Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy

A horizontal row of twelve decorative floral printer's ornaments (fleurons) acting as a header border.

To the Author, on his Translation of

Cornelius Agrippa.

Does Phœbus original: "Phœbus"—An epithet for Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of the sun, prophecy, and the arts. cease to answer our demands?
Or will he not accept from mortal hands
A humble Bidental? In ancient Rome, a sacred place struck by lightning, consecrated by the sacrifice of a sheep. Here, it refers to a sacred or propitiatory offering. And is the Sibyl’s Ancient prophetesses who spoke the oracles of the gods. cave
Uninhabitable? Or may Tiresias The famous blind prophet of Thebes in Greek mythology. have
No successor nor rival? How shall we
Then direct Oedipus The mythological king of Thebes famed for solving the riddle of the Sphinx; he is used here as a symbol of someone who can solve deep mysteries. to the world? If he
Adds Incest to Parricide The killing of a parent or near relative., they are silent,
Who could predict what things would surely come:
And they are silent who knew when to apply
To our Body Politic A metaphor describing a nation or state as if it were a human body. a Purge and Phlebotomy. The practice of bloodletting, used here as a metaphor for "curing" the problems of the state.
How will bold thieves rob our treasures, or who shall
Regain lost goods, or by his Charms recall
The guilty? original: "nocent"—an archaic term for someone who is harmful or guilty. The Art is by you rescued:
In you the Magi Ancient wise men or practitioners of secret arts. seem to be revived.
Phœbus is not sick in the mind, Jove's doves are not dead,
The Oracles have not ceased: and Agrippa's bed
(Like the Arabian bird's The Phoenix, a mythical bird that lived for centuries, burned itself on a funeral pyre, and was then reborn from its own ashes. self-built nest,
Which first serves as her Urn A vessel for holding the ashes of the dead., then her place of rebirth)
Has produced you, who are surely more than his equal,
Otherwise this Art would have remained obscure,
A miracle to common people, well known to none,
And hardly understood by those of the deepest intellect.
Then I will conclude: Since you explain him so well,
That the younger brother Referring to the translator as the "younger brother" to the original author, Agrippa. has the better brain.