-
Articles/Ads
Article THE HISTORY OF MAGIC. Page 1 of 15 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of Magic.
THE HISTORY OF MAGIC .
" Under thy mantle black , there hidden lie Light-shunning Theft and traitorous Intent , Abhorred Bloodshed , and vile Felony , Shameful Deceit , and Danger imminent , Fold Horror , and eke hellish Dreariment ; All these I wot in thy protection be , And light do shun , for fear of being shent . "
SPEKCER—Faery Queen . " Perhaps thou wert a Mason , and forbidden By oath to tell the secrets of thy trade ;—Then say , what secret melody "was hidden In Memnon ' s statue which at sunrise played 1 Perhaps thou wert a Priest , —if so , my straggles Are vain ; for priestcraft never owns its juggles . " HOEAOE SMITH—Address to a Mummy .
MODERN researches , as they have brought into light the works of art , habits of life , and extent of knowledge generally among the ancients , leave no room for doubt that they were , in especial , familiar with the physical sciences ; and in order to discover the character of such scientific knowledge , and the way in which it was appliedwe have only to turn our attention to the
, records of the temples , and of the wonders worked in them by the priests of old . In the earliest civilized countries this kind of skill was confined exclusively to the hierarchy , and was cultivated by them for the sole purpose of maintaining an ascendancy over the ignorant multitude . Thus an essential difference exists between ancient and modern science as to the objects of
their cultivation—the former consisted of a vast amount of experimentally discovered facts , not disseminated and recorded in order to elucidate the workings of Nature , but kept secret by every possible precaution , and traditionally imparted to those only who had undergone the ceremony of initiation . Hence , the accounts handed down of such miraculous works are
obscure and exaggerated , owing to the ignorance of those who witnessed them , and have in consequence been set aside as utterly unworthy of belief ; although in many cases , when the film of superstitious belief and of hyperbolical language has been cleared away , the simple ground of narration displays nothing for which science cannot now account . Nor are we to be surprised at the extravagance of supersti-VOL . III . 3 o
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of Magic.
THE HISTORY OF MAGIC .
" Under thy mantle black , there hidden lie Light-shunning Theft and traitorous Intent , Abhorred Bloodshed , and vile Felony , Shameful Deceit , and Danger imminent , Fold Horror , and eke hellish Dreariment ; All these I wot in thy protection be , And light do shun , for fear of being shent . "
SPEKCER—Faery Queen . " Perhaps thou wert a Mason , and forbidden By oath to tell the secrets of thy trade ;—Then say , what secret melody "was hidden In Memnon ' s statue which at sunrise played 1 Perhaps thou wert a Priest , —if so , my straggles Are vain ; for priestcraft never owns its juggles . " HOEAOE SMITH—Address to a Mummy .
MODERN researches , as they have brought into light the works of art , habits of life , and extent of knowledge generally among the ancients , leave no room for doubt that they were , in especial , familiar with the physical sciences ; and in order to discover the character of such scientific knowledge , and the way in which it was appliedwe have only to turn our attention to the
, records of the temples , and of the wonders worked in them by the priests of old . In the earliest civilized countries this kind of skill was confined exclusively to the hierarchy , and was cultivated by them for the sole purpose of maintaining an ascendancy over the ignorant multitude . Thus an essential difference exists between ancient and modern science as to the objects of
their cultivation—the former consisted of a vast amount of experimentally discovered facts , not disseminated and recorded in order to elucidate the workings of Nature , but kept secret by every possible precaution , and traditionally imparted to those only who had undergone the ceremony of initiation . Hence , the accounts handed down of such miraculous works are
obscure and exaggerated , owing to the ignorance of those who witnessed them , and have in consequence been set aside as utterly unworthy of belief ; although in many cases , when the film of superstitious belief and of hyperbolical language has been cleared away , the simple ground of narration displays nothing for which science cannot now account . Nor are we to be surprised at the extravagance of supersti-VOL . III . 3 o