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laws of Manu, and the Jewish traditions of the Cabbalah. As I shall have to refer at a later time to the above-mentioned oriental records, we will now take a somewhat nearer view of the Cabbalah, and examine some of its principal teachings, which are not alone of great importance to theology, but to philosophy in general, and magic in particular.

We will let the opinion that the earliest philosophers, as Pythagoras and Plato, drew upon the Cabbalah, although possibly indirectly, rest upon its own merits; and the latest inquiries have shown, at all events, that the traditions of Judaism belong to the earliest sources of the mysteries. Schelling says, in his work on the Divinities of Samothrace, "how, if in the Grecian mythology, the ruins of a superior intelligence and even a perfect system were to be found, which would reach far beyond the horizon which the most ancient written records present to us!" And at the same time he suggested that possibly some portions of this system might be discovered in the Jewish philosophy, or the socalled Cabbalah.

Franz von Baader even says-" not only our salvation, but our science itself, came to us from the Jews." At all events the Fathers of the Church and the Gnostics had their allegorical interpretation of the Cabbalah; for Origen says, and Hilarius repeats, that "although Moses committed the contents of the Covenant to writing, yet he also communicated some weighty secrets from the hidden depths of the law to the seventy Elders, ordaining them to be their repositories and perpetual teachers." Jerome turned to the Jews of Tiberias and Lydda, more especially to a certain Barabas, not alone for aid in the Hebrew tongue, but to learn their mystical manner of interpretation. writings of Dionysius Areopagita have palpably been grounded on the Jewish Cabbalah.

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In the Christian middle ages, the greater part were probably but continuations of that which had already been borrowed from the Cabbalah; although Johannes Scotus Erigena, Albertus Magnus, Raymond Lully, and others, appear to have prosecuted individual inquiries. Later, however, when the study of the old classics was held in great esteem, Johann Reuchlin devoted himself with great ardour

to the investigation of the Cabbalah, and has embodied the result in his works entitled "De verbo mirifico," and "De arte cabbalistica." Buxtorf, Schickard, Hottinger, Athanasius, Kircher, and many others, followed in his footsteps; and with Knorr von Rosenroth, whose work, "Cabbala Denudata," is of great merit, endeavoured to unravel the mysteries of the Cabbalah. The philosophies of Agrippa von Nettesheim, of Paracelsus, of Van Helmont and Jacob Böhme, all bear striking resemblance to the Jewish teachings; and of all those, Jacob Böhme, the shoemaker of Görlitz, possessed the deepest and most comprehensive knowledge of the Christian mystics and theosophers; and probably was made acquainted with the Cabbalah by his friend Balthazar Walther, who was thoroughly versed in oriental knowledge. To the above may be also added Porläge, Martinez, Paschalis, St. Martin, and Henry More, who were all acute and skilful searchers into the mysteries of the Jewish esoteric doctrines.

No one, however, has rendered greater service than Professor Molitor, in his "Philosophy of History," and "Traditions." Although Molitor's researches were principally directed towards the wonderful revelations of religion and philosophy, yet the Cabbalah does not the less contain many facts which bear great reference to natural philosophy, and possess deep interest for us. In it we find the principal outlines of the later magic, and more especially witchcraft, which is perfectly represented; on which account we may be excused for entering somewhat more at large into the subject.

"The age of inconsequence and shallowness in theology as well as in sciences, is past," says Molitor, "and since that revolutionary rationalism has left nothing behind but its own emptiness, after having destroyed everything positive, it seems now to be the time to direct our attention anew to that mysterious revelation which is the living spring whence our salvation has proceeded. Such an investigation, carried out with an elevated spirit, into the mysteries of ancient Israel, which contain all secrets of modern Israel, would be particularly calculated to rouse the elements of Christianity, to found the fabric of theology upon its deepest theosophical principles, and to give a firm basis to all ideal

sciences. It would aid in opening a new path to the true history of mankind, and would serve as the first step to a more complete understanding of the obscure labyrinth of the myths, mysteries, and constitutions of primitive nations."

The Cabbalah appears to consist of patriarchal traditions, and to embrace more particularly the following subjects:the sacred idea of God and of divine natures; the primitive spiritual creation and the first spiritual fall; the origin of darkness, chaos, and renewed creation of the world in the six days of creation; the creation of material man, his fall, and the will of God for his salvation, and the restoration of the primitive harmony, and the ultimate bringing back of all creation to God.

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Molitor continues to say that the writings of the ancients had not the intention of explaining the whole depth of a subject, but rather of giving its most important essence; on this account they were short and simple, but of weighty importance, and unintelligible to every one who wished to study them without a teacher, and that even the whole spirit of knowledge was only imparted to the scholars verbally in that degree which their capacities enabled them to receive, and that especially in the highest and holiest interest of humanity-in religion-the written laws were accompanied by unwritten explanations. He also gives the criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false traditions, and then says-"That in this tradition was contained the system of the schools of the prophets, which the prophet Samuel did not found, but only restored, whose end was no other than to lead the scholars to wisdom and the highest knowledge, and, when they had been found worthy, to induct them into the deeper mysteries. Classed with these mysteries was magic, which was of a double nature,divine magic, or the true inspiration of the good and evil magic, or the black art, which endeavours to raise the obscure earthy to an unfettered existence. Each of these is

again divisible into two kinds, the active and seeing; in the first, man endeavours to place himself en rapport with the world—to learn hidden things; in the latter, he endeavours to gain power over spirits; in the former, to perform good and beneficial acts; in the latter to do all kinds of diabolical and unnatural deeds."-p. 285.

The Kischuph, or higher magical influence, is divided into two principal classes, an elementary and a spiritual; the latter proceeds from below upwards, from without inwards, from the material to the spiritual; the former comes from above to within, from the spiritual to the physical. With the former evil spirits are the agencies, and they lend their aid as they do in every bad deed; the Kischuph consists also in exorcism, by which things are hindered in their principles, and actions are turned aside, or bound and given into the power of Satan. According to the teachings of the Cabbalah, laying a curse upon men; creating hatred and enmity; causing pain and illness, or death, in men or animals; producing storms and hail, are all of this nature. Many sorcerers are said to change themselves into the semblance of animals, and to journey great distances in a short time. Magic also made use of outward means, particularly of salves, and oils, and metals, each one of which had a particular property, and the strangest things could be done by mixing them. It says further, "there are women who make a contract with the Schedim, and meet them at certain times, dance with them, and visit these spirits who appear to them in the shape of goats. In many countries such women are killed (a foreshadowing of the witch trials of modern times), for although their crime is no outward one, yet the penalty of death is awarded to them in Exodus xxii. 17; for such have given themselves wholly to Satan." -p. 287.

The material Kischuph consists of disturbing influences upon the elements of nature by means of the excitement of false" rapports" in various substances. By such sacrilegious encroachments of the natural elements, life is not only made miserable, but the laws of nature are distorted and wronged. The first class is called sorcery, in the narrow acceptation, and is alone practised by masters of the black art. The second class, on the contrary, under the name of the evil sympathy, is found to be very widely spread among all oriental nations. "But all kinds of sorcery proceed from the serpent, on which account they are called arts of the serpent."

The magic sight is also of two classes,-when man either places himself in immediate connection with an evil spirit, or by means of such a spirit communicates with the dead,

"for spirits have knowledge which is unknown to man.' Often, however, they pretend to know future things, for the purpose of deceiving men with lies, or intentionally distort truth. The exorcists must prepare themselves before they commence their labours, and the best time for all sorcery is from half-past ten to midnight, when the world of darkness has the greatest strength; yet powerful sorcerers have the power over spirits after two o'clock in the afternoon. The conjuring of spirits can either take place inwardly, or the spirit may be made to appear visibly (as in magnetic somnambulism). In the inward method of exorcism, the magician produces unconsciousness by outward means, and the spirit enters into and speaks from him (possession). This kind is called Idoni (the forbidden sorcery and witchcraft, 3 Moses, 19, 21.) "In the second class or the regular citation of bad spirits, the magicians spread a table with food and drink, burn incense, and the spirits then assemble and answer questions. Sorcerers often use staves, with which they strike upon the earth to rouse the spirits, and often also creep about upon the ground. Generally they rise with dishevelled hair, their limbs are convulsed, make strange movements, or cut themselves to attract spirits."-p. 289. (In every respect a perfect description of Virgil's Sibylls and the convulsive movements of magnetic sleepers.) The incense must never be omitted (as in the case of the Egyptian and Greek oracles), for it has great power of attracting those dark forms, and partly it helps to prepare the atmosphere, so that the spirits may become visible, as every spirit must attract matter. Not less do magicians use blood, particularly that of human beings, as it is the seat of life, and a delight and nourishment for the Schedim; and when the sorcerer gives himself up to Satan, he signs with his blood." In the black art man does not remain a passive instrument of evil spirits, but is an active and working agent; we find that " many practise sorcery and succeed, while others do the same and fail,—so that to do such things one must be naturally inclined." (As every one has not the same magnetic powers, and not all magnetic subjects present the same phenomena.)

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According to the Cabbalah, man is enabled by his nature to look into the realms of the supernatural and the invisible,

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