Page:Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia) (1651).djvu/570

 holy rites are as it were certain agreements betwixt the Gods and us, exhibited with praise, reverence or obedience, by the means of which we very oft obtain some wonderfull vertue from that divine power, on whom such reverence is bestowed; so there are sacred Hymns, Sermons, Exorcismes, Incantations, and words, which are compounded and dedicated for the praises and divine services of the Gods, whence, Orpheus in a verse composed for the stars, saith.

"With Holy words, now on the Gods I call."

And the primitive Church did use certain holy incantations against diseases and snf tempests, which we either pronounce praying to some divine powers, or also sometimes carrying them along with us, written and hanging on our neck, or bound to us, we obtain very oft some power from such a Saint, which men very much admire; by this means also there are sacred names, figures, Characters, and seals, which contemplative men, in purity of mind, for their secret vows, have devoted, dedicated and consecrated to the worship of God; which things truly, if any man afterwards shall pronounce with the same purity of mind, with the which they were first instituted, he shall in like manner do miracles; further also, the manner and rules delivered by the first institutor must be observed, for they who are ignorant of these things, loose their labour, and work in vain; Thus not only by barbarous words, but also by Hebrew, Aegyptian, Greek, Latine, and the names of other languages, being devoted to God, and attributed and dedicated to his essence, power or operation, we sometimes do wonders; such names there are in ''Iamblicus, viz. Osyris, Icton, Emeph, Ptha, Epies, Amun; so in Plato, and amongst the Greeks,, so the Greeks call Jupiter'' which signifieth to live, because he giveth life