The Key of Solomon

Solomon (Josephus, Antiquities original: Antiquitates Judaicae; a historical work by Flavius Josephus written in the 1st century CE. The specific reference VIII, II, 5 describes Solomon's God-given power to expel demons and heal the sick. Book VIII, II, 5). We find traces of this mysticism as the background of the art of healing in the New Testament itself. In the Old Testament, of course, witchcraft is looked upon as an abomination; it is forbidden and punishable by death A reference to biblical prohibitions such as Exodus 22:18 and Leviticus 20:27, which established strict penalties for practitioners of magic..

Nevertheless, the spirit of man—ever groping about in the dark—was accustomed at all times, even before the dawn of civilization, to thirst and search after that which was hidden and concealed. For the purpose of improving their condition or satisfying their aspirations, men longed to employ, in the absence of all material and visible means of help, such methods as they considered to have been supplied by the mystic world. Their aim at first was to alter their own conditions by means of such mystic practices; and any failure with which they met in the course of their operations, they attributed to their own personal defects and lack of ability. Their faith in the methods which they adopted could not be shaken.

It was this very faith in the efficacy of their craft that gave the opportunity to many an impostor to mislead the simple, honest folk who sought their aid; and these impostors, at least, had no cause to