the facts but we c a n ,

not be in a fi t state t o appreciate their nature o r

t heir scientific v a lue A nimal M agnetism it is true

.
, ,

may not b e found capable of affording us at once , ,

the m eans of adequately explaining t he whole

series Of t hose curious psycholo g ical phenomena
w hich are prese nt ed to us by history —more espe
c ia ll
y whe n w e consider t hat this doctrine is i n ,

itself I n m a ny I e spe c t s s till a philosophical enigma ;

, ,

but in consequence of this most important disco

,

v ery of M ESME R the facts themselves have un

, ,
 1 02 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

t he most curious facts is presented to the I nt e lli

g ent and inquisitive mind which constitutes, no un

important acquisition to physiological science and , ,

consequen t ly to our general knowledge of human

,

n ature I t becomes an occupatio n Of considerable

.

interest and importance therefore t o trace the

, ,

occurrence ofthese various but cognate phenomen a ,

in the historical records of all nations ancient and ,

modern ; and with this obj ect in view we shall now ,

proceed to examine the annals of the species from ,

the earliest period t o the present time .

I n the early memorials a nd traditionary history

o f the primi t ive E astern nations we find the mos t ,

numerous instances Of the manifestation o f those

peculiar sta tes of the human organism in which the ,

phenomena of S omnambulism E cstacy Clair v oy , ,

a nce Prophecy & c

,
are most prominently most con
,
.
, ,

s ic uousl and most frequently developed I t was in

p y ,
.

the E ast as we have already Observed th a t MAGIC

, , ,

in the best and most legitimate a c ceptation of the

t erm had its origina l seat ; and accordingly it is
, , ,

t o the E astern regions that we must look for the

earliest diffusion Of that knowledge divine and ,

human which it was the primary Obj ect of the

,

scie nce to cultivate Now there is one character

.
,

ist ic feature in these early records of the human

race which is peculiarly striking and remarkable
, .

We allude t o that i ntimate connection subsisting

bet w een science and theology in consequence Of ,

which all human knowledge was rendered subse r

vient to religious worship This connection is con
.
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 1 03

s
p ic uousl
y manifes t ed in the early history habits , ,

a nd speculative notions ofthe C haldeans the Baby ,

lonians the Persians the H indoos the E gyptians

, , , ,

t he I sraelites & c as we may perceive from the

, .
,

books ofM OSES and from other portions Of the Old

Testament S criptures —from the traditions respect
,

ing the peculiar doctrines of Z O ROAS T E R and his

followers —from the C ode ofM ENU the Z e nd av e st a , ,

t he V e d a m s & c E ven t he personal int ercourse of

, .

man with the D eity — the creature with the C reator

-
w as an accredited fact Of no unusual occurrence

in the early stages o f society ; and in process of ,

time certain artificial means appear to have been

,

employed for the purpose of rendering the former

more capable of enj oying the advanta ges of this
blessed privilege The natural states which were
.
,

conceived to be most favourable for the enj oy men t

o f this divine intercourse were S leep and D reams , ,

S omnambulis m and E cstacy .

I n process Of time M AGIC became distinguished ,

—
into two kinds the the urg ic o r celestial and the ,

e t ic or demoniacal ; accordi n as the d evotee w a s

g o , g
supposed t o invoke and do homage to the be ne fi c e nt
or t o the m alevolent bein g —t o the S pirit of L ight ,

or to the S pirit of D arkness — to Go d or t he

D evil This double doctrine is developed in a bor
.
,

r owed form in the Jewish S cript ures and refer

, ,

red t o in the N ew Testament ; it pervades the

whole mythological theological and philosophical , ,

literature of the primitive E astern nations —the

I nd ian s the C hinese the C haldeans the B aby lo
, , ,
1 04 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

n iams the Persians the E gyptians & c A nd from

, , , .

t hese original sources it has insinuated itself in ,

i t s rudest form into the C hristian scheme ; and

,

thus a mere metaphor or allegory has be com e , ,

exalted into an element of religious belief .

I t appears indeed to have been almost uni v er

, ,

sally held in the most ancient times that mankind

, ,

were placed in intimate connection with a super

sensible world which was governed by the ant ag o
,

nist powers ofa good and an evil principle ; and that

t his connection between the sensible and the super

S ensible world was indirec tly mai ntained through

the means of interm e diate agents who were al w ay s ,

ready to present their services at the summons Of

t heir respective votaries The pure original idea .

of M AGIC as the profound study of nature and of

, ,
“

t he power wisdom and benevolence of the D eity

, ,

t hey w orship ped was gradually lost Sight of and

,

the first ofsciences at length degenerated in t o the ,

practice ofabsurd and superstitious arts and bru

t alising ceremonies — as may be Ob served even i n
many of the Jewish rites E ven so early as the .

time Of Z O ROAS T E R ind e ed M A GI C had be g un t o

, ,

be thus deteriorated and abused as appears from ,

the books of the Z e nd ay e sta H ence as w e have .

,

already Observed it ultimately came to be di stin

,

uishe d into the w hi t e and the bla c k art E ven

g .

t he Jews were with dif ficulty restrained from the

evil practices of this corrupted science A t a later
—
.

period the Greeks gave the appellation Of y n m

,
o re

to the bla c k M agic I n the cultivation of this per

.
 A N HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

phenomena of A nimal M agnetism ultimate ly pre

sented a clue to guide us out of t he obscure and
be w ilderin g labyrinth The analogy existing be .

t ween the celestial visions O f the Brahmins the ,

ecstatics of the E gyptian G reek and other temples , , ,

and t he modern Cla ir v oya nc e ofthe M agnetists has ,

now been fully demonstrated The most strikin g .

parallels to these las t phenomena have been adduced

by BE RNIE R C O LE B R O O K E PASSA V A N T S CHLE GEL
, , , ,

WI N D I SCH M A NN and other inquirers into the know

,

ledge li terature and habits of the H indoos ; and

, ,

the comparisons which have been instituted leave

no doubt in regard to the perfect characteristic
identity ofthese affections The entire contents o f .

the Ve d a s were regarded as the product of imme

diate revelation through the me di um of the S eers
, .

What the soul sees hears and apprehends is a , , ,

—
direct intuition a n unquestionable revelation The .

S eers themselves were supposed t o derive their i h

spiration immediately from the celesti al spirits and ,

from the D eity himself w ith whom while in this , ,

stat e t heir souls were thought to hold intimate c om

,

munity and converse The revelations obtained .

,

while in t hi s state of inspiration related to the ,

ori g in nature connection and destiny Of all things ;

, , ,

and in particular to the position character and

, , , ,

rank of the Spirits or souls Of men in this world

, , ,

and t o their future existence in the world to come .

The means resorted to for the purpose ofinduc ing

t his state of spiritual exaltation were somewha t ,

different from those employed by the modern M ag

 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 1 07

ne tise r s and they were more akin to the practices

of the earlier C hri s t ian A scetics These were .
,

a mo n the O rientals strict penance a sc e t ism absti

g , , ,

n e nc e from food the abandonment of all sensual

,

pleasures and the mortifying ofall carn al passions

, .

I t was held that in order to se t the soul free from

,

all t he fette rs Of the world and to prepare it for ,

the pure enj oyment of divine contemplation ( the

be at ifi c vision ) all natural relations all mundane
, ,

thoughts must be renounced ; the tumult Of the

,

world abandoned strict chastity constantly pre

,

served ; and fasting must be practised in order t o ,

deprive the mortal passions oftheir earthly nourish

ment .

A ccording to BE RNIE R the J og ue s or J og is were ,

held t o be the truly illuminated and in the mos t ,

perfect union with G od These J og ue s were i ndi .

v id ua ls who had entirely abandoned the world an d ,

w ithdrawn i nto absolute solitude I f O f fered food .

,

t hey would accept of it ; but if not t hey could dis ,

pense with it They were believed t o exist upon

.

t he mercy of God in a state of fas ting and strict

,

selfdenial continually plunged in profound c on

-
,

t e m pla t ion They wo ul d thus continue for hours

.

absorbed in a state of the deepest ecstacy deprived ,

Of the use of the internal senses contemplating the ,

D eity as a pure white clear inexpressible light

, , ,
.

These ecstatic S eers would also suppress t heir

breath as lon g as they coul d and remain for a , ,

considerable time motionless with their eyes fixed

, ,

o n the point of the nose or some other part of the ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

body in all sorts Of w eather in heat or in col d

, , ,

and in the most extraordinary and unnatural posi

t ions as if grown into the earth
, I n the reports .

made by travellers ofsuch occurrences there may , ,

possibly be some occasional exaggera t ion ; but we

,

have no reason to doubt the truth oftheir concur

rent narratives in all the essential particulars We .

may add too that the phenomena exhibited by

,

these ascetic fanatics making all due allowance -

for diversity ofhabits constitutional temperamen t

, ,

& c — are precisely similar to those which have been

.

frequently observed t o occur in modern times , ,

according to t he experience Of the M ag netists and ,

others in cases Of S omnambulism ecstacy cata

, , ,

lepsy and apparent death

, I t is Observed by
.

BE RNIE R indeed t hat the I ndian Jogues in t heir

, , ,

ecstacies are like the magnetic a nd cataleptic

, ,

patients deprived ofall sensibility

, .

I n the C ode ofM enu there are various passages

,

in which other means of producing the ecsta tic

states are mentioned —suc h as the e f fects of fire ,

the influence of the sun and moon Sacrifice a nd ,

music ; as also a beverage which was called the

Soni a d r ink-
S om a has been thought to signify
.

the S un or L otus plant ; the j uice of which was

used for the purpose of completing the Jogue I t .

is said to have the e f fect of i nducing the ecstatic

state in whi ch the votary appears in spirit to soar
, , ,

beyond the terrestrial regions to become united ,

w ith Brahma and to acquire u niversal lucidity

,

( Cla i r voy a n c e ) A ccording .to D E CA N D O L L E this ,

1 10 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

state The state Of waking in the external sen

.
, ,

sible world af fords no true knowledge Of things

, .

I gnorance and illusion predominate in consequence ,

Of external contemplation and the influence ofthe ,

animal passions This therefore is a state Ofdark

.
, ,

ness I n sleep and dreaming the solar influence is

.
,

manifested in phantasms This state may be com .

pared to the t w ili g ht The ecstatic sleep first .

developes the light Of true knowledge ; and the

real internal waking state presents a contemplative
,

vision of obj ects inaccessible to the ordinary nat u

ral S ight The internal eye ofthe soul is opened
.
,

and the sight is no longer sensual and co nfused ;

but there is a clear seeing ( Cla i r voya nc e ) an accu
-
,

rate seeing a thorough seeing Of the whole magic

,

circle from the circumference t o the centre Thi s

,
.

ecstatic sleep however has di f , ferent gradations Of ,

internal wakefulness and lucidity .

H ere then we have a pretty accurate d e sc r ip

, ,

t ion ofthe S omnambulism ofthe modern M agnetists ,

nearly in their ow n lan g uage from the lower states ,

ofS le ep w a king to the higher Cla ir v oya nc e

- .

A ccording to the narrative in the Up a nisha d one ,

ofthe ancient I ndian philosophers gave the follow

ing answer to a question relative t o waking and

dreaming and the seat of the ecstatic affection
,
.

When the sun sets his rays retire into the centre
, ,

and in l ike manner the dif

,
ferent corporeal se nses
,

withdraw into the M a na s or g reat common sense , .

The individual then sees nothing hears nothing , ,

t astes and feels nothi ng & c and becomes absolutely , .

 AN HIS TO RY OF MAGI C ,
&c . 111

passionless S uch an individual is Sup ta — asleep

. .

But wit hin the city of Brahma (i e in the body of . .

t he Sleeper ) the five P r a nas — accordin g to C OLE

B ROO K E the intern a l vital breath and enlightenin g
,

shadows —are lum inous and active SO long as the .

doors of the body are still open an d t he hear t ,

roams about in the extern a l world of sense there is ,

no essential personality ; for t he senses are divided

and act separately But when the latter are w ith
.

d rawn into the cardiac region they melt into unity ,

— the y be c o me one c om m o n se ns e ; the individual

a t tains his true personality in t he li ht o f these

g
P r a na s ; and w hile the doors Of the body are closed ,

a nd he is in a state ofprofound sleep and corporeal

insensibility he becomes internally awake and

, ,

enj oys the fruit ofthe knowledge of Brahma daily ,

during the continuance Of this blessed sleep H e .

t hen sees anew but with di f ,

ferent eyes all that he ,

did in his ordinary waki ng state ; he sees every

t hing together visible or invisible heard or unheard
, , ,

known or unknown ; and because A tm a ( the pure

s pirit ) is itself the originator of all actions he like ,

w ise performs in his sleep a ll these actions and

, , ,

r e assumes his original form

-
I n order to attain
.

t his elevated point the senses a nd desires must be

,

closed up and in t he interior of the body this

, , ,

power must en t er into the y e na p or tc e and prevent ,

t he flow of the bile for the ZVIa na s at such periods , ,

binds up this vein which is the passage ofcorporeal

,

passion and the sleeper then sees no more phan

,

t asms but becomes wholly spirit ( A tm a ) luminous

, , ,
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c .

and he sees things not as t hey are represented by

,

t he senses but as they really exist in themselves

, .

H e acts rationally and accomplishes everythin g,

he undertakes .

From the foregoing observations when stript of ,

the mystical phraseology oft he E astern sages with

w hich they are enveloped it is impossible we pre , ,

sume not to recognise a full and distinct knowledge

,

o f the phenomena Of t he ecstatic a f fection as well ,

a s of its causes E ven fro m the remark made in

.

regard to the v e na p or tc e and the influence of the ,

biliary secretion we ma y infer no shallow vie w s

,

respecting t he physiology of this extraordinary

stat e I n their elucidations ofthis obscure subj ect
.
,

t oo the E astern philosophers ascribed considerable

,

importance to the influence of t he sun and moon

an influence ofwhich the reality has been recognised
in modern times and demonstrated by a variety Of
,

striking and authe ntic facts .

"6

The faculty ofdivination occasionally manifes t ed ,

by individuals in the states above described was a ,

phenomenon well known to these E astern sages .

They were also aware as are the modern M agne t ,

English wri t e rs in g e ne r al s e e m t o be s adly p uz z l e d

, ,

w i t h t he Indi an phil os ophy whi c h t h e y app e ar t o r e g ard

,

alt og e t he r a s a m e r e t is s ue of fant a s t i c c hi m e r a s T he dis .

c ov e ry of t he m ag ne t i c Somna mb ulis m and E c s t acy how ,

e v e r i n r e c e nt t i m e s a f
,
fords us t he m e ans ofe xpl aining m any
,

t hings whi ch ha d b e e n pr e vi ously obs cur e and uni nt e lligibl e .

M y inge ni ous fri e nd Dr BRAI D ofM anch e s t e r has p ublish e d

, ,

s ome p ap e rs up on t his curi ous and int e r e s t i ng s ubj e ct in t he

M e d ic a l T ime s whi c h are w e ll w or t hy ofa c ar e ful p e r us al
,
.
1 14 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

t he e c st a ti c c la i r v oya nc e . H ence their doctrines

,

appear to many students unacquainted with this ,

particular branch Of philosophy and with the curious ,

discoveries of the modern Magnetists to be alto ,

gether mystical fantastic and unintelli g ible B ut

, , .

t he experimental researches of the M agnetists in ,

our ow n times have enabled those who have studied

,

t he subj ect ofA nimal M agnetism to underst a nd the

language and to appreciate the doctri nes of the
, ,

O riental philosophers The I n di an or Brahmi nical

.

philosophy too is in t imately interwo v en with the

, ,

E astern theology and mythology and he who would ,

comprehend the former must necessarily devo t e

himself to the study of the latter H ere too as in .
, ,

other sciences we must overlook the symbolical and

,

mystical character of the language in which the

peculiar doctrines and speculations are embodied ;
and also endeavour to acquire an adequate kno w
ledge Of the p a r t icular fa c t s upon whi ch their d oc
t rines and speculations are founded .

The religion and philosophy of the ancient H in

doos became the special inheritance Of a particular
,
—
c a ste or sect the Br a hmins By the most learned .

a nd accomplished individuals Of tha t sacred body

they have been transmitted do w nwards from age ,

to age min g led probably with many of those natu

, , ,

ral and i nevitable corruptions with which the lapse ,

Oftime enerally d i sfi ur e s all ancient dogmas and

g
g ,

renders them in their literal acceptation more or

, ,

less unintelligible to the modern scholar The .

substance of these dogmas however has bee n , ,

 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 115

carefully preserved by the sacred order to who s e

t rust they were committed ; and some of the more

curious phenomena upon which t he doctrines them

,

selves seem to have been originally founded Cla ir

v o a nc e and P r o he c
y p y
— would appear to have bee n

m anifested and witnessed among the I ndian Brah ,

mins down to a lat e period Of this fac t we Shall

, .

t ake t he liberty of adducing two very remarkable

instances which occurred at dif
,
ferent periods Of
t ime and which are both related upon perfectly
,

credible authority .

The first of t hese instances will be found in the

common histories Of British I ndia ; the second rests
upon the narrative of an E nglish gentleman in
official station and of hi g h respectability .

A mong the scientific residents at Ghizni during ,

the reign Of Mahmo ud was A B U R IHAN sent by

, ,

A lmam or from Bagdad where he was v enerated ,

al most as t he rival of A V ICENNA Besides m e taphy .

s ics and dialectics he studied and appears t o ha v e

,

d ra w n his chief lustre from his attainments in w ha t

is no w called the magical art Ofthis D H E R B E L O T
’
.

r elates a remarkable instance O ne day M ahmo ud .

S ent for hi m and ordered him t o deposit with a

,

t hird person a statement o f the precise manner

a nd place in which the monarch would uit the

q
hall where he then sat The paper being lodged
.
,

t he king instead of going out by o ne Of the numer

,

o us doors caused a breach to be made in the wall

, ,

by w hich he e f fected his exit ; but how was he

humbled and amazed when on the paper being
, ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

examined there was found a specification Of the

,

precise spot t hrough which he penetrated ! H ere

upon the prince with horror denounced this
, , ,

learned man as a sorcerer and comm anded him t o ,

be instantly thrown out of the window The bar .

barous sentence was presently executed but care ,

had been t aken to prepare beneath a soft and

silken cushion upon w hich the body of the sag e
,

sunk wi thout sustaining any inj ury A B U R IHAN .

was then called before the monarch and requested ,

t o sa y whether by his boasted art he had been

, , ,

able to foresee these events and the treatmen t ,

t hrou g h which he had that day p a ssed The .

learned man immediately des ired his tablets to be

sent for in which were found regularly predicted
, , ,

the whole of the above Singular transactions *

.

The second instance of Brahminical Cla i rvoy

A not h e r s t ory of a si mil ar d e s crip t i on has b e e n r e l at e d

by s om e of t he m a gne t i c aut h ors A ce r t ai n conj ur or had .

t he r e p ut a t i on ofp oss e ssing t he fa cul ty o f r e adi ng t he c on

t e nt s ofcl os e d l e tt e rs H av i ng b e e n c all e d i nt o t he pr e s e nc e
.

O f a pri nc e he w a s a sk e d wh e t h e r he w o ul d und e r t ak e t o
,

i nform hi m Of t he cont e nt s o f a disp at ch whi ch he had j us t

r e ce iv e d by a couri e r T he answe r w as . Y e s—t o mor -

r ow m orni ng T he disp a t c h r e ma ine d all ni g h t s e al e d in

”
.

t he c abi ne t o f t he pri nc e and on t he foll o wi ng m or ni ng t he

, , ,

conj ur or app e are d b e fore hi m and g av e him corre c tly t he,

cont e nt s oft he l e tt e r A s t onish e d at t his wond e rful occur

.

r e nce t he pri nce r e que s t e d an e x pl anat ion oft he m at t e r

w hi c h t he c onj ur or g av e him in t he foll owing t e rm s —U p on
, ,

g oi ng t o be d he e xc i t e d i n hi ms e lf a s t rong d e sir e t o r e a d
,

t he l e t t e r ; he t h e n fe ll a sl e e p and i n a dr e a m he l e ar nt t he
,

conte nt s ; he app e are d t o be in the c abine t of the prince ,

and r e a d t he l e t t e r .
 118 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
se .

small anxiety S uch bei ng the general situatio n

.

and character of that settlement I found it on my ,

arrival in 1 76 6 peculiarly agitated S ociety wa s

, , .

divided into three parties : one who paid their

court t o M r S pencer the rising sun ; another grat e
,

fully adhered to M r C rommelin ; the third af fe c

t ionat e ly devoted to the interest Of M r H odges ,

whom they deemed an i nj ured character deprived ,

of his just rights as successor to t he government .

M r C rommelin went out a writer to Bombay i n ,

17 32 M r H odges in 1 737; M r S pencer in 1 74 1

, .

A t that time supe r c e ssions in the C ompany S employ

,

were li ttle known ; fa i thful service and a fair c ha

r a c t e r if life was spared enerally met wi t h reward
, g ,
.

I shall not enter upon the political or commercial

system of I ndia at t hat period Previous to L ord .

C live being appointed governor of Bengal in 1 76 4 , ,

Mr S pencer had bee n remove d from Bombay t o

C alcutta and for some time ac t ed as provincial of
,

Ben g al ; ten years before the appoint ment of a

governor g eneral and supreme council in I n di a
-
,

when the four presidencies were entirely ind e pe n

dent of each other O n L ord C li v e s nominatio n t o
.
’

the government ofBengal M r S pencer was appoin t ,

ed by t he C ourt of D irectors to return to Bombay ,

with the rank of second in council and an order t o ,

succeed M r C rommelin in the government of that

settlement in th e month of January 1 76 7 This .

su e r c e ssion and appointment was deemed a n act Of

p
inj ustice by the C ompany s civil ser vants in general
’

on that establishment and a peculi ar inj ury by M r

,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 119

H odges in particular who was then chief ofS urat

, , ,

second in council and next in regular succession t o

,

t he government of Bombay which he looked upo n ,

as his right being senior to M r S pencer by four

,

years I n d i gnant at Mr S pencer s supe rc e ssion ’

'

.
,

a nd chagri ned by his disappoi ntment in the govern

ment Of Bombay M r H odges addressed a spirited

,

letter from S urat to the governor and council com ,

plaining ofinjustice in the C ourt ofD irectors w i t h ,

w hom as an individual he was not permitted t o

, ,

correspond This therefore was the only regular

.
, ,

channel by which he could communicate his senti

ments and seek redress The governor and council
, .

o fBombay deeming his letter improper and d isr e ,

s e c tful to h i s employers ordered him to reconsider

p ,

it and make a suitable apology ; which not bein g

,

complied with he was remo v ed from his honourable

,

a nd lucrative situation as chief ofS urat sent down ,

to Bombay and suspended the C ompany s ser vice

,
’
.

Thither he accordingly repaired t o settle his private

af fairs and after w ards t o proceed t o E urope The
, .

overnment ofBombay sent a dispatch t o the C our t

g
of D irectors by the way Of B ussorah and A leppo ,

i nforming him oftheir procee di ngs .

A fter this necessary preamble I can wi t h more ,

propriety introduce the Brahmin who occ a sio ned

t he di gression and with whom M r H odges became
,

acquainted during his mi nority in the C ompany s ’

service This extraordinary character was t hen a

.

young man little known to t he E nglish but of great

, ,

celebrity a mong the H indoos and every description ,

12 0 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

of natives in the western part ofthe peninsula I

, .

believe M r H odges first saw him at C ambay where ,

he was appointed resident soon after the expiratio n

o fhis writership The Brahmin expressed an a ffe c
.

t iona t e regard towards him and as far as the dis

,

t inction Of religion and caste allowed t he friendship ,

became mutual and disinterested The Brahmi n .

was al ways j ustly considered as a very moral a nd ,

pious character ; M r H odges was equally well dis

posed his H indoo frie nd encouraged him to proceed
in that virtuous path which w o ul d lead him to wealth
and honour in this world and finally conduct him to
,

eternal happiness T o enforce these precepts he

.
,

a ssured him he would gradually rise from the sta

t ion he then held a t C ambay to other residencies ,

a nd inferior chiefships in the C ompany s service ;

’

t hat he would then succeed to the higher appoin t

ment of chief at Tellicherry and S urat and would ,

close his I ndian career by being governor Of Bom

bay Mr H odges not havin g been enj oined secrecy
.
,

spoke of these Brahminical predictions among his

associates and friends from their very first c o mm u
nic a t ion ; and their author was very generally called

M r H odge s Brahmin These predictions for some

’
.
,

years made but little impression on his mind

, .

A fterwards as he successively ascended the grada

,

tions in the C ompany s service he placed more

’
,

confidence in his Brahmin especially w hen he ,

approached near the pinnacle of his ambition and ,

found himself chief of S urat the next Situation in,

wealth and honour to the government of Bombay .

 12 2 A N H IS TO R Y or MAGIC ,
&c .

celled his nomina t ion t o t he government ofBombay ,

dismissed him from the C ompany s ser v ice and M r ’

H odges was appointed governor .

F rom that perio d the Brahmin exercised the

,

g reatest influence over t he mind Of the ne w gover

nor who took no important step without consulting

,

him I t is a circums tance deserving ofnotice that

.

t he former never promised his friend any t hi ng

beyo nd the go v ernmen t ofB ombay and never for e ,

told his return to his native country ; but that he

dre w a mysterious veil over a period correspo ndin g
with our year 1 771 M r H odges died suddenly o n
.

t he ni g ht oft he 2 2 d ofF ebruary in t hat year , .

Mr F orbes relates a second instance of the pr o

p h e t ic powers Of this Br a hmin in the case Of a ,

widow lady w ho w a s mourning for the fa te of her

so n
. This prophecy w a s exactly fulfilled .

The following is an abridgeme nt ofa t hird s t ory

o fa similar descrip t ion .

S ome months before the depar t ure ofM r F orbes

from I ndi a a gentleman w ho had been appointed t o
,

a co nsiderable S itu a tion at S ura t landed at Bombay, ,

along w it h his lady Both were s t ill youn g a nd

.
,

t hey had an o nly child The gentleman left his

.

w ife with a friend and repaired to S urat in order

, ,

to arrange his domestic concerns H is w ife was t o .

follo w him in the course of a S hort tim e O n t he .

evening previous to the day when She was t o em

b a rk for S urat her landlord had a large party
, ,

among which was our Brahmin The latter w a s .

presented to the company and requested as a j oke

, , ,
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 12 3

to foretell the fortune ofthe young couple w ho had

j ust arrived from E urope To t he a stonishment of
.

t he whole co m pany a nd e spe c iallv Of the lady her

,

self the Brahmin t hrew a compassi o na t e glance upo n

,

her and aft er a solemn pause said to the landlord

, , , ,

in the I ndian la nguage : H er cup of happiness is full ,

but it will speedily be exh a usted — a bitter drau h t

g
a w aits her and She m ust be prepared for it
, H er
husband had written t hat he Should come in a barge
t o S urat bar to accomp a ny her ashore H o w e v er . .

he did not make his appearance ; but in his stead

there came a friend w ho i nformed the lady that her
husband lay dangerously ill When she arri v ed he
.
,

w as in a viole nt fit of fe v er and di e d in her arms

,

O n his return to E urope M r F orbes was on board

,

t he same S hip with the wido w and the anniversary .

Of her husband s death occurred durin g the voy a ge

’
.
lt
a

We shall prese nt ly have occasio n t o refer more ,

a t lar e to a v ariety of similar ins t a nces Of t h

g , e

developme nt of the spirit Of prescience prevision , ,

o r presentiment of future e v en t s more particularly ,

w hen we come to speak of t he faculty or g ift of

S econd S i g h t and relative phenomena I n the mea n .

t ime we may Observe that all t he ar t s a nd practice s

, ,

w hich prevail a mo ng t he modern M a g ne t ists appear ,

t o have bee n fa miliar to the H indoos a nd to have ,

been exercised among them from the earliest period

o f their history O RI GEN ( c ontr a CEL SU M ) relates
.

t hat the I ndian Brahmins also performed grea t

Se e O ri e nt al M e m oirs ; by JAM E S F O R B E S .
12 4 AN HIS T ORY O F MA GIC ,
&c .

miracles by t he a id of certain w ords ; and PHILO S

T R A T U S mentio ns that these Brahmin s c a rried about

w i t h them a staf f and a ring by means ofwhich they , ,

were enabled to accomplish many w onderful thin g s .

The I ndia n philosophers too appear t o have been

, ,

well acqu a inted with the processes of magnetic mani

p u l a t ion ; for we find it frequently mentioned or ,

alluded to in their writings The Jesuit Mis s ion

, .

a ries ,
indeed would appear t o have learned thi s
,

practice from t he Brahmins .

The same m a gical or M ag netic knowledge seem s

also to have been diffused to a certain extent amo ng
, ,

t he C hinese and that too from a remote period

, , , .

KI RCHE R and o t her early tra v ellers and reside nt s

,

amo ng this ancient people inform us that from t he , ,

most remote times diseases were cured in Chi na by

, , ,

means of manipulation breathing and other S imple

, ,

processes S imilar prac tices appear to have been in

.

use amo ng the C haldeans t he M edes Persians a nd , , ,

B a bylonians —indeed throughout the whole of t he

,

ancient E astern worl d .

CHA PTER XIII .

IN follo w i ng out the history of MAGIC among

the e a rlv inhabitants Of the w orld it become s ,

necessary to devote some of o ur attention t o t heir

reli g ious Opinions doctrines and Observances which

, , ,
12 6 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

enerally supposed from the M osaic history of the

g ,

creation and fall of man I t is to be found we .

,

belie v e in almost all the ancient mythologies

, The .

serpent was the symbol of A hr im a ne s the evil ,

,

D eity and as such it i s introduced in the Z or oa st ic

, , ,

t heology ; and even the ori g inal evil was believed t o

have been brought down from heaven to earth in

t he for m Of a serpent .

A ll ofthese theosophistic and demoniacal notions

lay at the foundation ofthe ancient MAGI C or sacred ,

s cience a nd ought to be carefully separated from

,

t he facts it embraces F or t hese anc i ent theosophists

.

also s t udied and af fected to practise the prete nded

,

a r t ofholding co nverse with S pirits and o frender ,

ing them propi t ious and subservient t o their own

wishes and designs The artificial means employed .

for the purpose of accomplishin g this obj ect w e re , ,

a mongst others the use of certain narcotic substa n

,

ces such as opium the j uice Of hempseed str am o

, , ,

nium henbane & c in certain doses ; and these

, , .

means it is believed ha v e bee n preserved to the

, ,

present day among t he Persians A rabians Turks , , ,

a nd generally throu g hout t he M oslem t ribes

, , .

The phe nomena produced by these means are in ,

m a ny respects Similar t o t hose which are frequently

,

t he result ofthe magne t ic processes al though infi ,

nitely less innocuous and in mos t cases highly , , ,

inj urious to the corporeal a nd me ntal powers *

.

at
T h e r e is not hing ne w und e r t he sun I n r e ce nt t i me s .
,

t he m e d i c al pr ofe ssi on h a v e v e ry g e ne r a lly a d op t e d t he pr a e

t i c e in c e r t ai n c as e s of c ausi ng t h e ir p at i e nt s t o i nh a l e t he
, ,
 AN H IS T ORY OF M AGIC ,
&c . 12 7

A mo ng the Persians as in other countries the , ,

fil a g i use ( ZVI a g i c ia ns M a g i ) presided over the , ,

sacer d otal O ffice and M AGIC as we formerly oh , ,

ser v ed thus became combined with religious wor

,

s hip P L A T O in his A lc i bi a d e s informs us that the

.
, ,

Kings of Persia learn M AGIC w hich is a worship ,

o f the ods M AGIC herefore in those a ncien t

”

g t .
, ,

t imes had refere nce to e v ery thing which w as s up

posed to relate to human a nd di vine science —to

,

medicine and t o philosophy a s w ell a s t o reli g ious ,

w orship .

The v i s ionary and ecs t a t ic s ta tes t o w hich w e ,

ha v e already referred are fre quently obser v ed in , ,

a peculiar ly modified form am o ng the presen t inha ,

bit a nt s Of certain par t s of A s ia —as for instance , ,

a mong the S iberian S ham a ns the A rabian D e r v ise s , ,

t he Sa m oie d e s a nd the L aplanders as w ell as

, ,

among the H indoo s A species Of S omnambulism .

,

w e are told is by no me a ns uncommon amo ng s t all

,

o f t hese tribes occasioned either by constitutional

,

irritability and a cert ain nat ural predisposition by ,

particular mo tions and turnings o fthe body or less , ,

frequently by the use ofnarcotic substances With

, .

s uch dispositions a gra v a t ed by frequent habit and

g ,

a peculiar mode Of livin most of them require

g ,

v ap our p ois onous subs t anc e s—s uc h as t he e t h e r of sul

of

p h u r i c a c id Ch lo,
rofor m & c — i n O rd e r t o s usp e nd p
,
a i n d ur .

i ng t he pe Iform a nc e ofc e i t ain s urgi c al op e r a ti ons T o t his .

coars e m e t h od t h e y app e ar t o h av e b e e n driv e n by t he signal

s ucc e ss oft he mor e i nnoc uous M e sm e ri c pr act i ce in sim il ar
Se e in p ar t i cul ar D R ESD A I L E S acc ount ofhis m ag
’
c ase S.
-
, ,

ne t i c pr ac t i c e in I ndi a .
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

nothing more than v iole nt screaming or other ,

n oises —dancing drumming turning rapidly round

, ,

in a circle & c —to i nduce syncope and ca taleptic

, .

rigidity The S iberian S hamans a c cordi ng to

.
,

G E O RGI also make use ofnarcotics and stimulan t s

,

to produce visions in which they se e ghosts and

, ,

converse with them and also receive from them ,

revelations of future and distant occurrences They .

likewise see all kinds of particular animals and

places and even the souls ofthe dead to whom they
, ,

elevate t hemselves from their bodies into t he air ,

up to the seat of the gods H O G ST R O M relates .

Of the L apl a nders in particular that t hey fr e

, ,

quently exhibit such a degree of excita bility as

t o manifest the mos t extraordi nary phenomena .

When any person Opens his mouth or dra w s it ,

together or points to some Obj ect with his finger

, ,

or dances or perform s any other ges t iculation

, ,

t here are m a ny w ho imitate all the motions they

percei v e ; and when the fi t is over they i nquire
, ,

whether they have do ne a ny thing improper

be i ng the ms e lv e s ig nor a nt
f o w ha t t he y ha v e d one .

These L apl a nders a r e said to be so highly exci table ,

that by t he sli g htest u nexpected noise or by the

,

mos t insignificant unforesee n occurrence they are ,

fre quently thro w n i nto convulsions I n church if .

,

the clergyman g esticul a t es t oo vehemen t ly or S peaks ,

t oo loud they often fa ll into syncope

, others Spri ng
up in a furious manner run out of church over
, , ,

t urn every thi ng t hat stands i n their way strike ,

w ith their fists all persons whom they meet and , ,

1 30 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
se .

states along with all t heir sympathetic phenomen a

, .

have been also described by G E O RGI as occurrin g ,

among all the M ogul and Tartar t ribes A nd w e .

may here remark t hat Similar phenomena have ,

been frequently observed t o occur in t he artificial

paroxysm induced by t he M esmeric processes ;
,

but in this last case they are capable of bein g ,

controlled and regulated by skilful and j udiciou s

management .

A very curious account of the ma g ical proceed

i ng s of a T ung usa n S haman will be fou nd in a
le t ter of M DE MA T J U SCH K I N a companion of
.
,

BARO N WRANGEL in his expeditio n to the N or t h

Pole to a friend in S t Pe tersburg h in the ye a r
, ,

1 82 0 which w as published in the M org e n bla tt N o

, ,
.

2 9 4 a nd in s er t ed in H O RS T S D e ut e r osc op ie and also

’

, ,

in F ISCHER S S omna m bulis m I n the course ofthe

’
.

proceedings in the case referred to according to the ,

narrative of M D E MA T J U S CH KIN the phenomen a

.
,

of the cataleptic insensibility as well as of Cla ir voy ,

a nc e ,were most distinctly developed al though t he ,

means of exciti ng them appear to have been of a

v ery rude descriptio n SCH U B E R I in his Oriental
.
' ‘
,

Travels describes S imilar phenomena as occurri ng

, ,

a mo ng the E astern D e r vise s S uch pheno mena . ,

indee d are not confined to any particular time or

, ,

to a ny par t icular cou ntry .

I nstead of dwelling at present ho w ever upo n , , ,

an merely ind i vidual insta nces of the variou s

y
modes of t he development ofthese mag ical or mag
ne t ic states it w ill probab ly be considered mo r e
,
 A N HIS T ORY OF MAGIC ,
&c . 1 31

me t hodical more appropriate and cer tai nly more

, ,

useful and instructi v e t o endeavour to trace the ,

his t ory ofthese remarkable occurrences and Of the ,

ideas sug ges t ed by them among t he several nations ,

of anti ui t y before we proceed to commemorate

q ,

their more recent manifest at ion S uch an inquiry .

may probably te nd to dissipat e many doubts in

regard to their au then t ici t y by exposing t he uni ,

v e r sa lit o f the facts under t he various forms in

y ,

w hich they have been occas ionally developed With .

this view therefore we shall now proceed to pre

, ,

sen t our readers with a succi nct account of all that

appertains t o this interesting subj ect in so far a s ,

w e are a ble to gather up the scattered fragments in

t he most ancien t annals ofhuman lear ning and cul
t iva t ion among the E gyptians t he I sraelites t he
, , ,

G reeks and the R omans

,
.

CHA PTE R XIV .

A NCIEN T E gypt if not the act ual birthplace

, of
‘

M AGIC may perh a ps be j ustly regarded as t he

, , ,

pri mitive land the cradle ofA nim a l M a g ne tism

,

t he re g ion in which so far as our knowledge ex ,

t ends t hat art or science was firs t prac t ically and

, , ,

extensively cultivat ed I f we may be permitted t o .

infer from the remains of numerous monumental

r ecords as well as from t he entire hist ory of this
,
1 32 AN HIS T O RY O F MA GI C ,
&c .

remarkable people it would appear that the Eg yp

,

t ian priests were well acquai nted with the Z o o

mag netic phenome na and with some at least of , , ,

the various methods of exciting them artificially ,

both in their reli g ious ceremonies a nd for the pur ,

pose ofcuring diseases and that they most assidu

o usl cul t ivated thi s mystery in their sacred edifices
y ,

and at the same time j ealously co ncealed the pr a c

, ,

tice from the profa ne eyes ofthe v ulgar .

I n the mos t ancie nt period of E gyptian history ,

we find medicine t heology and reli g ious worship

, ,

combined in the profession of the priesthood ; the

first indeed to such a degree that it appears to
, , ,

have occupied as much if not more of their at t en ,

t ion than the lat t er

, F or in E gypt we find the
.
, ,

first regular practice of therapeutics incorporated ,

as it were during thousands of y ears with their

, ,

religious ceremonies and Observances I n the treat .

men t of the sick they appear to have carefully

,

watched what they conceived to be the annunci a

tions Of their deities ; and for this purpose t heir , ,

patients themselves were artificially prepared to

receive a nd declare them The me t hods employed .
,

upon these occ a sions have been di stinctly no t iced

,

by D I O D O R U S SI C U L U S ( L The E gyptians .
,

says this author assert that I SIS is Of great se r

,

v ice to the m in medicine by discoveri ng therapeutic ,

means ; and that havi ng herself become immor t al

, ,

She takes great pleasure in the religious worship o f

manki nd and is especially concerned about t hei r

,

health ; tha t she c om e s t o the i r a i d i n d r e a ms and ,

1 34 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

the scrutinising eye s of the vulgar and the profane .

H ence the ancient mysteries and oracles which ha v e ,

af forded so much scope for learned d iscussion a nd ,

even for misreprese ntation and ignorant ridic ule in ,

modern times ; and w hich cannot be thorou g hl y

.

comprehended wi thout an intimate kno w ledge of

the entire system from which they derived t heir
origin as well as a correct appreciation of the
,

means employe d a nd Of the nature of the phe no

,

mena which were frequently manifested *

.

The primitive records Of almost all t he mo st

ancient nations Of the world commence with tr a di
t ionar y accounts o f a primae v al stat e o f ignorance

and happiness in w hich mankind lived in perfec t

,

harmo ny with all n a ture and enj oyed a famili a r ,

intercourse and con v erse with spiritual and divine

beings A ur e a p r im a sa ta e st oe ta s I n this blessed
. .

state nei ther space nor time existed for man —the
,

T he h or is not a F r e e m as on ; but al t h ough ig nor

aut -
,

a nt oft he pr e c is e obj e c t s oft he i ns t i t ut i on he ha s l ong be e n

,

of Opi ni on t h at t he ori g i n Of t his a nc i e nt c r a ft m i h t be

g
tr ac e d up t o t he E gyp t i an m ys t e ri e s ; al t h ough t he ori gi nal
obj e c t s of s uch a n a ss oc i at i on or br ot h e rh oo d
, m ay h a v e , ,

for a l ong t i me b e e n l os t si g h t o f T he ass oci at i on of t he

, .

frat e rni ty he b e li e ve s t o h av e b e e n always h um ane and

, ,

prob ably in s ome r e sp e ct s b e ne fi ci al ; and t he accus at i ons

,

o cc a si onally br oug h t a g a i ns t t h e ir vi e ws a nd obj e c t s app e a r

t o h av e originat e d i n m ali c e or mis c onc e p t i on T he a ut h or .

is not aw are wh e t h e r i n t he r e cords of t he craft a ny dis

, ,

t inc t and a ut h e nt i c t r ac e s ofi t s ori g i n h a v e b e e n pre s e rv e d .

W e re t h e y t o s t udy t h e s e l ucubrat i ons of o urs t h e y mi g h t , ,

p e rh aps be le d t o a d op t m or e pre cis e not i ons in r e gard t o

,

t he ori g i n of t he i ns t i t ut i on a nd als o
, fi nd t h e ms e lv e s
, ,

b e t t e r pr e p ar e d t o hum a niz e in lig ht .

 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c . 1 35

p a s t a nd t he future w ere as o ne presen t ; and

Obj ec t s no w co nsidered di s ta nt w ere in his imme
, ,

diate neighbourhood H is soul w a s pure and un

.
,

corrupted by the tra nsie nt p a ssions and pleasures

o r pai ns of the me ntal o r corporeal frame D isease .

a nd de a th w ere unkno w n : N othing i n S hor t could , ,

occur to disturb t he equable tenor Of his perfec t

s ereni t y a nd continued happi ness O ne common .

a nd ener a l instinct enabled him t o see and hear

g ,

a nd to exercise all the faculties ofsense I n shor t .

,

he was created aft er the ima g e Of G od .

I n process of time however and in conseque nce

, ,

o fsome transgression o fthe la w s ofhis C reator man ,

is sa id t o have forfei t ed this blessed s t a te ofinnocence

a nd simplici t y Sin a nd misery d i s ease a nd death
, ,

entered into the w orld ; a nd the relations Of the

human race to w a rds external nature as w ell as in ,

reference t o the A uthor o f his being u nderwent a ,

complete and a melancholy change The M osaic .

a ccount o f the creation and fa ll Of m a n alludes to

t his ori g inal s t a t e of t he species i n deli neat ing the

,

primi ti v e paradise ; a nd t he memory of it is pre

ser v ed in o ne form or another in t he traditional
,

myths of almost every people upon ear t h The .

G o ld e n A g e has bee n celebra t ed by the poets e v en

Of the Pag an w orld .

A fter the fa ll from this ori g i nal condition o f

purit y and happiness the ear th itself was cursed ;
,

man was doomed to labour for his daily subsistence ,

a n d subj ected to the fearful penalties of sin disease , ,

and death D eprived of that blessed intercourse

.
,
1 36 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
ao .

which he had been previously privileged to enj oy

with heaven he was no w thrown e ntirely upo n his
,

own natural resources H is original undisturbed

.

he a lth and inborn Cla i r voy a nc e had passed away

fro m him a nd he fou nd himself compelled to resor t
t o artificial means for the purpose of restoring t he
,

one and of r e awakenin g the other I n order t o

,
-
.

at tain these Obj ects he v oluntarily w ithdrew him

,

self from t he tumult Of the w orld mortified hi s ,

e a rthly passions and e ndeavoured to restore the

,

lost intercourse w ith the spiritual world a nd w ith ,

t he D eity by e xc i ting in himself that primitive i n

,

t ernal ins ti nct w hich ha d been obscured but no t

, ,

en t irely obliterated w ithin his bosom S ometimes .

,

t o o in his h a ppier moments he would experience a

, ,

feeble manifestation Of that i nw ard inborn li g h t in , ,

Sickness a nd o n the approach of deat h like a w

phosphoric glimmering from d ecayed matter .

S uch dispositions a nd feelings probably gave rise

to the ancient oracles and mysteries— to t he early
a dmixture o f religious worship m edicine and , ,

divination .

A foresight or prese ntiment O fthe future as w e

, , ,

have alre a dy had occasion to observe is by no ,

means so strange a nd unnatural a fa culty as ma ny ,

have been i nduced to suppose H istory indeed .

, ,

abounds in instances of t he manifestation of such

instinctive forebodings which cannot be redar g ued
,

by reason nor confuted by scepticism Philosophy

, .

does not altogether repudiate the belief of the fa c t

a nd there are probably few individuals who have
, ,
1 38 AN HIS T ORY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

conferred upon the kings a nd princes of the land .

They Observed a strict re g ime n ; and personal

cleanliness w as deemed a primary re quisite in the
exercise of their sacred vocation They devo t ed .

themselves a lso to the study Of medicine a nd the

, , ,

practice of the healing art Their mode Of treat .

ment indeed appe ar s to ha v e bee n exceedi ng ly

, ,

simple a nd consonant t o nature —consis ti ng pri nci ,

pally Ofa few g eneral processes and diete t ic obse r

,

v ances They did not po s sess that immense quan

.

t ity of li q uid a nd solid remedies —those s a lts earths , ,

gases vegetable and mineral poisons & c — which

, , .

s w ell our pharmacop oe ias and are SO plen t ifully ,

exhibited by the empirical prac t i t ioners of phy sio in

modern times Ye t according to all a ccounts their
.
, ,

practical methods were eminently successful Their .

t reatment appears to have co nsisted principally of , ,

bathing anoi nti ng man ipulations fumi g ations & c

, , , , .

By these means combined with exercise and fast

,

ing t he patients were prepared in the temples

, , ,

for those di v in a tory dreams for w hich the oracles

became so famous The Of fi ci a t in g priests superi a
.

tended these pro phetic manifestatio ns in their S leep

ing patients and upon their a wa king su g gested
, , ,

the remedial means prog nosticated durin g the di v i

na t or y sleep and the probable issue Of the partien
,

la r case ; a circumstance which led to the erro neous

belief that the priests were themsel ves the prophets .

I t is extremely probable indeed if not absolutely , ,

c e rtain that in most if not in all cases these prog

, , ,

no st ic at ions proceeded from the patients themselves

 AN HIS T ORY OF MAGIC ,
&c . 1 39

—
as in the case of t he modern magnetic Somnam
bul ist S—who in their waking state forget t ing every
, ,

t hing tha t had occurred during t heir sleep allowed ,

themselves to be persuaded that t hese s uggestions

were made by the pries t s in consequence of the ,

peculiar favour of heave n I t w ould also appear.

t h a t as in t he magnetic practice indi v idual patients

, , ,

peculiarly susceptible Of the somn a mbulistic and

ecsta tic afl e c t io ns w ere retained in these temples
'

, ,

for the purpose ofdiscovering t he particular disease s

of others and ofprescribing the appropriate reme
,

dies A ft er these institutions became corrupted

. ,

a nd, consequently fell into discredit the whole of

, ,

t his procedure came to be con s idered as a mere

system offalsehood jugglery a nd imposture ; and
, ,

t his would appear to be the prevailing opinion Of

negligent inquirers even a t t he present day The

, .

discoveries of the modern M agneti s ts however and , ,

t heir profound researc hes into the practices in ques

tion appear to have completely demonstrated the

,

re ality ofthe facts and the analogy existi ng between

,

t he ancie nt methods and tha t of t he disciples of

M ESME R .

The lower orders of the priesthood it appears , ,

w ere entrusted with the general charg e Of the

patients accordi ng t o certai n directio ns l a id dow n
,

for their guidance ; and these direc t ions were to be

observed upon all occasions a nd in the strictes t ,

possible manner .

G ALEN has enumerated some of those remedies

which were preserved as approved recipes in the
, ,
 40 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

t emples ; a nd me n tion is also made of others by

C E LSUS a nd by PAULUS E G I N E T A
, We must not.

a llow ourselves to be surprised a t the simplicity or ,

t he apparent triviali t y and ine f fi c a c ious nature of

s ome of t hese remedies A ll t hose w ho are well
.

a cquainted with the modern mag ne tic treatmen t

ar e , at the same time perfectly aware how much a
,

s t ric t a t tention t o the most t rifling and apparently , ,

i nsignifica nt prescrip t io ns ofa patient a nd the exac t ,

t ime of their adminstra t ion are conducive to the

,

ul t im a te cure ; and e v en re g ular ph y sicians in t heir ,

ordinary practice it is believed ha v e occasio nally

, ,

been asto nished at t he success of remedies — per

haps su g gested by their patients —which they had
previously conceived to be t otally inopera t ive and
wor t hless I t is remarkable too t hat the ancien t
.
, ,

priests also made frequent use of a particular sor t

of magnetic sto ne
E ven in G ALE N S time an universal remedy was
’
,

s till called I SIS The mos t celebra t ed temples in

.

E g ypt were those of ! Me mp hi s and B usi r is ; t he

Temples of S E RA P IS at Ca nop us A le x a nd r ia and, ,

T he be s ; the Temples ofO SIRIS A R IS a n d PH T H A S

, , .

The word I SIS was also occasio nall y understood t o

deno t e Wisdom : H ence the inscription in her
t emple : I a m a ll t ha t w a s a n d is a nd sha ll be ;
, ,

a nd no m or ta l has s uc c e e d e d i n lif t ing m y ve i l .

( P LU T ARCH ; D e I si d e )
. S P RENGEL Observes tha t ,

t his goddess was a n emblem O f the moon whose ,

periodical states ha v e been believed to exert so

much infl uence in certain morbid affections F or .
1 42 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

scarcely ever permitted to enter it under any cir

c um st a nc e s
( N onni
. si p a uc i s e le c t i d ig ni or e s a d m i t

t e ba nt ur P e r e g r inis , v e r o, v ia: ac ne v ia: ui d e m

.

q
unqua m , c e r t e non a nt e i nc r e d i bi le s m o lesti a s, p a t e
ba t a d i tus , i d g ue se m r w vi a ir c um c i sio ne )
p e r
p c .

( J A B L O N SKI ; P a nthe on E g yp t . III Proleg

. .

C HA PTER XV .

WHE N w e compare all the frag mentary notices

which have been collected in regard to these ancien t
institutions of the E gyptians we must assuredly ,

become impressed with a conviction that t he treat

ment of the sick and the responses of the oracles in
,

the t emples were exceedingly analogous to the mag

,

netic processes of modern times B ut here the e v i .

dence d oes not co nclude ; for besides all t his we , ,

ha v e additional historical testimony in regard t o

the prepara t ory ceremonies to which the invalids
were subj ected the temple sleep and its c onc om i
,
-
,

tant phenomena and also to the particular medical

, , ,

t reatme nt of the patients & c partly in indirec t , .

,

monuments and partly in images a nd hie r og ly

, , ,

h i c al representations ofthe r e s g e stae

p .

We have already alluded to the practice of mani

pulatio n combined as it frequently w a s with a
,
.
, ,

variety ofother ceremonies a nd Observances amon g

t he E gyptians I n all ages in fact and probably
.
, , , ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 1 43

amongst all na tions as the author has elsewhere ,

observed a certain directly sanative e fficacy has

,

been usually ascribed to the touch of t he human

hand to the pl a cin g of it upon a S ick person or
, ,

rubbi ng w ith it a ny part of the body that may

happen t o have been exposed to inj ury ( S ee I SIS .

R E V ELA T A a nd Z oom a g ne ti c J our na l) A S imilar

, .

ef fi cacy appears to have been also attribu t ed to t he

fin g ers especially the fore fi ng e r N ow it is a
,
- .
,

rather remarkable fact and worthy of some atten ,

tion that among the R omans the fore fi ng e r was

, , ,
-

occasionally denomi nated M e d ic us or the D oc tor , .

n ,
—
I a ncien t times indeed the observation ubi d o lo r ,

i bi d ig i tus —ac t ually passed into a common pro

verb .

But the hand had a still more extensive impor t

a nd Si nifi c a nc among the na t ions of antiquity ;
g y
and this import is una mbiguously commemorated
in some of the ancient E gyptian monuments as has ,

been Shown in I SIS R E VE LA T A L e t u s look also .

, ,

into the Jewish S criptures M OSES the divine law .

,

g iver we
,
are told was a m a n lear ned in all the wis
,

dom ofthe E gyp tians I n the Bible we meet with .

,

many remarkable expressions by no means entirely ,

metaphorical w hich poin t out t he ha nd as the in

,

s trume nt ofthe magical or magnetic i nfl uence in per ,

f e c t conformity wi t h the ideas at t ached to the mani

u la ti ons of the modern magnetisers B y means of

p .

t he human h a nd the m agnetic influence is distribu t ed ,

and S omnambuli sm or ecstacy artificially produced

, , .

I n like manner we find certain passages in the Old

,
1 44 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

Testament S criptures in whic h the same Offi ce and , ,

similar e ffects are ascribed to t he hand viz the

, , .

prod uction ofecstatic visions and the excitement of ,

t he prophetic facul t y Whe n G od desires to exci t e

.
,

in the chosen prophet the spirit of di vination it is , ,

said that the HAN D ofthe L OR D c a m e up on hi m a nd ,

he sa w a nd p r op he sie d I t is related of E LISHA .

,

w hen he w a s consulted by the kings of I srael and

Judah in regard to the war with t he M oabites tha t ,

he sent for a mins t rel and while the la t ter played ,

upon the harp the ha nd ofthe L O RD came upo n

,

the he a d of t he S e e r who became e nr a ptured a nd

, ,

exclaimed : Behold t hus saith the L ord & c ( II , ,

”
. .

Kings iii 1 3 & c ) S imilar expressions are m e t

, .
, .

with in the P sa lms and in E zekiel : A S I was

,
“

among the captives by the river of C hebar the ,

heavens were opened a nd I Saw visions ofG od , .

The word of t he L OR D came expressly unto EZ E

K IEL the priest
,
and the ha nd of the L O R D
w as there upon him —Now how does such a n .
,

expression come to be m a de use of in these a nd

o t her passag es of the S acred Writings ? G O D
A lmighty cannot be said li t erally to possess huma n , ,

hands ; and it is evident therefore that t he expres , ,

sion in these and o ther passages is there used in a

, ,

metaphoric a l sense The S criptures manifes t ly

.

describe the divine will and aht by comparing them

w i t h the correspondi ng pr a ctice amon g mankind ,

w hen the obj ect was to place an individual in the

ecstatic state and thereby induce the visionary and
,

prophetic faculty There are many other passages

.
1 46 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

ha nd s upon the believin g brethren and the latter ,

received the divine gift .

H ere t hen we find precisely what actually take s

, ,

place in the operations of M agnetism — the same

functions the same confidence in the operator t he
, ,

s ame faith in the patient and the same results ; ,

with the di f ference only between the divine and

human act and will and the various obj ects contem
.

plated in the procedure We trust that the fore .

going statements and comparison will not be regard

ed as in any degree irreverent which is far from ,

our intention .

The actual imposi ti on ofthe hand however is not , ,

absolutely necessary in all cases to the accompli sh

, ,

ment of the ma g ne tic effect : A fi ng e r may be sufli

cie nt e v en without actual conta ct ; nay when the
, ,

R a pp or t has once been completely established the ,

mere energetic operation of the w i ll may be sufli

cient to produce all the desired e f fects .

I n the Bible we frequently find the word fing e r

,

also thus metaphorically used We read of miracles .

and cures performed by t he fing e r of GO D ( Se c

II M oses v iii 1 9 —
.

.
, I bi d xxxi 1 8 —
. . Psalms viii . . .
, .

4. L uke xi ,
The fin ger then as well as the
.
, ,

hand according t o the opinion ofthe M A GI was t he

, ,

i nstrumen t by mean s ofwhi ch the E gyptian S cience

operated it s miracles ; and thence it would appe a r
that the finger also was a consecrated org an by ,

means of whi ch such wonderful e ffects were pro

d uc e d in the ancient my steries JESUS C HRI S T .
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAG IC ,
&c . 1 47

himself says expressly th a t he cast out devils ( i e

, , . .

cured diseases ) by means Of his f ing e r ; and t hat this

w as a Sign that the kingdom o fheaven was at hand .

This attribution of miracles to the energy of the

fi nger indeed even became proverbial upon many
, ,

extraordinary occasions H erein we recognise the

.

fi ng e r ofG O D A ll of these expressions ho w e v er

”
.
, ,

a ppear to h a ve been peculiar t o the E gyptians and

t he Jews .

F or more minute informat ion upon this curious

subj ect w e would refer our readers to the A nna le s
,

d a M a g ne ti sm e A nim a l NO S 34— 3 7 in w hich the

, .
,

whole ofthese points are fully illustrated from the

antique monuments preserved by Mo N T F A U c O N and
D EN O N ; and t o I SIS R E V E LA T A vol i ,
. .

We have every reason t o believe that in ancient ,

E gypt the arts and scie nces attained a high de g ree

,

of cultivation This fact indeed is attested not only

.
, ,

by their artistic monume nts and the high estimation

,

in which that nation was held amon g st its contem

or ar ie s but by the direct and circumstantial
p , r e

ports ofvarious authors Travellers from di fferen t

.

a nd distan t lands long continued t o resort to E gypt

for instruc t ion in the arts a nd scie nces M OSES as .

,

w e have a lready observed is said to ha v e been ,

learned in all t he w isdom of t he E g yptians ; and

t he ancient author s maintai n that t he science of

E gypt was transmi tted t o the Ph oe nicians the A r a ,

bians t he G reeks and the R omans S ome authors

, , .

are ofopinon that e ven the Persians and H indoos

a lso derived much oftheir learning from the same
 1 48 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

quarter The E gyptians indeed sedulously cul

.
, ,

t ivat e d all the branches of natural philosophy ,

mechanics astronomy and astrology ; but their

, ,

doctrines and discoveries as was usual among the ,

E astern nations were frequently announced in ima

,

g ina t i v e and mystical expressions and gave occasio n ,

to the most gross and fabulous misrepresentations I n .

physical science they appear to have been no mean

adepts ; for we have some grounds for beli eving that
the doctrine ofthe earth s motion round the sun w a s ’

known to the E gyptian priests or MA GI and that , ,

it was communicated from them to the I ndi an Br a h

mins P Y T HAG O RAS the celebrated G reek philoso
.
,

pher and M ystic is t hought to have derived it fro m

,

the same source S uch at least is the opinion o f .

, ,

the learned JA B L O NS K I and of other investigators ,

into ancient literature and science — N e que e nim .

p r ae te rm i t te r e hi c ossum , vi d e r i c e le be r r i ma m
p
i lla m CO P E R N I CI hyp othe si n, te r r a m c i r c a so le m
m ove r i , sa c e r d oti bus E g yp ti or um o lim j a m ig nota m
non f uisse . Sc ia n t omne s hoe d oc uisse P hi lo la um
a li osg ue ho lc e P y tha g or as a lum nos
sc P y tha g or a m .

ve r o
p la c i t um ho c a st r onom i c um a b E
g yp t i is

c e
p isse , et in sc ho lc e suce d og m a t a tr a d id is se , ea eo

non p m
a r um v e r osi m i le
i hi fi q
t , uod i d e m e t i a m a d
I nd or um B r a hm a nnos, E g yp tior um p r is c or um d i s
c ip ulos d im a na sse i nte llig a m —JA B LO NS K Y ; P a n ~ .

t he on E g yp ti or I I I P r ole g 10 A s it appears
. . . .

pretty manifest therefore that ancient E g ypt wa s

, ,

the cradle of physical mechanical and artistic , ,

science it seems liable to little doub t —when we

,
 1 50 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
ao .

regard to this subj ect in the sacred wr itings ; and , ,

in order to avoid tediousness and unnecessary repe

titio n we shall now proceed at once to the farther
, , ,

proofs .

I n perusing the S criptures Of the Old Testament ,

every attentive reader must probably have been

struck by the numerous and most remarkable reve
lat ions which are represented as having occurred in
dreams during Sleep I n the fourth book of M oses
, .

( N umbers ) there occur t he following words : I f

there be a p r op he t among you I the L O R D will , , ,

make myself known unto him in a visi on and will ,

speak unto him in a d r e a m I n t he book of .

”

G e nesis ( xx 3) it is s a id
. G O D came t o A bimelech , ,

i n a d r e a m by nig ht ; and in the same book ” v

( xxxi . G o d came to L aban the S yrian in a , ,

d r e a m by night S ee also t he very remarkable

.
, ,

passage xxxvii 5 and x1 in refere nce to the his

, .
, .
,

tory ofJoseph I n I K i ng s iii 5 it is said that

. .
, .
, ,

“
in G ibeon the L ord appeared to S olomon in a
,

d r e a m by night I n the book Of Job xxxiii 1 4

”
. .
,

a nd 1 5 we a r e t old that
, G O D speake t h in a
d r e a m in a v i si on of the nig ht
, Suc h revelations
in dreams are repeatedly referred to also in the , ,

N ew Testament S crip t ures We scarcely require .

t o point out the particul a r passages but the reader

may consul t S t M atthew s G ospel and the A c t s ’
,

t he A p ost le s
“
g
c .

The S criptures too abound in allusions to the, ,

magnetic treatment and phenomena Ofthese w e .

have an example in A dam s sleep ( I M oses ii ’

.
, .
 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 151

The S eventy t w o I nterpreters of the S acred S crip

-

t ures actually consider the sleep here spoken o f as

a species of ecstacy ; and TE R T ULLIAN expressly

says t hat the prophetic power of t he H oly S pirit
,

fell upon him A c c id i t sup e r i llum sp i r i t us sa/nc t i

v i s o e r a tr ia:
p p ro
p he t i ce .

The prophe t ic dreams and visions of the Jewish

patriarchs and seers were manifold and will be ,

found recorded at length in the Old Testament

S criptures Not less remarkable are the whole
.

phenomena exhibited in the hi story Of M oses .

M oses we are informed as already rem arked w as

, , ,

i nstructed in all the learning imbued with all the ,

wisdom and initiat ed into all the magical arts and

'

mysteries ofthe E g yptians The prophetic views .

o f M oses then were either the result of magical

, ,

o r magnetic int ui tion in consequence of a natural ,

predisposition t o the ecsta tic a ffection —a n id iosy n

c ra s
y which appears to have been charac t eristically

prevalent amo ng the Jewish nation ; or they w ere

t he e ffects ofthe imm e di ate influence and inspiration
o f the A lmighty —or both causes may have been

combined I f we are disposed t o adopt the latter

.

explanat ion the circumstance would prove what

, ,

experience otherwise teaches us that an energ etic , ,

a devout a confident and believing mind is ever t he

, ,

most sus ceptible ofdivine impulses and affections

a nd , consequently the bes t adapted for carrying
,

into execution the purposes of the divine will I n .

t he history of M oses we Shall find many pheno ,

1 52 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

mena analogo us t o those which have been found to

occur in the natural manifestations ofthe ecstatic
crisis and in the artificial states developed by the
,

practice ofA nimal M agnetis m .

I t were tedious and probably unnecessary to

, , ,

attempt to enumerate the whole of the occurrences

to which we have alluded and which we presume , , ,

cannot have escaped t he notice of any attentive

reader of the Bible We may j ust refer ho wever
.
, ,

t o one of the mos t remarkable instances o f c oinc i

dence — i n which magnetic power appears to have
f
been combined with the faculty O Cla ir v oya nc e in—
the narrative relati ng to the proceedings of the
prophet E lisha II Ki ng s iv 1 8—
. 87 , . .

We must not however overlook t he fact that a

, , ,

marked di fference exists between the manifestations

of Cla i r voya nc e and divination as developed in the ,

Jewish prophets and the heathen seers The natu .

ral susceptibility in both cases indeed may be

, , ,

considered as a special endowment conferred upon

some of his creature s by the great A uthor of our
being ; but this suscepti bility has always be en sub
e c te d to various modificatio ns The faculty in
j .

both cases therefore may be considered as homo

, ,

e ne ous ; but the diversity consists in the particular

g
modes of its excitation and the peculiar obj ects
,

to which its manifestations may be immediately

directed in the specific instances of its development .

The fa c ul ty itse lf in short may be considered a s

, ,

natural to man in particular circumstances ; and

, ,
 AN HIS TO RY O F MA GIC ,
&c .

his ow n remarkable expres sions is capable of ,

removing mountains *
.

The i nfluence ofthe doctrines ofC hristianity pro

d uc e d a material change upon the previous tenets
in regard to M AGIC A t the period of the advent
.

of JESUS C HRIS T upon the earth t he belief in ,

d aemons and malignant Spirits was universally pre

valent not only among the heathen but also among
, ,

the Jews To these d aemons and Spiri t s there was

.

ascribed an unhallowed and almost unlimited power

over this sublunary world rivalling antagonising , , ,

and even almost surpassi ng that of the D eity him

self ; and extendin g not only over the spiritu a l
world but throu g hout the universal domain o f
,

F or m y ow n p art , I fre e t o c onfe ss t h at I h av e

am

fi cul ty
a lw ays fe l t g r e at di f on t he s ubj e ct o f m ir acl e s and I ,

s t rongly s usp e ct t h at ma ny ot h e r r e sp e c t abl e p e rs ons ar e in

t he s am e si t ua t i on wi t h m ys e lf . Some G e rm an t h e ol ogi an
has S aid : A rg ume ntum a m irac ulis p e t it um no n e s t c onve
vi e ns ; c um v e r a m ira c ula a f alsis nv llo c e r to a rg ume nto d is

c e r ne r e p ossumus . H o w wi t h our li mi t e d fa cul t i e s c an w e

, ,

dis cov e r wh e th e r a p ar t ic ul ar e v e nt be nat ural or s up e r

nat ur a l ? W h at is t he i nfallibl e t e s t ofa m ir acl e ?
T he b e li e f in t he ne ce ssi t y ofp a rt i cul ar m ir acl e s a s pr oofs ,

oft he e x is t e nc e of a Supr e m e B e i ng m ay be com p ar e d t o

,

t he not i ons of childr e n w ho e x pr e ss li t t l e s urpris e wh e n a

,

p e rfe ct pi e ce ofm e ch anis m is sh own t h e m as the work ofan

a rt is t —s uch a s a c l ock or t i m e pi e c e wi t h i t s r e gul ar m ov e
,

m e nt s and s t riking of the h ours ; but w ho are disp os e d t o

l ov e and a dm ire t he cl ock m ak e r wh e n he st e ps t he
-
,

m achi ne ry or pr od uc e s s om e e x t r a ordi nary irr e gul ari t y i n

,

i t s act i on a s Oft e n as he pl e a s e s or t he ch ild d e sir e s i t

, , It .

is not p e rfe ct i on but i mp e rfe ct ion whi ch in t h e ir m i nds

, , , ,

g e ne r at e s v e ne r at i on for t he ar t is t .
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 55

nature The credulity and superstitious feelings

.

of mankind also in these dark ages induced them

, , ,

t o resort to every species ofart and contrivance in ,

order to conciliate the favour or to avert the male ,

v ole nc e of these infernal agents ; and by any means ,

lawful or unla w ful to endeavour to direct their

,

male fi c e nt i nfluences t o others or to procure super

natural aid for the purpose ofpromoting their ow n
,

selfish Obj ects MAGIC in Short had completely

.
, ,

d egenerated from its original uses into what has

been called the B la c k A r t falling more and more ,

away from its primitive lofty purposes and essential ,

dig nity into a b a se a nd sordid profession The

, .

S upreme R uler of heaven and earth was no longer

the G od of universal nature— t he sole disposer of
all m undane events ; but only the G od of the J e w
ish people ; and he was worshipped only because he
was believed to be more powerful than the gods of
the other and rival nations a nd more capable of ,

rendering them victorious in their career of con

q uest. We are told indeed that one,of the chief ,

obj ects of the blessed advent of the S aviour upon

earth was to annihilate the works to frustrate the ,

desi g ns and to over throw the kingdom of S atan

,

throughout the universe ; t o illuminate the spiritual

d arkness of a be nighted world ; to subs t itute truth
for falsehood and delusio n ; faith for superstitious
fear ; to introduce co nfi dence in the decrees ofhea
ven and the love of G od and of our neighbour
, ,

instead ofdoubt despair and hatred I n this vie w

, , .

—even apart from the di vine character of his p e r

156 AN HIS T O RY O F M A GI C ,
&c .

son, and the other lofty and be ne fi c e nt obj ects of

his mission —JESUS C HRIS T must ever be regarded
as a true S aviour in time ofneed But this S aviour .

was scorned and rej ected by the stubborn and

unbelieving Jews his holy and be ne fi c e nt ministra
t ions accordingly were not immediately followed
, ,

by the desired results The seed indeed was .

, ,

abundantly sown but chiefly upon barren soil : The

,

gr ound was yet unprepared for its immedi ate uni ,

versal and be ne fi c e nt reception : The ultimate har

,

vest may yet be remote : Our anticipations of the

Millenium are sti ll confined to p i a d e si d e r i a In .

the meantime we must still be content to survey

,

this world of mortality frailty and error as it has

, , ,

already existed and as it still presents itself t o our

,

scrutinising view .

But in so m e of these last observations we may ,

appear to have rather anticipated the regular course

ofevents and must therefore resume our narrative
, , ,

of the development of the magnetic phenomena

among the ancient nations ofthe world With this .

obj ect in view we Shall now proceed t o trace the

,

hi storical facts relatin g to our general subj ect among

the Greeks and the R omans .
158 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

scended to initiate into their sacred mysteries .

H ence the erroneous notions which came to be

entertained by the bulk of mankind in all ages , ,

upon thi s very curious subj ec t

I t is certain that the celebrated mysteries a t
S amothrace reach back into a very remote anti
u
q y i t ; and it appears equally cle a r that the earlies t

and most genuine M AGIC wa s nothing else than a

s pecies of Natural Philosophy combined with reli ,

gions worship Al most all the modern writers upon

.

this s ubj ect appe a r to have associated the mysteries

in the ancie nt temples wi t h d aemonology and witch
craft ; a n opinion which if not actu ally originated
, ,

was at least sed ulously propagate d by the early

, ,

C hristian converts while many eminent a u t hors in ,

more recent times— even t he learned and shrewd ,

but frequen tly negli gent and superficial and cer ,

t a inly not very philosophical D E r O E — appear to

have carelessly adopted the vulgar belief and to ,

have confounded these sacred ceremonies wi t h the

absurd a nd superstitious art as it was then called
, ,

of r a ising the D e v i l But all such extravagant and

.

un w arranted opinions m anifestly a rose from the

n eglect of due investigation or from wilful m isr e
,

presentation The in stitution of t he mysteries in

.

q u e stion appears to have been intimately connected

wi th the development of the national religion .

That religion may have been a nd certainly was , ,

imperfect unsound and perverted ; but it is unfair

, ,

t o con t rast these early aspirations with the subse

 AN HIS T ORY or MAGIC ,
&c .
159

quent and purer institutions and tenets of C hris

t ia nit y which were not for a long period af
, ,
ter
wards in existence
,
.

The ancient priesthood as we have alr eady ,

shown were the curators or conservators of the

, , ,

sacred dogmas the religious worship and the cere

, ,

mo nial Observances of the ancie nt world ; and we

cannot doubt that they alone were in possession of
all the higher knowledge of the times which they ,

consecrated to the ser vice of the gods and carefully ,

g uarded from profanation while they endea v oured

t o conceal its mystical application from the untutored

minds of the vulgar ; and hence the latter were , ,

accus tomed t o regard these unappreciated coremo

nies and their u ni ntelligible phe nomena as not o nly
, ,

mysterious but m a g ical in the more depra v ed sense

, ,

o ft he t erm —a n opinion which has been generally

t ransmi t ted down to o ur own times The r a ti ona le .

of t his opinion is abundantly obvious The G od of .

t he C hristians could not be the G od of the Pagans ;

and as the former was the o nly true G od the latter ,

must Of necessity be a false g od or the D evil ;

, , ,

a nd the mysteries in the hea t hen temples therefore , ,

mus t e a: hyp othe si have consisted ofan u nhallowed

, ,

worship of the D evil and the c ultivation of diabo

,

lic al arts and enchantmen t s The r e as omng here .

is evidently not the most correct nor t he conclu

, , ,

s ion the mos t logical ; but it appears to have satis

he d the minds of most of the primitive C hristia n
fathers .

That a kno w ledge of some of t he less obvious

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

powers of nature combined with the m e d ic ina

,

s c hi c a was zealously cultivated in these temple

p y ,

mysteries and that cures in those times accounted

, ,

magical or miraculous by the vulgar were performed ,

in these consecrated e d ifices are facts fully attested,

by the most clear and incontrovertible evidence of

contemporary and perfectly competent witnesses .

But all this does not warrant the hypothesis ofany

invocation ofthe D evil or any c o operation ofdiabo
,
-

lic al agency ; on the contrary the whole of this ,

apparent mystery is capable of bein g satisfactorily

explained by perfectly natural causes wit hout the ,

necessity ofconstantly having recourse to the hypo

thesis of any extraor di nary divine or d ae m oniac a l
aid.

O R P HE US and M US E US his pupil and successor

, , ,

are said to have been the ori g i nal founders if not ,

the actual inventors ofthese Pagan mysteries ; and ,

therefore they have g enerally been co nsidered as

,

the origi nal representatives of the most ancien t

natural philosophers among the G reeks and the ,

t rue authors of the temple worship and reli g ious -

ceremonies O R P HE US i ndeed l ike most of the

.
, ,

alleged instructors of barbarous times appears to ,

have been in a great measure a fictitious and

, ,

mythological character ; and as is usual in such ,

circumstances many romantic improbable and

, , ,

even impossible actions have been liberally ascribed

,

t o him : Om ne ig notum p r o m ag nifi c o H e is .

represented to have been a prophetic poet who ,

flourished before the Troj an war ; and he is r e

1 62 AN HIS TO RY O F M AGI C ,
&c .

religious belief a nd worship long after they had

,

degenerated in the vulgar apprehension into the

, ,

general practice of d ae m onia c al incantations : and

t hi s latter degrading mis a pplica t ion ofM AGI C would
appear to have been expres sly excluded from the
mysteries of E leusis I t is probable however that
.
, ,

these mysteries ul t imately became involved in the

general corruption of the national religion ; and
t hat their original puri ty gradually became d e fi le d

by the admixture ofa vulgar d ae m onolog y a nd a pr o ,

e nsit to the ad e ption of more profane and unhal

p y
lowed practices H ence t he di fferent and in many
.
, ,

respects contradictory represe ntat ions of the cha

,

r a c t e r and Obj ects of the se mysteries and the con ,

se quent d ifli c ult y of discriminating a nd appreciating

their true nature Thus much however appears
.
, ,

certain —that a lthou g h the original MAGIC was

,

gradually superseded by the vul g ar arts of sor

cery yet that the latter were long held in j ust
,

contempt and abhorrence by the more cultivated

minds of the rational devotees ; and that the pr a c
t ice of these ignoble arts was utterly repudi ated

and condemned by all t he learned upright and , ,

orthodox votari e s of the scienc e .

A t the same time we may Observe in regard to

, ,

t he c urative processes of the ancient priesthood ,

that it was very generally believed in these early ,

ages and even at a much later period that almost

, ,

all the se diseases of which the human frame is sus

c e t ible proceeded from some divine o r d ae m oniac al
p
infliction ; and that they were incapable of being
 AN HIS T O RY or MAGIC ,
&c . 1 63

cured by natural means without the direct assist ,

ance ofthe gods or ofsome species ofsupernatural ,

agency and the practice of certain religio us cere

,

monies E ven H I PP O CRA T E S—the great master of

.

—
rational me di cine in his treatise D e M or bo Sa c r o ,

observes that the various morbid phenomena were

,

ascribed to dif ferent spiritual agencies Fro m the .

same author we learn that the convulsive sy mp ,

toms generally accompanying epileptic affections

, ,

were ascribed t o particular supernatural influences

—a n opinion which has been partially transmitted
down to our ow n times and is still we believe , , ,

preserved by the priests of the R oman C atholic

C hurch and even by some ofthe Protesta nt clergy
, ,

in their solemn ritual of exorcism which is just a ,

species ofconj uration or magnetization We Shall , .

afterwards see more particularly how this fusion

, , ,

or comb ination ofthe ecclesiastical and therapeutic

functions came to be perpetuated in the C hristian
,

monasteries .

The celebrated men among the ancients w ho are ,

sai d to have travelled in pursuit Ofknowledge to , ,

E gypt and A sia—such as PY T HAG O RA S D EM O ,

C R I T U S P L A T O & c — la under the suspicion ofhav

, y , .

ing brou g ht back with them a knowledge Of the

magical arts as a Similar imputation was attache d
, ,

in modern times to R OGE R BACO N A L B E R T US MA G

, ,

N U S G ALILE O and indeed to all those philosophers

, , , ,

who surpassed the average standard of genius and

ac quirement in their respective ages A nd more .
,

es pecially was thi s accusation brought against all

,
 1 64 AN HIS T O RY or MA GI C ,
&c .

those individuals of ori ginal genius and research ,

who ventured to ascribe any particular influence to

the established laws ofnature wi thout any direct ,

interference of the gods in each specific case .

Theology and t he osophy have in all ages main , ,

t aine d a consta nt and invet e rate warfare with

natural philosophy H ence MAGIC or science and .

, , ,

A theism o r religious heresy o r infidelity came to

, ,

be associated together and bo t h have been includ

ed under one anathema as has been Observed by ,

A P ULE IUS in his trea t i se D e M a g ia : Ve r um hc e c

,

f e rme c omm uni u d a m e r r or e i mp e ri tor um p hi lo

g o

sop hi s o b e c j ta n tur , ut p a r te m e orum qui c orp or um

c a usa s me ra s et si mp lic e s r i m a nt ur , i r r e lig i osos

p a t e nt , c os
que a i un t d e os a l mue r e , ut A na xa g or a m ,
et L e uc ipp um , e t D e m oc r i tum , et Ep ic ur um , c ce t e r os

u r e r um n a t ur te a tr onos a r tim a ut e m , q ui
g e
p p
p r ov i d e nt i a m m und i c ur i osi us v e s t ig a nt e t i mp e nsi us
d e os c e le bra nt, e os ve ro M a g os n o mi ne nt , q ua si

fa c e r e e t i a m sc ia nt , ques sc i a nt fi e ri ut o lim
f ue r e

E P IMENID E S , et O R P HE US , et PY T HAG O RAS , et

O ST H A N E S . A c d e in si m i li t e r susp e c ta EM P E D O
CLIS xa ba epc oz, SO C R A
‘
T IS D IEM O N I U M , PL A T O N I S To

a y a bou .

I n G reece from the remotes t times we find the

, ,

practice of the medical art in the hands of ind iv i

duals ofparticular families and of the priesthood ; ,

T his union oft he s ac e rd ot al and m e di cal functi ons c on

t inne d f or a c onsid e r abl e p e ri o d d uri ng t he middl e a g e s of
, ,

E urOpe T he monks and ot h e r e ccl e si as t i c s as w e sh all

.
, ,

se e h e r e aft e r s ucce e d e d t o t he of
,
fi ce s of t he anci e nt pri e s t s
 A N n I S I U It Y u h MA G IC ,

by vast numbers ofpatients labouri ng under various

morbid af fections A ccording to H E R O D O T US ( L i b
. .

II c. the G reeks borrowed their temple cere

.

monies from the E gyptians and their pri ncipal ,

temples were dedicated to E gyptian deities From .

the same authority we le a rn that the most ancient ,

temple of Ve nus Ura ni a was Situated at A scalon

in S yria I SIS had a splendid temple at Phocis ;
.

and S ERA P IS had one at M essene and another at ,

A thens & c , .

But besides the E gyptian deities the G reeks had ,

their ow n medical di vinities I n this character were .

JU P I T E R JUNO and A P OLL O worshi pped nay

, , ,

even H E RCULES according to PA USA NIAS (in B oe t

,
.

c
. had a particular temple of health F or a .

long period too the G reeks revered the monument

, ,

ofthe celebrated S eer C ALCHAS to whom the sick ,

sacrificed a ram and Slept upon its Skin in order

, ,

to procure prophetic d reams .

O ne of the most celebrated amo ng the medical

dei t ies of the G reeks was A P O L L O w ho w as also ,

denominated PAE AN ( H l w ) the physician of the a lo

,

gods T o A P O LL O PINDAR ascribes three pr ofe s

.
,

sions — M edicine M usic and D ivination,

M usic , .
,

indeed was frequently employed a s a therapeutic

, ,

agent in ancient times and much that is new

, , ,

accounted utterly fabulous has been ascribed to its ,

e ffi cacy By the later poets and historians A P O LL O

.
,

is principally distinguished as a physician a nd a

seer In the mythology of the G reeks this deity
.
,

is generally designated as the inventor of medical

 AN HIS TO RY or MAGI C ,
&c . 1 67

science ofmusic and ofpoetry ; and he is also said

, ,

t o have taught t he art of divination ( P ythi us

A P O LLO )
I nve ntum me d ic i na me um e st, op if e r ue p e r o r he m
g
j
D ic or , e t he r ba m m e st sub e c ta p o t e nt ia no bis .

O V ID M e t I
. . .

O R P HE US who was thou g ht t o have derived his

,

S cience and wisdom from the E gyptian priests has ,

al so been considered by others as the inventor of , ,

all religious ceremonies and mysteries as well as of ,

me d icine and poetry among t he G reeks I n this ,

.

c apacity he has been commemorated by S O CR A T ES

, ,

PLA TO E URI P ID ES and H E R O D O T US ; and the fa

, ,

culty ofdivination is said t o have been hereditary

in his family H ence the many Singular and fabu
.

lous adventures which have been ascribed to him .

M E L AM P US was another celebrated physician among

the G reeks H e acquired an extraordi nary repu
.

t a t ion in consequence of his care ofIp hic lus and

, ,

of t he three dau g hters ofP r oe tus .

But the most famous among the Greek physicians

was fESCU L A PI U s said to have been the son of
,

A P O LL O who was also numbered among the g ods

, ,

and had numerous temples erected to him I n these .

t emples as well as in those of t he other m e di cal

,

d eities the treatment o fthe Sick was superintended

,

by t he priests ; and this treatment appears to have

be en of a nature SO remarkable so successful in ,

many instances and so intimately connected with

,

the modern therapeutic doctrines and practices Of

A nimal M agnetism as to deserve our particular ,
1 68
‘
AN HIS T ORY or MAGI C ,
&c .

attention The inqui ry into this curious subj ect

.
,

indeed seems to be the more necessary and the

, ,

more interesting because the remedial processes

,

adopted in these ancient Temples of H ealth appear

to have been in general entirely misunderstood
, , ,

a nd ,
conse quently much misrepresented in lat er
, ,

t imes ; and at length to have been in general

, , , ,

entirely superseded by a superficial and empirical

mode of treatme nt without any profound views in
,

regar d to the true nature of diseases a nd the ,

r a ti o na le o f the operation of remedies ; and by a

thorough disregard ofthe me d i c i na p syc hi c a and ,

even ofthe most simple and obvio us intimations Of

n ature .

C H A P T ER X V I I I .

WE have alread y adverted to the mode oftreat

ment adopted by the priests in the E gyptian a nd
G reek temples and attempted to point o ut in gene
, ,

ral t heir relation to the peculiar processes r e intro

,
-

d uc e d in modern times by M ES M E R ; and Shall

, ,

now proceed with our remarks relati v e to the same

subj ect more especially in the practice of the
,

a ncient G reeks ; upon which as i t appears t o us , ,

—
our later physicians have attempted apparently in
ignor a nce ofits peculiar nat ure and e fli c ac y or from ,

some less j ustifiable motive —to cas t unmerited ridi

cule and contempt Perhaps it may appear in the
. ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

I n these sacred temples then it appears to have , ,

been the usual practice to place the patients after ,

Opinions of all t he l at e r C hris t i an wri t e rs w ho fr e que nt ly ,

a pp e ar t o c onc e iv e v e ry pre p os t e rously w e t hi nk t h at by

, , , ,

d e pre ci at ing t h e s e i ns t i t ut i ons t h e y are at the s ame t i me

, , ,
,

a dv a nci ng t he c r e di t o f t he Sc rip t ur a l m ir a cl e s a nd pr ophe

c i e s E v e n the l e arne d and ami abl e R O LL IN forg e t ting his

.
,

d ut i e s as a fai t hful and disi nt e r e s te d his t ori an d oe s not ,

h e sit at e t o m ak e use o f occ asi onal a ss e r t i ons and arg u

m e nt s — a rg um e nta a d v ulg us —up on t his s ubj e c t whi c h ,

a pp e ar t ot ally i nc onsis t e nt wi t h his us ual c and o ur a nd c an ,

s c arc e ly be c once ive d c ap abl e of i mp osi ng up on t he mi nds

ofs uc h m e n a s will s ub m i t t o fa ir and i mp ar t i al i nq uiry .

T he g e ne r al ch ar act e r of o r acl e s s ays t his p Op ula r

“ ”
,

a ut h or ,
we r e ambig ui t y obs curi ty and c onv e r t ibili t y
, , ,

t o use t h at e x pr e ssi on ; so t h at one answ e r w ould ag re e

wi t h s e v e r al v ari ous and s ome t ime s dire ct ly Opp osi t e e ve nt s
B y t he h e lp of t his a rt ifi ce t he D aemons —so t he A rch
, .

”
,

bish op b e li e v e d i n D ae monol ogy w ho ofthe mse lve s a re not

c ap a ble of kno w ing f uturi ty , c o nc e a le d the ir ig no r a nc e , a nd

a muse d the c re d ulity ofthe Pa g a n w or ld .

A ft e r r e fe rri ng t o t he r e sp ons e of t he oracl e in t he w e ll

k nown c a s e of Cr a sa s King ofL ydi a M R olli n Obs e rv e s
, , .

t h at , und e r t he c o v e r o f s uch ambig ui t i e s t he g od e l ud e d ,

all di f ic ul t i e s and w a s ne v e r in t he wrong

f ,
.
”

T he l e arne d and e l oq ue nt his t ori an h ow e v e r afte rw ards , ,

fi nds hi ms e lf com p e ll e d t o m ak e pre t t y am pl e a d m issi ons in

fav our ofthe or acl e s .

I t mus t how e ve r be c o nfe sse d

, , s ays he tha t so me t ime s
, ,

the a nsw e r ofthe or a c le w a s c le a r a nd c ir c umsta nt ia l I h a ve .

r e p e a te d in t he his t ory of Cr a sa s t he s t ra t ag e m he m a d e
use oft o a ss ur e him s e lf oft he v e r aci t y o f t he Or acl e whi ch ,

w a s t o d e m and ofi t by his a mb a ss a d or wh a t he w a s d oi ng

, ,

a t a c e r t a i n t i me pr e fi x e d T he O r a cl e ofD e lph o s r e pli e d

.
,

t h at he w as c ausi ng a t or t ois e a nd a l a mb t o be dr e ss e d i n
a v e ss e l ofbr a ss whi c h w as r e ally so
,
.

T he E m p e ror T r aj an m a d e a S i m il ar t ri al of t he g o d a t
H e li op olis by s e ndi ng him a l e t te r sc ale d up t o whi c h he
, ,

d e mand e d an answ e r T he or ac l e m ad e no oth e r r e turn

.
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 171

a certain period oflustration in a state ofprofound ,

artificial sleep — the S omnambulis m of the modern

M ag netists ; in which state they were enabled to
point out t he seat and to describe the character ,

and symptoms Of their respective diseases to pre

, ,

scribe the a ppropriate remedies to announce the ,

approachi ng result a nd also t o give a prophetic , , ,

indication of other matters rela ting to themselves

th an t o comm and a bl ank p ap e r w e ll fold e d a nd s e al e d t o be , ,

d e liv e re d t o hi m T r aj an up on t he re c e ip t of i t w as s t r uc k
.
, ,

wi t h am az e me nt to se e an a ns w e r s o co rre sp ond e nt wi t h his

ow n l e t t e r in whi c h he ha d wri tt e n not hing
”
, .

T he e x pl a na t i on whi c h M R O LL IN g iv e s of t h e s e t r ans .

a c t i ons is c uri o us e noug h a nd w ould pro b ably h a v e b e e n

,

d e e me d v e ry i ng e ni ous and s at isfac t ory s om e c e nt uri e s ag o .

A d m i t ti ng i t t o be t r ue ar g ue s he t h at s om e or a cl e s
”
, ,

h av e b e e n followe d pr e cis e ly by t he e v e nt s fore t old w e may ,

be lie ve t h at G od t o p unish t he bli nd and s ac ril e gi o us c re d u

,

li t y of P a g ans has s om e t i m e s p e rm i t t e d d ae mons t o h av e a

,

k nowl e dge oft hi ngs t o com e and t o fore t e ll t h e m dis ti nct ly ,

e no ug h W hich cond uct o f G od t h oug h v e ry much ab ov e

.
,

h um an c ompre h e nsi on is fre que nt ly a tt e s t e d i n t he H oly

,

Sc rip t ur e s
”
.

T he S i mpl e m i nd e d P ri nc ip al o f t he U niv e rsi t y of P aris

-

d oe s not app e ar t o h av e p e rce iv e d t h at t h e s e a rgume nt s of

his s av oure d not a li ttl e o f J e suitry ifnot of abs ol ut e im ,

pi e t y W i th S i m il ar S i mplic i ty t he l e ar ne d P ri ncip al i nfo rm s

.
,

us t h at F a t h e r B a lt us t he J e s ui t P r ofe ss or of t he H oly
, , ,

Scrip t ur e s i n t he U niv e rsi t y of St r asburg h c om p os e d a ,

v e ry s olid t re a t is e wh e r e i n he d e mons tr a te s invinc i bly w i th

, ,

the una nim ous a uthor ity

f
o the F a the rs, tha t d aem ons w e r e
the r e a l a g e nts i n the ft e rwards ass e r t s
ora c le s .
”
A nd he a

t h at all t he F at h e rs of t he C h ur ch and e ccl e si as t ic al ,

wri t e rs of e v e ry ag e ma inta in a nd asse r t tha t the D e vil w a s

, ,

d o la t ry i n g e ne ra l, a nd o r a c les i n p a r tic a
the a utho r o f i f o

la r —.
”
A nd y e t t he l e arne d and R e v e r e nd P rin ip a l r e pr o c
b at e s cr e duli ty !
172 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

and others These t emples i ndeed were generally

.
, ,

provided with regular dormitories especially those ,

which were most numerously frequented by patients

w ho were desirous of obtai ning di v ine assistance

and counsel in their various a fflictio ns The in t i .

mations too w hich were mysteriously recei v ed by

, ,

the patients in these circumstances were conceived

, ,

to proceed from the patron deit y a nd were couse -

, ,

q uently accepted
, as oracles This temple sleep .
-

itself w as denominated by the G reeks w d us g sa

-
t 1 ,

a nd by the R oma ns i nc uba ti o ,

.

I II order t o exhibi t the p a r t icular procedure

which took place in these temples ge nerally w e ,

S hall take for our special example the temple s

, ,

erected t o IESC U L A P I U S the most celebrated of ,

which was the temple at Ep i d a ur us This edifice .

,

Situated in the Peloponnesus was dedicated to that ,

religious service w hich subse que ntly S pread over

, ,

a large portion ofthe ancient w orld E pidaurus is .

said t o have been the bir t hplace of fESC U L A P I U S ;

and for t his reason it was held to be peculiarly
, ,

sacred . M ulti t udes of p a tie nts flocked to t his

t emple in order to recover their lost health and
, ,

to become enlig htened by divi ne dreams F or this .

last reaso n IE SCU LA P I U S was also denomi nat ed by

,

the G reeks u e w p w u—the sender of dre a ms

o sz o o t o .

The temple itself was situated in a beau t iful spo t ,

upon a considerable eminence O n all sides it was .

,

surrounded by wooded hills w here t he air was ,

exceedingly pure and t here was abundance Of

,

excellent sprin g water The charms Of nature .

174 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

and it has been said that H I PP O CRA T ES actually

availed himself ofthe information communicated by
these tablets and inscriptions in the Temple ofCos ,

of which he is reported to have made a collection .

i
T H O M A SI U S has preserved and publ shed several of
these inscriptions .

A nother similar temple w as erec t ed to I ESCU LA

P I US at Pergamos in A sia M inor where in a ddition , ,

to the other advantages of the situatio n t here was ,

a wonderful medici nal spring and also warm bath s , , ,

.

I ndeed in selecting situa tions for these temples

, ,

those were usually chosen which afforded t he c on

v e nie nc e of mineral springs and the purest air ; ,

a nd for these re a sons they were generally placed

, ,

upon elevated grounds The advantag es ofnatural .

situation were frequently enhanced by artificial

contrivances G ardens were formed and establish
.
,

ments wer e instituted for the e ncouragement of all

sorts of gymnastic exercises U pon entering the .

temples the patients were taken bou nd by the

, ,

most solemn promise to pay implicit obedie nce t o

,

the orders and prescriptions Of the superintending

priests A bstinence in regard to d iet was strictly
.
, ,

e nforced and especially from the use of wine

, , , .

The priests conducted the patients through the

ante chambers of the temple ; pointed out to them
-

the images and votive tablets and related the mira ,

culons cures which had been performed through the

aid of the presidi ng tutelary deity Prayers were .

o ffered up and sacred hym ns were sung the latter

,

frequently accompanied with inst r umental music ;

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 175

and sacrifices were made for the purpose of con ,

c ilia t in the favour of the patron god Baths were

g
-
.

always employed as a part of the preparatory

,

treatment ; as also t he dri nking ofpure water ( the

, ,

hydropathic sy stem ) The baths were usually

.

accompanied with frictions and with various mani ,

u la t io ns and a nointments ( the magnetic treatment )

p .

These frictions and manipulations were cautiously

administered by individuals specially appointed and
trained up and indoctrinated for that particular
,

purpose . F umigations were also employed pr e

v io usl
y to admission to t he O racle ( S ee SPR E N .

GE L S H istor y qfM e d i c ine v ol i )

’
, . .

The Obj ect of all these preparatory ceremonies

and Observances generally was to induce Sleep ;
, ,

and w hen this disposition was manifested the ,

patients were laid t o sleep frequently upon the Skin

,

o f a newly slaughtered sheep (i nc uba t i o ) in the ,

usual dormitory This temple -sleep or incubation

.
, ,

however accordi ng to PAUSANIAS generally took

, ,

place at ni g ht in the di fferent apartments of the

,

dormitory in darkness and solemn Silence I n short

, .
,

t hese ancient Temples of H ealth appear to have

embraced a system ofmoral and physical treatment

admirably adapted to promote the comfort and t o ,

e ffectuate the ultimate cure of the patients who

resorted to the m for the restoration oftheir healt h .

But we must now proceed to a dvert more parti ,

c ular l to that portion of this ancient medical pro

, y
c e d ur e which appears t o have been most close ly
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

analogou s to the modern practice of A nim a l M a g

n e tism .

We have seen that in the temple ceremo nies we

,

have described above it was usual to endeavour to

,

se t the patients asleep by means of certain artificial

,

processes ; and we have abundant reason t o infer

t hat the Sleep thus provoked was nothing else than
, ,

a modificatio n of that S omnambulism which is so ,

frequently produced by the modern disciples of

M E SME R I n this temple Sleep as in the M esmeric
.
-
,

crisis dreams and visions occurred a nd the pro

, ,

h e t ic faculty was de v eloped in a ma nner similar

p ,

to that which is occasionally elicited by t he magnetic

treatment This i ndeed is pretty clear from the
.
, ,

a ccounts which have reached uS in regard to the

e ffec t s of the temple processes ; and also from the , ,

descriptions which have been given of the states

t hemselves by various ancient authors
,
The .

patients S lept dreamt prescribed appropriate reme

, ,

dies for themselves and others predicted their ow n ,

ultimate cure or death as well as the fate ofother ,

perso ns even of such a s were absent a nd at a dis

, ,

t ance.
—
I n all this heathenish as it has been
a ccounted by ma ny — there w a s in reali t y nothin
g , ,

either peculiarly un natural or diabolical S uch .

presentiments were merely a product ofthe extra

ordinary state in w hich the patients were occasion
a lly placed I n the sequel O fthis work we Shall
.
,

have occasion to notice many instances of the

development of Similar phenomena which with , ,
178 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

manipulation and other similar processes

, It .

occurred not unfrequently that these remedies

, , ,

thus indicated appeared to the patients themselves

,

in an Obscure manner and u nder a symbolical form ,

— a circumstance which occasionally occurs at pre

sent in the ordinary practice of M esmerism ; and
,

it then became the business Ofthe O ffi ciat ing priests

to interpret and point out the meaning of the sv m
bols S ometimes however these remedies were of
.
, ,

a more heroic character as we learn from AELIUS ,

A RIS T IDE S and others ( S ee S P RENGE L ut sup ra

.
) , .

I t appears that the attendant priests p a id very

particular atte ntion to the regulatio n oft he diet a nd
general regimen oftheir patients and it frequently
happened that they succeeded in curing even the
most inveterate maladies by an entire change ofthe
mode of living G reat atte ntion was also paid t o
.

the mental passions and emotions ; and as we have al ,

ready Observed all sorts ofgymnastic exercises were

,

likewise encouraged and occasio nally prescribed .

When a ny remarkable cure was e ffected in these

temples by means ofthe remedies or processes em
ployed it was usual in many cases for the grateful
, , ,

convalescent to put up a votive tablet in some con ,

‘

s ic uous part Of the edifice with a suitable insc r i

p p ,

tion for the purpose of commemorati ng the a uspi

,

cions event This practice has been alluded to by

.

the poet TI B ULLUS in one ofhis elegies ,

Nun c ,
D ea, nunc suc c urr e m ihi na m p osse me d e r i ,
P ic ta d oc e t te mp lis m ulta ta be lla t uis .

I n process of time these tablets and inscriptions

,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 179

became very numerous ; and they probably c on

t a ine d in general a short description ofthe specific
, ,

disease and ofthe remedies prescribed and success

,

fully administered in each particular case I t was .

also customary to engr a ve all the principal pre

sc r i t ions for particular diseas es especially when
p ,

the remedi es had been recently di scovered on the ,

door posts and pillars of the temples

- .

CHA PT ER XIX .

IT would seem unnecessary to en t er into any par

t ic ul ar description of the various ancie nt Temples
o f H ealth which ,
indeed were all very Similar to
, ,

each other in their institution Obj ects and modes , ,

o ftreatment I t might appear unpardo nable how

.
,

ever in a treatise of this nature to pass over

, , ,

without a ny special notice the celebrated O r a c le

,

(
f
y D e l
p hi which
, although ultimately
,
subj ected t o

the common fate of all the other institutions of

Paganism has preserved the memory at least of
, , ,

it s once universal reputation to the latest times ,

and has even become proverbial in the language O f

all nations .

The O r a c le ofD e lp hi derived its name from a

city in B oeoti a which was Situated on the southern
,

side of M ount Parnassus T his institution is said

.

to have taken its origin from the following circum

1 80 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c .

—
stances z S ome S hepherds who were tending their
,

g oats in that neighbourhood observed that the

,

animals when they happened to approach too near

,

to a deep aperture upon a particular spot from ,

which there constantly issued a peculiar vapour ,

were seized with a Species of intoxication a c c om ,

p a n ie d with strange motions and that even one of

the shepherds who went from curiosity to examine

,

this aperture became similarly a f

,
fected H e not .

only exhibited the same peculiar motions as the

goats but actually became suddenly endowed with
,

t he spiri t Of prophecy a nd began to predict future

,

events These circumstances soon led to the con

.

elusion that there must be somethi ng d i vi ne

according to the notions of these times — in this
subterraneous aperture ; and the place therefore , ,

at length came to be generally resorted t o with ,

the vie w O f exciting the fac ulty of penetrating into

t he secrets offuturity But as it sometimes unfor
.
,

t unat e ly happened that those who approached too

near to the aperture in question st upifi e d by the ,

v a pour which issued from it fell into it and perished

, ,

this aperture was subse quently closed up with a

three footed stool ( T r ip os) in the mid dl e of whi ch
-
,

t here was an opening upon which those placed

,

t hemselves who were desirous o facquiring the pro

h e t ic faculty
p .

F or a considerable period this miraculous spot,

was dedicated to no particular deity ; but at le ng th , ,

it was determined that the place should be c onse

crated to A P O LL O and that a temple Should be
,
 AN HIS T ORY OP MAGI C ,
85 0 .

I t is a very remarkable circumstance th at the

P y thi a was also sometimes calle d the p r op he te ss
r om the br e a st o r t he stoma c h—V E N T RILO Q UA V A T ES
f
—OI among the G reeks éy y u e p mwn g y y w eluuh g
’

, ,
ar
'
t ,
s o r o .

F rom the use of these e xpressio ns in one particular ,

sense it would appear probable that the phe nom e

,

non ofthe transference of the sensibility to the

epi g astric re g io n or pit ofthe stomach was known
, ,

to the G reeks even in these ancient times as we

, ,

previously found it to be among the still more

ancient H indoos The priests interpreted the
.

symbolical and frequently indistinct responses of

t he O racle which — and this is a nother remark
,

able circumstance —were for the most part de , ,

livered in r y thm ic al sentences which required

explanation .

This temple at D elphi like those OfIES CU LA P I U S

, ,

was provided with d i fferent apartments for the

sick and for those who merely came to consult the
,

O racle The Pythia herself had a distinct and

.

separate sanct uary to which no person whatever

,

was admitted N ear her apartment there was a

.
,

small cabinet where those who came to consult her

,

awaited her respo nses The open entrance to the .

cell appropriated t o the P ythia was entirely covered

with laurel leaves ; so that no one who approached
it could percei ve the Prophetess A mong plants .
,

the laurel as is well known was particularly sacred

, ,

to A P O LL O ; and it w a s believed to possess the

property of inducing Sleep and dreams I t was .

also a common belief amongst the people that the ,

 AN H IS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c . 1 83

laurel was useful in driving away spectres a belief

which has been commemorated by PA SSER A T I U S
L a ur us a m ic a bonis g e nus , lo ng e g ue r ep e llit

Nub e c a va te c tos le mure s .

I t deserves to be remarked that the D elphic ,

O racle became so celebrated for its responses not ,

only in c a ses Of di s ease but also in other matters

,

both of public and of private concern that it was , ,

at length designated as the oracle ofthe universe

, ,

and numerously frequented by individuals from all

u a rters of the globe I t is also mentioned by
q .

PLU T ARCH as a peculiarity connected with t he

,

temple at D elphi that in the sacred fire main

, ,

t aine d in it no other timber but fir was consumed ;

,

and that no female was ever permitted to consult

the O racle .

We deem it quite unnecessary t o enter into any

further details respecting the other numerous an
cien t G reek temples and oracles They appear .

to have been all devoted to nearly the same pur

poses —viz to t he cure of the Sick to the deve
.
, ,

lopme nt of the prophetic faculty and to religious ,

w orshi p and enough has already been said for the

purpose ofillustrating these Obj ects .

I t has been usual with ma ny modern authors ,

w ho have written upon t his subj ec t to depreciate if , ,

not to ridicule the whole of this ancient temple

,

system as the mere o f

,
fspring of ignorance v anity , ,

and folly The wisest among the contemporary

.

philosophers and historians however contemplated , ,

1 84 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

this matter in a very different li g ht and with very ,

di f ferent feelin g s ; and in consequence of their ,

opportunities of observation their opinions upo n the ,

subj ect ought to possess greater wei g ht PLA T O .

( i n P hoe d r o
) obser v es that t he prophetess a t
, D elphi ,

and the priestesses at D odona had in their sacred , ,

m a ni a done much good to their cou ntry by their

, ,

explication both of public a nd of private a ffairs ;

but in their sober waking state little or nothin g
, , ,
.

H ence it w ould appear to be quite certain t hat these

pythonesses and priestesses did not utter their
oracular responses in their ordinar y conscious state
ofexistence and wakefulness but in a peculiar con ,

dition ofecstatic inspiration produced no doubt by , , ,

artificial mea ns in susceptible subj ects ; a nd E L I US

A RI S T IDES the philosopher already mentioned and
, ,

himself a temple patie nt repeatedly bears witness ,

that the priestesses Of D odona neither knew before ,

their spiritual excitation what they were about to ,

say nor after they ha d recovered their natural

, ,

consciousness w hat they had actually said H ere

, .
,

as will more plai nly appear hereafter we have a ,

perfect a nd very striking coincidence betwee n the

ancient temple Sleepers and the modern Somnam
-
,

bulist s as described by the disciples of M ESME R

, ,

in all essential and even accidental c ir c um st anc e s

, .
it

A gr e at d e al ofv e ry cur i ous i nform at ion on t he s ubj e ct

oft he or a cl e s an d t he t r e at me nt oft he S i ck in t he a nc i e nt
,

t e m pl e s will be found in t he wri t i ngs of t he G r e e k aut h or

,

m e nt i one d in t he t e x t ZEL I U S A R IS T I D E S w ho liv e d in t he

, ,

t i me s of t he E mp e r or MA R C U S A N T ON IN U S and w as him ,
 1 86 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c .

relat ive to the opinions ofthe most ancient and most

celebrated p hilosophers Of G reece — PY T HAGO RAS ,

E M P ED O CLES PL A T O A RIS T O T LE & c — it is abun

, , , .

d a nt ly evident that they were a ll well acquainted

with the som nambulistic and ecstatic states how e ver ,

much they may have di f fered from each other in

their methods ofexplaining the phenomena S ome .
,

indeed considered these states as altogether of

,

divine origin and conseque ntly i ncapable ofa ny

, , ,

philosophical explanation whatever ; whil s t others

conceived them to arise from natural al thou g h in , ,

some respects extraordinary and abnorm a l causes

, ,

and to lie within the domain of science A mong t he .

former may be reckoned S O CRA T ES PLA T O and the , ,

philosophers of that school among the latter ,

A RIS T O T LE and his disciples w ho considered the ,

prophetic faculty in particular a s some t hing quite

, ,

n atur a l depending upon the ima g i nation a nd t he

,

temperament combined with a peculiarly modified

,

condition Of the animal or g anism or idiosyncrasy , .

Manv oft hose persons who manifest the spirit of

prophecy s a ys t he last mentioned philosopher
,
-
,

are under the influence of maniacal or lymphatic

diseases and they ar e said to be divinely inspired ,

when the phenomena a pparently are not produced

, ,

by actual disease but by a natural predispositio n

, ,

resulti ng from a peculiarity of temperament TO

”
.

m uch the same purport B U C CA F I E R R I o ne of the

, ,

comme ntators of A ristotle says Qui ha be t ha bit um

,

m e la nc holi c um , ha be t p e r se c a usa m p r ce d i c e nd i d e
r is, e t i d e o p e r i st um ha bi tum , p r op he t i a e r i t
fut u
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c . 1 87

se c und um na t ur a m , e t m e la nc ho lious ha bi tus p e rit ro

p ro
p he ta na tur a li te r , g ui a i lle ha bi t us e st na tur a lis .

( L U D B . U C CA F I E R R I ; L e c ti one s i n A ri st ot e lis li br os .

V enet .

A ll
this we t rust w ill become clearer and more
, ,

g enerally intelligible when w e come to narrate

, and
comme nt upon the more modern instances of the
natural and artificial developme nt OfS omnambulism

and the ecstatic affections .

O ur obj ect in the preceding observations has been

t o demonstrate tha t the phe nomena in question had

not escaped the attention O f t he philosophers and

physician s of antiquity but that even in t hese ,

remote times they had co nstituted a serious and

,

interesting subj ect of scientific investigation to the

students of nature .

CHA PTER XX .

ON E of the most extraordinary and most active ,

a nd i nflue ntial successors of PY T HAG O RAS and who ,

became so celebrated for hi s study and practice of

what were denominated the m ag ic a l a r ts w as A P O L ,

L O N I U S T Y A N zE U S H e is perhaps the first eminent

.
, ,

i ndividual ofw hom it can be affirmed that his whole

doctrines and medic a l practice were manifestly ofa
t ruly magnetic character .

I n his S ixteenth year this e nt e r pr I sm g physician

,

and philosopher commenced his travels for t he pur ,

 A N HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

pose of visiting the various temples in dif ferent

countries and of being initiated into their peculiar
,

doctrines and mysteries H is life has been writte n .

by PH I L O ST R A T U S who informs us that A P O LL ONIU S

,

first visited the temple of IESC U L A P I U S in IEg e se ,

and afterwards those ofthe oracles ofA M P H I A R I U S ,

D E L P H I and D O D O NA ; that he subsequently made

,

acquaintance with the M AGI at N ineveh and Baby

lon : that he aft erwards travelled to E gypt E thio ,

pia C rete S icily and R ome ; a nd at length took

, , , , ,

up his abode in S myrna E phesus an d Tyana H e , , .

is said to have lived about an hund red years and ,

to have died at length in the ni nety Sixth year

, ,
-

after the C rucifixion Wheresoever he came during .

,

his lifetime he encouraged piety prayer and moral

, , ,

conduct performed the most wonderful cures a nd

, ,

prophesied F or these reasons it is said that some

.
,

o f the heathen placed him on a level with o r in ,

opposition to JESUS C HRIS T ; and a s there were no

certain accounts of his death the inhabit a nts of ,

Tyana declared him to be immorta l a nd erected a ,

t emple to him in their city H is portrait w as e xhi .

bited in many other temples The E mperor A N T O .

N I N US C ARACALLA paid him di v ine honours ; and

A LE X ANDE R S E V E RUS and other emperors Showed , ,

t he g reatest respect for his memory ( L A M P R I D i n . .

A LE X S E V ER c
. . .

n one occasion when a grievous plague w a s ,

raging at E phesus A P OL L ONIUS was called in to

,

assuage the violence of the pestilence ; and he suc

c e e d e d in his e f
forts to abate the malady I t is said .
190 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

have sedulously cultivated all that mysterious know

ledg e which co ul d be obtained by frequenting the
temples and studying the processes employed by
t he priesthood .

The more profound inquirers among the ancient

MAGI indeed appear to have been aware t hat the
, ,

development of that spiritual or psychical pheno

menon which is now called Cla i r v oya nc e lucid
, ,

vision second Si g ht prophecy & c and the menta l

,
-
, , .
,

a c ti o i n d i sta ns a lthough rarely manifested

, pro ,

c e e d e d from a faculty natural to the human sou l ,

when freed from the obstructing fetters of the

material organism and left free to exercise its own
,

i ndependent energies ; and Similar notions have

been e mbraced by many modern phi losophers ,

whose minds have become emancipated fro m the

trammels of all degrading material systems of
intellectual S cience A ll schemes Of p hilosophy it
.
,

is true— the spiritual as well as the sensual— may

,

be carried out into the regions ofextravagance and

mystical speculation when extended beyond the
,

le g itimate bounds of experience and Observation ;

but the rig orous deductions of the cautious e xe r
cise ofour reasoning fa culties when warranted by ,

t he facts presented to us by nature must it is con , ,

c e i ve d, ultimately conduct us to the manifest dis

tinction of a material and of a spiritual or moral
,

nature in ma n—a distinction which lies a t the very

foundation of all morality and ofall relig io n ; while
,

t he due control of common sense will compel us to

restrain our speculations upon such subj ects within
, ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 191

t he Contracted sphere of our limited intellectual

powers I n Short while enlarged and impartial
.
,

investigation forces us to acknowledge the d istinc

—
tion between mind and matter intellect and sensi
bility that which apprehends from that which is
apprehended —the subj ec t from the obj ect we find
ourselves utterly i nc a pable O f expl a ini ng the abso
lute nature Ofeither a nd must necessarily restrict
, , ,

our specul a tions to an observation and exami nation

ofthe Observed phenomena o fboth I n this respec t
.
,

the Materialists a nd the I mmaterialists or S piritual ,

ist s are very much in the same situation and both

,

must ultimately rely upon the phenomena Ofnature ,

and the common fa cts Ofconsciousness But in all .

,

our speculations ,w e must beware of denou ncing

nstrated fa ct—however
,

o r interdi ctin any demo

g ,

extraordinary or incredible it may at first Sight , ,

appear to be — however incompatible with our pre

conceived notion s—as inconsiste nt with our ideas
o fthe ordinary laws o fnature lest while attempt ,

ing to exhibit our ow n wisdom and sagacity or ,

acuteness ofscepticism we in the end only be t r a v

, , ,

o ur ignorance presumption and folly

, , Q p uc a
u i a .

r e s i c i a nt d e
p fa c i li p r o nunt i a nt I t . is the proper
business of the true philosopher t o Observe a nd
record the laws and operations of na t ure in the ,

physical and in the moral world in so far as these ,

ar e capable ofbeing ascertained by human researc h

N one but fe e ls would prete nd to dictate t o her what

phenomena she Shall manifest in all combinations of
circumsta nces or what laws she Shall follow upon
, ,
1 92 AN HIS T O RY O F M AGI C ,
&c .

every occasion more especially in the domain of

,

mind .

Philosophers so called and wits in their ow n

, , ,

conceit have combined to denounce and ridicule

,

the phenomena ofCla ir voya nc e and in particular , , ,

the occasional development ofthe faculty of divina

tion without even condescending to a strict and
,

serious investigation of the actu a l manifestation of

the facts This co nduct we presume to think is
.
, ,

rather unreasonable and very far from being in ,

e nuous But by way of illustration let us look

g .
, , ,

for a moment to an analogous faculty — the faculty

,

of M emory N 0 person we presume to think will

.
, ,

attempt t o deny that mankind possess the power

of recalli ng past impressions — of recollecting past

events But if it be possible for the mind to recall

.

what is pas t why Should it be impossible for i t to

,

anticipate the future ? Why Should the existence

of the one faculty be acknowledged while that of ,

the other is discredited ? That which is past has ,

no lon g er any immediately perceptible existence .

But the mind it is admitted can retrace a nd recall

, ,

t he se past impressions which no longer exist Why .

,

the n Should it not also in certain circumstances

, , ,

become capable offoreseeing the future which does ,

not yet exist ? I t is very easy to assert that man

po ssesses a faculty which enables him to recall the
past but no power of foreseeing the future But
,
.

this last is j ust t he d e g uo quc e r i tur and to

assume the negative is a mere be g g i ng of the
q uestion T he manifestation
. of the faculty in ,
1 94 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC , &c .

appear doubtful in many cases what peculiar por

, ,

t ion of a phenomenon may be due to the pr e d om i

nating influence of the one and what to the pre ,

ponderating interven t ion ofthe other ; or whether

the tota l result may not be attributable to a certain
correspondence and sympathetic harmony between
the two —as two strings of a musical instrument
sound in unison with each other in producing a
certain tone .

I n the ancient narratives of psychological facts ,

too there may be and probably is an occasional

, , ,

admixture ofthe fabulous wit h the true ; but modern

investigation has abundantly demo nstrated that these
fables if fables they be and not merel y a hy pe rbo
, ,

liza ti on of real occurrences have for the most par t

, ,

at least some foundat ion in reality I ndeed the

, .
,

fabulous in such instances we think will generally

, , ,

be found to pertain either t o t he exaggerated state

ment of the occurrences or to the explanation of
,

certain facts rather than to the facts themselves

, .

But we must now terminate this perhaps prema , ,

ture di g ression and proceed with our historical nar

,

r a t ive ofthe temple procee di ngs and the occurrence

-
,

o fother magical or magnetic phenomena amo ng the ,

ancient nations ofthe world .

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAG IC ,
&c . 195

C HA P T E R X XI .

the R omans at an early period of their

A M O NG ,

history we again recognise the same medical treat

,

ment— the temple Sleep ( inc uba tio) and other magi
-
,

cal arts and ceremonies — as prevailed among the

E gyptians and the G reeks — I nc uba r e d i c untur p r o
.

p r ie h i , q
ui d o r m i un t a d r e c ip i e nd a r es
p ons a ; und e

i lle i nc uba t J ov i , i d e st , dc rm i t i n Cap ito li o, ut r e

s ons a p ossi t a c c ip e r e
p ( S ER V I. US ,
s u r a Vir i li um
p g ) .

I n the historyN UMA we may trace the early

of ,

practice ofmagic at R ome and particularly in the ,

alleged intercourse ofthat monarch with the ny m ph

Eg e ria PLU T ARCH ( i n N UMA ) mentions that a t
.
,

this time L A U N U S and PI C U s —t w o individuals well

,

skilled in M AG I C —came t o I taly and were well ,

received by N U MA The ancient E truscans and.

S abines seem to have been also well acquainted with

M AGI C in its better sense The same may be said
, .

o f the M arsians according t o PLINY I n ancient

, .

R om e w e li kewise find the occasional occurrence of

,

somnambulis t ic phe nomena and ma g ical practices ,

interwoven as elsewhere wi t h many superstitious

, ,

practices and ceremonial rite s The R omans always .

acknowled g ed the E truscans t o have been their

masters in the divine science ofmedicine and Cla i r
v o a nc e
y .
1 96 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

S P RE N GEL ( I Observes that one ofthe mo s t

. 2 30) ,

a ncient cus t oms at R ome for the purpose of a vert ,

ing disease and the anger oft he gods was to c on

, ,

sult the oracle in the books of the S ibyls E NNE .

M OSER ho w e v er remarks that the S ibylline books

, , ,

were only consulted a t a later period ; a nd that in ,

early t imes ad v ice was sought from the S i byl s

,

t hemselves no t only in the c a se of diseases but in

, ,

regard t o o t her public and private a ffairs L it t le is .

kno w n wi t h cer t a i nty in regard t o t hese S ibyl s

, ,

E ve n their exact number a nd names have been sub

e c t s O f con tro v ersy ; a nd there is little doubt t ha t
j
many fables ha v e been intermi ng led with their his
tory B ut the subj ec t is of considerable importance
.

in the annal s o fMAGIC and A N IMAL M AG N E T ISM .

PE T RU S PET IT U S in his w ork upon this subj ect

, ,

describes a S ibyl t o be — P a e lla c uj us p e c t us nume n

r e c i it
p a defini t io n consistent wi t h t he ideas of the

t imes ,
a nd w i t h t he divi ne attributes g enerally
ascribed t o the particular co ndition Ofthe prophetic
person a g e The w ord itself— SY D I L L — appears to
.

be compou nde d fro m l g G od in the !Eolic d ialec t c o , , ,

a nd fi 7m will or cou ns el
at/ . O thers derive i t from .

a i to
g ,
and e um g p le nus —full of violent a itatio n
o ,
g
w hen in t he prophetic state ( S ee G CR A SSET ; . .

D isse r ta ti o n sur le s Or a c le s d e s Si bylle s ) The .

le a r ned upo n t hi s subj ec t are not agreed in regard

t o t he ex a c t number ofthese S ibyls t heir a g e their , ,

nati v e cou ntry or the time in which they li v ed

,
.

IVe a r e no t a w are that it ha s occurred to a ny pre

v io ns author to assig n to them an ori g in S imilar t o
198 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

C A P E LLA mentions two three VARR O SO L I N U S , ,

te n . They may all have been right so far as their ,

Individual knowledge extended PE T I T U S says .

Prophecy itself as the counsel of G od is but one ; , ,

but this faculty may be exercised by many : S eve

ral may have become celebrat ed by the display of
t his gift I n our ow n times there is only one
”
.
,

Cla ir v oya nc e but many Cla i r voy a nts , Ye t in ,

speaking Of a ny one particular instance of the

development of this faculty we talk of the C lair ,

voyant .

The first ofVARR O S ten S ibyls is the Persia n or ’

C haldea n called Sa m ota S he is said t o have been

, .

the eldest and to have composed twenty four books

,
-
,

i n w hich the advent of JE SUS C HRIS T his su f ferin g s , ,

death and resurrection were foretold ( CR A SSE T ;

, , .

I c ) The second was the L i bya n S ibyl ; the

t hird the D e lp hi c —
. .

, the D A P H N E ofD iod or us cele ,

bra t e d by H OME R and well k nown by her m e m or ,

able oracular responses at D elphi The fo urth an d .

,

o ne of the most famous was the Cum oea n

( y
S i b lla,

Cum a na ) born in the Troj an territory ; who came

,

to I taly and was held in particular estimation by

,

t he R oma ns who believed tha t She had predi cted

,

t he entire destiny of their empire ( F LI N 3 4 . .

,

Previous to her arrival in I taly the people had ,

particularly honoured C ARME N T A the mother of ,

E vander on account of her prophetic powers

,
.

PL IN ARME A a t i lo ua m
( Y I C N T g u a m f g. a nte , ,

S i by lles i n I ta lia m a d v e nt um , m ir a toe hoe g e nte s

f
ue r a nt ) .
 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c . 199

O f this C um ae an S ibyl , many circumstances ar e

related by N JEV I U S in his A frican war ; and also
, , ,

by PISO in his A nnals VI RGIL t oo has taken par

,
.
, ,

t ic ular notice of t his S ibyl S he is said to have

.

promulgated her oracles before the landi ng o f

fEN EA S in I taly ; and she is represe nted as having
dwelt in a large cavern in the neighbourhood ofthe
lake A vernus S he was called the Virgin and
.

Priestess o fA pollo I t is said that She fre quently

.

wrote her responses upon palm leaves and placed -

,

them at the entrance of the cavern whe nce they ,

were carried by the wind t o a considerable distance .

When She delivered her responses verba lly She was ,

in a state ofthe most violent agitation VIRGIL has .

given an admirable description of this excited state

o f the S ibyl —a state which has been no t unf re

quently witnessed in the case ofsome o fthe modern

magnetic Somnambulists in their cataleptic crises ,

but which in these la tter instances has been found

, ,

capable ofbeing modified by appropriate treatment .

( S ee VIRGIL ; /E n e i.d L ib V I . v 4 5
. & c
) .This
, .
, .

state indeed appears t o be ofa character similar to

, ,

the Gor yba ntism described by the Greek writers ,

and to t he d iv ina ti o p e r fi tr or e m which is by no ,

means of rare occurrence in spasmodic attacks espe ,

c ia ll in the case f hysterical females nd in som e

y o a ,

species ofm a ni a H ence A RIS T O T LE and others

.
, , ,

w ere induced to consider the prophe t ic fa culty as a

peculiar property of the melancholy temperament .

The fift h S ibyl was the E r ythr e a n whom some ,

conceive to have been the same as the Persian .

2 00 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
ao .

The S ixth was the Sa mi a n of w hom E R A ST O S ,

T H E N E S speaks T he seventh accordin g to V ARR O

.
, ,

w as H e r op hile The ei g hth was t he H e lle sp onti ne

.
,

w ho is said to have prophesied in the time ofS O L O N

a nd C Y RUS The ninth was the P hr yg ia n w ho
.
,

a ppears to have been the same as the Cum c e a n .

The tenth was the T ibur t ina called also A lbune a , ,

who deli v ered her oracles at Tibur a nd was w or ,

s hipped as a goddess .

F or fa rther i nformation upon this curious sub

j ect we ,would refer our i nquisi t i v e readers t o the

followin g works in w hich the history of these pr o

,

h e t e sse s is more amply det a iled z—PLU T ARCH ;

p
L ib Cur na m PY T H IA non a mp li us r e d d a t or a c ula
. .

—T r a i té d e la Cr e a nc e d e s P e r e s d l o c c a si on d e ’

l e sp r i t a tt ri bué a uaz Si by lle s p a r D A V I D BL O N D EL

’
.
,

-
PO I S S A R D U S ; D e Si by lli s .

F rom these S ibyls em a nated t he S ibylline books ,

w hich in l a ter times w ere co nsulted in ca s es of

, ,

dise a se as well a s in important affairs ofstate a nd

,

w hich were particularly respected a t R ome as the ,

t u t elary gu a rdians of their empire The ori g in of .

t hese books is u ncertai n They are said to have .

been numerous ; but t hose of a l a ter date w ere ,

probably false and supposit itious I t is unne c e s

, .

s ary for us to repeat the well known history of t he

a cquisition Of these books by the R omans o f the ,

respec t lo ng paid to them oftheir careful preser v a ,

t ion in the public archives a nd o f their ul t im a te ,

fate .

The residence of the S ibyls was generally in , ,

2 02 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

MAR T YR A T HENAG O RAS THE O P HI L US ofA ntioc h

, , ,

E USE B IUS L A C T A N T I U S C LEMEN T of A le xa nd r i a

, , ,

ST A M B R OSE ST A US T IN , ST I SID O RE ofS e vi lle & c

, , .

The following remarkable passage of ST JU S T I N

A
( m onitor i um
d a very curious and
ad G r ee c os) gives
apparently accurate description of the som nambu
listie state of the S ibyls —R e s m ulta s e t m ag nas
rec te et v e re d i c unt, ni hi l e or um , g uce d i c un t , i nt e l
lig e nt es . Si by llc e e ni m ha ud g ua g ua m , si c uti p ce t is ,

e ti a m
p ost
g uam
p c e m a t a sc r i
p se r e , f ac ult a s f ui t c or

r i e nd i
g a t que ex
p o li e nd i p
res onsa sua , se d i n ip so

fl
a a t us t e mp or e sor t e s i lla e wp le ba t, e t e va nesc e nte

i nsti nc tu ipso, si m ul g uog ue d ic tor um me mor i a e v a

nui t A t this moment it would scarcely be possible
.
,

a more accurate description of the modern

t o g ive

magnetic Cla ir v oya nts and prophets .

S everal of the early C hristian F athers indeed , ,

defended the inspiration of the S ibyls ; and their

prophetic faculty was commemorated even in the
mass for the dead
D ie s i r ce , d ie s illa
So lve t sw c lum in fa v illa ;
T e ste D a vid c um S iby lla .

A number of other favourable allusions to the

prophecies of the S ibyls will be found in C ICE RO d e ,

D i v ina ti one Lib II ; VI RGIL E c log I V —Tacitus

,
. .
, . .
,

L ib X I ; S UE T O NIUS in Ve sp asi a n and in L i vy

. .
, .

A mong the F athers ofthe C hurch previously men ,

t i one d who have countenanced the S ibyls and t heir

,

prophecies we may again notice more particul a rly

, , ,

S T A US T IN d e Ci v i ta te D e i ; Lib XV III c 2 3 ;
, . . .
 A N HIS TO RY or MAG I C ,
&c . 2 03

L A CT A N T I US, D i v i n I nsti tut Lib I — JU S T IN MA R

. . . .

T YR and C LEMEN T ofA le xa nd r i a

, The testim ony .

ofCO NS T AN T I N E t he G r e a t upon this subj ect is also , ,

very important The inquisitive reader may like

.

wise consult the following works —E SCH M I D I I .

,

S i by lli na Witt e nb 1 6 1 8 , G U T H I ES d e Si byllis

.
-
, ,

&c . 1 69 0
,
— G A E T ANI d e S iby llis & c 1 75 6 , , .
,

PO SE U S Si by lla r um I c on es C olon 1 7
, 86 — VVA G ,
.

NERI I ng uisi ti o in Or a c ula Si bylla r um Tubing

, , .

1 66 4 ; —K ( E R B E R d e Si bylla r um li br is Ge r ae 1 6 80 ;
, , ,

—M ARI< d e Sibylla r um Ca r m ini bus Fr a nk f 1 6 82

, , .
,

Si by lli na O r a c ula c om m e nta ri o G a lazi A mster

, ,
.
,

1 6 89 3 “

C H A P TE R X X I I .

I T ha sbeen a very common belief and much ,

insisted upon by many moder n and especially by , , ,

t heological writers that the ancient oracles had ,

entirely ceased upon the advent of JESUS C HRIS T

a nd that they had never afterwards been resumed .

This as sump t ion however is sufli c ie ntly refuted

, , ,

upon historical authority by many of the best in ,

formed writers upon the subj ect ; a nd it is mani

Th omas is
St of opini on t h at t he Sibyl oug h t t o be
pl ac e d in P ara dis e S iby lla d e be t i nte r p e r so na s i nfi d e Chri st i
e xp lic i te sa lva tis c om uta r i
p S T T H O M 2 2 .
q uce s t 1 72 . . .
2 04 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
ao .

e stl
f founded upon a mis t a ke probably originating
y ,

from t he vulgar no t ion entertained by many of t he

early C hris t ians t hat t hese institut io ns were esse n
,

t ia lly co nnected w it hPa a ni sm and u t terly opposed

g ,

t o the ne w faith ; and moreover that t hey ha d

, ,

been established and mai ntained by t he D evil ,

whose empir e was presumed to have been utterly

a nnihilated at the comi ng o f our S aviour B ut in .
,

reality this notion of the t otal cess a tion of the

,

O racles at the period in question is manifes t ly

, ,

i ncorrec t ; a nd it renders the credibility of t he

early converts to C hristianity extremely su s piciou s .

I t is sa d to t hi nk that so fair a fa bric of subst a n

t ial truth should have been sullied at so early ,

a period by t he impure varnish of falsehood and

,

d eceptio n I n poin t of fac t it has been clearly

.
,

demonstrated that the O racles did not cease upo n

the appearanc e of JE SUS C H RIS T ; nor had the
D e v il anything to do with t heir responses In .

deed t he continued subs istence of these O r a cles

, ,

beyo nd the period in ques t ion may be clearly ,

proved by t he most unimpeachable historical evi

dence . PLU TAR CH lived aft er JESUS ; and that
a uthor expressly mentions that the oracle at L i ba

d ia as well as those O f T r op honius and D e lp hi

, ,

s t i ll flourished in his time N ay he tells us that

.
,

t he Temple of D elp hi had been repaired and addi ,

t ions made to it which rendered it more sple ndid

,

than e ver S UE T O N I US (in Vi ta N e r onis) mentions

.

t hat t he O racle of D elphi w a s consulted by N E R O .

P H I L O ST R A T U S says of A P O L L ONIUS —who lived 9 0

2 06 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

magnetic processes both in the cure of diseases, ,

and in the development of the somnambulistic and

ecstatic affections in early times We may here
,
.

a d d the following passage from A P ULE I US wh ich ,

evidently refers to S om nambulism and describes the ,

most curious characteristics of that extraordinary

affection — Q ui n e t i llud m e c um r ep uto p osse ,

a ni m um hum a num , et
p ue r i le m
p r oc s e r ti m
p ur um

si m li c e mque , se u c a r m inum a v oc a m e nt o, se u od o
p
ru m d e line a m e nt o, so
p or a r i , e t a d o bli v ione m
p r ae

s e nti a m e x t e r na r i , et a uli r e m o ta c orp or is

p sp e r,

me m or a ,
re d i
g i ac r e d i r e a d n a tur a m sua m ,
g uc e e st

i m m or ta lis sc i li c e t et d i v ina at
que ita v e luti

g uod p f
a m so o r e p ut ur a r e r um r oe s a
g i re .

I t may be Observed however that among the , , ,

R omans as among the ancient nations generally

, ,

all such operations were accounted m ag ic a l and ,

that all MAGI C without di stinction w as frequently

, ,

mixed up and confounded with the unlawful arts of

sorcery ; and that laws were enacted at various ,

t imes and in di f
,
ferent countries with a view to ,

repress such abuses S YL LA decreed the punishment

.

Of death against all those individuals g ui susur r i s ,

m a g i c is hom i ne m oc c i d e r e nt
fi qui m a la sa c r i c ia
'

e r i nt v e ne na g ue a m a t or i a ha bue r i nt M any
fe c , .

Similar laws were enacted during the time of the

emperors ; but it is evident that these laws almost
always referred to the vulgar abuses and not to the ,

legitimate practice ofMAGIC in the better sense of ,

the word I ndeed in proportion as thi s science

. ,

degenerated it appears to ha v e gradually lapsed

,
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 07

into the absurd and forbidden practice ofarts always

foolish and futile and frequently dangerous I t
, , , .

will be observed too that in these laws as well as

, , , ,

in the S criptures of the Old Testamen t the pro bi ,

bitiou and penalty were principally directed against

such persons as were addicted to the use of poison
ous drugs ; SO that although the modern a d minis
,

t ra t ion of sulp huri c te the r and c hlor oform —which

are always dangerous and not unfrequently attended

,

—
with fatal consequences might be considered as
falling under the latter of these enactments they ,

could not b e held to extend to the Simple and inno

c uous treatment oft he A nimal M agnetists .

The S chool ofthe N e o Platonists at A lexandria

-

may be co nsidered as the connecting link between

the ancient and modern theosophistic philosophy .

The disciples of that school were well acquainted

with the mysteries and oracles of the pagan world
they combined in a very remarkable manner the
, ,

mystical theology ofthe ancient E gyptians with the

philosophy of the G reeks and the divinatory doc
,

trines ofthe therapeutic adepts with the searching

spirit ofmetaphysical inquiry Their wr iti ngs t oo .
, ,

appear t o have been influenced in a considerable ,

degree by the early di f

,
fusion ofthe tenets ofC hris
t ianit y which however t hey did not e ntirely em
, , ,

brace The N e o Plato ni sts therefore became as

.
-
, , ,

it were the frie n dly mediators between the ancient

,

heathen philosophers and cosmologists and the ,

science and faith of the early C hristian converts .

A full and complete history and exposition ofthe

2 08 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

various writi ngs and peculiar tenets of the philoso

h e r s of this school would lead us i nto an i n uiry
p q
a nd discussion much too extensive f or the limi t s w e

ha v e assigned t o this treatise O ur readers there .

,

fore must be satisfied with little more than a mere

,

reference to the w ritings of A MM O N I U S S ACCHAS ,

PLO T INUS P O R P HYRY PR O CL U S I A M B L I C H U S & c

, , , ,
.
,

in w hich t he doctrines of the N eo Pl a to nist Py tha - -

o r e a ns are more comple t ely de v eloped We m

g a
y .

o nly observe t hat these doctrines appear t o have

,

been a compound of Zor oa st r ic no t ions of t he ,

E g yptian my steries t he G reek philosophy a nd the , ,

dogmas of C hristia nity It must be men t ioned ho w .

,

e v er in p a rticular that the philosophers of thi s

, ,

S chool a ppear to have been most i ntimat ely ac quain t

ed with all the most remark a ble phenomena ofS om
na mbulism a nd the M a gnetic C lairvoy a nce upo n ,

which indeed ma ny of their distinguishin g doctrine s

, ,

a nd fa v ourite specul a tions were founded This las t .

circumstance would appear to have drawn dow n

upo n them a very g eneral and indiscriminate char g e
of mys t icism— a char g e w hich a t a more rece nt ,

period has been e qually applied by the ignorant

, ,

t he scep t ical a nd the u ni n quirin g to t he modern

, ,

disciples ofM ESME R a nd PUYSE GU R M a ny of t he .

doctrines Oft he N e o Pl a to nists however have found

-
, ,

enlig htened partisa ns in all subse quent a g es Of .

t hese in modern times a nd in our o w n cou nt ry

, , ,

G ALE G L A N V I L L a nd D R H ENRY M O RE a r e per

, , , ,

haps the most dis tin g ui s hed We Shall ha v e occ a

, .

sion by and by e to refer to the character and

,
- -
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

popular vengea nce N or is this very wo nderful

.
,

when we advert to the gross ignorance and barbar

o us supersti t ion ofthe age F or e v e n those pr a ise
worthy researches which were instituted for t he
,

purpose of promoting the more accurate s tudy of

nature were equ a lly subj ected t o the i nqui s i t orial
,

r e sc r i t io n The rec luse n a t ural philosopher

p p .

nay even the sober mathema tician— were for a

, ,

long period subj ected t o the serious imput a tion of

,

devoti ng themsel v es to t he study a nd practice of

u nhallowed arts by means o f an impure compac t
,

w ith the E vil O ne ; and such i ndi viduals on t he ,

discovery o ftheir pursuits were not unfrequently

, , ,

subj ected t o the severest pu nishment or forced ,

to flee for t heir li v es I n Short every species of

.
,

profane le a rni ng was accounted ma gic a l or diabo

lic al a nd w a s thrust under the ban of a ge neral
,

condem natio n .

I n consequence of such fa lse absurd and mis , ,

c hie v o us impressions m a nkind even u nder t he

, ,

liberal di s pe ns a tion of t he C hris t i a n G ospel gra ,

dually rel a p s ed i nto a stat e of almost prim aeva l

darkness a nd utter barbarism A large proportion .

of the priesthood became little if at a ll superior in , ,

intellectu a l cultivation to the rude people w hom

t hey were appointed to i nstruct ; a nd their ortho
doxy became suspected whene v er they at t empted
t o elevate themselves above this degradi ng position ,

or their incli nation promp t ed them to diver g e into

t he dangerous paths o f li t erature or scie nce In .

such a state of matters opi nio ns prevailed a nd

, ,
 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c . 11

actions were sanctioned duri ng cen t uries w hich

, ,

were calculated to bri ng do wn di s grace upo n all

reli g ion and t o pr e se nt a Shocking picture of t he
,
‘

per v erse maligni t y of hum a n nature I t m a y be .

reasonably doub t ed whether t he entire p a g es of

history c a n exhibit a similar period of hum a n
i g norance a nd depravi t y t o that which ob t rudes
itself upon our no t ice in the firs t t e n or t wel v e cen
t ur ie s aft er t he i ntroduc t ion ofC hristi a nity into t he
E uropean commu nity But we must not an t icipat e
. .

I n conclu di ng o ur obser v ations ho w e v er upo n , ,

t he origin a nd progress of M AG IC amon g t he

a ncient n a tio ns o f the world w e must be permi tt ed ,

to advert briefly to a char g e which has been

, ,

occasionally brought agains t the class Of magne tic

philosophers to whom we last referred —the N e o
Platonists .

S everal authors —amongst o t hers Bishop Lloyd ,

Kii ste r M osheim Brucker & c

, , have accused the s e
, .
-

N e o Plato nic philosophers as w ell as PH I L O ST R A T U S

-
, .

t he biographer ofA P O LLO N IUS Of havi ng inven t ed ,

mos t ofthe miracles they have ascribed to PY T H A

G O R AS for the purpose of throwi ng suspicion upon
,

t he miracles of o ur S aviour a nd thus diminishing ,

t he credit of the C hri s tian gospel The fal sehood .

a nd absurdi t y of this accusat io n however h a v e , ,

been completely exposed by ME IN ERs —the learned ,

accurate and j udicious historian of philosophy in

, ,

his H ist or y ofthe Or ig in P r og r e ss a nd D e c line of

, ,

t he S c i e nc e s i n Gr e e c e a nd R ome The e nt ire his .

t ory of PY T HAG O RAS as ME INE RS has Shown w a s

, ,
2 12 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

wri t ten lon g before the existence of the Ne e Pla -

t o nic sect A critical examination has demonstrated

.

t hat I A M B L I C H U S borrowed his fa ct s relati v e to the

‘

life of the philosopher in question from more ancient ,

a uthorities and even PH I L O ST R A T U S wrote his Life

o fA P O LL O NI US before A M M ON I U S S ACCHAS began t o

t each ,
and therefore previous to the birth of
, ,

PL O T INUS The assertion that the philosophers in

.

q uestion entertained t he most in v eterate hatred

a ainst the C hristian religion is equally false and
g ,

unfounded E ven those amo ng the NE O PLA T O

.
-

N I ST S who were disposed to controvert some of the

doctrines of C hris tianity always expressed the ,

highest respect for M OSES and JESUS C HRIS T ; and

never t hought of impeaching their characters or of ,

denyin g the reali t y of their miracles Finally .

,

withi n the whole compass of their writings there ,

does not exist the slightest vestige o f a comparison

or assimilation ofthe miracles ofPY T HAG O RAS with

those of t he S a v iour *
.

it
F or t he b e ne fi t ofmy r e a d e rs I h av e t h oug h t it pr op e r
,

t o t r ansl at e t he p a ss a g e i n whi ch M E I N ER S s upp or t s t he

O pi ni on all ud e d t o i n t he t e x t e sp e c i ally a s it app e ars t o be
,

o pp os e d t o t he not i ons pr e vi ously c urr e nt up on t he s ubj e c t

B e fore at t e mp ting t o e x e rcis e my cri ti cal Skill up on

P O R P H Y R I U S and I A M B LI CH U S I m us t ne c e ss a rily e x am ine
,

t he t r ut h or fals e h oo d oft h os e d oub t s whi c h m any c e l e br at e d

wri t e rs h a v e a dvance d in r e g ard t o t he i nt e g ri ty and sin
,

c e rit y oft h e s e aut h ors B ish op L L OY D KU ST ER M O S H E IM

.
,

BR U CK ER and a wh ol e h os t of blind foll owe rs h ave e nt e r

, ,

t aine d a n Opi ni on t h at P O R P H Y R I U S and I A M B L I C H U S had

,

i nve nt e d m os t of t he miracl e s t h e y h av e r e l ate d ofPY T H A

G O RA S wi t h a vi e w t o c as t s uspi ci on up on t h os e of our
,
 A N HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

humanity is deeply interested in the overt hrow of

superstition But on the other hand it is surely
.
, ,

u ng e nerous to i nsult a system ofreligion which was

e nt ertained by many learned and e nlightened men
who have g o ne before us — a reli ion too which
g , , ,

however imperfect and obj ectionable per v aded a ,

large portio n of the world duri ng four thousand

years The pagan religion it is true was full of
.
, ,

superstitio ns a nd every sane m an must admit that

,

the C hristian scheme is in every respect infi nitely , ,

preferable to that which it superseded But because .

t he latter is the truest and the best and founded , ,

as w e believe on di v i ne revel a tion still it would be

, ,

t h at , in t he s e c ond ce nturi e s t he v e ry s am e r e pro

firs t a nd ,

s cut at i on of P YT H AG O RA S pre v aile d as t h at whic h t h e y h a v e ,

t r ans m i t t e d T he foll owi ng i nv e s t ig at i on w ill convi nc e

.

e v e ry one t h at t he v e ry s am e phil os oph e rs w ho a re t h us

s usp e ct e d of cunni ng ly d e vis e d fi ct i ons not only b orr ow e d ,

a ll t h e ir m at e ri als fr o m pr e c e di ng wri t e rs but g a v e t h e ir ,

narr at iv e a l m os t t hr oug h out

,
i n t he v e ry w or ds of t he
,

a ut h ors t h e y t r ans crib e d B ot h of t h e s e phil os oph e rs w e r e

.

si mpl e childish and t h oroughly h one s t ; a nd so far from

, ,

i mp osing up on t h e ir r e ad e rs by ne w fabl e s of t h e ir o w n
i nv e nt i on t h a t t h e y h av e e ve n in t h e ir e xc e rp t s cond e
, , ,

s ce nd e d t o comm unic at e t he obs e rv a t i ons ofs uch p e rs ons as

b e li e v e d t h a t t he P y t h ag or e ans ha d at t rib ut e d m any fals e
m ira cl e s t o t h e ir m a s t e r H ad t h e y b e e n so c unni ng as is
.

comm only t h oug h t t h e y would ass ure dly h a ve s uppr e ss e d

,

s uch obs e rv at i ons whi ch c ould only d e m ons t rat e t h e ir ow n

,

cre duli t y and w e ak e n t he cr e dibili ty o ft h e ir o w n narr at iv e s

, .

I h a v e no h e si t at i on t h e r e for e in d e cl ari ng t he wh ol e
, ,

ch arge of fabri c at i on br oug h t a g ai ns t PO R P H Y R Y and IA M

B L I C H U S t o be fals e and g r oundl e ss ; and t h at I h old t he
,

aut h e nt i c i t y oft he fr a g m e nt s and t e s t i m oni e s ofwhi c h t h e ir

bi og raphie s are c omp os e d t o be as ge nuine as I am s ce p t i c al

, ,

i n re g ard t o t h e ir t rus tw ort hi ne ss .

 A N HIS T ORY or MAGI C ,
&c . 2 15

u nj ust to conclude that the former consisted alto

ge t her of error and impiety Were this mode of .

reasoning t o prevail our kno w ledge of antiquity

,

w ould be worse than useless ; were it su f ficient t o

be born C hristians in order to e nti tle us t o arrogat e
a superiority over the ancie nts we are necessarily ,

led t o thi nk that t he moderns are far below w hat

they ough t t o be in co nsequence of the di vi ne o r i
,

in a nd pu r er na ture o ft heir religiou s faith

g .

But w hat ra t io nal being can believe t hat t he g rea t

C reator could have abandoned his creation t o i t self
durin g four thousand years ? I s it not more nat u
ral to conclude t hat if the pagan religion was not
, ,

more distingui s hed by its simplicit y and its purity ,

it w as because the D eity in his infi ni t e w i s dom and

,

mercy was pleased t o wait until mankind by c on

, ,

t e m pla t ion and reflectio n had t ime to elevate them

,

s elves to a purer faith and like the H ebrew nation

, , ,

should come to adore him everywhere in the uni

v erse wi hout confining
,
t hi m to any par ticular spot ?

I f a t length this ancient religio n was reformed by

, ,

MO SES and still more by JESUS C HRIS T w as not

, ,

thi s a striki ng proof that the S upreme Bei ng still

w atched over t he universe a nd t hat the homag e ,

of fered up to t he U N KN O W N G O D ha d not been

a ddressed to him in vain ?

Where shall we find more noble expressions of

reverence and piety than in the langu a ge of the
a ncients ,
par t icularly in the works of the divine
PLA T O ? I t is said indeed that they worshipped
, ,

s t atues ; but S t A ustin has proved t he contrary .

2 16 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

PAUSANIAS has named the artists who made these

statues ; and PY T HAGORAS had said : L end not
your resem blance to God —do not represent him in
any form A nd A pollo is said to have communi
c at e d his oracles in person ; but this is a mistake .

I t is not says P L U T A RCH t he voice ofA pollo w hich

, ,

is heard nor his words nor his verses but those of

, , ,

the Pythoness I n co nferring the attribute of divi

.

nit y upon their great men they may no doubt be , , ,

said to have abused the name of G od ; but in their ,

simplicity they thought to honour him by compar

,

ing wi th him all th a t they deemed most pure and

illustrious upon the earth S uch practices there .
,

fore were not absolutely impious or idolatrous

,

N ature was so profuse and so mysterious in her

manifestations that the ancients may have been led
,

to exalt and to deify the bodies of which it was

composed ; but the maj estic and incomprehensible
power of the C reator a nd Preserver of all things
still governed the world ; and the incense which
was burnt on the altars of JU P I T E R T O N A N S w as
always the willing tribute ofa profound respect for
that invisible and inscrutable Bei ng who presided
over the desti ny ofm or talsfi Who by searchin g t

can find out G od ?

A fter a violent and sanguinary struggle of two
or three centuries duration C hristianity at length
’

, , ,

prevailed over Paganism the ancient temples were

Se e H zsto zre d a Somna mbulisme U B IN GA U T H I ER

’ ’
5“
p ar A .

T ome ii , pp 1 1 2 , &c
. . .
 1
2 18 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c .

son in delirium S he said every thing that came

.

into her mind— many things void of meaning but ,

spoken wi t h a tone ofassurance because her spirits ,

were heated A t length she prophesied as well a s

.
,

any of the prophets of this clas s A fter this she .

,

believed herself to be a real prophetess .

TE R T ULLIAN was one of the most able apologists

and champions ofthe C hristian religion at the period
(.A D . when a person named M O N T AN US a ,

heretic pre t ended to be the direct channel through

,

which the H oly G host annou nced the new lights of

C hristiani t y This person M O N T AN Us carried abou t
.
, ,

with him two females called respectively Prisc a , , ,

and Ma xim illa both of whom were subj ect to fi t s of

,

ecstasy and predicted fut ure eve nts Two of t he

, .

Popes St Ze phir inus and S t Victor convinced by

, ,

the prophecies ofM ontanus Prisca and Ma xim illa , , ,

conferred upon them le t te r s ofp e a c e —that is Papal ,

protection .

A t first TE R T ULLIAN tr eated these three person

,

ages as individu a ls possessed by the spirit oferror ;

but soon afterwards from what he himself sa w and ,

heard this man the most learned a nd eminen t amon g

, ,

the C hristians of his a g e co ndescended to receive ,

instruction in the school ofa heretic and two repro

bate women Before he could have t aken such a
.

s tep he must assuredly have been impressed with a

,

very profou nd conviction .

There is at present amongst us says T ER T U L ,

LIAN ,
a sister who is favoured wit h the gift of
”
revelation S he receives her revelations says he
.
, ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 19

i n the c hur c h d ur ing t he c e le br a ti on (

?
y our myste
r i e s, when she is wrapt in ecstas y . She t he n c on

v e r se s w i t h tim a n e ls,
g a nd som e ti m e s e ve n w i t h the

L O RD JESUS C H RIS T I n her raptures she hears

.
,

a nd sees the secrets ofH eaven ; know s w ha t is c on

i n t he he a r ts cg se ve r a l p e r sons , a nd p oi nts
c e a le d
"

out sa lut a r r e m e d i e s t o those w h h a ve ne e d of

y o

This we think is suf

, fi ciently plain ; nor can it be
,

s aid by any of our sceptics and e sp r i t for ts that ,

these females were trained and e nd o c tr inat e d by

any ofthe d up es ofM ESMER I n these women we .

find the ancient I SI S pointing out remedies t o the

—
E gyptia s the PY T H ONESS w ho p r op he si e d a mong
n

t he G r e e ks and all the characteristics ofthe inspired

,

among the Pagans w ho heard divine voices and , ,

conversed with t he gods I t would appear t oo tha t .

, ,

at t his period the ecstatic phenomena took place in

the churches as pre v iously in the pagan temples
, ,

and that they were accompanied by the sa me

symptoms .

TE R T ULLIAN convinced by the heretics became

, ,

t he obj ect o fthe anathemas ofall the other orthodox

C hri stians H e persisted ne v ertheless courageo us

.
, ,

ly in hi s reputed error but which for him was the

, , , ,

purest truth I rej oice s a ys he

. to fi nd myself ,
”
,
“

more enli g htened than e ver N one need blu s h while .

advancing on the pat h of perfectio n S cience has .

it s di f
ferent periods and its gradual development s
, ,

T ER T ULL I A N ; De a nim a . C 26. .

220 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

through which the great A postle himself had passed .

When I was but a child says ST PAUL I spoke ,

’

as a child and I though t as a child ; but since I

,

became a man I have put away all childish things

, .
’

D uri ng the period says F I R MI L I A N US to ST ,

C Y P RIAN when all the faithful took t o flight in

, ,

order to avoid the persecution ( A D a woman . .

suddenly appeared who fell i nto fits of ecstasy and

, ,

announced herself as a prophetess S he was moved .

by the impulse of the princ ipal d aemons to such a

degree that she did wonderful t hings and performed
, ,

real mira cles S he e v en boasted ofbein g a ble a t

.
,

her will t o excite an earthquake By her boastings

, .

and falsehoods she had contrived to subj ugate a ll

,

the spirits to such a degree that they obeyed her ,

in all things and executed all her orders The evil

, .

spirit w ho possessed her made her w alk during the ,

most rigorous wint er w ith bare feet in the midst of , ,

ice and s now unhurt and without exposing herself

, ,

to the slightest inj ury S he seduced one of t he .

pries t s called R ustic us and a deacon I t w as soon

, , .

perceived t hat t here was an evil intercourse between

t hem . I n order to e xe r c ise her a n exorcis t was ,

chose n a very t rust wor t hy man But strange to

,
-
.
,

sa
y ! She predicted a short time previously, that a ,

str ange man an enemy and a n infidel tempter should

.
,

come t o attack her This woman was so audacious .

,

that she ha d no fear in profanin g the S acrame nts

in a strange manner by saying mass herself and , ,

administering baptism H ence there arose a serious .

question — ui z Whether baptism administered by

.
,
 222 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

an d their ultimate abandonment and ruin was

accomplished no doubt by the rapid advancement
, ,

o fthe new faith .

C H A P T ER X X I V .

WE may probably have occasio n to recur in a ,

subsequent part of this treatise to the Opinions of ,

some of the F athers of the C hurch in regard t o ,

t he phenomena ofS omnambulism and C lairvoyance .

I n the mea ntime we shall proceed to inquire into

,

t he history o f magical science d uring the middle

a ges of E urope .

The study of M AGIC appears to have been culti

v at e d,at a very early period amo ng the nations of ,

t he Teutonic race Pliny says of them M a g ia m

.
,
-

a tt oni te c e le br a nt t a nti s c e r e m oni is , ut e a m d e d isse

P e r si s pr id e r e as in the
ossi t other portions
; a nd ,

of the world it was long before the more general

,

pursuit s of le g itim a te science taught mankind to

distinguish between the ordinary operations of
nature and the age ncy of supernatural powers
, .

The almost u niversally prevalent notion too ofthe , ,

existence of angels and devils and of the continual ,

interference of these intermediate beings in the

affairs of this sublunary world was i ntroduced or , , ,

at least confirmed a nd perpetuated amo ng them

, ,

as elsewhere by the C hristian religion and occa

, ,

sione d if not an entire change at least a consider

, ,
 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .
223

able modification of their primi tive national faith .

A ll the extraordinary phenomena ofnature as well ,

as those abnormal s tates of the hum a n organism ,

which their scanty scie nce did not enable them t o

a ppreciate or explain were attributed to the direct
,

and immanent agency o f the D ivine Bei ng or of ,

certain subordinate angels or d ae mons ; a belief

which can scarcely b e said to have been en t irely
extirpated e v en in our ow n times .

The C hristian religion it is true is essen tially

, ,

founded upon the principle of the unity of G o d ,

a nd of his undivided sovereignty throughout the

u niverse o f nature But C hristianity at an early

.
,

period had also borrowed from the Jew s a s the

, ,

latter had probably derived from the C haldeans ,

or Zo r oa st r ic teachers a personification of the e v il

,

principle — S A T AN or the D e vi l ; a notion w hich a s

, ,

already observed the Jews themselves had recei v ed

,

from the E astern M A GI The introduction of this

.

n otion into the popular belief besides its influence ,

upon religious opinion occasioned a considerable

modification of the theory of M AGIC —which thence
,

forth became completely degraded into a purely

diabolical art and was placed under the auspices of
,

S atan and his emissaries A mere metaphor thus .

became elevated in t o substantial personali ty e x e r ,

cising a continual and very active interference in

h uman af fairs A ll the bad actions ofmankind a s
.
,

well as many ofthe more extraordinary obscure and , ,

incomprehensible phenomena of nature—nay even ,

t he maladi es which occasionally a f fli ct humani t y ,

224 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

and especially all anomalous and eni g matical dis

, ,

eases —were the undoubted result of the malevolen t

instigation ofsome diabolical agent
D ivisa m imp e ri um c um Jove Sa ta n ha be t ;

and S atan appears to have had the better half .

The doctrine of D evils and D ae mons i ndeed was , ,

directly countenanced by the early C hristian socie

t ies a nd spread so rapidly a nd so exte nsively in
,

the minds of the o r thodox believers that duri ng , ,

many centuries it was predomin a ntly prevalent as

,

a n indispensable ar t icle of the common creed of t he

people ; and it continued to be generally main

t aine d throughout the middle ages ofE urope by
, ,

a ll the dogma t ic sophistries which perverted learn

i ng and i ngenuity could adduce in its support So .

uni v ersal did this gro w i ng mischief ul timately be

c ome to w ards the conclusio n of the fiftee nth cen
,

t ury as we shall see bv a nd bye that all C hristen

,
- -
,

dom w as plunged i nto a state of the most fearful

and unexampled alarm ; he r e sy and M AGIC were
accounted inseparable fire and sword at the insti ,

a t ion ofthe clergy were employed for their e x t ir

g ,

patiou ; the empire of S atan became firmly esta

blishe d throughout the E uropean community ; an
inveterate m a nia appears to have seized upon man
kind and a series of the most barbarous atrocities
,

was perpetrated u nder the pretext of religious

,

zeal which stamped indelible di sgrace upon human

,

nature We shall presently have occasion to direct

.

t he attention of our readers to some of the more

226 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

author and patron of all those strange occurrences ,

which in consequence of the limited knowledge of

,

the times could not be a d e quat e lv expl a ined by

,

any kno w n natural causes When an individual .

happened t o be attacked by any uncommon and

anomalous disease which exceeded the science and
,

baffled the skill of medical appliance in the ruder

stages of society his condition w as ascribed t o dia
,

he lical art and contrivance —he was deemed t o be

possessed by the D evil or by devils ; for t here ,

appears to have been a plurality of these malevo

lent beings in the early popular creed The appa .

r e ntl inexplicable phenomenon o f the som na mbu

y
listie or ecs tatic states which appear to have been
,

much more prevalent in ancient than in modern

times —and which are most frequently the product
of an anomalous state of the or anism — of acute
g
susceptibilities or ofpowerful religious impressions
,

-
were ascribed sometimes to the direct agency of
, ,

the S upreme Bein g and at other times to the

, , ,

immediate influence of the D evil (Mor bus sa c e r ) ,

according to the peculiar ch a racteristic nature of

the affection ; but in both cases the phenomena
, ,

themselves were always accounted supernatural .

The D evil indeed in the creed of the ages to which

, ,

we refer appears to have been a much more im

,

portant personage and to have exercised a far greater

,

influence upon the af f

airs of this lower world than ,

the D eity himself .

These extraordinary notions so universally dif ,

fused of the continual interference of the D evil in

,
 AN HIS T O R Y O F MAGI C ,
&c . 227

t he conduct of human affa irs had also a powerful ,

e fl e c t in m odifying the religious opinions and r ac

p
tice of the C hristian di vines whose d uties instead ,

o f consisting principally in directi ng the proper

, ,

d evotional worship of G od and in promoting holi ,

ness of life and conversation were converted into a ,

con t inual warfare against the imaginar y ar tifi c e s of

his S atanic M aj esty D uring the middle ages of
.

E urope indeed d iabolical influences wer e all

, ,

powerful and all pervading throu g hout every class

-

of the people —the belief in this incessant satanic

m

agency spread far and wide like a virulent and ,

i ncurable epidemy ; MAGIC or the B LAC K A R T —as ,

it came to be denominated after its corruption

was the medium through which this infernal science
was cul t ivated and exercised even the overseers of
t he C hristian flock were infected with the general
moral contagion or fostered the prevailing mania
, ,

probably with the vie w of i ncreasing their ow n

power and estimation ; al though many of them no ,

doubt may have been ignorant enough to fall in

,

with t he common infatuation F e m ale S— especially .

o ld w omen —were supposed t o be more conversant

w ith the powers and more accessible t o the a r tifi c e s

,

of the great enemy of H eaven and of t he human

race and during a very lo ng period S or c e ry and

, ,

Wi tc hc r aft kept mankind in a state of continual

agitation and delusion which of itself only tended
, , ,

t o increase to aggravate to exten d and confirm

, ,

the common mani a When a solitary individual

.

occasion ally attempted to stem the torrent of this

2 28 A N HIS T O R Y O F MAGIC ,
&c .

universal epidemy by t he introd uc t ion of more

,

rational and humane views of the subj ec t his e xe r ,

tions were speedily par a lysed or frustrated by the

counteraction of the popular feeling sanctioned ,

and supported by the authority of the C hristian

C hurch .

CH APTER XXV .

B EFORE we proceed to g ive a more p a rticular

account of those most extraordinary hallucinations
ofthe human intellect to which we have alluded in
,

the foregoing chapter it may perhaps be expedie nt

, , ,

to solicit the p a rticular attention of our readers to

a very remarkable state occasionally manifested in
,

n —
the huma orga ism t o which indeed we have
n , ,

already made some passing allusions in the previous

portion ofour treatise .

I n the peculiar state t o which we have referred

the internal sensibility —especially in i ndividuals
,

labouring under a ny very violent excitement or ,

from const itutio nal causes or abnormal action of

,

the vital processes — appears to overpower the exter

nal se nses and the reasoning faculty and as it
, , ,

were to create a new world for itself This con

,
.

st it ut ional afection includi ng something more tha n

f ,

is generally comprehended under the category of

I m a g ina ti on in the ordinary acceptation of the
,

term may be induced by various causes and has

, ,
2 30 A N HIS T O RY O F MA GIC ,
&c .

they are most frequently developed either naturally ,

or a rtificially in the female subj ect

,
These pheno .

mena were well known although incorrectly a ppr e ,

c iat e d during the prevalence of the ancient p agan

,

religion ; and they are s t ill far from uncommon ,

but imperfectly recognised and interprete d under ,

t he m odern a nd purer forms of C hristia nity They .

have been forced indeed into the ser v ice of every

, ,

mode ofreli g ious w orship althou g h in themsel v es , ,

t he y have no essential connection with any parti

c ula r religion ; being the mere manifestation ofcer

t ain natural phen omena ofw hich in certain circum , ,

stances and in susceptible subj ects devotio nal

, ,

excitement may be considered as one of the pro

d uc t iv e causes .

The most distinct allusions to these peculiar states

o f the human organism occur in the writings o f

PLA T O and ofthe later Platonists which from ig no

, ,

rance or misapprehension of the particular subj ect

to which they relate have been generally misund e r
,

stood and regarded as the mere emanations of a

,

metaphysical mysticism or poetic a l rhapsody I n , .

the E pis tles of ST PAUL too we occasionally meet , ,

with passages which cannot be correctly understood ,

a nd properly interpreted without a competent ,

knowledge of t hose ecstatic states to which they

manifestly refer L e t the reader for example
.
, ,

compare in particu lar the é ep m f u n ln

, , n; t /e a ro o r ov T

; of PLA T O S I on and the explanation of the

’
St w
o e / at ,

ecstatic discourses of the Mant ic k s in the T I M JE U S ,

of the same philosopher with the gifts described in ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
ao . 2 31

ST PAU L S E pistle t o the C orinthians S ome even

’
.

o f the C hristian sectaries indeed di ffered in their , ,

explanations of these prophetic manifestations al ,

t hough all agreed in ascribing them to superna

tural causes The A postle imputed them to the
.

immediat e agency of t he d ivine Spirit— the é ey h ; ye e

the demoniacal visionaries on the other hand were , ,

e u y
e
e ovn
’
m
er N atural
. and artifici a l mea ns howe v er , ,

w ere occasionally employed with a v iew to produce ,

ecst a tic states —such as fumigations —still retained

in the R oman C atholic ritual — and mysterious pre
paratory ceremonies —as in the case of the ancien t
Pagan O racles and T emple worship These ecstatic - .

s t ates however still continued to be ascribed bv

, ,

s ome to a divine influence and by others t o demo , , ,

nia c al agency — opinions which have not e ntirely

ceased to be held even in the present times as we .

,

S hall ha v e occasion to S ho w in the farther progress

ofo ur researches .

I t has been frequently m aintained as we formerly ,

observed that the Pagan O racles ceased after the

,

A dvent ofJESUS C H RIS T But this has been shown.

t o be a manifest error The prophetic annuncia

.

t ions of these O racles too we may add are referred

, , ,

t o by several ofthe primitive F athers ofthe C hris

tian C h urch — by JUS T I N M AR T YR E USE B IUS L A C , ,

T A N T I U S JE R OME
, A M B RO SE A U G U S T IN C LEME N T
, ,

o f A lexandria &c I R EN JE U S as we have see n

, .
, ,

associated w ith cert ain ecstatic females whom he ,

commanded t o prophesy M ON TANUS the reput ed . ,

heretic and his disciples accounted divination amo ng

, ,
2 32 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

t he number of the divine gifts in w hich opinion he ,

professed to follow ST PAUL TE R T ULLIAN enter .

t aine d the same belief and has recorded instance s

,

o fthe fact .

We m ight easily quote a variety of similar in

s t ances of the same phenome na which occurred in ,

dif ferent circumstances and at v arious periods of

,

time ; but this is probably un necessary and would ,

be tedious ; and besides we shall have occasion to

, ,

refer t o various examples of a similar character in

t he farther progress o f o ur inquiry E nough ha s .

been said in the meantime a nd sufficient examples

,

have been already adduced t o af ford a de m onstr a

,

t io n of the existe nce oft he fact in question during ,

the periods to which we have referred .

The E mperor C ONS TAN T INE the G reat —to whom

C hristia nity li es under such wei g hty obligations for
t he e f fective cou nte nance he bestowed upon it durin g
—
its early development and progress was also one
o f the most zealous advocates for the reality oft he

g ift ofprophecy as for all the other essential tenets

,

of the new fa ith .

But we must no w proceed to commemorate the

manifestation of similar phenome na and the c onse ,

q uent existence of a similar belief among the inha ,

bit ant s of modern E urope T he result ofo ur inv e s

.

t ig at ion it is thought will demonstrate the univer

, ,

salit
y of the conviction fou
,
nded upon a very general

acquaintance with the relative facts .

2 34 AN HIS T O R Y O F MA GI C . &c .

r ac te r . I ndeed the ori g inality authenticity and

, , ,

antiquity ofthe northern mythology and its affinit y ,

with that ofG ermany have been fully demonstrated ,

by the learned researches of G RIMM C ertain a na .

log ous reli g ious us a ges indeed have been fou nd to , ,

pervade all ancient and rude nations PLIN Y and .

TA CI T US have described some of those w hich were

prevalent among the G erma ns ; but the latter had
no G reek or R oman Temples dedicated to A pollo ,

E sc ula pius & c and the names oftheir g ods men

, .
,

t ione d by TACI T US are not G erman but R oman

, , ,

a dapted to the la ngua e and no t ions ofhis cou ntry

g
men and transferred to the G erman d i v inities who
, ,

were worshipped in their sacred groves under G er

man names a nd G erman attributes .

The C el t ic chiefs and rulers were called D ruids .

L ike the MAGI amo ng the E a ster n nations they ,

were the legisl a tors j udg es pries t s and prophets

, , ,

amo ng the people PO M P O N I U S ascribes a high

.

degree of acquirement to these D ruids embracing ,

physical science a nd reli g ious a nd moral culture

, .

O ne of the most importa nt tenets which they are

said to have mos t strenuously inculcated among
t he people was that ofthe immor tality of the soul
,
.

A t a later period indeed t hese D ruids appear to

, ,

have stood in higher estimation in Britain than in

G aul .

We have already alluded to the apparent simi

lar it y betwee n the character and duties of these
D ruids and those of the ancient MAGI among t he ,

E g yptians and other E astern n ations ; and there

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 2 35

would appear to have been e v en a considerable

analogy between their sacred ceremo nies and oh
s e r v a nc e s Both had the charge ofthe gover nment
.

and education of the people in the most extensive ,

sense ofthe expressions Their principal doctrines .

w ere entrusted only to the pre v iously initiated ;

and they commu nic a ted t heir i nstructions in sacred
groves Situated in remote a n d solitary localities
,
.

When performing hi s reli g ious duties the D ruid , ,

like the E gyp t ia n priest was clothed with a white ,

garment The D ruids were also physicians : They

.

cured diseases by means of magical rites and cere

monies ; and professi ng an habitual interco urse
,

with the gods they exercised the gift ofprophecy

, .

Their women too called A lr une s like the Py tho

'
, , ,

nesses in the E gyptian and G reek temples were ,

fa mous for their sooth s ayi ng and medical skill .

Their therapeutic k nowled g e and practice indeed , ,

was in such repute that even the R oman E mperor , ,

A URELIAN is said to have consulted them in his

,

o w n case ( V O P I SCU S ; A ur e li a n ; c
. They .

w ere also acquai nted w ith the means of producing

the ecst atic af fectio ns and as one oftheir principal ,

medical applia nces t hey made use of the m issle t oe

, ,

which they g athered at stat ed t imes a nd with cer ,

t ain solemn ceremonies a nd considered it as a ,

special gift of H eave n — N ihi l ha be nt D r uid es—i ta .

suos a
pp e lla n t M a g os— v isc o e t a r bor e i n
qua ,

i
g g ni t ur
( si m od o si t ro bur ) sa c r a t i us Ja m p e r
.

se r o bor um e li
g unt luc os, ne c ulla s a c r a si ne e a

fr ond e c on c fi i unt .
2 36 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
85 0 .

I t was chiefly under such sacred trees that the

ancient G ermans o f
fered up their holy sacrifices ,

and their inspired Bards uttered their prophecies .

M oreover it is remarkable that as in ancient times

, , ,

the medical art in France continued down to a late ,

period to be combined with the priestly o ffice

, .

M any of the hospitals in that country had a cleri , ,

cal origin : They were for a long time supe r in , ,

t ended by ecclesiastics who were at the same time , , ,

physicians .

PO M P ON I U S ( D e S i tu Or bis ; L ib III e re . . .

l a tes a Singular story concerning the priestesses in

the island of Se na near the coast of Brittany This
,
.

island he say s was much celebrated o n account of

, ,

an oracle sacred to a G allic divinity The Priest .

.

esses who presided over it nine in number and , ,

who made a vow ofperpetual virginity were called ,

G a lli c e ne s They were held to be g ift ed with peen

.

liar endowments v iz that of being c a pable of .

,

excitin g storms by means of their magical incanta

tions ; of assuming the form of any animal they
pleased ; o f c ur i ng d ise ase s tha t w e r e i nc ur a ble by
o the r s f a know le d e o
o
g ff u t ur e e v e n ts a n d o
f t he ,

g fl fp p
i o r o he c
y They . were devoted chiefly to
the service of seafaring persons when consulted ,

by them P L IN Y ( XXX
. sav s ofthe D ruids in .

G aul a nd Britain that they p r op he si e d a nd c ur e d

, ,

As the G reeks had their Pythonesses and the ,

R omans their S ibyls so had the G ermans certai n,

v aticinating females whose counsels were follo w ed

,
2 38 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

g ui bus d a m i nte lleg i p r ee d i c i g ue p osse

This c e ns e a t .

is a fa ct indeed which is not only de m onstrated by

, ,

history in all a g es ofthe world and accredi t ed by

, ,

many of the wises t and best and most learned of

, ,

men as well as by the m a ss of the people but

, ,

whi ch the philosopher upon due investi g ation may , ,

discover to be founded upon certain physiolo g ical

and psyc hological principles deducible from the
nat ure and facul t ies ofthe human constitu t ion .

We Should probably be deemed guil t y of an

, ,

unpardonable omission however were we to p a ss , ,

over in total silence that peculiar a nd very r e

, ,

markable modifica t ion of the af fection in q uestion ,

which has lon g been known in the H ighlands of

S cotland al t hough not confined to that locality
, ,

under the denomination of the Se c ond Sig ht ; of

w hich an interestin g and apparently au t hentic
account was lon g ago communicated to the pub
lic by M r MAR T IN whose statements have been ,

amply corroborated by subse q uent and competent

authorities .

This phenomenon of the reali t y of which as , ,

confirmed by t he most unimpeachable tes t imony ,

and supported by the evidence of livi ng witnesses ,

t here c anno t be a reaso nable doub t we hold to be ,

a species or variety of t he somnambulis t ic or

, ,

ecs tatic affection as must we t hi nk a ppear mani

, , ,

fest from the numerous examples which have been

already add uced .

A t the si g ht of a visio n says M r M AR T I N , ,

the eyelids of the person are erected and the ,

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
9

eyes continue staring until the obj ect vanish .

M AR T IN tells us th a t he himself witnessed the fact

more than once There is one say s he
. in ,
”
,
“

S kye of whom his acquaintance observed that

, ,

when he sees a visio n the inner part of his eyeli d s

,

turn so far upwards that after the obj ect d isap

, ,

pears he must draw the m down with his fingers

, ,

and sometimes employ s o thers to draw them down ,

which he finds the much eas ier way The seer .

”

kno w s neither the obj ec t time nor place of a , ,

vision before it appears ; and the same obj ect is

,

often seen by di fferent persons living at a c onsi ,

d e r able dista nce from one another This las t is a .

”

phe nome non by no mea ns unfre quent in the ecstat ic

af fections as well as in the ar t ificial states i nduced
,

by the mag netic processes and it has been genc

rally ascribed to a mag netic sympathetic or , ,

spiritual con nection subsi s ting betwee n the parties .

( S ee the opinion of M VI REY upon

. this subj ect
, as ,

q uoted i n h i s R e v e la t a vol ii p 5 0 & c ) . We . .

, .

shall se e in the sequel of this treatise that several

, ,

—
individuals nay whole communities have occa
,
—
s iona ll
y bee n simultaneously
, or consecutively a f
, ,

f e c t e d in this m anner ; the somnambulistic states

may become epidemical or i nfec t ious .

A ll those conti nues M r M AR T IN who have

”
, ,

t he S econd S i g ht do not al w ays see those visions

,

at once though they be together at the t ime B ut

,
.

ifone w ho ha s this f a c ulty d e si ne d l h h i l

g y t ouc s fe

lo w se e r a t t he i nsta nt ofa v isi on s app e a r i ng the n

’
-
,

t he se c o nd se e r se e s it as w e ll as the fir st a nd t his
2 40 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC , &c .

is some ti m e s d isc e r ne d by those w ho a re ne a r t he m

h o c c a si ons
”
on suc This is what the M esmerists
c all t he magnetic i nfection by contact C hildren .
,

horses and cows see the second sig ht as well a s

, , ,

men and women advanced in years That children .

see it is plain from their crying aloud a t the very

,

instant that a corpse or any other vision appears , ,

to an ordinary seer I was present in a house .

where a child cried out of a sudden and being ,

asked the reason of it he answered that he had , ,

seen a great white thi n g lyi ng on the board which

was in the room But he was not believed until a
seer who was present told them that the child was
, ,

in the right ; for said he I saw a corpse and the

, ,

shroud about it ; and the board will be used as

part of a coffi n or some way employed about a
,

corpse ; and accordin g ly it was made into a coffin ,

for one who was in perfect health at the time ofthe

vision .
”

That horses see it is like w ise plain from their , ,

violent and sudden starting when the rider or seer ,

in company with him sees a vision ofany kind by ,

night or by d a y I t is observable of the horse

.
,

that he will not go forward t hat way until he has ,

been led about at some distance from the common

road and that he is in a sweat
, .
”

That cows see the se c ond sig ht appears from ,

T he h or c an corr ob ora t e t hi s fact in p art by an

aut , ,

o cc urr e nc e whi c h h app e ne d to a s e rv ant ofhis whil e driving ,

a h ors e and sm all c a rri a g e one e v e ning in t he H i g hl a nds of

, ,

Scot l and .
2 42 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

several strange passages in history upon the authe n

t ic it y aforesaid of historia ns t hat lived several cen
t ur ie s before o ur time : and yet they deny the
people of this generation the liberty t o believe
t heir intimate friends and acquaintance men ofpro ,

bity and unquestionable reputatio n a nd of whose ,

v eracity they have greater certainty than we can

have ofany ancient historian .
”

The i nstances w hich have been recorded of the

ma nifestation of this faculty of second sight are so
exceedingly numerous t h a t to insert one t enth o r
,
-
,

even one twentie t h part ofthe best authenticated of

-

t hem in these pages would occupy a vast deal more

,

room than we can af ford ‘Ve must therefore .

, ,

merely refer our readers t o the interesting treatises

of M r M AR T IN and of some other authors upon
, ,

this curious subj ec t intimately connected as t hey

, ,

are with the obj ect of our prese nt researches O ne

,
.

additional case ho wever we must be permitted t o

, ,

g ive at fu ll length as it is
,
rather striking in itself ,

and appears moreover t o illustr a te a particular

, ,

and rather important principle in M ag ic and A ni

mal M agne t ism .

A woman of St or mba y in L ewis says M r ,

M AR T I N
, had a maid who saw visio ns a nd often ,

fell into a swoon H er mistress was very much

.

concerned about her but could not find out any

,

means to prevent her seeing these thi ngs A t las t .

,

she resolved to pour some of the water used in

baptis m on her maid s face be li e v i ng that this
’

would prevent her from seeing any more Sights of

 AN HIS TO RY or MAGIC ,
&c . 2 43

this kin d A nd accordingly she carried her maid

.
, ,

with her next L ord s day and both of them sat

’

near the basin in which the water stood ; and after ,

baptism before the minister had concluded the last

,

prayer She put her h a nd in the basin took up as

, ,

much water as she could and threw it on the maid s

,
’

face ; at which strange action the minister and the

congregation were equally surprised A fter prayer . ,

the mi nister inquired of the woman the meaning of

such an unbecoming and distracted action S he .

told him it was to prevent her maid s seeing visions ; ’

and it fell out accordingly for from that time she , , ,

never once saw a vision of any kind .

”

D oes not the foregoing case bear some analogy

to the R oman C atholic ritual of exorcism and t o ,

some of the occasional processes of A nimal M ag

ne tism

I n order to obviate the prevalent obj ections o f

deception a nd satanic influences in the case ofthese
curious psycholo g ical phe nome na of the second
sight M r M A R T IN communicates some letters on
,

the subj ect addressed t o M r JO HN A U B RE Y

, ,

from which we must be permitted the liberty of

extracting the followi ng observations
I t ( t he se c ond sig ht) is a thin g very trouble
some to those who have it a nd would be glad t o be
,

rid of it F or if the object be a thing t hat is ter

.
,

rible they are seen to sweat and tremble a nd shriek

, ,

at the apparition A t other times they laugh and

.
, ,

tell the thing cheerfully j ust accor di ng as the thi ng

is pleasant or astonishin g —2 S ure it is that the
,

.
,
2 44 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

persons that have a sense ofG od and religion and ,

may be presumed to be godly are know n to have ,

this faculty This evide ntly appears in that they

.

are troubled for having it j ud g ing it a sin— that it

,

came from the D evil and not from G od earnestly

,

desiring and wishing to be rid ofit if possible and ,

to that e f fect have made application t o t heir minis

,

ter to pray to Go d for them that they might be

,

e x one r e d from that burde n They have suppli .

c at e d the Presbytery who j udicially appointed

,

public prayers to be made in several churches and ,

a sermon preached to that purpose in their ow n ,

parish church by their minister ; a nd they have

,

compeared before the pulpit aft er sermon makin g , ,

confession ope nly of that sin with deep sense on , ,

their knees renounced any such gift or faculty

,

which they had to G od s dishonour a nd earnestly

’
,

implored the minister to pray for them and this ,

their recan t ation recorded ; a nd afte r this the y , ,

w e r e ne v e r t r ouble d w it h suc h a si
g ht an
y m ore .

We might easily quote a vast variety of other

instances oft he manifestation of this peculiar phe
nom e non of the second sight — or the excitemen t

ofthe internal instinct o fpresentiment upon variou s ,

occasions but those fe w we have already adduced

appear to be quite sufficient for our purpose and ,

the facts are already sufficiently known .

I t is a great mistake however to suppose tha t

, ,

the phenomena in question are confined to the H igh

lands and I slands of S cotland We have already .

had occ asion t o observe that the desire and disposi

,
2 46 AN H IS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

char woman who washed the clothes fell a weep

-
, ,
-

ing and when asked why She answered

, , My ,

—
mistress is now dead I saw her appari t ion but j us t
now without a head ; a nd she added that it was
, ,

usual with her when a friend ofhers died to see

, ,

their apparition in the same manner The lady di ed .

at that very time .

I n S pain there is a class ofpersons called Sa lu

,

d a d or e s w ho possess a similar faculty

,
There is .

said t o have been a Portuguese D ominican friar ,

belonging to Quee n C atherine D owag er s chapel ’

who had the faculty of se c ond sig ht We have .

already had occasion t o speak of a similar gift of

divin a tion as manifested by the inhabitants of the
,

northern regions of E urope ; and Professor KIESE R

ofJena in his A r c hi v f
, iir d e n t hi e r isc he n M ag ne t is
m us vols 6
,
8 has adduced a number ofcases of the
.
,

manifestation ofthe same faculty which occurred at ,

different times in G ermany and other co untries .

C H A P T E R X XV I I I .

TH E introduction ofC hristianity among the na

tions of E urope occasioned an important m od ifi c a
tion both in the belief ofthe people in re g ard t o
,

t he nature ofthese apparently supernatural powers ,

and also in the manifestations of the phenomena

themselves I n the pa g an world these manifesta
.
,
 AN HIS TO R Y or MAGIC ,
&c . 2 47

tions were generally believed t o result from a cer

tain sympathetic con nection or harmony subsistin g , ,

between mankind and certain superior be ne fi c e nt or

malevolent beings — d aemons elves fairies & c I n , , , .

t hose early times indeed there w as no such a bso

, ,

lute separation of t he sensible and supersensible

worlds as was subsequently implied in the C hristia n
,

dis t i nctions between heaven and earth the temporal ,

a nd the eternal the spiritu a l a nd the corporeal

,

natures S pirits and d aemon s were considered as

.

beings belonging t o the sphere ofthe actual terres

trial existence : H eaven or hell ha d nothing t o d o
w ith the busi ness oftheir mis s ion upon ear t h They .

were in fact the tutelary spiri t s the be ne fi c e nt

, , ,

genii or the pl a yful tormentors ofthe human race

,

beings who occasionally held familiar intercourse

w ith the children ofthis world sometimes a d minis ,

terin g ad v ice and warning di v ulging secret things

, ,

and layi ng open the mysteries of the future N o .

definite distinction was made in the case ofan extra

ordinary occurrence whether it proceeded from
,

some strange external i nfluence or was the natural ,

result of certa in physical physiological or psychical

, ,

causes .

I n C hristianity on the other hand S pirits were

, ,

accounted bei ngs ofan absolutely d iffere nt substance

and nature desce nding or ascendi ng from another
,

s phere of e xistence for the express purpose ofe xe r

,

cising a preter natural influence over the destiny of

mortals ; and t his influence appeared so much the
 AN HIS T OR Y OF MAGI C ,
&c .

more formidable as it was believed to proceed from

,

a different —a superse nsible world .

A mong the G reeks and R omans accordingly , ,

M AGIC had originally a totally d ifl e r e nt character

'

, ,

from tha t which it afterwar d s assumed in the J e w ish

C hristian creed The mag ical arts among the
.
,

former were not ascribed to the influence ofi nfernal

,

powers of darkness as in the C hristian scheme but

, ,

t o bei ngs who enj oyed an intimate and co nfidential

intercourse with other beings of a still superior
order But mistaken views of C hristianity aft er
.

wards led to a totally different state ofOpinion in ,

regard to the relation ofmankind towards the spi

ritual world ; and those extraordinary psychological
phenome na w hich occasionally present themselves
,

in the human organism were now ascribed accord, ,

ing to the di f ferences of manifestation sometimes ,

.

to the immediate action of the D eity and more , ,

'

frequently to that ofthe Prince ofD arkness—the

,

work of G od or that ofthe D evil

, .

There is no blessi ng indeed conferred by the , ,

D eity upon his creatures which in consequence of , ,

the perversity of human nature has not its esta ,

blishe d counterpart ; or which by its abuse may , ,

not be converted into a curse The C hristian re ve .

lation is u nquestionably the most precious boon

, ,

w hich has been conferred by G od upon mankind

a gift the best calculated to enlighte n the reason to ,

regulate the conduct a nd to ennoble the heart — in

,

short to promote the best interests of man in this

,
2 50 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

i ndeed —i fthey really had any intelligible import

could be known only to a few ; and whi ch the ig no
rant vulgar could only regard with feelings of
superstitious awe ; while the most vain and puerile
devices were invented with a view to secure the
,

approbation and favour of the D eity and to avert ,

the malignant ar tific e s of S atan The reign of the .

D evil indeed may be said to have been henceforth

, , , ,

firmly established upo n the earth ; and e v ery con

c e iv able m ethod was adopted for the purpose of
securing the neutrality obtaining the assistance or
, ,

of a verting the enmity of that powerful ubiquitous

and ano m
, ,

alous bei ng .

The early corruption of the C hristian religion

had likewise the e ffect of banishing a ll rational
, ,

learning a nd philosophy which were thenceforth , , ,

held to be incompatible w ith the new fa ith of —

poisoni ng the morals of the people by the universal
di f fusion of an empty and debasin g supersti t io n
and of ul t imately plunging mankind into a n all
absorbin g v e r te x of folly wicked ness and brutality
, , .

Persons of all ranks were involved in the general

corruption : The G od of n a ture a nd of revelation
no longer presided over the government of the uni
verse The infernal powers had absolute dominio n
.

upon earth for weal or for w o e ; and t hey culti

,

v at e d the most familiar intercourse with the inhabi

tants of this sublunary world A n excited im a gina .

t io n indeed formed a w orld for itself a nd peopled

, , ,

it w ith a fanciful multiplicity of d ae mons and other

supernatural beings whose i nfluence was believed
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 51

to be con t inually exercised over the minds and

actions of manki nd ; and this unnatural and most
prepo sterous belief overpowered the universal reason
of the huma n race —produced a gener a l epidemic

mania ultimately g a ve rise to a ll those strange

-

psychical hallucinations which we find recorded in

t he annals ofwitchcraft and led to a lo ng protracted
,
-

series of the most cruel a nd barbarous persecu t ions

which have t hrown disgrace upon human nature .

A vast number of wretched creatures labouring ,

under the common delusio n either volunta rily con

,

fessed or were tortur ed into a confession ofhaving

,

been guilty of the most abominable and even ,

impossible crimes and suffered the mos t cruel

,

punishments for their imaginary o f fences ; while

the most learned theologians physicians statesmen , , ,

a nd j urists did no t hesitat e t o prostitute their

,

talents in attempting to demonstrate not the possi ,

bilit y merely but the actual reality of these most

,

absurd and fan tastic chimeras .

The aut hor has no i ntention of entering into any

very minu te chronolo g ical history of these strange
diabolical transactions ; but would beg leave t o
refer his inquisiti v e readers to the M a lle us M a lefi '

c a r um ,and t o the numerous other well kno w n

treatises which have been published a t various
, ,

perio d s upo n this very curious a nd most e xt r a or

,

d ina r y subj ect including of course the learned

, , ,

work of our own wise S overeig n Ja m es the F irst of ,

E ngl a nd We feel it necessary however to wander

.
, ,

some little w a y into the history of these remark

2 52 AN HIS T O RY O F MA G IC ,
&c .

able matters with the view of pointing out t he

,

actual co nnection of the phe nomena of alleged

witchcraft with the principles at present under o ur
investigation *
.

C HA P TER XX IX .

TH Eword w i tc h is probably derived from the

Teutonic w isse n— to k now I n the old Norse a .
,

witch was denominated H a e g se which signi fies ,

wisdom ( S ee O LAUS WO R M I U S i n L e xic o R uni

.
,

c o )
. This last appellation was subsequently con
verted in t o H e r e in the modern ,

Soon fte r the app e arance ofI sis R e ve la ta s om e y e ars

a ,

ag o ,an e l ab or a t e re vi e w o f t h at p ubli c at i on m ade i t s

app e a r ance i n t he firs t num b e r of a w e s t c ount ry p e ri odi -

c al whi ch sp e e di ly c am e t o a na t ur al d e at h
, I n t h a t p ap e r .
,

t he W is e M an of t he W e s t by an e x t re m e ly l udicr ous
,

bl und e r at t e m p t e d t o c a s t ridicul e up on t he aut h or for his

,

s upp os e d b e li e f i n wi tch cr aft ; t he face t ious wri t e r of t he

a r t i cl e b e i n e vid nt ly i nc p bl f dis c ri m i n t i ng b e t w e e n
g e a a e o a

a b e li e f oft he r e ali t y ofc e r t ai n psy chi c al s t a t e s and a b e li e f ,

of : t he r e a li t y oft he obj e ct s r e pr e s e nt e d i n t he h all uc inat i ons

whi ch h a ve t h e ir origin in t he p ar t icul ar affe c t i on N e sutor .

ultra c r ep id a m .

1 In
'
an ci e nt G e rm any fe m al e Druids w e re c all e d
,
t he
A lr une s and s ubs e q ue nt ly F e a s or fa iri e s
, , ,
TAC IT U S pro
,
.
,

b ably by mis t ak e calls th e m D e a s T he w ord F e a or F ae

, , ,

a pp e a rs t o h a v e b e e n d e riv e d fr om t he G r e e k
.

t o sp e ak ,

wh e nce ar e als o d e riv e d p in ; and (D in g or acl e or s oot h

a o

—
,

s y r in L at i n Vo te s
a e

T he w ord W I T C H —Str ia Str ig a Ve nefi c a—

, .

,
w as us e d in , ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MA GIC ,
&c .

S oothsayers Prophets & c amongst other nations

, , .
, .

C ICE RO says Sa g c e a sa g i e nd o d i c toe quia m ult a ,

sc i r e v o lunt . SA G I R E E N IM SE N T I RE ACU T E ES T .

( D e Di v ina t io ne L ib I
, ) . This is exceeding
. l y well
expressed ; for as w e shall by and by e have occa
,
- -

sion to show the prophecies of these S eers or

, ,

A lr une s or by whatever other name they may be

,

designated appe a r to have been immediately de

,

rived rather from an internal presentiment — a

subj ective feeli ng — than from any previously a c

quired kno w ledge of external nature or from mere ,

calculation of conse que nces F rom H a e g se pro .

bably comes the E ng lish word H ag which was ,

used by Shak spe ar e and others a s synonymous

, ,

with Wi t c h .

We have already observed that upon the i ntro , ,

duction ofC hristi a nity these prophe t s —the fem a les

, ,

in particular who appear to have been pretty

,

numerous throu g hout the north of E urope under ,

the pagan worship — along with every t hi ng appe r

tainin g to Paga nism —in so far as it was deemed
incompatible w ith the new fa ith —fell into disrepute .

These prophets prophe t esses and w o nder workers

, ,
-
,

i ndeed came to be very generally de nou nced by

,

the converts to t he ne w faith as individuals w ho ,

were supposed to be e ng a g ed in an unhallowed

league with S atan and his evil spirits ; a nd t hus it
happened that phenomena pur e lv psychical although ,

certai nly of a n abnormal descri ptio n bec a me asso ,

c iat e d wi t h religious faith ; and t he monstrous doc

trine ofactual bodily possession by the D evil or his

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 55

d aemons ultimately engendered an universal m a ni a

,

t hrou g hout E urope The persecutions which e n

.

sued in consequence of these perverted no t ions

, .

were of a t ruly diabolical character I ndi v iduals .

either previously insane or thrown into a state of ,

insanity or at least of ecstatic feeli ng by the

, , , ,

accusation of having committed grievous or even ,

impossible cri mes were first inhumanly tortured

, ,

and aft erwards subj ected to an i g nominious and

cruel death for having the misfortu ne of bein g
,

af flicted with the common mania : F or a f fectio ns of

this na t ure are k nown to be epidemical and exceed
ing ly i nfectious The persecutors it would appear
.
, ,

were frequently as much under the influence of

witchcraft as their miserable victims a nd both ,

stood more in need of the physician than of the

fa g got . N ei t her rank nor learning however , ,

af forded a ny e f fectual guaran t ee again s t the c onse

u e nc e s of the epidemic belief R oyal a nd noble
q .

personages st at esme n ecclesiastics l a wyers and

, , , ,

physicians were e qually convinced ofthe reali t y of

,

the phe nomena of wit chcraft a nd of the i nfluential ,

agency of S atan in their production ; while many

o ft hese accredi ted phenomena were of a description

so ludicrously absurd as to set even the most ordi

nary endowme nt ofcommon sense at defi a nce A ll .

t he most monstrously i ncredible stories ofw i t chcraft

and sorcery were a t tested by historians with the most

scrupulous or r a ther unscrupulous d ili g ence ; and
,

grave philosophers demonstrated their authentici t y

by the most rigorous processes of scholastic logic ;
2 56 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

while holy m e n gave scripture for the facts .

The promiscuous vul g ar could not resist such anthe m

tic narratives and cogent reasoni ngs backed by ,

scriptural authorit y ; and e v e n the most e nli g htened

men of the times were incapable of dispelling the
u niversal delusion —a delusion w hich even a ft er the ,

R eformation was equally prevalent in Protestant

,

and in R oman C atholic communi t ies S cepticism .

upon this poi nt i ndeed ultim a tely became heresy

, ,

—the reputed witch was also a heretic ; and the

Bible was liberally q uoted by t he bli nd zealots o f
both persuasions in co nfirm a tio n of the orthodox
,

opinion This diabolical i nfatuation conti nued to

.

prevail for a long period S o late as the year .

17 80 a witch was actually tried condemned and

, , ,

executed at Glarus in S w itzerland , .

I n the year 1 4 84 the regular for m of process

,

against indi v iduals accused of w itchcraft was intro

d uc e d into the states ofG ermany a nd cert a in other ,

countries by a bull of Pope I nnocent V III ; and

, .

in 1 4 89 a publication appeared under authoritative

, ,

sanction w ith the ti tle M a lle us M a lef

, ic a r um ( the
Witch hammer ) which w a s lo ng held in estimatio n
-
, ,

a s containi ng the authentic code of criminal prece

dure in cases of witchcraft This most e x tr a or d i .

nary specimen of philosophic a l tact legal acumen , ,

and learned subtlety prescribed in minute terms , , ,

the rules for the detection and punishment of the

alleged crime N ot o nly were many natural
.

diseases and abnormal states of the organism

, ,

included under the category of diabolical posses

2 58 AN HIS T ORY or MA GI C ,
&c .

N 0 country , indeed can be said to have entirely

,

escaped from the curse of these i nfamous a nd infa

t uat e d prosecutions C atholics and Protestants v ied
.

with each other in this cruel and unhallowed war

fare neither rank se x nor a g e was exempted from
, ,

the risk ofthis general prosecution ; and the w hole

E uropean w orld was subj ected to the terrors ofthe
crimin a l imputation and t he conse quent mental and
,

bodily torture I t has been calculated that severa l

.

hundred thousand individuals fell a sacrifice to the

g eneral infatua t ion ; and all these horrors flowed
from the imaginary dominion of his S ata nic M aj es t y
over the souls a nd bodies ofC hristian people u nder ,

t he p astoral superintendence o fC hristian clergy

We formerly observed that the actual existence

ofsuch a persona e as the D evil was no t ori inally
g g ,

a Jewish but a Zor oa str ic notion —a C haldean or

,

Babylonish hallucination — which had been borrowed

by that people ( the Jews ) and tr a nsferred into their
,

r eligious code a t or after their c a pti v ity and exile

,
.

Even the doctri ne ofgood and bad a n g els a nd their ,

continual interference in t he affairs ofthis sublunary

s phere appears to have been derived from the same
,

source I deas ofthis n a ture however besides being

.
, ,

unwarranted are calculated to pervert religion and

, ,

SCO T T , Di sc o ve ry of Wi tc hc r af t ; J O B O D I N U S , De file/a g o
.

r um D e mo no m a ni a ; B A LT E . BE ER
CK , T he Wor ld B e w itc h
ed
; FRE D S P EE ,
C a u t io C r imina lis , & c J R I C H N.
, . E E
R
.

K urz e L e hr satz e v o n d e m L a ste r d e r Z a ube r e i , & c C H IS

’

T IAN T H O M A SI U S , D e Cr im ine M ag ice ; T A R T A R E TT I , D e l

C g re s
o n s u no t t ur no d e lle L a m ie ,
& c — T h e r e are m any we ll
.

k nown E nglish works on t he s am e s ubj e ct .

 A N HIS T ORY OF MAGI C ,
&c . 2 59

to embarrass and distort the minds of mankind .

U pon this subj ect t here occurs the following curious

,

and remarkable passage in T B U RNE T S A r c haeolog .

’
.

P hi los p 6 8 z—F a c i le c r e d o p lur e s e sse n a t ur a s

, .
,

i nv is i bi le s i n r e r um uni ve r si t a te , se d ha r um om ni um
‘

f a m i li a m uis nobi s e na r r a bi t E t g r a d us , c t c og
q
na ti one s, et d isc ri m i na , e t si n ula r um m une r a
g
ui d unt u lo c a ha bi ta nt H a r um r e r um
q a
g , q ce

no ti t ia m se m e r a m bi vi t
p i ng e ni um huma num , nun

q uam a t tig i t . Juva t i nte r e a , non d ifii te or , qua nd a

c unque in a ni m o t a nq ua m in t a bula , m aj o ris e t

m e li or i s m und i i m a g ine m c onte mp la r i , ne m e ns a ssue

a c t a hod ie r nce v i tae m i nuti is se c ontr a ha t m inus , e t
f
t ot a b
s u s id a t i n p usi llas c og i t a t i one s Se d v e r i t a t i .

i nt e r e a vi i la nd um e st , m od us ue se rv a nd us, ut c e r ta
g q
ab inc e r tis, d i e m a noc te d is ti ng ua m us .

The maniacal belief however in the arbitrary , ,

empire of S atan and his angels or emissaries upon

, ,

earth and in the reality ofdiabolical witchcraft con

, ,

tinned to prevail in a greater or less degree through

, ,

o ut the whole E uropean commu nity down to a r e ,

cent period although the progress of science and

,

civilisation gradually contributed t o soften down

some of its harsher fe atures and t o diminish the ,

rigour ofits unhallowed convictions R eligion too .

, ,

has assumed a milder and more g rateful form ; and

t he metaphoric a l notion of the D evil himself in the ,

conceptions of mankind instead of being clothed ,

w ith a frightful per s onality and exhibited as a bug ,

bear t o mankind is ge nerally a dmi t ted by all cul

, ,

t iv a t e d minds to represent merely the evil and per

,
2 60 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

verse dispositions which deform the nature ofman ,

or the diseases moral or physical by which human

, ,

beings may be afflicted .

I n the earlier perio d s ofC hristianity as in the ,

i nfancy ofhuman society little distinction w a s made ,

between the natural and the supernatu ral The .

laws by which under the S upreme Being this uni

, ,

verse is governed had not yet been carefully and

,

scientifically investigated a nd to t he rude and ,

untutored mind every uncommon occurre nce was

,

represen t ed as magical or supernatural a nd con , ,

sequently attributed to divine or d ae m onia c al infl u

ence A lmost every t hin g in short was a miracle
.
, ,

to t he people ; and every individual accordi ng to ,

his natural ingenuity or capricious fancy attempted

, ,

to explain the particular phenomena in his o wn way .

H ence the diversity of religions and the multiplicity ,

of popular deities in the p a ga n creed .

The general d ifl usion of C hristianity however , ,

introduced a new feature in t o t he theory ofd aemon

ology A s the G od oft he Jews and C hristians was
.

t he only true G od the false g ods of the pagan

,

world were declared to be the D evil and his emis

sar ie s—the arch enemies oft he or t hodox faith and
-
,

the authors of all the evil doctrinal or practical , ,

which exists or is supposed to exist in the uni

, ,

”
verse . The d aemons says TA T IAN ( Or a t a d , .

G r ow ) are the founders of all false reli g ions ;

,

and t o gratify their pride they cause themselves to ,

be worshipped as gods by the heathen The D evil .

himself he designated as n e n 1 ; S am t he chief o

-
0 0 11 0 a l i/ ”
 2 62 AN HIS T O RY or MAGIC ,
&c .

a most conspicuous and most influential part upo n

the theatre of t he world ; and the utmost science ,

power and skill of the C hristian priesthood were

, ,

strenuously exerted to counteract his designs and ,

to neutralise the e ffects of his a r tifi c e s The miracles .

performed by this infamous and ubiq uitous being

were as much a matter offaith as those ofG o d a nd
o ur Saviour ; and hence it happened that many
individuals deemed it more expedient to enter into
a secret alliance with S atan than to expose them ,

selves to his resentment a nd persecution ; and ,

besides such a compact was believed to enable

,

the m to exercise a magical power over others and ,

to gra tify their most wicked and abominable pas

sions wi t h secrecy success and impunity The , , .

belief in the actual existence of such imaginary ,

infamous and unhallowed compacts prevailed do w n

, ,

to at least the seve ntee nth century S o late as

.
, .

the year 1 6 5 9 a celebrated Professor of the U ni

,

versi t y of Jena in G ermany composed and pub

, ,

—
lishe d a lear ned treatise D e N ey a nd o L a m i a r um f

c um D i a bo lo Coi t u Nay even in our o w n times.

, ,

have we not heard a popular clergyman denouncing

fro m the pulpit the diabolical practice ofA nimal
Ma gnetism which he in his simplicity no doub t
, , , ,

appears to have considered homogeneous with witch

craft
I n the dark times to which we have referred ,

t here were it is true a few ofthe more enlightened

, ,

Se e M e s m e ris m and it s O pp one nt s , by t he Rev . GE O R G E

SAN D B Y J un .
,
MA
. . L ond on, 1 844 .
 AN HIS TO RY O F MA GI C ,
&c . 2 63

ecclesiastical dig nitaries who set themselves in oppo

sitio n to this deeply rooted and widely spread cre

d ulity and mad ness but the influence of their

exertions proved entirely inadequate to stem the
overwhelmi ng torre nt of ignorant superstition and
delusion The gener a l ignorance a nd laxity of
.

morals a ppears to have a ttai ned its acm é in the

ninth and tenth centuries when the most impudent
,

and nefa rious contempt of all law and order became

conspicuous every species ofwickedn e s s was in the
asce nda nt and the gross barbarism and immorality
,

of the priesthood and consequently the wretched

, , ,

discipline of t he church afforded free scope for the

,

most depraved a nd deba s ing licentiousness E ven .

when the temporal sword ofj ustice was uplifted it sel ,

dom fell upon the heads ofthe most noxious o ffenders ;

and the forms of legal procedure in these rude and
dark times were ill adapted for the due investiga
,

tion and ultimate suppression of those clamant evils ,

which had been su f fered to become so deeply rooted ,

and so u niversally di f fused throughout the C hris

tian community The scanty knowledge and defee
.

tive policy of the age were i nsu fficient to supply

the constituted authorities with the requisite means
o f detection and punishmen t A t that period
.
,

indeed scie nce was at the lowest ebb

, E very .

t hi ng that appeared to deviate from the ordinary

routine of life or to transcend the rude acquire
,

ments of the people was included in the category

,

o fM ag i c
. The man who had acquired a little more
learning and skill than his illite r ate neighbours
2 64 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

the classical scholar the mathematician the philo

, ,

—
sopher laid himself open to the imputatio n of cul
t iv a t ing the magical arts ; nay even o ne of the
,

Popes one of the reputed successors of S t Pe t er

-

in the apostolical chair ( S YL V E S T E R II ) —

did not .

escape the imputation of bei ng indebted for his

elevation t o the supremacy t o the aid of the B la c k
A rt .

T he sovereignty of his S atanic Maj esty appears

to have attained its culminating poi nt about the
period of w hich we have j ust spoken I n the .

1 1 t h and 1 2 th ce nturies howe v er sever a l infl u

, ,

e nt ia l events occurred — the C rusades amo ngs t

others — which tended to produce a greater d iffu
sion of knowledge and t o ameliorate the scie ntific
, ,

and even the religious aspect of t he E uropean

world The throne ofS atan was shaken although
.
,

not entirely subverted by the power of more liberal

,

and e nlightened opi nion ; and t he influence oflearn

ing and wit contributed greatly — especially amon g
the better educated classes —towards dimi nishin g
the terrors occasioned by the common belief in
d aemonology a nd wi t chcraft I t has been f
. re

quently observed by very eminent authorities t h at ,

there is but one step from the sublime to the ridi

c ulous ; and the truth of this observation is con
firmed by the circumstances which occurred abou t
the period we have j ust mentioned The D evil .
,

whose very name had previously inspired such

reverential a w e and apprehension a nd whose po w er
,

and influence throughout the universe had bee n

2 66 AN HIS T ORY O F MA GI C ,
ao .

period through o ut E urop e by otherwise eminent

, ,

individuals in defence of the phenomena of wi tch

,

craft and diabolica l possession and of the ignoran t ,

and i nfamous prosecutions of those unfortunate

wretches w ho were believed to have entered into
a compact with the E vil One We may observe .
,

however that as the crime of witchcraft was held

,

to be of a spiritual nature the j urisdiction in such , ,

cases was conceived to be most appropriately placed

,

in the hands of a spiritual i e an ecclesiastic a l , . .

,

court . H ence the institution of that notoriou s

tribunal the I nquisition
, .

I n proportion to the number and virulence o f

the prosecutions for heresy witchcraft & c these , , .
,

fictitious and imaginary crimes increased and mul

t iplie d to an enormous extent D uring the pre .

valence of t he monastic life indeed enthusiasm , ,

fanaticism and asceticism became epidemic and c on

, ,

t a g ious ; psychi cal disorganization in o ne form or ,

another was almost univ e r sa ly di ffused ; a morbi d

,

state offeeling was engendered and propagated ; and

feverish visions and fantastic notions of angels
, ,

saints de v ils and d ae mons became a common

, , ,

mania A ccording to the historians of that un

.

happy period ( R AYNALD A I M E R I C U s PA RAM & c

, , , .

Se e H A U B E R S B i bli ot he c a M a g ic a and the nu

’

mere ns other works on D aemonology and Witch

—
craf ) these intellectual and moral aberrations had
t
already attained a very general extension Thu s .
,

for example a nun of the name of M arcella wa s

,

very much persecuted by the D evil— she was pro

 AN HIS T O RY O F MA GIC ,
&c . 2 67

bably labouring under hysteria —but the angel

G A B RIE L brought her a piece of w e e d from Para
dise the smell ofwhich drove the D evil out of her
,
.

The A rchbishop E DM UN D of C anterbury was also

the obj ect of grievous diabolical persecu t ion ; but
he was also relieved by the vision of a child with ,

the inscrip t ion on his forehead : JESUS NA Z AR .

R ea: J ud ce or um A number of simil a r relations

.

may be gathered from the monkish records ofthose

times I t is remarkable that the visions of sain t s
.

and angels are s a id t o have been generally a c

companied with a peculiarly pious odour—hence ,

probably the o d our ofsa nc ti ty ; while those o f

,

bea s t s and devils o n the o t her hand emitted a

, ,

most unsavoury and o f fensive smell denoting their ,

a postacy .

The prevalence of sorcery and witchcraft a t ,

this period and the activity displayed in the dis

,

c ov e r
y ,prosecution and punishment of these
,

abominations appear from the accounts given by

,

R AYNALD who assures us that particularly in

, ,

G ermany and I taly such a multitude of ind iv i,

~

duals had been seduced into these crimes that the ,

whole earth would have been overspread and de

v a st a t e d by the D evil if in these countries ne a r l
, , y ,

t hi r ty t housa nd he r e ti c s ha d not be e n p ubli c ly

bur n t a li v e .

F rom this period indeed heresy and sorcery

, ,

became intimately connected ; the merely alleged

vi sion of a devil was equivalent t o actual converse

w ith evil spirits and w a s equally regarded as a

,
2 68 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c .

renunciation of the C hristian faith U pon this .

subj ect R AYNALD has the followin g remarkable

,

and decisive passage —Va ld e r a ti ona bi li te r p osse t

e c c le si a a li a
st a tue r e
q u o d t , f a c i e nt e s e t si non ,

ha be r e nt e r r or e m fi d e i i n i nt e lle c tu s i fa c e r e nt hw e ,

i
r ce cse r o t e r a li uod t um um d uam one ha
p p p q p a c c

bi ta m , v e lut hee r e ti c i p uni r e nte r et

f
or si ta n e a:

e d ir e i , ut t ra v i ta t e m oe noe , hom ine s ta

p p p
ro e r
g p a

li bus a r c e r e nt ur .

CHA PTER XX X I .

TH E belief in witchcraft and sorcery with its ,

concomitant persecutions appears to have attained ,

it s full maturity in the 1 4 th and 1 5 th centuries .

D uring these a ges indeed ignorance and supe r sti

, ,

tion brought many miserable v ictims to the altar of

his S atanic M aj esty ; and the mista ken zeal result
ing from a barbarous and illiterate state o fsociety ,

carried a v ast number ofwretched and insane in di

v id uals o f both sexes to the stake
,
H e r e sv and
, .

w itchcraft abounded in various forms and de g rees

the imputation was easy the vindication d ifli c ult ,

an accusation founded upon mere suspicion or ,

arisin g from petty malice became magnified into a ,

serious charge whi ch was followed by a j udicial

,

process conducted by ignorant and prejudiced

,

inquisitors ; a nd t he whole affair generally ter

 2 70 AN HIS T O RY O F MA GIC ,
&c .

others ; H O RS T S T r e a tise s on D azmonolog y & c

’

, .

D R F RANCIS H U T CHINS O N S H is tor i c a l E ssa y c on

’

c e r ning Wi t c hc r af t &c , .

Pope John XX II in a bull of 1 31 7 makes a

.
, ,

bitter complaint that several ofhis courtiers nay , ,

e v en his ow n physician ha d given themselves up t o

,

t he D evil and that they confined e v il spirits in

,

rings mirrors and magic circles in order t o enable

, , ,

t hem to operate far and near upon their fello w

—
mort als M ag ic is a r ti bus horr e nd a m a lefi c i a inc a n ,

t a t i one s e t c onvoc a t i one s d c e m onum and that hi s

enemies had not hesitated to m ake use o f these
means in order to deprive himself oflife The bull .

in question contains the commission to the j udges

a ppoi nted to i nvestigat e these crimes ; and it is like

w ise declared that these sorcerers made use of small

images and mirrors in t heir magical conjurations
,

Confl a r i imag ine s p lumbe as v e l e tia m lap id e a sfa bri

c o r uni , m a li nos s i r i t us i nv oc a r unt, ut
g p p e r e os c ontr a

sa lute m homi num m o lir e n tur , a ut e os i nte ri m e nd o

v i ole nti a c a r m inis , &c
Ten years later the same
.
,

Pope still complained of t he unhallowed addiction

of mankind to the unlawful arts of sorcery So .

deep was the darkness says he that se v eral,

”
,

persons solo nom ine Chr isti a nos ( C hristians only

,

in name ) abandon the true light make a compact ,

with hell and force the d aemons to comply with

,

their illicit demands D oe m one s ne mp e im m ola nt

”
.
,

hos bric i m a g i ne s ve l s ulum , v e l

a d or a nt,
f a a nt
p ec

p h i a la m , m a
g i c e d oe m o nes i lli bi a llig a nt ur A b hi s .

t un t n r e c i i unt, e t r o i m le nd is r a vis
p e r esp o s a , p p p p
 AN HIS T O RY O F M A G I C ,
&c . 2 71

suis li
d e si d e r i is
a
p ost ula nt — ( Sa uxi
e e R AYNAL D . ,

H O RS T TI EDEMANN ; M E INE RS , H istor isc he Ve rg le i

,

c hung d e s M i t te la lte r s & c ) , .

T hese o f
fensive superstitious practices prevailed
s o extensively throughout E urope that the F rench ,

S orbonne at the ins t igation ofthe enlightened C han

,

c e llor G ERS ON in the year 1 39 8 issued a publica

, ,

t ion containi ng t w enty seven articles ag a ins t so r -

cery and the superstitious use ofimages in mirrors

,

and in stone ; and also against the invocat ion of

d ae mons and spiri t s with a view to enlighten a nd
,

c a lm the people G E RSO N S ow n treatise is entitled

.
’

De e r r or i bus c ir c a a r te m ma g i c a m . A t L a ng r e s ,

too a special synod w as held in 1 4 04 chiefly for

, , ,

t he purpose of arresting the progress of sorcery .

In t he 1 5 th century the beli ef in witchcraft and ,

sorcery may be said t o have at length reached it s

climax I n this age however a nd for a long period
.
, ,

t hereafter it is remarkable that females chi efly

,

became obnoxious to the charge ofprac t ising these

crimes ; and that the regular form ofprocess against
the persons accused or suspected of such practices
w as authoritatively introduced by the famous hull

o f Pope I nnocent V III to which we have already

allud e d T his notable bull was subsequently forti
.

fi e d by the publication of the no less celebra t ed

a r um I t may seem proper that .

we should give our readers some short account of

the nature and obj ects of this memorable Popish
bull and ofthe subsequent and relative publication
,

referred to Both ofthese constitute important d o

.
2 72 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

c um e nt s towards illustrating the history and aspec t

o fthe times in which they appeared .

The following are the principal contents of the

Pa pal bull issued by Pope I nnoce nt V III in the
, .

fi rst year ofhis pont ifi c a t e H is holi ness commences

.

by expressing his sorrow a nd regret at learning

that in several par t s of G ermany some of whi ch ,

are pointed out by name many individu als of both ,

sexes heedless of the salvat ion of t he ir ow n souls

,
'
,

have renounced the C a tholic faith mingle with ,

d ae mons and lecherous de v ils ( inc ubus e t suc c ubus

and by me a ns o f their aid make use of
a buti ,) ,

various m ag ical a r t ifi c e s and devili s h co ntrivances ,

torme nt men and animals work a great deal of ,

m ischi ef de s troy t he fertility of the earth itself

,

v ineyards g ardens a nd meadows ; ren d er m e n

, ,

impotent and women unfruitful (ne a c tus c onj ug a le s

r e d d e r e v a le a nt ) ; and practise many other infamous
v ices ( qua mp lur im a nefa nd a e a c e ssus e t c r i m ina ) .

H is holiness therefore by virtue of this bull con

, , ,

ferred upon three commissio ned ecclesiastics full

powers to preach the word of G o d in those parts ,

t o search for heretics to prosecute them with

,

excommunication censure and pu nishme nt inter

, ,

dict and suspe nsion or other more e fli c a c ious means

o
, ,

i m r m id a bi li o r es se nt e nti as
( a c e t a
f o
) without appeal , .

H e orders his ve nerable brother the Bishop o f ,

Str a sbur g h to publish the co ntents ofthis mandate

, ,

either by himself or by another as often as he

, ,

shall be required to do so by the I n quisitors inti ,

mat ing at the same time that he will not permit

, ,
2 74 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

higher tribunal ; as actually happened in the case

of the Parliament ofParis and the Judges of A rras .

I n short the ultimate decision had previously lain

,

in t he hands of the temporal power But hence .

,

forth heresy and sorcery were merged together

, ,

a s o ne and the same crime The unbeliever w as a

sorcerer and the sorcerer or even the perso n
, ,

reputed to be bewitched w as an unbeliever and in , ,

alliance with the D evil Nay even to intimate a.

,

doubt in regard t o the reality of witchcraft w a s ,

sufli c ie nt to subj ect the unfortunate sceptic to the

suspicio n of patronising diabolical arts The Pope .

had ruled it so and his holiness was infallible

, .

C HA P TER X XX I I .

TH E M a lle us M a lefi c a r um —a production to which

we have already adverted—w as written in support
ofthe Papal bull of I nnocent V III and in further .
,

a nce ofits obj ects by three ecclesiastics w ho were

, ,

appointed by his holiness as the inquisitors for

carrying its enactments into e f fect These were .

S P RE N GE R G REM B E R and H ENRI CUS J N ST I T O R all

, ,
-

three accounted learned men in their day and gene

ration They were expressly denominated I nqui si
.

t or es he r e ti c oe p r a vi t a tis and they were armed as ,

we have seen with very ample and stringent powers

, .

f or the execution of their delegated task O ther .

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 275

ecclesiastics are said to have assisted in the compo

sit ion of this re markable work ; and several lay wri

t ers are also quoted as authorities for many of t he

alleged facts The Papal bull was prefixed t o the

.

work along with the solemn a pprobation and sanc

,

t ion of the theological faculty of C ologne The .

authors of this learned production even contrived

to obtain a diploma from the E mperor M axi milian ,

a lthough himself a sceptic in regard t o the ma t ter

o f sorcery The M a lle us M a lef

. ic a r um thus sanc ,

t ione d and patronised by ecclesias t ical and secular

authority became thenceforth the great and infalli
,

ble code of witchcraft ; and as may easily be be ,

lie v e d from t he barbarous spirit of t he age c om

, ,

bine d w ith the ignorance and intolerance o f the

C hurch its requirements were enforced in a most
,

arbitrary and capricious manner bv the judges

appointed t o carry its legal processes into e xe c u
tio n while against their proceedings however irre ,

gular or ini quitous there w as no appeal either to

,

the supreme spiritual or temporal j urisdiction The .

many enormities which must naturally have ensued

fro m such opinions fortified with such plenary
,

powers in these day s of intellectual darkness and

,

ig norance may be easily conceived I t would be

, .

tedious as well as disgusting to enter into t he

, ,

deta il ofparticular instances ofgross abuse One .

circumstance however we deem deser v ing of espe

, ,

c ial notice and that is that even at this early period

, ,

t he female sex was considered to be much more

addicted t o the crime ofwitchcraft than the male

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

a dis t inction which as we shall probably have occa

,

s ion to observe hereaft er is common to the m a nif

,
es

t a t io n ofall those psychical phenomena which have

t heir ori g i n in an inordinate excitement of the se n

sit iv e fa culties We shall also pass over the different
.

species ofalleged witchcr a ft along with their various

,

modes of manifestation with the si ngle exception

,

alleged to have been exhibited in various instances ,

ofthe presentiment and prophecy of future event s ,

a nd the discovery of hidden thi ngs — a fa culty which

w as frequently exhibited by the accused a nd which ,

has been demonstrated to have been very generally

developed in ma ny similar abnormal states ofthe
organism I n short it would appear that the repu
.
,

t e d witches i n general were in fact individu a ls

, ,

labouring under some particular form ofthe som

na mbulist ic or ecstatic a ffection fection w hi ch
a n af -

frequently takes its form a nd direction fro m the

peculiar character of the times and t o which the,

female sex are more particularly liable —and t o ,

use the lan g uage of the M a r qui s d e P uyseg ur ,

t hese females might probably be pretty correctly

designated as S om na m bule s d e sor d onné es ; —they
exhibited phe nomena of very much the same c ha
r a c t e r with those which are occasionally manifested

by the natural and mag netic S omnambulists But .

t he witch persecutors were by no means skilled in

-

psychology ; and to t hem the D e v il was the active

promoter of all such m a nifestations .

U pon this branch of our subj ect we may o nly ,

obser v e farther that most ofthe characteristic feat s

,
2 78 AN HIS TO RY or MAGIC ,
&c .

word of G od . D id not the D evil I t was said , ,

carry our L O RD JESUS C HRIS T to t he pinnacle

o f the Temple and show him a ll the kingdoms
,

o f the world ? A nd did not a good an g el take

H A B A KK U K by the hair of the he a d and carry ,

him through the air ? To such convincing ar g u

”

ments the general ignorance and dread of heresy

could make no reply A Similar argument w a s
.

employed in the ease already referred to ofthe

, ,

a lle ed transforma t ion ofmen into a nimals I t w as

g .

heresy t o d isbelieve the possibility of the fac t .

Was not N E B U CH A D N E Z Z A R ch a n g ed into an e x ,

a nd did he not eat grass ? F or all the other mani

”

fold absurdities involved in the barbarous belief of

witchcraft the author must refer his curiously in
,

u i sit ive readers to the Papal bull itself and to the

q ,

relative documents ; which as a lready mentioned

’

, ,

they will find at large in the works of HAU B E R

, ,

and H O RS T and to that most extraordin ary c om

pound ofperverted labour learning and ingenuity , , ,

the M a lle us M a lefi c a r um .

The prosecutions for witchcraft and sorcery al ,

though not origin a lly introduced were g reatly in ,

creased in number and severity as may easily be ,

conceived in consequence of t his Papal bull of

,

I NNO CEN T V III The minds of the whole people

.
,

throughout E urope became violently excited and

, ,

a general chronic m a ni a appears to have seized

upon persons of all ranks and creeds C atholics and ,

Protestants which was not extirpated for centuries ,

a nd w hich has even t ransmi t ted some relics of i t s

 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 9

former prevalence down to our o w n times The .

chief cause of this extraordinary intellectual aber

ration unquestionably lay in the extreme ignorance
of the people and in the universal dif
,
fusion of a
peculiar religious creed common t o C atholics and
Protestants —the belief in an overruling and all
,

pervading demoniac a l agency whereby the D evil ,

personally or through his emissaries was c on

,
-

c e i v e d t o exercise dominion over the a f

fairs of thi s
world equal to if not surpassing th a t of the D ei t y
, , ,

himself .

I t may be obser v ed that when a p a rticular ,

religious creed has once been gener a lly adopted ,

a nd extensi v ely propagated whe t her true or false

, ,

it i s calculated to exercise a deep and permanen t

influence o n the minds and actions of mankind ;
and t he falsehood ofits tene t s whether inherent or ,

superinduced can only be s eparated from the tru t h

, ,

a ft er a lapse ofti m e by the slow and sile nt opera

,

t ion of advanci ng knowledge and civilization A .

long period indeed must necessarily elapse before

, , ,

the v oices of t he more rational and more enligh t

ened among the members of the communit y can
e v e n obtain a hearing ami d st the general ig nor
a nce and barbarism ; and their more i ntelligen t
n otions exert t heir due influence in correcti n t h
g e

dangerous errors which may have become deeply

roo t ed in the minds of their fellow citizens The .

pure and exalted doctrines of JESU S found li t tle

favour in the stubborn and prejudiced minds ofthe
Jews ; and many serious obstacles retarded the
2 80 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

reformation of our C hristian religio n We mus t .

recollect moreover that in the times of whi ch we

, , ,

now speak learning and phil osophy were at a low

,

ebb and that the belief in the realit y ofwitchcraft

,

a nd sorcery had been su f fered to become part and

parcel of the religious creed of the people and of ,

t he law of the land —that it eve n insin uated itself

into the minds ofmany men of a superior order of
i ntellect ; a nd moreover that this strange belief
, ,

had been stamped with the seal of orthodoxy by

the highest ecclesiastical authority in C hr istendom .

C HA PTER XXX III .

WE shall not run the risk of exhausting t he

patience of our readers by attempting to e num e r
,

ate the manifold remai ning absur d ities which were ,

g ravely au t hen t icated and almost

, universally ac

c e t e d as incontrovertible facts in the course of

p ,

the numerous trials of witches and sorcerers in the

t imes t o which we have already alluded ; but shall
merely refer the curious in such matters to the
more remarkable ofthese cases —to the narratives
of the witch court held at A RRAS in F rance in the
-
, ,

year 1 45 9 ; that of H I O GE in D enmark ; that of,

M O HRA in S weden 1 6 70 ; t hat of WA R B O I s in

, , ,

E ngland during the reign ofQueen E lizabeth ; the

,

t rials ofthe R enfrewshire witches in S cotland ; the ,

2 82 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

else than hysterical or convul sive disease induced ,

by habits a nd pursuits resulting from seclusion from

active life ; and that the individuals t hus affected , ,

w ould have been much more appropria t ely con

s igned to the care of the physician than to that of ,

t he theologian But in t hese days phy sio was

.
, ,

proba bly no farther ad v anced th a n theolo g y The

, .

sentime nt ofreligion itself indeed whe n incess a ntly

, ,

a nd exclusive ly cultiv a t ed in an asce t ic form is ,

itself a fertile source of such sensit ive d isorders .

The R oman C atholi c system w it h its mys t ical doc

,

trines its various supers t itious rites ceremonies

, , ,

fasts penances and other reli g ious Obser v ances

, , ,

w as particularly calculated t o engender these af fe c

tio ns especially in susceptible consti t utions ; and
, ,

accordingly they appear t o have prevailed very

,

exte nsively under that est ablishment They were .

e ncouraged by the pries t hood who considered them ,

as marks of divine grace ; and in conse quence of ,

t heir i nfectious character they were ,not unfr e ,

q uently fou
,
n d to pervade an e nt ire community .

These rem a rk a ble sta t es which in several ins t ances

, , ,

a ppeared in an epidemic form were in reality a , , ,

specific variet y of the somnambulistic or ecstat ic

af fection They were generally considered to be
.

ei t her of a divine or ofa diabolical origin according ,

t o the ch a racteris t ic feat ures of the pheno m en a .

The former w ere al w ays believed to be caused by

celestial influe nces a nd to them was ascribed a n a n
,

e lic origin a n d character : The latter were held t o

g
be t he consequence of satanic possession a nd w ere ,
 AN HIS T ORY or MAGIC ,
ao .
2 83

to be cured or alle v i a ted only by means of the

R oman C atholic ritual of exorcism I n the instr uc .

tions g iven for the exercise ofthis ritu a l the sym p ,

toms of the af fec t ion are minutely described and ,

t he formal methods of exorcism are particulary laid

down for the directio n ofthe priesthood I t is r e .

markable t hat in the cases of po s session referred

,

to the symptoms of the af

, fection itse lf as well as ,

t he pheno ena observed

m — apar t from the purely
—
reli gious manifestatio s are pretty nearly the
n

same with those which have been frequen t ly r e

ported as having occurred in the a ncient and
—
modern somnambulism e c sta sy c la ir voya nce the , ,

g if qfp p
t r o h e c y & c E xorcism, itse l
.f indeed a
p , ,

pears to have been merely a modification of what

is now called the Ma gne t ic or M esmeric treatment ,

although perhaps not quite so scient ific in its prin

, ,

c i le s
p nor
,
al w ays so successful in prac t ice The .

po w er ofexorcism was belie v ed in former times to , ,

be exclusi vely appropriated to the clergy of the

R oman C atholic C hurch ; the Protestan t s being ,

heretics were by the R omanists held to be totally

, , ,

incapable ofduly exerci s i ng the rite T o this day .

,

we believe the magnetic operation when performed

, ,

by a Protestant is accounted dia bolical by the

,

R omish church as bei ng in t heir estimation an

, , ,

impious profa nat ion of a C atholic solemnity The .

a bsurd Opinions held both by the R oman C atholic

and the Protestant exorcists in re g ard to the natur e ,

of the af fection in which t he ritual of exorcism was

employed occasionally elicited the mos t amusing
,
 A N HI ST OR Y OF MA GI C . &c .

exclamations from their p a tients Thus when .

,
.

upon one occasion a celebrated Protestant theole

,

gian was attempting to e xe r c ise the D e v il out ofthe

body of a female on his pronouncing the words
,

S pirit ! t he n who art naught I command thee to ,

depart out ofthe body ofthis woman the p a tient

exclaimed with the coolest irony : Nay this is
,
“
,

the silliest thing I ever heard in my life But .

such an exclamation in such circumstances would , , ,

no doubt be attributed to the perverseness of the

,

po sses sing devil .

IVe may here perhaps appropriately refer to

, ,

t he follo w ing very j udicious observations ofan emi

nent modern di vine on the belief ofwitchcraft and,

S orcery formerly so prev al ent amongst all ranks of

,

the people throughout E urope and venture to call ,

t he attention of our readers t o the particular case

by w hich these observations appear t o have been

sug g ested
Witchcraft says t he R e v M r S cott has always
,
.
,
“

been discredited and ha s disappeared in proportion

, ,

as kno wledge philosophy and religion have ex

, ,

t ended their i nfluence I g norance of the la w s and.

,

of the causes oft he various phenomena of nature in

general as well a s ofthe human frame in particular
, ,

must have Operated in a twofold way in favour ofa

belief in witchcraft I t would enable t hose who ha d
.

obta ined a more extensive kno w ledge of those laws

and causes than o t hers to do t hings to exhibi t , ,

facts w hich the ignorant would deem mar v ellous

,

a nd supernatural ; and it would dispose the la t ter

2 86 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

be the Efi e c ts
’

R e li efofa L i tt le B oy , s upp ose d to f

o

Sp i r i t ua l A g e nc y, c a r e ully e xa m i ne
f d a nd
f a i th
f ully

na r r a t e d .
*

This account is cert a inly a very astonishing one .

I have no suspicion of t he integrity and g ood inte n

tions ofthe narrator a nd of his S incere wi s h to dis
,

cover and narrate the truth S till I can have litt le .

,

doubt that it was a case ofepilep s y united perhaps , , ,

w ith some other disorders A nd it is well if there .

was not some t hing of cr a ft a nd manag ement in the

boy and in some o f his frie nds A nd from the
,
.

account w hich M r H e a ton himself gives this was ,

t he Opini on of some o f the medical men who a t

tended him 1 I have m yself seen a decided case

.
'

of epilepsy in which t here was no suspicion of

,

any a g ency of evil Spirits ; and yet all the sy m p

toms of this boy s case as it regards stari ng grin
’

, ,

ning g nashin g wi t h the teeth attempti ng to bit e

, , ,

almost supernatural s tre ng t h SO th a t it required ,

four persons to hold him a nd frigh t ful cries ,

w ere exhibited What mi g h t ha v e t aken place

.

w i t h re g a rd to leapi ng and dancin g and a ns w erin g

, ,

q uestions proposed t o him o n the supposi t ion tha t ,

T he h or has b e e n unsucc e ssful in his att e mpt s t o pro

aut

cure a copy of t his c ur i ous t ract and m us t t h e r e fore t ak e, , ,

it s c ont e nt s on t he r e p or t ofDr Scot t ofwh o s e p e rfe ct a ccu ,

r ac y h owe v e r no doub t c an be e nt e r t aine d

, ,
.

T W e c on fe ss t h a t w e sh ould not be d isp os e d t o pl ac e

much r e li anc e up on t he Op ini ons of m os t m e di c al m e n in a
cas e of t his nat ur e M i g h t not t he s upp os e d c raft be in
.
,

r e ali t y one of t he sym p t om s of t he dis ord e r

,
A nd d o not
l unat i c s fre que nt ly e x hibi t t he s am e symp t oms
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 87

he was possessed I cannot say for he was always

, ,

held during the fits w hen I saw him But cer t ainly .

his looks a nd cries and motions were sufficiently

, ,

fiendish N 0 at t empts were made t o e xe rc ise him

. ,

for no one thou g ht he was possessed Prayer was .

certainly made to G od for him bo t h by himself ( for

.

he was a pious youn g man ) and o t hers — proper

medical means were used— and a t last I thi nk after , ,

t he lapse ofa year o r t w o he g o t permanently well

,

after some returns ofthe fits as in the case ofJohn

( ,

E vans ) and continues so t o this d a y I cannot avoid

, .

the suspicion that if he ha d t hou g ht he was under

,

t he influe nce of an e v il spirit and had fallen i nto the

,

hands of those w ho belie v ed in possessions almos t ,

e v ery symptom w hich was exhibi t ed in the case of

John E vans might have been found or produced in
him ; and had the same means been used to dis
possess the supposed d aemon j oi ned with similar
,

perseverance and devotional exercises it might have ,

been supposed that his recovery w a s owing t o a

special interposition of divine power in answer to
prayer .

S ome circumstances in the account of M r H .

are of such a nature as to exci t e a suspicion tha t

t he good frie nds who were so l a ud a bly concerned
,

for his recovery w ere rather cred ul ous a nd that

, ,

t he boy was not free from craft I Shall give one .

paragraph ofthe account as an illustration of w hat

,

I mean H is att ention and ghastly look were gene

rally directed t o those who gave out a hymn or
 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
ao .

prayer But as he dreaded adj uration more tha n

.

any thing else the person who adj ured Shared most
,

ofhis resentment I ha d f r e ue nt l r ov e d t ha t h
q .
yp e

w a s se nsi ble of w ha t I sa i d to him i n thou ht onl

g y ,

w i thout the m oti on ofm y lip s or e ye s or a ny vi si ble ,

i nd ic a tion o m
f y m e a ni n
g w h a te ve r I this morni ng .

t ried it again S ome ofthe brethren observe d that

.

his attention was directed to me m ore than to those

w ho were pr a ying and wondered what could be the
,

cause I w a s the n m e nt a lly a dj ur ing the e vi l sp i r i t

.
,

a nd he kne w i t f e lt i t a nd r e se nt e d i t
, This was
, .

a n astonishing fact ; and wishi ng others mi ht try

g
and wit ness the experiment as well as myself I ,

w hispered into M r O s ear A dj ure in your o wn

.
’

mind and watch t he e f

, fect H e did so ; and w hen .

he saw how the evil spirit in a moment resented it , , ,

through the boy in his astonishme nt he lifted up

,

w ard his hand and eyes This attracted the notice .

ofM rs J Kennard T S ibley and the R ev M r

.
, .
, .

I n w hispers they inquired What is that ? In ,

’

w hispers they w ere informed They all tried it .

,

and they all proved it t o t heir utter as t onishment , ,

t ha t t he e v i l sp i r i t k ne w as w e ll, a nd
f e lt a s m uc h,
w ha t w a s m e n ta lly ad d r e sse d to him , as w ha t w a s

sp o ke n a loud . T he m om e nt f
one o the m a d d r esse d

t he d ee mon m e nt a lly , t he d e m oni a c fa ste ne d his e ye s

up o n hi m , a nd
g r i nne d a nd g r ow le d , a nd w ould

some t i me s s
p i t on hi m if he c ould . I n w ha tev e r
si tua t io n t he m a n s tood w ho d id this , w he the r at his
he a d or f e e t , r ig ht ha nd or left he w ould i nst a nt ly
,
 CHA PTE R X XX IV .

IN a precedi ng chapter we noticed the prevalen t

,

opinion that miracles so called had ceased after the

, ,

crucifixion of Jes us C hrist or at least a fter t he

, , ,

deat h ofhi s A postles This Opinion however is

.
, ,

not warranted by the facts of history ; nor does it

derive any authority from the express declarations
of the S avio ur hi mself S o far from this JESU S
.
,

declared that mi racles should still be performed by

his A postles and worshippers and he expressly
refers to fa i th as the operative principle in the pro
duction ofthe phenomena .

The R oman E mperor C O NS T AN T INE lived three

hundred years aft er JE SUS and exhibited a li vely
,

zeal in the propagation of C hristianity and in the ,

demolition of the pagan temples A ccordin g to the .

testimony of E USE B I US this emperor caused the

,

demoli tion of a temple in C ilicia which was much ,

frequented by persons who came to adore the pre

si d ing d ae mon and obtain relief from their r e spe c
,

tive complaints I n fact the d ae mon in such cases

.
, , ,

was an entirely fictitious personage it was not the

d ai mon but the priests w ho operated the cure by ,

means ofsome proce sses analogous to the magnetic :

The patients were set asleep dreamt and were ul t i , ,

mately cured .
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 91

This fact is confirmed by O RI GEN w ho tell s us ,

that the cures performed in dreams by fEsc ulapius , , ,

existed in his time in full vigour ; that is to say

, ,

long after the introduction ofC hristianity ( O RIGEN . .

c ont r a Ce lsum I A M B L I CH U S w ho lived aft er Co n

) .
,

sta nt ine tells us that the Temple of E SCU L A P I U S

,

still produced or a cles and curative dreams ; and he

adds : M ulta quotid ie si m i li a fi unt sup r a or a tione m
r a ti o ne m ue huma na m
q ( IA M B L I C H d e M y )
s
. t . .

U nder the E mperor JULIAN magnetism had los t ,

none ofits e fficacy This emperor himself informs

.

us that when sick he had frequently been cured

, ,

by remedies pointed out by ZESCU L A P I U S and he ,

appeals t o Jupiter as a witness to the facts (M e

,
.

sc ep i us sa na v i t E sc ula p i us i nd i c a ti s r e m e d ii s , ai

que t e s ti s hor um e st J up it e r . ST C YRIL L U S in Ju ,

li a num , lib . I n the reign of Va le ntini a n in ,

the Western E mpire durin g the four t h century , ,

oracles in dream s were still in full cre di t as we are ,

informed by EU NA P I U S w ho wrote in those times , ,

( i n O e d e s i o ) .

U nder the E mperor VA L E N S M agnetism was ,

confounded with the magical arts and was there , ,

fore exposed to persecution A MMIANUS MAR CE L

,
.

LINUS informs us that this emperor caused t o be

u t to death an old woman who w as accus t omed t o
p ,

cure intermittent fevers by pronouncing some harm

l e ss words S he was sent for with the k nowledge
.
,

o f VALE N S hi mself t o cure the daughter of thi s

,

emperor This Simple woman actually restored the

.

girl s health and for her reward the e mperor

’
, , ,
2 92 A N H IS T ORY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

caused her to be put to death as a criminal ( A M , .

MIAN M ARCELL L i b
. We may recollect the
.
, .

story of t he A thenian woman whom her cou ntry ,

men condemned to death for performing cures with

o ut employing any medicine I n both of these .

c a ses we may assume that some magnetic pro

,

cesses w ere employed without the parties being ,

cognisan t ofthe principle .

A P ULE IUS informs us th a t the a ncient physicia ns

were acquainted w ith the efficacy of words a nd
verses in t he cure of wounds and made use ofthem ,

wi t hout reserve as U lysses is represe nted to ha v e

,

d one by H omer and the author adds that nothin g ,

which operates as a remedy or solace to the sick , ,

c a n be regarded as criminal ( A P U L A p o log i a . .

, ,

L ib . A nd this humane principle had already

bee n consecrated by a solemn enactment of Con
st a nt ine by which occult remedies when found to
, , ,

be useful may be said to have been legalised ( S ee

,
.

Co d . T he o d osi a nus , L ib I X . .
,
T it . L . 3 de, Ma
lefi c iis et M a the m a t )
The E mperor J U ST I N IA N
.

deemed t his law worthy of being prese rved in his

code This law however w as subseque ntly abroga
.
, ,

ted by the p i ous and feeble L e o V I w ho althou g h .

, ,

a profou nd enemy ofthe art ofdivinat ion left he ,

hind him no less than seventeen predictions on t he

fate ofC o nstantinople .

We m a y here observe what ma y be easily con : ,

c e iv e d that in these cures the e fficacy does not

, ,

reside in t he mere words but in the in t ention wi t h ,

w hich they are pronounced The magnetists hold .

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

provinces ofthe R oman empire and the temples of ,

the false deities had been either demolished or con ,

v erted i nto C hristian churches H ad magnetism.

been a mere product of the ancient heathen w or

ship it would naturally have di sappeared when its
,

causes ceased t o operate ; but if dependent upon

natural laws and inherent in the constitution of
,

t he species it must still have continued un d er

,

every form of religious worship under C hristianit y ,

as under Paganism This last in reality we find

.
, ,

0
to have been the case On the general dif
. fusion of
t he C hristian faith we se e it transferred t o the
,

priests ofthe triumphant religion especially amon g ,

the monks as previously among the pagan priest

,

hood The churches succeeded the ancient temples

. ,

in which las t the traditions and processes of mag

n e t ism had been preserved The same customs of
.

pernoctation the same dr eams the same visions

, , ,

a nd the same cures .

But the best blessings ofProvidence are liable to

abuse in human hands I t was not long before a
.

traffic was established in the merits of particular

S aints — a speculation was made in regard t o the
a dvantages which might be derived from the greater

or less celebrity oftheir patrons— as in the case of

the ancient temples— and the number of miracles
w as enormously increased Pretended relics were
.

carefully collected ; particular miracles were per

formed in a particular church in a particular cha
,

pel which had not occurred in another ; they had

,

their saints for di fferent dise ases as we have bark ,

 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 95

f
or fe v er and ipecacuanha for dysentery E very
, .

e v ent was transformed into a miracle The reporters .

o fthese occurrences made little or no discrimination ;

on the contrary they believed they were labouring

,

for the glory of the saints when multiplying the ,

n umber oftheir miracles ; and in t his number they

have included a multitude of cures which are evi

d e nt ly due t o magnetism M E L CHI O R C AN O a S pa .
,

nish dominican and Professor ofTheology at S ala

,

m anca complains ofthese extravagances in the f

, ol

lowing terms E c c lesiee Chr isti hi ve he m e nte r i n

-

c om m od a nt ,
qui res d iv or um p r eve la r e g e sta s , non
se
p ut a nt e r e i e
g g e a osi t ur os n isi e as fi c t is e t r e v e
p
—( D
,

la tio ni bus e t m ir a c ulis a d or na r int . e L ocis Theol .

lib ii cap
. . .

I ndeed these pio us personages have multiplied

,

t heir miracles to such an extent that t o use t he , ,

expression of B a yle one might ask which is the ,

gr e ater miracle —the interruption or the ordinary ,

course ofnature .

This assertion that the C hristian mo nk s and

,

eccles iastics had succeeded the D ruids and the a n ,

cient priests ofthe heathen gods in the study a nd ,

practice of the ordinary and the occult medicine ,

besides a m ul tiplicity ofother evidence is confirmed ,

by the A nna le s d e P a ris We learn from that work .

that the Cauc us ofN otre D ame took charge ofthe

sick and cured their diseases and infi rmitie s by
,

means ofnatural remedi es Their school ofmedi .

cine w as in the neighbourhood oftheir church in ,

t he street d e la B ouc he r ie A fterwards they ob .

 A N HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c .

t a ine d permission t o erect in their vici nity a H ote l , ,

de Cha r i te which at first took the name of H o t e l

’

, , ,

de D i e u and aft erwards became abbre v iated into

,

H ot e l D i e u .

S AIN T BASIL t he G reat and ST G RE G O RY pra e , ,

t ise d medici ne as did also a number ofother eccle

,

sia st ic s a nd in F rance
, the R oyal Ph y sicians w ere
, ,

g enerally selected from that class .

Thus it is clear that medicine was studied a nd ,

practised in the C hristian churches and monasteries ,

n o doubt because t he priests found this usage esta

blishe d in the pag a n t emples w hich they s uperseded

and in these temples the idolatrous priests fr e
, ,

q uently resorted to mag n etism I t i s curious enou h

g .
,

however th a t these practices did not exist in t he

,

C hristian churches so lo ng as t he worship of I SIS ,

S ERA P IS I E SCU L A P I U S & c subsisted but w ere only

, , .
, ,

i nt roduced after the latter ha d fa llen i nto disuse .

S AIN T A US T I N gives us the followi ng descrip t ion

of the state of ecstasis When the attention of
t he mi nd is e ntirely diverted from the bodily sensa

t ions thi s is w h a t we call e c st a sis

, I n t his s t ate .
,

a lt hough the eyes m a be open a ll the o b j ec t s which

y ,

are present are not perceived ; v oices ar e not he a rd ;

all the attention ofthe mi nd is fixed upon the images
of bodies by a species of spiritual or i ntellectual
vi sion in w hich it is conce ntr a ted on incorpore al
,

t hi ng s w hich are n ot prese nted in any substantial

im a ge — (
. S
”
i A ug d e G e n e s li b 1 2
. c a
p This . .
, .

au t hor aft erwards refers to the followi ng sem nam -

bulist ic vision A young m a n was sick and in

°

,
 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

said to her Be of good courage —despise physi

,

eiaus and their medicines Pulverise one of t he .

crowns of roses which adorn the s ta tue of Venus ,

w hich are at present withered and apply this powder ,

o f roses to the tumour The young girl availed ’

.

herself of the prescription and the tumour was ,

dissipated .

This was manifestly nothin g else than a s e mnam

bulist ic play of the imagination of A S P ASIA which ,

pointed out a remedy for her tumour ; as in the ,

preceding vision it w as the imag ination of the

,

you ng man which revealed to him in somnambul ,

ism the sea bath which was to cure him

,
-
.

We might quote a vast variety ofcases ofa simi

lar description but it appears to us to be unne c e s
,

sary I n the meantime we Shall merely refer our

.
,

readers to the works of the early F athers of the

C hurch and particularly to the collection of the
, , ,

B o lla nd ists .

We may conclude this chapter w ith the observa

tion that t his occult hyp nosc op ic science now called
, , ,

A nimal M ag ne t ism has always had its partisans ,

a nd i t s enemies The clerg y especially have

.
, ,

g enerally opposed it with great obstinacy whether ,

with the v iew ofmonopolising the exclusive practice

o f the art or for the purpose
, in certain circum ,

stances ofconverting the phenomena into miracles

, .

The subj ect however is now becoming more exten

, ,

siv e l
y cultivated and the minds of mank ind more
,

open to rational conviction and j ust appreciation of

the facts .
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c . 2 99

CHA PTE R XX XV .

this stage of our investigation it may per

AT , ,

haps be proper to exhibit a few instances of histo

,

r ic a l personages whose character and actions e xhi

,

bited during life a decided preponderance of the

, ,

ecstatic af fections and whose whole conduct has

,

been g enerally a scribed t o insanity or deception .

I t is necessary however for the convic tion of such

, ,

o f our readers as may be sceptical upon the entire

subj ect that these examples Should be such as are

,

capable of being supported by adequate and une x

c e t io nable documentary evidence ; and this in the
p ,

following instances we Shall endeavour to supply , .

O ne of the most remarkable instances upon

record ofthis constitutional tendency t o the ecsta tic
af f ections in active life is that which is exhibited to
,

o ur view in the history of JO AN O F A R C the M aid ,

o fO rleans T his case indeed is SO much the more

.
, ,

remarkable as it displays not only all the most

,

prominent characteristics ofthe visionary state but , ,

a lso as it ma nifests the successful operation of this

,

apparently congenital idiosyncrasy in the most

important af fairs ofactive life and in a female sub ,

j ec t .

The history of the achievements of this Sing ular

personage are well known ; and exhibit all the traits
 A N H IS T O R Y OF M AG IC ,
& c .

of a fabulous narrati v e D E L A V E R D Y howe v er

.
, ,

c a refully ex a mi ned the origin a l a cts of process in

t he archives at P a ris in the case of JOA N and has
, ,

presented us with a narrative of the circumstances

o f her life in the very words o f t he M aid herself
, .

( S ee N o ti c e s d e s M a nusc r i ts d e la B i bli o the ue d a

q
R oi )
.

S ince my thirtee nth year said the heroine , ,

I heard a v oice in my father s g arden at D om ’

r emy . I heard it from the righ t side near t he ,

church and it was accompanied w i th g r e a t br i g ht

,

n e ss
. A t first I w as afr a id ofit ; but I soon became
,

aware that it w as the voice of an angel w ho has ,

ever since watched well over me and tau g ht me t o ,

conduct myself with propriety and to attend the ,

church .

Five years afterwards while I was tendi ng my ,

father s flocks this v oice said to me : G od ha s

’

g reat compassion for the F rench nation and th a t I ,

o ught to get ready and go t o it s rescue When I .

’

began to weep at this the voice said to me ,

G o to
V a ucou leurs a nd you w ill find a capt a in there w ho
, ,

w ill conduct you w i t hout hi ndr a n , ce t o the King ,

.
’

S ince that time I h a ve acted accordin g to the reve

,

la t ions I ha v e received and the apparitions I have ,

s een ; and e v e n on my trial I speak only according ,

t o that which is revealed to me

”
.

J O AN predicted m a ny events with g reat accuracy .

Thus She told the King th a t She should raise the

,

S iege of Orleans ; a nd fa rther t hat in the course , ,

o fseven years the E nglish Should be driven out o f

,
302 AN HIS TO RY or M AGIC ,
&c .

assistance and fough t with renovated courage

, .

The E nglish on the other hand wavered and

, , ,

seemed dismayed The rampart was gained ; the

.

t ete —
d u p ont was no longer defended and it w a s
-
, ,

consequently t aken by the F rench The latter

, .

rushed over the bridge towards Orleans during the ,

night as JOAN had foretold

, .

A t the siege o fG e r g e a u JOAN advised an assaul t , .

S he said to the D uke of A le ng on F orwards ,

D uke t o the assault ! The D uke thought it was

”
,

y et too soon for an attack but J OAN replied Do ,

no t hesitate ; thi s is G od s o w n hour We must ac t

’
.

when G od wills for then G od w ill act with us

, .
”

D uring the assault she said suddenly t o hi m,

A h noble D uke ! y ou are afraid

, A r e y ou not .

aware that I promised your wife to bring y ou back

safe and sound ? S oon afterwar d s She had a good
”
,

opportunity of fulfilli ng her promise S he advised .

him to leave the place upon which he then stood .

S carcely had D ULUDE who had j us t arrived taken, ,

up this particular position when he w as killed o n ,

the spot The D uke of A le ngon when he perceived

.
,

w hat had happened was filled With as t onishment

,

and fear and fro m that time he admired still more

, , ,

all that J O AN did or said .

A fter the conquest ofB a ug e nc y t he F rench army ,

w as opposed to the E nglish near Janville and Pata i .

S everal of the F rench g e ue f als felt some alarm o n

'

account of the g reat numerical superiori t y of t he

E nglish army and gave their ad vice against risk
,

ing an action The D uke ofAl en c on asked J O AN

. ,
 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 303

i n presence of the C onsta ble D UNOIS and the other

generals what ought to be done S he asked in a
,
.
,

loud voice H ave you good spurs ?

,
M ust we ”

fly then ? said the generals

,
”
N ot so said the .
,

M aid but t he E nglish will not defend themselves

,

—w e shall beat them ; we shall re quire t o use our

spurs in order t o overtake t hem TO day the
,
.
-
,

King w ill gai n a greater victory than ever and all ,

”
shall be ours : S o said my counsellor I n reality .
,

t he E nglish were beaten wi t hou t trouble and many ,

were killed and made prisoners E ven TALB O T .

hi mself was taken ( J une .

,

I t sometimes happened that what she announced ,

a s revealed t o her by G o d was not immedi ately ,

believed U pon such occasions she would retire

.
,

into solitude pray t o G od and complain to him

, ,

tha t no credit was given to her words A fter her .

prayers she maintained that She frequently heard

,

a voice which said t o her C hild of G od g o go

o—I S hall assist
, , , , ,

When I hear thi s voice ”

g y o u .
,

s aid she I am in so great a rapture that I S hould

, ,

w ish t o remain always in t hat s t ate Whilst utter .

”

ing t hese words her countenance beamed with j oy

, ,

and She raised her eyes t o heaven S he acknow .

ledg ed to C aptai n D A U LO N that her co uncil told her

every thi ng that she ought t o do This council .
,

she said consisted ofthree members

, one ofwhom

w as always with he r ano t her went and came by ,

t ur ns and the third was the indivi d ual with whom

,

t he t w o others consulted ( S he believed that her

.

council consisted ofan angel and two sain t s ) D A U .

3 04 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

L ON ur g en tly importuned her to procure him a n

opportuni t y of se e m g this cou ncil ; but She a ns w ered
him by saying that he was not yet worthy nor ,

sufli c ie nt l virtuous F or t his reason he s poke n

y . o ,

more to her upon t his subj ec t .

JOAN was a simple g irl brough t up in the country

, ,

and qui t e ignorant I underst a n d neither A nor

B said She to the plenipotenti a ries who were sent
,

by t he Kin g to Poic tie r s for the purpose ofe xa m in

i ng her S he could not write her name but signed
"

.
,

with a cross S he had made a vo w of perpe t ual

.

chas t it y and had never undergone any ofthe pe e n

,

liar it ie s of he r sex .

I t is remarkable that the prophe tic fa culty ofthe

M aid of O rleans ce a sed after she had fulfilled her
mission by conductin g the Kin g to R heims F rom .

t hat period she wished to retire into solitude and

, ,

w a s unwilli ng ly persuaded to rem a in an y longer

with the army H er subsequent fa te is well kno wn

. .

T a ken prisoner by t he e nemies ofher country and ,

subj ected t o the mos t shameful indignities she ter ,

m ina t e d her brillian t c a reer o f heroism and clair

voyance by a cruel and i g nomi nious death at the
stake But the memory oft his rem arkable person
.

a e —although in one instance profaned by obscene

g
ribaldry and diabolical maligni t y — has been em
balmed and consecrated by some of the nobles t
ef for t s of poetical genius *
.

Se e SO U T H E Y S p oe m
’
, and SC H I LL ER S dr am a
’
.
3 06 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

Testaments But s a ys her biographer whatever

.
, ,

was deficient in the external faculties was supplied

by the spirit of internal truth and power ; a nd
w hile the body was wasti ng the zeal of the spiri t ,

in c reased S he w a s commanded by a n i nte r na l

.
,

v oi c e to communicate her visions

,
The Pope E u .
,

ene III the pupil a nd friend of Bernard of

g .
,

Cla ir v e a ux ur g ed by the latter sent several per

, ,

sons to the place of her reside nce in order to collect ,

more particular accounts of the seer H e himself .

was so impressed by her writi ngs that he read ,

t he m to those in his nei g hbourhood .

I t is remarkable that before she went into the

,

co nvent of S t R ober t near Bin g en She fell into a , ,

state of complete catalepsy S he lay like a sto ne .

in bed says the narrator without bei ng capable of

, ,

t he sli g htest motion The A bbot w ho heard this

.
, ,

but did not belie ve it wen t to visit her a nd it is , , ,

said when he attempted wi t h all his strength to

, , ,

raise her head or to mo v e it from one Side t o the

,

o ther and could not succeed he was asto nished a t

, ,

t he wonderful phe nomenon a nd acknowled g ed t ha t ,

it did not proceed from any human suf fering but ,

from a di v ine rapture ( d i v i na c or r ep ti o) .

A fter many nego t i a tions for the purpose of h a vi ng

her removed to the pla ce S he had determ i ned in
s pirit ( the convent of S t R ober t near Bi nge n) the , ,

A bbot went to the af flicted patie nt and commanded ,

her in the name of G od to arise a nd repair to the

, ,

place which H eaven had a ppointed for her resi

dence H I L D EG A R D I S immediately rose up a s if
.
,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
307

s he
had never been Sick to the astonishment a nd ,

a dmiration ofa ll present .

I n regard to her visions She wrote thus t o the ,

monk WI B E R T o r G EM B L A CH : G od works as he
w ill to the glory of his ow n name not to that of
, ,

the earthly creature I ha v e a cons t ant anxiety .

but I raise my hands t o G od and like a fe a ther , ,

w hich has no wei g ht and is driven hither and ,

t hither by t he wind I am supported by H im alone , .

What I see I cannot know w i t h certainty so lo ng

, ,

as I am en g aged in bodily occupations and m y soul ,

is blind ( i e wi t hout spiritual vision ) ; for in both

. .

con s ists all human weakness E ver Since my child .

hood when my bones ner v es and arteries were not

, , ,

yet co m pletely formed I have ha d such visions up , ,

t o the present time when I am seve nty years old , .

M y soul becomes elevate d accordi ng as G od will , ,

i n t hese visio ns up t o t he very hei g h th of the fi r

,

m am e nt and to all mundane spheres ( i n vi c issi tu

,

d ine m d ive r si a c r i s ) ; and it ex t ends itself o v er

v arious nations al t hough these may be in di sta nt
,

regio ns and places T he se thi ng s how e ve r I d o .

, ,

not p e r c e ive w i th m y o ut w a r d e ye s , nor he a r w i th

my e x t e r n a l e a r s, nor t hr oug h the thoug hts m
f y
o

he a r t ( c o
g i
cordist a t ionibus
mei ) n or b y m e a n s
qf ,

an
y c om a r i son o
p f yfim v e s e n s e s ; b u t i n m y s ou l
a lo ne w i th op e n e yes w i thout f a lli n i n t o e c stas
, g , y
or I se e t he m i n m y w a king st a t e b d d b
f y a
y a n y ,

”
n ig ht .

I n another part of the same work ( S H IL D E , .

G A R DIS E pisto la r um L ibe r . Coloni ae ,

1 5 67) She
308 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

says of herself I n the thir d year of my life ,

I beheld such a light that my soul trembled

, But .

on account of my chi ldhood I was unable to com ,

munic a t e any thing about it I n my e ig ht h year .

,

I was brought into a spiritual intercourse w ith

G od and up to my fifte e nth year I saw much and
, , ,

related some of it in my Simplicity so that those ,

who listened to me were astonished considering ,

whence and from whom these visions came A t .

that time I was myself astonished that while I

, ,

saw internally and in spirit I possessed also an

, ,

external fac ulty of vision ; and as I heard no

t hing ofthis in the case of other persons I con ,

c e ale d my internal v isions as much as I could .

M any external things too remained unknown t o

, ,

me in consequence of my continual infirmity which

, ,

ha s af flicted me from my mother s mi lk until now

’

a nd which has wasted my body and consumed my

streng t h Thus exhausted I once asked my nurse

.
,

w hether she saw any thin g beyond external obj ects .

S he answered no because she saw nothing I was

,
.

then seized with great fear and did not venture t o ,

communicate this to any one ; but while I spoke

much I also talked offuture events When I was
, .

powerfully af fected by these visions I said things ,

whi ch appeared qui te strange to those who heard

me ; and when at length this faculty of vision he
ca me somewhat di minished during wh ich I behaved
,

more in the manner of a child than according to ,

t he years of my age I blushed much and began t o

, ,

w eep ; and frequently I would rather have been

, ,
31 0 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

said it was all from G od a nd through the same ,

facul t y which ha d for merly inspired t he prop hets .

Thereupon my writings were brou g ht to t he Pope

,

E uge ne whe n he was a t Treves who caused them

, ,

t o be read before m a ny persons and also read them ,

himself H e sent me a le t t er and re quested me to

.
,

write down my visions more exactly .

”

F rom all parts of G ermany and France ind ivi ,

duals flocked to her for advice and comfort H er .

biographer relates t ha t for the good of souls She

, ,

read to them cert a in p a ssag es of S cripture a nd ,

expounded t hem M any received ad v ice from her

.

in re g a rd to their bo di ly ailments and several had ,

their diseases mitigated by her holy prayers I n .

conseque nce o fhe r prophe t ic spi r it she knew t he ,

t houghts and dispositio ns of others a nd reproved ,

some who came t o her with perverted and frivolous

minds merely from mo t ives of curiosi t y A s many
, .

of t hese perso ns could not resist t he Spirit which

spoke o ut ofher t hey were in consequence affected
,

a nd reformed .The Jew s who eng a g ed in conver

,

sat io n w ith her she e ncour a g ed by her pious a d m o

, ,

nitio ns t o turn aside from the law a nd to embrace

, ,

the fa i t h in C hrist The nu ns who a t te nded her she

.
,

admoni shed and reproved w i t h mat er nal love as ,

oft en as quarrels love of the world or negli g ence of

, ,

t heir duties were exhibited amo ng t hem

,
S he pene .

t r a t e d in t o thei r w ill t heir t hou g hts so thorou g hly

, , ,

that she was en a bled eve n durin g divine service t o

, ,

g ive each a p a r t icular blessin

g according to their
,

several di spositions a nd requirements ; for she fore

 A N HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c . 31 1

saw in spirit the lives and conduct of mankind

, , ,

and of some eve n the termi nation oftheir presen t

, ,

t emporal existe nce and accordi ng to their i nward

, ,

s t ate the re ward or punishment of their souls B ut

,
.

t hese high secrets S he confided to none excep ting ,

o nly to the man to whom She communicated every

t hing even t he most hidden thoughts of her min d
,
.

A nd in all her conduct She held fa st t he highest of ,

a ll v irtues humili t y
,
- .

A s in the case of H I L D E G A R D I S a hi gher spiri tual ,

power w as manifested in her knowle d ge so was there ,

al s o in her influence upon perso ns a nd thin g s ; a nd ,

therefore her co ntempora ries generally ascribed to

,

he r mir a culous powers \Ve S hall here take t he .

liberty ofq uoting the w ords of her biographer

The gift of curi ng diseases was so powerfully
m a nifested in t his holy vir g i n that scarcely a patien t ,

resor t ed t o her wi thout being restored to health .

This is proved by the follo w i ng examples A girl .

o fthe name of H ild e a r d is had been su ffering from

g
a ter t ian fever of which she could not be cured by
,

an
y e f
fort o fmedical skill S he therefore prayed .
, ,

for assis tance from the holy virgin The latter .

,

accordin g to the words of the L ord : They sh al l

la y their ha nd s upon the S ick a nd t hey Shall be ,

whole laid hers w i t h blessing and pr a yer upo n

, ,

t he maiden a nd t hus cured her of the fever

, A .

la y brother R O R I C U S w ho lived in a mo nas t ery

, , ,

a lso su ffered se v erely from i ntermittent fever .

When he heard of the miracle performed o n the

maid he went wi th humility and reverence to the
, , ,
 AN HIS T O RY O F MAG I C ,
&c .

saint and received the blessin g by which the fever

, ,

was cured A maid BE R T HA su ffered from a

.
, ,

swelling of the throat and breast so that she could ,

neither eat nor drink nor even swallow her ow n ,

spittle H I L D E G A R D I S marked the sufl e r ing p arts

.

with the Sign of the cross and thereby restored her ,

health A man from Sua bia came to her whose

.
,

whole body was swollen S he allowed the man t o .

remain several days with her and havi ng touched ,

the patient with her hands and pronounced a bless ,

i ng She by the grace ofGo d restored his previous

, , ,

he alth A c hild seven months old su f

.
,
fering from ,

co nvulsions was bro ught t o her by its nurse and

, ,

cured in the same manner .

H er sanative powers however were not con , ,

fin e d to those who were near her but extended ,

even to persons at a distance A RN O LD V O N WA I CK .

E R N H E IM whom She had previously known had

, ,

such a violent pain in the thr e at that he could not ,

easily qui t his residence A S he was unable there .

,

fore to g o to her he awaited in fai th the assist

, , , ,

ance ofher prayers H I L D E G A R D I S trusting to the .

,

mercy of G od consecrated water sent it to her

, ,

fr iend to drink and he was relieved from his p ain

, .

The daughter of a lady of Bingen H A Z E CH A ,

by name was deprived of speech for three days

,
.

The mother hastened to the holy virgin to request

her as sista nce The latter gave her nothi ng but
.

some water which she herself had consecrated

, .

A ft er drinki ng it the patient recovered her speech

,

and her strength The same lady gav e to a sick .

 A N HIS T O RY OF M AGIC ,
&c .

to the fate of individuals as proved by t he pre ,

cedin g examples but in a still greater degree t o

, , ,

events of more general concern par t icularly t o , ,

those great commotions to which according to her , , ,

t he C hurch w as destined to be exposed O n this .

accoun t She became during a long series o fyears

, , ,

the oracle of the princes and bishops .

Born in the year 1 09 8 H I L D E G A R D IS died on the

,

17 th of S eptember 1 1 79 as She had long before ,

predicted to her fellow inmates in t he convent - .

E ndowed w ith great spiri t ual activity she almos t ,

constantly laboured under severe bodily infi r mit ie s ,

which she bore however with the mos t exemplary

, ,

fortitude patience meekness and resi g nation t o

, , ,

the divine will We m a y observe that the lives of

.

ST THE RE SA and o f several other female saints

, ,

recorded in t he early history of the Chris t ian

C hurch present many points of Similarity t o t hat
,

ofST H I L D EG A R D IS .

There are many indi viduals we doubt not who , ,

will be prepared to meet the facts related in the

foregoing narrative wi t h a smile of i ncredulity ,

perhaps ofcontemp t believing their ow n contracted

,

minds to constitute t he only true standard of the

possibilities of nature and of providence S uch .

persons mus t be left to the enj oyment of their pre

sumed omniscience I ndeed to attempt to reason
.
,

with indi v iduals oft his description would probably , , ,

be a vain and superero g atory ta sk We mus t . ,

therefore j ust leave these facts t o make their ow n

,

impression upon such minds as are capable of com

 AN HIS T ORY or MAGI C ,
&c . 31 5

prehending them giving t o the evidence such

,

wei g ht as it may upon due consi deration appear

, ,

to deserve But we cannot liste n t o any argumen t

.

from limited understandings founded upon pr e j u

dice and the presumed impossibility of t he facts
t hemselves ; nor can we accept ofridicule however ,

inge nious and plausible as a substitute for solid and

,

substantial re a sonin g I g norance is perh a ps as

.
, ,

frequen tly displayed in the unreasonable rej ectio n ,

as in the too hasty admission ofalleged facts .

CHA PTER X XXVII .

IN commemorating the se historical personages

w ho at v arious times have manifested an unc om
,

mon e ndowment of the natural or constitutional

c la i rv o a nc e w e must not omi t t o notice the h
y , p e

no m e na presented to us in the person and fortunes

o fF LA V IUS J O SE P H U S the Jewish w arrior and his

,

torian The whole ofthe transactions ofthis extra

.

ordinary personag e indeed especially duri ng his

, ,

i ntercourse with t he E mperors Vespasian a nd Titus ,

exhibit all the essential characteris tics of the mag

netic idiosyncrasy I t appears certain indeed that
.
, ,

J O SEP H U S lik e S O CRA T ES and several other eminent

,

men whom we have already men t ioned was a natu ,

ral or habitual c risi a c and possessed the faculty of

,

predicting future events Thus amongst other

.
,
31 6 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
&c .

prophetic intimations he foretold as we Shall see , , ,

that Vespasian would succeed to the empire .

JOSE P HUS after having fou g ht valiantly against

,

t he R omans refused to surrender to them after the

,

capture ofthe important town of J otapat I n order .

to secure himself from danger he descended into a ,

well w hich communicated by a lateral aperture

, , ,

w ith a spacio us cavern where he found about forty ,

others of the bravest among the Jews who had ,

t aken refuge in it But he was soon betrayed and

.
,

his retre a t discovered .

V espasian w ho had occasion to know the courage

,

o fJosephus was desirous of saving him

, H e pr o .

posed a surrender which the Jewish leader twice ,

refused But his resolution at length having been

.
, ,

somewhat Shaken by N icanor —his former friend , ,

a nd o ne ofthe pri ncipal chiefs of the R oman army ,

whom Vespasian had sent to reason with him upon

t he subj ect ; h e be g a n t o r efl e c t on t he d r e a ms he
ha d p r e v i ously ha d , i n w hi c h G od ha d r e ve a le d to

hi m both t he m isf or tunes w hi c h sho uld a tte nd t he

J e w s, a nd t he ulti m a te t r i ump h f
o t he R om a ns ;

for he und e r st oo d p er ec
f t ly t he i nt e rp r e t a tion f
o

d re a m s . a nd
p e ne t r a t e d a ll tha t w a s o bsc ur e i n the
d ivi ne p res onses . I nd e e d , he w a s c onve r sa nt w i th

t he Sa c r e d S c r ip tur e s , a nd the books o

f t he p ro

h s : F or he w a s him se l r i e s t, a nd
p e t f p
a sp r ung

r om the length as if full

sa c e r d ot a l r a c e of At
f .
,

i nspiration and fixi ng his mind upon the horrible

,

pictures presented to him in his last dreams he ,

secretly addressed his prayers to G od S upreme

31 8 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGI C ,
ao .

escape and yet all should a v oid the reproach of

,

ha v i ng l a id v iolent hands on himself .

This propositio n was e ag erly accepted The lots .

w ere drawn and they all perished by the hands of

,

t heir associates with the exception ofJosephus and

.

one ofhis comp a nions whom be persuaded to live , ,

after ha v i ng promised to preser v e and protect him .

N othing can be more extraordinary than this

prevision ofJosephus which gave him the presen t i ,
-

ment that t he lot should not fall upon himself but ,

that he Should escape it I t appears t o ha v e been .

a sudden spark of spiritual illumination which sug

gested to him the drawing oflots and at the same , ,

time the certainty t hat t he lot should not fall upon

,

himself H e says of himself indeed that while

.
, ,

communing with his companions he fel t himself as , ,

it were full ofthe divi nity Q ua si D e o p le nus

,
.

Josephus lived a lon g time after Jesus C hrist ;

and being a Jew he was consequently re g arded as
, ,

an enemy t o the C hristian faith In the career of .

Josephus therefore we c an hardly adopt the pre

, ,

sumption of a nv direct interference of t he D eity .

What then was the cause ofhis prophe t ic power ?

, ,

Was it not the same as that of the pre v ision ofall

other c r isi a c s—that in t ernal instinct which i nforms
the som nambulists the Sibyls the enthusiasts ofall
, ,

a ges ?

Josephus ultimately went over to the R omans ,

and soon found a friend and protector in the person

o f Titus the son a nd successor of Vesp a sian I t
, .

w as the intention of the latter to send Josephus t o

 AN HIS T ORY O F MAGI C ,
&c .
31 9

N ero the reigning emperor

,
Josephus however .
, ,

havi ng been apprised of thi s intention demanded ,

an audience from Vesp a sian in order to make him ,

a w are of some matters which he could not re v eal to

any other individual This audience was conceded .

t o him in the presence ofTitus and oftwo of the ,

friends ofVespasian You wish to send me t o .

N ero said Josephus ; a nd wherefore send me

”
,

t here seeing tha t he and t hose who shall succeed

, ,

?
previous to y ou have so lit tle time t o live I t is
,

o u alone whom I ought to regard as emperor a n d

y ,

Tit us y our son a ft er y o u because you wil l both be

, , ,

elevated t o the imperial thro ne I t is on the part .

ofG od that I speak U ntil then let me be Shut up

.
,

in a close priso n in order t hat I may be punished

,

as an impostor if I Shall be found to have abused

,

t he name o f Go d and imposed upon y our cre

,

d ulit y
”
.

Vespasia n at first believed that Josephus only

spoke to him in thi s manner from fear and for the ,

purpose of conciliating his favour But he soon .

altered his opinion when he foun d that all that

,

Josephus had previously foretold had actually come

t o p a ss —in partic ular his prediction rela t ive t o the
, ,

fate of J ot apat Vespasian t oo secretly i nquired

.
, ,

o f the o t her prisoners whether t hese facts were

true and he was as sured that all was correct Ves

, .

pasian however caused Josephus to be strictly

, ,

watched while at the same time he treated hi m

, , ,

with great kindness and Titus subsequently became

,

his intimate friend and patron .

 AN HIS TO RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

The prophecy of Jo s ephus in regard to the fo r

,

t unes of Vespasian made a great sensation at t he

,

time and was noticed by several contemporar y

,

authors —in particular by D ion C assius and by

, ,

S uetonius S ubseque ntly Josephus himself ob tai n

.
,

ed the ho nours ofa R oman cit ize n and had a n a nnu a l,

pen s ion bestowed upon him duri ng his life A ft er .

t he dea t h ofVespasian he con t inued to enj oy the

,

favour a nd friendship of Titus a nd even ofhis suc ,

cessor D omi t ian — S ee the work of Josephus D e

.
,

B e lle J ud a i c o and o t her co ntemporary au t horitie s

, .

CHA PTER XXXVII I .

IN the preceding Short chapter we may appear ,

to have in some me a sure diverged from t he re g ular

current of our narrative a nd must ne w resume the
,

more legitimate order of o ur history by rever t ing ,

t o t he period when t he ideas of the p a gan world

became essen t ially modified by the doc t rines and
worship of C hristi a nity .

F or several ages after the fall of Paganism ,

indeed little change was manifested in the religious

,

o r philosophical opinions of mankind if we excep t ,

t he important introduction of the purer idea o fonly

o ne G od a nd of one S aviour
,
Jesus C hrist The , .

a ncien t notions in regard to m a gic and sorcery still

continued t o occupy the minds of mankind ; the

 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

all those philosophers w ho attempted to account for

any ofthe phenomena ofnature by means ofgene
ral laws The fate of S OCRA T E S is well kno w n
. .

E ven among the inhabitants of that in other ,

respects most intelligent nation an eclipse w as

, ,

generally considered to be a prognos t ic of some

grie v ous impending calamity occasioned by t he ,

anger of the gods A N A X AGORAS o ne of their

.
,

most famous philosophers was accused of atheism , ,

imprisoned and persecuted ( like G ALILEO in moder n ,

t imes ) for attempting to explain the eclipse of t he

,

moon by natural causes ; and PRO T AGORAS ano t her ,

of their wise men was subsequently b anished from

,

A thens for maintaining similar heretical doctrines .

E ven in more familiar i nstances and in much ,

more rece nt times occurrences of far easier e xpla

,

nation were g enerally held t o be na tur a lly impos

sible ; and consequently they were attributed as
, , ,

usu a l in those times to an infamous compact with

, ,

t he E v i l O ne When the first G erman printers

.

carried their books to P a ris for sale so supe r na t u ,

r a l did this rapid multiplica t ion ofcopies appear in ,

compariso n wi t h the t edious process of manuscript

l a bour th a t these ingenious tradesmen were actually
,

condemned to be buried alive as sorcerers and only , ,

e scaped the cruel a nd barbarous punishment by a

precipitate fli g h t H ence probab ly the well known
.
, ,
-

fic t io n of the D evil and D oc t or FAUS T US I n a .

t reatise W ri t ten in F rench about the year 1 2 6 0 , ,

the author aft er stating tha t t he magnetic needle

,

might be highly useful at sea observes that no , ,

 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGI C ,
&c . 32 3

master mariner dares to use it lest he should fall

-

under the suspicio n ofbeing a m agician ; nor would

t he sailors eve n venture themselves o ut t o sea u nder
his command if he took with him an instrument
,

w hich carried so gre a t an appearance ofbeing c on

s t ructed under the i nfluence ofsome infernal Spirit .
”

But —t o come still closer to our ow n case — duri ng

t he 1 5 t h a nd 1 6 th centuries and even at a later ,

period t he belief in sorcery and w itchcraft as we

, ,

have already seen was so univer s ally prevalen t

,

amo ng st all ra nks learned a nd unlearned that to

, ,

express a d oubt of their reali t y was sufficient to

draw do w n upo n the unfortunate sceptic a heavy
charge of impiety and atheism ; a nd the preamble
t o a statute ofH enry V III ofE ng la nd in t he year .
,

1 5 1 1 actually sets forth

, that smiths weavers , ,

a nd women rat her a singular association of per

sona e s
g boldly and accustomably take upon
t hem g r e a t c ur e s and things of great d ifli c ult y in
, ,

which t hey partly use sorcery and witchcraft .

”

This is probably the first in t erdict or inj unction

, , , ,

fulmi nat ed in modern times ag a inst t he practice

, , ,

rude as it m a y have been of A nimal M a g netism , .

E v en a t t he present d a y however — in this a g e , ,

of i ntellect and reaso n w e are by no means cer

,
-

t ai n that this belief in the occasional production

a nd cure of diseases throu h the influence of super

g ,

natural a ency is yet en t irely exti nct ; nor tha t

g ,

t hose ingenious a nd i nquisitive individuals who have ,

endea v oured to investigate and illustrate the magne

tic doctrines and practice have entirely escaped the
,
32 4 AN HIS T O RY O F MAGIC ,
&c .

suspicion ofhaving some underhand dealings with the

ugly old gentleman in black D o we not still hear .

ofcertain hysterical epileptic and other spasmodic, ,

complaints which are vulgarly ascribed to demon

,

ia c a l possession and are cure d either by the imme

,

diate interposition oft he D eity or by soliciting the ,

aid of the D evil ? What was the m eani ng of the

?
m or bus sa c e r oft he ancients A nd upon what prin
c i le e v en at the prese nt day do t he R oman
p , ,

C atholic priests and e v en som e of the Protestant

,

clergy proceed in their solemn exorcisms

,

N ow a n ac quai ntance wi t h the curious disco

,

v e r ie s o fA nimal Ma netism as w e Shall see in the

g ,

se quel has this amongst its other advantages tha t

, ,

it tends to di ssipate a ll t his anti que mist of a n

ignor a nt and mischie v o us superstition t o d ispel ,

v ulgar prej udices a nd to give freedom to the mind

,

w hile i t also rescues us from the a w k ward altern a

t ive ofrej ecting facts for the reality ofwhich there

H I PP OC AT R ES , t he C oryph ae us of t he an ci e nt physi
e i aus , ha s l e ft us sp e ci al t r e a t is e up on the M or bus Sa c e r
a ,

whi ch he h olds t o be nowis e more divi ne nor m ore s acr e d ,

t h an ot h e r dis e as e s A nd t his not i on of i t s divi ni t y he

.

a s crib e s t o t he i nabili t y of physi c i ans t o c o m pr e h e nd it s

n at ur e and t o t he si mpli ci t y o f t he m od e by whi ch i t is

,

cure d .

W e m ay t ak e t his opp or t uni t y o fobs e rving t h at t he e n ,

t ir e works ofH I PP OC RAT E S h a v e b e e n r e c e nt ly t r ansl at e d

i nto E ng lish by Dr FRAN C IS A D AM S o f B anch o ry o ne of ,

t he m os t l e ar ne d if not t he m o s t l e ar ne d physi ci a n o f wh om
,

our c ount ry c a n a t pr e s e nt b oa s t I t a pp e a rs t o us t h at his

.

br e t hre n are much i nd e b t e d t o t his g e nt l e man for his e luc i

d at i ons ofanci e nt m e di ci ne .
32 6 AN HIS T O RY OF MAGIC ,
&c .

A nd holdin g as we do that there is no original

, ,

eleme nt in nature which has been created wi t hout

its special uses in the mundane economy and the
contemplat ion of an all wise creative Providence -
,

we may be permitted to investigate the nature and

proper t ies of these several influences and t o point ,

o ut the apparent purposes to which they appear to

have been made subservient in the general economy

o f the universe wi t hout exposing ourselves to an
,

irrational charge ofheresy or impiety To use the .

—
words ofST A US T IN e r r a r e p ossum hce r e tic us e sse ,

nolo .We shall be satisfied if the views we may be

enabled to su g gest shall be found to have a ten
deney to dispel some erroneous conceptions upon
this curious but obscure subj ect and in any degree , , ,

to promote the best interests of humanity But .

,

above all we must endeavour so far as in o ur

, ,

power to present a complete view of t he facts in

, ,

so far as this obj ect can be accomplished ; and t hus

enable every intelli g ent an d candid reader to form

a sound opi nion upon this interesting and much
controverted subj ect .

EN D O F V O L UME FI RS T .

P R INTE D B Y J O H N H U G H E S , 3 T H I ST L E ST R E ET , E D I NB U R G H .
 A LL B O O KS MA Y B E RECA LLED A FTER 7 D

UNIV ERSITY O F CA LIFO RN IA ,

FO RM NO . DOO 5 m
, ,
B ERKELEY CA 9 4 72
,

—
L D Z 1 A 60 m
—0
A -3 2
( N 8 8 3 7si O ) 4 76