Chapter 2

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Magic is a faculty of very great power, full of the loftiest mysteries. It takes in the deepest contemplation of the most secret things — their nature, power, quality, substance, and force — and the knowledge of the whole of nature. It instructs us in how things differ from one another and how they agree, and from this it produces its wonderful effects: uniting the powers of things by applying them to each other, and to the suitable inferior subjects that can receive them, coupling and marrying them everywhere to the gifts and powers of the higher things.

This is the most perfect and highest knowledge. This is the higher and holier philosophy. This, finally, is the absolute consummation of the whole of the noblest philosophy. For since all regulative philosophy is divided into natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology — natural philosophy teaches the nature of the things that are in the world, and searches out and probes their causes, effects, times, places, forms, occurrences, wholes and parts.

Agrippa here quotes a verse passage (source unidentified) asking the questions natural philosophy poses:

What things, they ask, are called the elements,
what heat brings about, what earth, what moist air,
what they beget, and whence the great sky's first beginnings,
whence the sea's flowing, or the rainbow's varied colors,
what makes the roaring cloud give back its thunder,
whence the lightning is hurled from the ethereal hall.
What secret torches by night, what cause brings forth
comets, and what blind power shakes the swollen earth,
what are the seeds of gold, what the seeds of iron,
and the whole ingenious force of hidden nature.

Natural philosophy, the observer of natures, takes in all of this — and what Vergil sings (attribution given by Agrippa; not located verbatim in the surviving Vergil corpus):

Whence the race of men, and of cattle, together with rain and fires,
whence the trembling of lands, by what force the deep seas swell,
their barriers burst, and settle back again into themselves,
the powers of herbs, the tempers and the rages of wild beasts,
every kind of shrub, and of stone, and of creeping thing.

Mathematics, for its part, teaches us to know the nature that is extended flat and drawn out into three dimensions, and to observe the motion and the courses of the heavenly bodies.

(source unidentified):

By what golden motion the stars of heaven are swept along,
what now makes the darkening moon grow dim,
and the grazing suns fail short of their light.

And what Vergil sings — Georgics I.231-232 opens this passage nearly verbatim; the lines that follow compress further Georgics I matter on the sky's signs:

Whereby, in fixed measured parts, the circle
the golden sun governs through the world's twelve constellations:
it shows the paths of the sky, and points out the stars,
the varied eclipses of the sun, and the moon's labors,
Arcturus, the Pleiades, the Hyades, and the twin Bears,
why the winter suns hurry so to dip themselves in ocean,
or what delay holds back the slow nights.

All of which are discerned through mathematics itself — Vergil, Georgics I.252-256:

From this we can foretell the weather from a doubtful sky,
from this the day of harvest, and the season for sowing,
and when it is fitting to drive the oars through the treacherous marble sea,
when to launch out the armed fleets,
or to fell the timely pine in the woods.

[Vergil's text reads: From this we can foretell the weather from a doubtful sky, from this the day of harvest and the season for sowing, and when it is fitting to drive the oars through the treacherous sea, when to launch out the armed fleets, or to fell the timely pine in the woods.]

Theology teaches what God is; what mind, what intelligence, what angel, what demon, what soul, what religion are; what sacred institutions, rites, temples, observances and sacred mysteries are. It instructs us also concerning faith, miracles, the power of words and figures, and the secret operations and mysteries of seals. And, as Apuleius says, it teaches us to know rightly and to be skilled in the ceremonial laws, the sacred duty, and the right of religions.

But let me now gather this up. Magic itself takes in these three most powerful faculties, joins them, and puts them into action. Rightly, then, was it held by the ancients to be the highest and holiest knowledge.

This was found illustrated by the weightiest authors and the most distinguished writers: among whom Zamolxis and Zoroaster shone forth especially, so that they have been believed by many to be the inventors of this science. Following their footsteps were Abaris the Hyperborean, Charmondas, Damigeron, Eudoxus, Hermippus: and other more distinguished masters arose, such as Hermes Trismegistus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Plotinus, Proclus, Dardanus, Orpheus the Thracian, Gog the Greek, Germa the Babylonian, Apollonius of Tyana; Ostanes too wrote excellently in this art, whose books, dug up out of a tomb, Democritus of Abdera illustrated with his own commentaries. Besides these, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, Plato, and many of the most noble philosophers sailed abroad to learn it: and returning from it, preached it with the greatest holiness, and held it among their secret things. Indeed we have it on record that Pythagoras and Plato, to learn it, went to the prophets of Memphis, and traveled through nearly the whole of Syria, Egypt, Judaea, and the schools of the Chaldeans, so that the most holy monuments of Magic should not lie hidden from them, and so that they might be steeped in divine matters.

Therefore whoever aspires to study in this faculty now: if he is not skilled in natural philosophy, in which are made clear the qualities of things and in which are opened up the hidden properties of every being; and if he is not a craftsman of mathematics, and of the aspects and figures of the stars, on which the sublime power and property of every thing depends; and if he is not learned in theology, in which are made manifest the immaterial substances that dispense and administer all things — he will not be able to understand the rationality of magic. For no work is brought to completion by magic itself, nor is any work truly magical, that does not take in these three faculties.

Modern rendering

Magic is a discipline of enormous power, full of the deepest mysteries. It covers the deepest study of the most hidden things — what they are, what they can do, what they're like, what they're made of, how strong they are — and the knowledge of nature entire. It teaches us how things differ and how they match. That is where its remarkable results come from: it unites the powers of things by bringing them together — and by bringing them to the lower things able to receive them — pairing and marrying them to the gifts and powers of what stands above.

This is the most complete and the highest knowledge. This is the higher, holier philosophy. This is where the noblest philosophy finally arrives. Philosophy that governs practice divides into three: natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology. Natural philosophy teaches what the things in the world are, and digs into their causes, effects, timings, places, forms, events, wholes and parts.

Agrippa quotes a verse passage here (source unidentified) on the questions natural philosophy asks:

What are the elements, people ask, and why are they named that,
what does heat do, what do earth and moist air do,
what do they produce, and where does the great sky begin,
where do the sea's tides come from, or the rainbow's colors,
what makes the roaring clouds give out thunder,
where does lightning get hurled from out of the upper air.
What secret fires burn at night, what cause
brings on comets, and what unseen force shakes the swollen earth,
what are the seeds of gold, what the seeds of iron,
and the whole ingenious force of hidden nature.

Natural philosophy, which studies the natures of things, covers all of this — plus what Vergil sings of (as Agrippa names him; not found verbatim in the surviving Vergil corpus):

Where humans and animals come from, along with rain and fire,
where earthquakes come from, what force makes the deep seas swell,
break their banks, and settle back into themselves,
the powers of plants, the moods and tempers of wild animals,
every kind of shrub, and stone, and creeping thing.

Mathematics, meanwhile, teaches us to understand flat, two-dimensional shapes as well as three-dimensional ones, and to track the motion and paths of the heavenly bodies.

(source unidentified):

By what golden motion the stars are carried along,
what makes the moon darken and dim,
and the grazing suns run short of their light.

And what Vergil sings — the opening two lines track Georgics I closely; what follows compresses more of its sky-lore:

How, moving through fixed measured stages,
the golden sun governs the sky's circle across its twelve constellations:
it shows the paths of heaven, points out the stars,
the sun's various eclipses and the moon's labors,
Arcturus, the Pleiades and Hyades, the two Bears,
why winter suns rush to dip themselves into the ocean,
and what holds the slow nights back.

Mathematics reveals all of this — Vergil, Georgics I.252-256:

From it we can predict the weather out of an uncertain sky,
the day for harvest, and the season for sowing,
when it's right to row out through the treacherous glassy sea,
when to launch the armed fleets,
or to fell timber in the woods at the right season.

Theology teaches what God is — and mind, intelligence, angel, demon, soul, religion; and what sacred institutions, rites, temples, observances and mysteries are. It also covers faith, miracles, the power of words and figures, and the hidden workings and mysteries of seals. And, as Apuleius says, it teaches us to properly understand and master the ceremonial laws, the sacred duty, and the rights of religions.

Let me pull this together. Magic takes in all three of these powerful disciplines, joins them, and puts them to work. No wonder the ancients held it to be the highest and holiest knowledge.

It was made famous by the weightiest authorities and most distinguished writers. Zamolxis and Zoroaster stood out so much that many believed them to be the inventors of this science. Following them came Abaris the Hyperborean, Charmondas, Damigeron, Eudoxus, and Hermippus; and other, even more famous masters emerged — Hermes Trismegistus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Plotinus, Proclus, Dardanus, Orpheus the Thracian, Gog the Greek, Germa the Babylonian, and Apollonius of Tyana. Ostanes also wrote excellently on this art; Democritus of Abdera dug his books out of a tomb and illuminated them with his own commentary. Beyond these, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, Plato, and many other highly distinguished philosophers sailed far to learn this art, and on returning taught it with the greatest reverence and kept it among their secrets. In fact, it's on record that Pythagoras and Plato traveled to the prophets of Memphis to learn it, and crossed nearly all of Syria, Egypt, Judaea, and the schools of the Chaldeans — so that none of Magic's holiest monuments would escape them, and so they could steep themselves in divine matters.

So anyone who wants to study this now needs all three. Without natural philosophy, which shows the qualities of things and opens up the hidden properties of everything that exists — without real skill in mathematics, and in the aspects and figures of the stars, which every thing's higher power and property depends on — without training in theology, which reveals the immaterial substances that distribute and run everything — he will not understand why magic works. No magical work gets finished, and no work is truly magical, unless it takes in all three.