Page:Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia) (1651).djvu/523

 of all Magical power is from the soul of man standing and not falling.

Chapter xlv. Of Soothsaying, and Phrensie. Soothsaying is that which the priests or others were stricken withall, and discerned the causes of things, and foresaw future things, viz. when Oracles and Spirits descend from the Gods or from Demons upon them, and are delivered by them; which descendings the Platonists call the falling down of superior souls on our souls; and Mercurius calls them the senses of the Demons, and the spirits of Demons. Of which sort of Demons the Ancients called Eurideae, and Pythonae, who, as the Ancients believed, were wont to enter into the bodies of men, and make use of the voyces, and tongues, for the prediction of things to come; of which Plutarch also made mention in his dialogue of the causes of defect of Oracles. But Cicero following the Stoicks, affirms that the foreknowing of future things belongs only to the Gods; and Ptolomie the Astrologer saith, that they only that are inspired with a diety foretell particular things. To these Peter the Apostle consents, saying, Prophesying is not made according to the will of man, but holy men spake as they were moved by the holy ghost. Now that the foretellings of things to come are properly the fallings down of the Gods. Isaiah affirms, saying, And tell unto us those things that are coming, and we will tell them, because ye are Gods; But these kinds of fallings down, or senses, come not into our souls when they are more attently busied ahout any thing else; but they pass into them, when they are vacant. Now there are three kinds of this vacancy, viz. phrensie, extasie, and dreams, of each of which in their order.

Chapter xlvi. Of the first kind of phrensie from the Muses. Phrensie