CHAPTER I.

The magi of the east--Magical power attributed to numbers, plants,
and minerals.


The magi formed one of the six tribes into which the nation of the
Medes was divided in ancient times. To them was entrusted the special
charge of religion; and, as priests, they were superior in education
and training to the people in general. Among the Persians, “the lovers
of wisdom and the servants of God” were, according to Suidas, called
magi. It seems also, that they extended themselves into other lands,
and that among the Chaldeans they were an organized body.

We read in the inspired book of Daniel, of “the magi,” or “wise men,”
among whom the prophet himself was classed; and others, we know,
directed by “the star in the east,” went to the infant Saviour, when
born, at Bethlehem, “as Christ the Lord,” and presented to him their
offerings, “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Among the Greeks and
Romans, the same class of persons was styled Chaldeans and magi.

For a time, the magi surpassed the rest of the world in knowledge,
and were the friends, companions, and counsellors, of its mightiest
sovereigns. But their science, from having no solid basis, sank, after
a while, into insignificance. On the ruins of its reputation other
persons sought to build theirs. A man who knew, or could perform some
things, with which others had no acquaintance, or for which they
had no power, announced himself as a magician. Nor were the people
indisposed to concede to him the credit he desired, especially if he
claimed alliance with spiritual beings; and, in not a few instances,
they attributed his marvels to such agency. Thus, then, the magician
may be traced to the _magus_, or magian; and magic, to the so-called
philosophy of the east.

Magic squares are of great antiquity. A square of this kind is divided
into several other small equal squares, or cells, filled up with the
terms of any progression of numbers, but generally an arithmetical one;
so that those in each band, whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal,
shall always make the same sum. The ancients ascribed to them great
virtues; and the disposition of numbers formed the basis and principle
of many of their talismans. Accordingly, a square of one cell, filled
up with unity, was the symbol of the Deity, on account of the unity
and immutability of God; for they remarked that this square was, by
its nature, unique and immutable; the product of unity by itself being
always unity. The square of the root two, was the symbol of imperfect
matter, both on account of the four elements, and of its being supposed
impossible to arrange this square magically. A square of nine cells was
assigned or consecrated to Saturn; that of sixteen to Jupiter; that of
twenty-five to Mars; that of thirty-six to the sun; that of forty-nine
to Venus; that of sixty-four to Mercury; and that of eighty-one, or
nine on each side, to the moon. Those who can find any relation between
two planets, and such an arrangement of numbers, must have minds
strongly tinctured with superstition; yet so it was in the mysterious
philosophy of Iamblichus, Porphyry, and their disciples.

Plants, as well as numbers, were long considered to be endowed with
magical properties. Pliny enumerates those which, according to
Pythagoras, were supposed to have the power of concealing waters. To
others were attributed extraordinary effects. The _asyrites_, as it was
denominated by the Egyptians, was used under the idea that it acted
as a defence against witchcraft; and the _nepenthes_, which Helen
presented, in a potion, to Menelaus, was believed, by the same people,
to be powerful in banishing sadness, and in restoring the mind to
its accustomed, or even to greater cheerfulness. Whatever may be the
virtues of such herbs, they were used rather from an idea of their
magical than of their medicinal qualities; every cure was cunningly
ascribed to some mysterious and occult power.

From the same superstition, metals and stones were supposed to be
endowed with singular virtues: the opal, to grow pale at the touch
of poison; the emerald, to remove intoxication; and the carbuncle,
“only to be found in the head of the dragon, the hideous inhabitant
of the island of Ceylon,” to shine in the darkness. As the metal
called gold always bore the highest value, it was concluded, from an
absurd analogy, that its power to preserve health and cure disease
must likewise surpass that of all other applications. Multitudes gave
themselves to busy idleness in attempting to render it potable, and
to prevent it from again being converted into metal. Not only did
they labour in obscure situations, but in the splendid laboratories
of nobles and sovereigns. Men of rank, impelled by one common frenzy,
formed secret alliances; and even proceeded to such extravagance as to
bring ruinous debts on themselves and their posterity. The object of
which they were in pursuit was “an elixir of life.”

In Italy, Germany, France, and other countries, the common people often
denied themselves the necessaries of life, to save as much as would
purchase a few drops of the tincture of gold, which was superstitiously
or fraudulently offered for sale. So fully did they confide in the
efficacy of this imaginary power, that on it generally depended their
only hope of recovery. Positively was the desired boon promised, but
only to mock expectation. Our times are in the hands of God; and at his
will the dust returns to the dust from whence it was taken, and the
spirit to him who gave it.

How fearful was the ignorance that prevailed in the bygone times to
which a reference has been made! What gratitude should we feel for the
advantages we enjoy! Let us, then, constantly remember that as to us
much has been given, so of us much will be required; and that one kind
of knowledge surpasses all others: “This,” said the adorable Redeemer,
“is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent,” John xvii. 3.