The Key of Solomon

complain that Fate had been unkind to them, and had not helped them to improve their lot in life.

In the New Testament (Acts VIII), it is true, the practice of open sorcery, personified in Simon Magus A figure in early Christianity, often called Simon the Sorcerer, who converted to Christianity but was rebuked by Peter for trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit., is assailed; yet this yearning after the acquisition of the gifts of the world and the satisfaction of temporal happiness could not be quenched by means of religion proper, and the unbeliever continually resorted to the practice of sorcery in order to bring about, as he thought, the amelioration of his condition.

In the Alpha-Beta of Ben Sira A medieval work often attributed to the biblical figure Ben Sira, though likely written between 700 and 1000 CE. It contains a collection of proverbs and folklore. there is also cited an interesting instance of the practical application of the magic art (Amsterdam Edit. 1696, p. 9; the reference is to Nebuchadnezzar The king of Babylon mentioned in the Bible, often associated in Jewish legend with attempts to use magic or secret wisdom.).

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 67b.) calls sorcery the „denial of the Providence of God”: — Rabbi Yohanan said:

Why is it called sorcery? Because it denies the Heavenly Household. original: "אמר רבי יוחנן: למה נקרא שמן כשפים שמכחישין פמליא של מעלה:" The Hebrew term for sorcery, keshafim, is here interpreted as a shorthand for makhchishin pamalia shel ma'ala—denying or diminishing the power of the celestial council of angels and divine order.

A strong indictment against the practice of magic is contained in the later, though most important work The Book of the Pious original: Sefer Hasidim; a foundational 12th-13th century text on Jewish ethics and law by Rabbi Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (R. Jehuda Hasid). by R. Jehuda Hasid.

The concluding paragraph of this work is as follows:—

Harmful spirits do not provoke any but those who provoke them, such as those who—or whose fathers—have written amulets, or dealt in sorcery and incantations, or original: "אין המזיקין מתגרין אלא במי שמתגרה בהם כגון שכתבו הוא ואבותיו קמיעות או עסקו בכשפים ובהשבעות או"