Magia Adamica

who acknowledged him in the flesh before he himself disclosed it. I find God communicating with them as he formerly did with the patriarchs. He directs their travels with a star, as he directed the Israelites with a pillar of fire; he warns them of future dangers in their dreams, so that, having first seen his Son, they might next see his salvation. This makes me believe they were [New translations of the Latin terms:] “sons of the prophets” as well as “sons of the art”: men acquainted with the very mysteries through which the prophets had acted before them. To reconcile this science and its masters with the world is an undertaking more plausible than possible: prejudice is so great that neither reason nor authority can outweigh it. If I were to persuade a Jew of my principles, I could do it in two words: [New translation of the Hebrew:] “The sages have said.” [Vaughan’s own English rendering:] “The Hachamim, or wise men, have said it.” Give him the authority of his fathers and he immediately submits to its seal. Truly our first Galileans—I mean those Christians whose lamps burned close to the Cross and burial—were most concise in their initiations. In those days a convert was confirmed with a simple [New translation of the Greek:] “Believe”—[Vaughan’s own English rendering:] “Believe”—and nothing more. Indeed, the solemn force of this brief introduction was such that Julian made it the theme of his apostasy: [New translation of the Greek:] “Nothing beyond ‘Believe.’” [Vaughan’s own English rendering:] “You have