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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 · Page 49 · Passage B

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The Law, the Letters and the Book of Nature · Page 49 · Passage B

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Original English

Qualiacun que voles, Judaei Somnia vendunt. These I say have produc'd a certain up-start, bastard Cabala, which consists altogether in Alphabeticall knacks. ends alwayes in the Letter where it begins, and the Vanities of it are grown Voluminous. As for the more Ancient, and Physicall Traditions of the Cabala, I embrace them for so many Sacred Truths, but verily those Truths were unknown to most of those Rabbins whom I have seen, even to Rambam himself, I mean Rabbi Moses AEgyptius, whom the Jewes have so magnified with their famous Hyperbole: A Mose ad Mosen non surrexit sicut Moses.

Modern English

[New translation of the Latin:] “Whatever dreams you wish, the Jews will sell.” These people, I say, produced an upstart, bastard Kabbalah consisting wholly of alphabetic tricks. It always ends in the letter where it began, and its vanities have grown into volumes. The more ancient natural traditions of Kabbalah I embrace as sacred truths. Yet those truths were unknown to most rabbis I have seen, even Rambam himself—I mean Rabbi Moses the Egyptian—whom the Jews have magnified with their famous hyperbole: [New translation of the Latin:] “From Moses to Moses, none arose like Moses.”

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.