Encyclopedia Of Ancient And Forbidden Secrets

Encyclopedia of Ancient and Forbidden Secrets Nye Abraham, The Jew: (Alchemist and magician, circa, 1400). Comparatively few biographical facts are forthcoming concerning this German Jew, who was at once alchemist, magician and philosopher; and these few facts are mostly derived from a very curious manuscript, now domiciled in the Archives of the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal, Paris, an institution rich in occult documents. This manuscript is couched throughout in French, but purports to be literally translated from Hebrew, and the style of the handwriting indicates that the scribe lived at the beginning of the eighteenth century, or possibly somewhat earlier. work this consisting of some account of Abraham's youth and early travels in search of wisdom, along with advice to the young man aspiring to become skilled in occult arts. The second part, on the other hand, is base on the documents which the Egyptian sage handed the Jew, or at least on the confidences wherewith the former favoured the latter; and it may be fairly accurately defined as dealing with the first principles of magic in general, the titles of some of the more important chapter being as follows: " How Many, and what are the Classe of Veritable Magic ? " - What we Ought to Take int Consideration before the Undertaking of the Operation, " Concerning the Convocation of the Spirits, " and " I what Manner we ought to Carry out the Operations. A distinct illiteracy characterises the French script, the punctuation being inaccurate, indeed frequently conspicuous by its absence, but an actual description of the document must be waived till later. Abraham was probably a native of Mayence, having come thence after the exile of the Jews from Spain, and appears to have been born in 1362. We find that his father, Simon by name, was something of a seer and magician, and that the boy accordingly commenced his occul