Book II,

S
THE
MAGIC AND PHILOSOPHY
O F
The T'ranfators Letter to a Friend of his, a young Student in thefe
occult Sciences.
MY FRIEND,
jj^NOWING thee to be a curious fearcher after thofe fciences which are out of the common track of ftudy, (I mean the art of foretelling events, magic, telifmans, &c.) I am moved fpiritually to give thee my thoughts upon them, and by thefe ideas here written, to open to thine eye (fpiritual) as much information as it feems neceflary for thee to know, by which thou mayeft be led by the hand into the deledtable field of nature ; and to give thee fuch documents as, guided by the fupreme wifdom of the Higheft, thou mayeft refrelh thy foul with a delicious draught of knowledge j fo that after recreating thy fpirit with the ufe of thofe good gifs which may pleafe God to beftow on thee, thou mayeft be wrapped up into the contemplation of the immenfe wifdom of that great munificent Being who created thee.
Now, art thou a man, in whofe foul the image of Divinity is fealed for eternity, think firft what is thy defire in the fearching after thefe myfteries ! Is it wealth, honour, fame, power, might, aggrandizement, and the like ? Perhaps thy heart fays. All ! all thefe I would gladly crave ! If fo, this is my anfwer, — feek firft to know thyfelf thoroughly, cleanfe thy heart from all wicked, vain, and rapacious defires. Thinkeft thou, oh man ! to attain power to gratify thy lifts, to enrich thy coffers, to build houfes , to raife thyfelf to the pinnacle of human admiration ; if thefe are thy hopes and defires, thou haft reafon to lament thy being born : all fuch defires are immediately from
S 2 the
THE TRANSLATOR'S LETTER