146 PARACELSUS 



the first necessary condition for the purpose of producing 

 magic effects is the development of the will. The power of 

 the will acts more readily upon animals than upon man, 

 because the soul of man, being supported by the divine 

 spirit, has more power to defend itself against the in- 

 fluence of a foreign will than the sidereal body of animals. 

 The will of a waking man will act upon another person, 

 who may be awake or asleep ; but it can also happen 

 that one man acts spiritually upon another while both 

 are asleep ; the astral form of a sleeping person 

 can visit another person in his dream, and influence 

 the latter to love him ; or it may injure that person, or 

 perhaps cause him to perform something which he would 

 not perform if left to himself." 



In regard to the action of the will at a distance, Para- 

 celsus says : " As to images of wax (which are made for 

 the purpose of assisting the imagination and concentrating 

 the will), 1 will tell you that, if a person desires to injure 

 an enemy, he may do so through some medium ; i.e., a 

 vehicle. In this way it is possible that my spirit, with- 

 out the assistance of my body and without a sword, can 

 kill or wound another person simply by the action of my 

 will. It is furthermore possible that I may bring the 

 spirit of my enemy into an image, and afterwards injure 

 or lame him in the image according to my will, and that 

 the body of that enemy will be correspondingly injured 

 or lamed thereby. The power of the will is the main 

 point in medicine. A man who wishes every one well 

 will produce good effects. One who begrudges everybody 

 everything good, and is full of hate, will experience 

 on his own person the effects of his evil thoughts. 

 Images may be cursed, and diseases — such as fevers, 

 epilepsy, apoplexy, &c. — thereby be caused to the per- 

 sons whom those images are made to represent. I am 

 speaking seriously. Our physicians know only a very 

 small part of the power of the will. The will creates 

 spirits (forces) that have nothing to do with reason- 



