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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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Original English

Man, planted in him a spirit of that Capacitie, that he might know All, adding thereto a most fervent Desire to know, lest that Capacitie should be useless. This Truth is evident in the Posteritie of Man: For little Children before ever they can speak, will stare upon any thing, that is strange to them; they will crie, and are restless till they get it into their hands, that they may feele it, and look upon it, that is to say, that they may know what it is in some Degree, and according to their Capacitie. Now some ignorant Nurse will think they doe all this, out of a desire to play with what they see, but they themselves tell us the Contrarie; For when they are past Infants, and begin to make use of Language, if any New thing appeares, they will not desire to play with it, but they will ask you, what it is? for they desire to know; and this is plain out of their Actions; for if you put any Rattle into their hands,

Modern English

humanity, he planted in it a spirit with the capacity to know everything, adding a most fervent desire for knowledge so that this capacity would not be useless. The truth of this is evident in humanity’s descendants. Before little children can speak, they stare at whatever is strange to them. They cry and remain restless until they get it into their hands, so that they can feel it and look at it: that is, know what it is to some degree, according to their capacity. An ignorant nurse may think they do all this from a wish to play with what they see; but the children themselves tell us otherwise. Once they are beyond infancy and begin to use language, if something new appears they do not ask to play with it, but ask what it is: they want to know. Their actions make this plain. Put a rattle into their hands,

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.