ANTHROPOLOGY S5 



"The art called Nigromantia (Necromancy) teaches 

 how to deal with such forms. It teaches their habits 

 and instincts, their attributes and qualities, and how 

 we may find out through them the secrets of the persons 

 to whom those shadows belonged. As the image of a 

 man in a large mirror shows the whole of his person 

 and imitates all his movements and actions, so by observ- 

 ing the sidereal body of a deceased person, we can 

 obtain information in regard to the former appearance 

 and the acts and ways of that person, and find out 

 who he was and where he lived " ^ (Fhilosophia Sagax, 

 lib. i. : Prdbatio in Scientiam Nigromanticam). 



Paracelsus ridicules the exorcists, and those who say 

 prayers and read masses for the dead, " because," he says, 

 "the former attempt to force a sidereal corpse to talk, 

 while, in fact, no corpse can talk, and they can get from 

 it at best a reflection of their own thoughts, and the 

 latter attempt to fetch an inanimate body into a living 

 heaven by their pious interposition." 



In regard to the conjurers, he says : — " They attempt 

 to conjure sidereal bodies, and do not know that they are 

 attempting an impossibility, because such bodies have no 

 sense and cannot be conjured. The consequence is, that 

 the devils (certain elementals) take possession of such 

 sidereal bodies and play their pranks with the conjurers. 

 Such devils will take possession of a living man, and 

 make a weak man act as they please, and cause him 

 to commit all sorts of foolishness and crimes. But if 

 they can do this with a living soul, how much easier 

 then will it be for them to take possession of a dead 



will, to a great extent, determine the locality to which such a sidereal 

 body may be attracted. Some places have been known to be haunted for 

 a great number of years. 



1 It appears from this sentence that the phenomena of "Modern 

 Spiritualism " are not a new revelation, but were known and explained 

 three hundred years ago. " Oh, the soul of poor Galen ! If he had 

 remained faithful to truth, his Manes would not now be buried in the 

 abyss of hell, from whence he wrote me a letter. Such is the fate of all 

 quacks I " {Paragranum, Preface). 



