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Modern English Page · Branch 51 of 318
To the Reader · Modern English
Original English
often stirrs up, puzzles, and helps our Reason; so often sollicites her when shee is restless, so often when shee is watchfull, and this by strange meanes, not casual and adventitious, but by genuine provocations and pleasures of nature; All which Motions being not to no purpose, it falls out at last that in some good time wee attain to the true Knowledge of those things that are. But because I would not have you build your Philosophie on Coralls and whistles, which are the Objects of little Children, of whom we have spoken formerly, I will speak som what of those Elements, in whose Contemplation a Man ought to employ himself, and this Discourse may serve as a Preface to our whole Philosophie. Man according to Trismegistus hath but two Elements in his power, namely Earth and Water: To which Doctrine I adde this, and I have it from a Greater than Hermes, That God hath made Man absolute
Modern English
often stirs up, puzzles and assists our reason; which so often solicits her when she is restless, so often when wakeful; and this by strange means, neither accidental nor arriving from outside, but by Nature’s genuine provocations and pleasures. Since none of these motions is without purpose, it follows that at some favourable time we attain true knowledge of the things that are.” But because I would not have you build your philosophy on corals and whistles—the objects of the little children of whom we spoke earlier—I shall say something about the elements in whose contemplation a person ought to occupy themselves. This discourse may serve as a preface to our whole philosophy. According to Trismegistus, humanity has only two elements in its power: earth and water. To this doctrine I add something received from one greater than Hermes: God has made humanity absolute
Socrates
Reading Magia Adamica · To the Reader · Unnumbered Preliminary 24 · Passage A
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.
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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.
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