speculations and beliefs, represented miracles and sorceries, so that everyone looked on what was agreeable as a miracle, and the reverse as a sorcery. "Sorcery was illegal miracle, and miracle legitimate sorcery.' The Fathers of the Church looked upon the heathen oracles, and the heathens on the Christian miracles, as sorcery. Thus by degrees the foundation of a system was laid, which, projected under many contradictions, formed the indictments in the famous witchtrials, of which its commencements and resting points are to be found in the East, among the Jews and Greeks, and also in northern mythology; so that sorcery has always existed, if not in the world, at least in the minds of men.

Some readers may perhaps be surprised that I have taken so little notice of a new work of J. Görres-" Christian Mysticism," 5 vols. Regensburg and Landshut, since it at least moves in similar mystic regions, and treats more in detail` several subjects, such as the reciprocal connection between men and the extraordinary alternation of effects, the visions and ecstasies, the abnormal affections of sleep and of the senses, &c. The work will be very instructive to the reader in every respect, and especially as completing the history of magic; but my present object is neither the nature of mysticism nor its history; consequently the ground-work and the subjects of this book are very different, as well as its tendency and aim. I start from personal observations, wander about on the vital and productive field of nature, seek everywhere the analogies and relations of phenomena, and the laws which govern them; descend then, as well and as far as I can, into the deepest and darkest pits of history, place them in rows side by side for inspection, in order to make prominent the character of the harmony or contrast according to its principles. The most active principle, however, of these magic phenomena, I have found mostly on anthropological ground, where nature and the action of fancy produce the wonders which transport the supernaturalist completely into the transcendental and supernatural, but the rationalist absolutely denies, if he does not understand them.

The above named work treats of the history of mysticism, in tales and traditions, where criticism exercises no great severity. Now the purport of all mysticism is the wide

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flowery field of all sensuous images and of religious metaphysics-generally whereby the connection and union with God shall be assured more by feelings and faith than by the free conceptions of the understanding. Christian mysticism is only a single form according to its doctrine, and the elaborations of its history represent it again according to its confessional and spiritual point of view Thus Gorres seeks to cover mysticism with a glittering poetical webMysticism is, according to him and to the Catholic doctrine, nothing more than a gospel reflected in the saints, an undulation and vibration lasting for ages, and moving in increasing circles, of the movement originated by Christ." Mysticism is according to Gorres a contemplation assisted by higher light, and action through higher freedom; the singular phenomena of contemplation and action which occur among pious Christians are miracles of a higher unseen power.

As most, if not all, unusual phenomena belong to the realm of magic, and are found not only among Christians but also among the heathen, they must follow a general law, and such uncommon physical natural phenomena can be no miracles; certainly much less so, than the Christian regeneration of the spirit itself. Even to the agency of a strange objective spirit-world is attributed much which certainly belongs to the subjective fancy of man. Religious visions and ecstasies are related to those of magnetism, and in their principles differ perhaps only in the rarest instances. From physical pathological conditions, from the exaggerated ascetic, and ecstasy-reaching exercises, from subjective illusory chimeras, many saints have obviously not been free, and the separation of the natural-sensuous and the supernatural divine leads us into a field where doubts and contentions about miracles begin, where it can no longer be apodictically decided how much is natural phenomena, and how much the agency of divine grace, if one permits supernatural influences to outbid the natural powers. For man possesses a completely incomprehensible, positive, innate (generally latent) vital power, which in proportion to its power of extension pervades the immeasurable. Nature rests on such an inborn basis and order, that so her most entangled and abnormal effects proceed rather from her own

regularity than are the consequence of supernatural spiritual powers, which only fortuite et fataliter make game of her as a passive tool. There is in the conception of life more than Supernaturalism believes, and less than Rationalism admits. Divine qualities already exist in the substance of natural life, but even divine influences are not on that account excluded, because everything receives life from God, and through God. The mutually influencing causes and effects of divine and natural, spiritual and physical power, are mostly concealed in obscurity impenetrable to the understanding: thus fancy retains the power voluntarily and at pleasure of ascribing every unusual appearance to a transcendant principle, in correspondence with a religious feeling and a national point of view. This was the case with the mythological elementary powers, and thus it is still with the inexplicable physiological enigmas. A pathological phenomenon is frequently erroneously regarded as a divine revelation, and degrades the objective outward cause among living beings, where only subjective powers proceed from their singularity.

It appears to me, therefore, most prudent, in the contemplation of the world and history, to render the mystical scientific, rather than science mystical, by which means we shall observe the powers of nature and of the mind by their phenomena and reciprocal action, and thus discover their mutual conditions. Above all, we have to hold fast by nature's point of view; without however mixing up God and the world, or amalgamating them in a pantheistical unity. Thus it seems advisable neither to take refuge too much in the sublimities of transcendentalism, nor yet on the other hand to stagnate in spiritless matter; not alone to trust to the prevailing feelings and the lustre of phantasy, nor yet blindly to follow the power of faith as a load-star, and at the same time just as little to accept everything as unrefutable truth, which can only be decided by reflection and cool understanding, which everywhere affects a defiant self-will, and a faultless independence. Both the extremes, Pietism and Rationalism, are the farthest removed from nature and from God, and their fruits have never yet brought a blessing or a comfort into the world. of our

True magic lies in the most secret, inmost

powers

mind, but our spiritual nature is not yet revealed to us. All spiritual wonders are lost at last in the wonders of our own mind.

Mysticism is common property; all men are mystics; but true mysticism consists in the direct relation of the human mind to God, in the idea of the absolute, in which, however, objective revelation contains no more than corresponds with the subjective powers of man. My criterion of false mysticism is, that it accomplishes no true community and propitiation between God and man. True mysticism must include the idea of truth and goodness, of beauty and virtue, as beams of all spiritual perfection and religious self-consciousness; as a universally illuminating centre must penetrate the whole spiritual organism.

Magnetism introduces us to the mysteries of magic, and contains on one side a key to the most hidden secrets of nature, as on the other it is adapted to exhibit mysticism and the wonders of the creative spirit.

IMAGO, MAGIA, MAGNES!

Munich, 21st Oct. 1843.

THE

HISTORY OF MAGIC.

PART I.

OF MAGIC AND ITS BRANCHES IN GENERAL.

Magiusiah, Madschusie, signified the office and knowledge of the Priest, who was called Mag, Magius, Magiusi, and afterwards, Magi and Magician. Brucker maintains (Historia philos. crit. t. i. p. 160), that the primitive meaning of this word is "Fire-worshipper "-"worship of the light," to which erroneous opinion he has been led by the Mohammedan dictionaries; neither is Magic to be derived directly from the Magi; which was an error on the part of the Romans. The word Mag was used by Jeremias to indicate a Babylonian priest. In the modern Persian, the word is Mog, and Mogbed signifies High Priest. The high priest of the Parsees at Surat, even at the present day, is called Mobed. Others derived the word from "Megh ;" Meh-ab signifying something which is great and noble, and Zoroaster's disciples were called Meghestom. (Kleuker, Wachsmuth.) Among the Parsees, the Medes, and Egyptians, a higher knowledge of nature was understood by the term Magic, with which religion, and particularly astronomy, were associated. The initiated and their disciples were called Magicians--that is, the Wise-which was also the case among the Greeks. It is thus that Plato praises the coréẞeca; Lucian calls them VOL. I.

B