THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT CONCLUSION 219 



, n 



hypnotic, over the senses of those whom the ma 5 

 sought to delude. At its lowest it was the . , 

 the juggler and his apes, cheating eye and t^:- the 

 tricks like those which have survived to 

 modern conjuring entertainments. 1 Here 

 rat us of the higher magic was still used, 



to be degraded and distorted from its 01 n tand 



j 



purpose. The circle now served to secur v( ,> ancl 



mage, not from the assaults of supernatural bj^^d- 

 but from the indiscreet approach of too c - o i; P re ~ 

 spectators. The brazier with its cloud of - u . ma ^ 

 and stupifying smoke served to affect the 

 of the subject ; the strange sound of recited 

 to impress his imagination; the magic ^ rfi 

 to fix his attention, till he became the wi v & to 

 captive and obedient to his every suggestion, ^jl* 11 ** 

 was the art of glamour, as it used to be c s ^. 

 which, in one sphere, seemed to change a ru- - llcn 

 and cobweb-hung hall into a bower of deligh^ :l ^ cn 

 (another, made visions of distant places and f lf *" 

 :imes appear in mirrors or crystals ; in yet am ]. an s 

 Drovided the philtres which provoked love r - ( l ^ cn 



igatures which restrained it, and even dealt mj-0* m 



i " ~ 

 iccursed spell of envoutement which promisCg 1 ' 



procure for jealousy and hatred all their w ',-* 

 will. ^ 



Such then were the magiche frode of Vjjl 1 

 Dante accuses Scot, and it is easy to see tha r l ^e 

 sting of the verse lies just here ; in the unreal^? 

 attributes to this magician's art, much as i^- 

 poet had called him in plain prose, 'no mag^i. 

 common juggler.' Resenting Scot's pose 4 



t) first 



1 See the De Secretis of Bacon for a curious account of thes- 1 

 is practised in his day. j 







