TO THE READER.

A decorative woodcut initial 'N' containing a seated scholar or figure at a writing desk within a classical interior featuring columns and a pediment.

I DO NOT DOUBT BUT THAT THE TITLE OF OUR BOOK
on Occult Philosophy, or on Magic, will by its rarity
attract many to read it. Among these, some—feeble in mind
due to their crooked opinions—and many others, both malicious
and ungrateful toward our talent, will approach. These men, in
their reckless ignorance, will take the name of magic in its worst
sense. Scarcely having seen the title, they will cry out that we are teaching forbidden arts, sowing the seeds of heresies, providing a stumbling block to pious ears and a scandal to excellent minds; they will say I am a sorcerer, a superstitious man, a person possessed by demons—for being a magus original: "magus." In the 16th century, this term could mean anything from a wise astronomer to a dark sorcerer. Agrippa is fighting to keep the "wise" definition.. To these I respond: among learned men, "magus" does not sound of sorcery, nor superstition, nor the demonic, but rather signifies a wise man, a priest, and a prophet. The Sibyls Ancient Greco-Roman prophetesses who were believed by Renaissance Christians to have predicted the birth of Jesus. were magas Female practitioners of magic/wisdom., and thus they prophesied so clearly concerning Christ. Furthermore,
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the Magi The "Wise Men" from the East in the Gospel of Matthew. recognized through the wonderful secrets of the world that Christ, the author of the world itself, had been born, and were the first of all to come to adore Him. Thus the very name of magic is accepted by philosophers, praised by theologians, and not unwelcome even to the Gospel itself. I believe those censors of such stubborn arrogance will sooner forbid themselves from the Sibyls, the holy Magi, and even the Gospel itself before they will accept the name of magic into their favor—so much do they consult their own consciences that neither Apollo, nor all the Muses, nor even an angel from heaven could rescue me from their curse. To these men I now advise that they do not read our writings, nor understand them, nor remember them: for they are harmful, they are poisonous; the gate of Acheron original: "Acherontis ostium." In Greek mythology, Acheron is the river of woe in the underworld; Agrippa is jokingly warning that his book is a "gate to hell" for those who hate it. is in this book; it speaks stones original: "lapides loquitur," an idiom suggesting the text is hard, heavy, or potentially dangerous like a weapon., so let them beware lest it knock their brains out. But you, who come to read with a fair mind, if you apply as much discernment of prudence as bees do when gathering honey, then read in safety; for I think you will receive no small amount of utility and a great deal of pleasure. If you find things that do not please you, let them go and do not use them: for I do not prove them to you, but rather relate them. Do not, however, reject the rest on that account; for even those looking into the volumes of physicians happen to read of poisons alongside antidotes and medicines. I confess, moreover, that magic itself teaches many superfluous things and curious wonders intended for show; leave these aside as vain, but do not remain ignorant of their causes. Those things which can be done for the benefit of humanity—to avert bad outcomes, to destroy sorceries original: "maleficia," specifically harmful magic or curses., to cure diseases, to drive away phantoms, to preserve the excellence of life, honor, and fortune, without offense to God and without injury to religion—who would judge those things to be anything less than useful, or even necessary? But because I have warned you that I have written many things by relating them rather than affirming them—for it seemed necessary to do so so that we might skip over fewer things—we have additionally followed many of the opinions of the Platonists and other Gentile Philosophers where they suggested an argument for our writing project. Therefore, if I have erred anywhere, or spoken too freely, forgive our youth; for I composed this work when I was younger than a youth, so that I might excuse myself and say: