421 



BOOK XXX. 



REMEDIES DERIVED FROM LIVING CREATURES. 



CHAP. 1. (1.) THE ORIGIN OF THE MAGIC ART. 



IN former parts of this work, I have had occasion more than 

 once, when the subject demanded it, to refute the impostures 

 of the magic art, and it is now my intention to continue sti 1 1 

 farther my exposure thereof. Indeed, there are few subjects 

 on which more might be profitably said, were it only that, 

 being, as it is, the most deceptive of all known arts, it has 

 exercised the greatest influence in every country and in nearly 

 every age. And no one can be^surprised at ,ihe extent of its 

 influence and authority, when he reflects that by its own ener- 

 gies it has embraced, and thoroughly amalgamated with itself, 

 the three other sciences 1 which hold the greatest sway upon 

 the mind of man. 



That it first originated in medicine, no one entertains a 

 doubt ; 2 or that, under the plausible guise of promoting health, 

 it insinuated itself among mankind, as a higher and more holy 

 branch of the medical art. Then, in the next place, to pro- 

 mises the most seductive and the most flattering, it has added 

 all the resources of religion, a subject upon which, at the pre- 

 sent day, man is still entirely in the dark. Last of all, to 

 complete its universal sway, it has incorporated with itself the 

 astrological art ; 3 there being no man who is not desirous to 

 know his future destiny, or who is not ready to believe that 

 this knowledge may with the greatest certainty be obtained, 

 by observing the face of the heavens. The senses of men 

 being thus enthralled by a three-fold bond, the art of magic 

 has attained an influence so mighty, that at the present day 

 even, it holds sway throughout a great part of the world, and 

 rules the kings 4 of kings in the East. 



1 u Artes." Medicine, religion, and the art of divination. 



2 Ajaseon remarks that, on the contrary, this is a subject of great doubt, 



3 u Mathematicas artes." 



4 The title of the ancient kings of Persia. 



