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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Parallel Edition

Thomas Vaughan

Magia Adamica

The Antiquity of Magic · With the Complete Coelum Terrae

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Magia AdamicaThe Law, the Letters and the Book of Nature · Modern English

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Modern English Page · Branch 140 of 318

The Law, the Letters and the Book of Nature · Modern English

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Original English

But to deale ingenuously with my Readers, I say the Cabala I admit of consists of two parts, τοῦ λεγομένου and τοῦ ὄντος the Name, and Thing. The former part is meerly Typicall in reference to the later, Serving only as the shadow to the substance. I will give you some instances. The Literal Cabala, which is but a Veile cast over the Secrets of the Physicall, hath Three Principles, commonly styl'd Tres Matres, or the Three Mothers: In the Masculine Complexion the Jewes call them אמש Emes, in the Foeminine אשם Asam, and they are א aleph, מ mem, ש schin. Now I will shew you how the Physical Cabala expounds the

Modern English

To deal frankly with my readers, the Kabbalah I admit has two parts: [New translation of the Greek:] “what is spoken” and “what is”; [Vaughan’s English:] name and thing. The former is merely symbolic in relation to the latter, serving as shadow to substance. I shall give examples. Literal Kabbalah, a veil cast over natural Kabbalah’s secrets, has three principles, commonly called the three mothers. In the masculine constitution the Jews call them Emes; in the feminine, Asam. They are aleph; mem; and shin. I shall now show how natural Kabbalah explains the

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.