Page:Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia) (1651).djvu/462

 Ancients were willing to conceal God, and divine vertues by sensible figures, and by those things which were visible, yet signifying invisible things, as being willing to deliver great mysteries in sacred letters, and explain them in certain Symbolical figures; as when they dedicated all round things to the World, the Sun, the Moon, hope, and fortune, a circle to the heaven, and parts of a circle to the Moon, Pyranide and Obelisks to the fire, and Olympian Gods; a Cylinder to the Sun and Earth; a mans Yard to generation and Juno, to whom also by reason of the feminine sex the triangular figure. Wherefore this kind of Characters hath another root beside the pleasure, and authority of the institutor, of him I say, who received power of instituting, and consecrating these kind of letters, such as were many Prelates amongst divers Nations, and Sects of Religions, whose institutions came not to us, by reason that few of them were delivered by the Authors scatteringly, and by fragments. Of this kind of character therefore are those which Peter Apponus notes, as delivered by Honorius of Thebes, the figures whereof are such, being related to our Alphabet.

Chapter xxx. Another manner of making Characters, delivered by Cabalists. Amongst the Hebrews