INTRODUCTION. xvii

I have never heard through word of mouth or tradition that any other copy of this manuscript exists. By publishing it now, I believe I am providing a genuine service to English and American students of occultism occultismThe study of hidden or supernatural knowledge and the practice of rituals meant to influence the natural world. by making such a significant magical work available to them for the first time.

The manuscript is divided into three books. Each has its own title page surrounded by a simple ornamental border in red and black ink. This border is clearly not meant to be symbolic in any way; it is simply the work of a diligent calligrapher original: "caligraphist" who wanted to give the title pages a neat and finished appearance. The wording on each title page is the same:

"Book One (Two, or Three, as the case may be) of the Sacred Magic which God gave to Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, and other Holy Patriarchs and Prophets, which teaches the true Divine Wisdom left by Abraham to Lamech his son, translated from the Hebrew in 1458." original: "Livre Premier (Second or Troisieme, as the case may be) de la Sacree Magie que Dieu donna à Moyse, Aaron, David, Salomon et à d'autres Saints Patriarches et Prophetes qui enseigne la vraye sapience Divine laissée par Abraham a Lamech son Fils traduite de l'hébreu 1458"

I provide the translated title at the beginning of each of the three books.

On the fly-leaf fly-leafA blank page at the very beginning or end of a book, often used for owner signatures or short notes. of the original manuscript is the following note, written in handwriting from the end of the eighteenth century:

"This volume contains three books, of which this is the first. The Abraham and the Lamech mentioned here were Jews of the fifteenth century. It is well known that the Jews of that period, because they possessed the Kabbalah original: "Cabala" of Solomon, were considered the greatest sorcerers and astrologers."

Then follows another note in a more recent hand:

"Volume composed of three parts—"

1st part	102	pages.
2nd part	194	pages.
3rd part	117	pages.
	---
	413	pages.

June, 1883.