Magia Adamica

Name: Magia Adamica
Author: Thomas Vaughan

The Antiquity of Magic · With the Complete Coelum Terrae

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Magia AdamicaThe Defence of Magic · Modern English

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Modern English Page · Branch 69 of 318

The Defence of Magic · Modern English

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Original English

THat I should professe Magic in this Discourse, and Justifie the Professors of it withall, is Impietie with Many, but Religion with Mee. It is a Conscience I have learnt from Authors greater than my Self, and Scriptures greater than Both. Magic is nothing els but the Wisdom of the Creator revealed and planted in the Creature. It is a Name (as Agrippa saith) ipsi Evangelio non ingratum, not Distastefull to the very Gospel it self. Magicians were the first Attendants our Saviour met withall in this world, and the onely Philosophers,

Modern English

For me to profess magic in this discourse, and defend its practitioners as well, is impiety to many, but religion to me. It is a conviction I have learned from authors greater than myself, and from Scriptures greater than either. Magic is simply the Creator’s wisdom revealed and planted in the creature. As Agrippa says, its name is [New translation of the Latin:] “not unwelcome to the Gospel itself”; [Vaughan’s own English rendering:] “not distasteful to the very Gospel itself.” Magicians were the first attendants our Saviour encountered in this world, and the only philosophers

About This Reading Edition

Thomas Vaughan’s complete 1650 Magia Adamica publication, with all historical preliminaries and the complete appended Coelum Terrae, original and modern English, fresh translations of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, full poems, eight historical marginal notes, the complete recovered printed corrections, 312 annotations and the complete supplied Diotimos study apparatus.

Historical Text and Translation

Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Magia Adamica: or The Antiquitie of Magic, with Coelum Terrae. London: T. W. for H. Blunden, 1650. Governing transcription: EEBO-TCP A64768.0001.001. The Getty Research Institute copy supplies surviving first-edition page images; the 1656 issue supplies explicitly disclosed missing or defective material. The complete shared 1650 errata are recovered from the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica copy of The Man-Mouse.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The historical text is public domain; the EEBO-TCP Phase I transcription is released under CC0. The supplied 2026 reading, translations and Diotimos editorial material are published with the site owner’s authorization.