A Letter, &c.

we have—enough to make a wise man laugh indeed at any subject whatsoever—are certainly most dangerous to joke with. And we may very well fear that it might bring a scandal upon our religion. It is true, he must make a Kabbalist original: "Cabalist," a practitioner of the Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism that was often conflated with occultism in this period speak like a saint, or else he improperly manages the character; and if he does speak like a saint, he deceives those of weak judgment by this appearance of sanctity. Probably, he shall induce men to believe in these wild fantasies original: "Extravagancies" more than all his joking original: "Drolling," meaning a mocking or satirical tone shall be able to refute.

To this, my friend answered with the same presumption that authors are accustomed to show when they defend their works: that though these Kabbalistic mysteries are so serious, there are none but melancholy people original: "Melancholly Persons"; in the 17th century, melancholy was believed to be a physical imbalance that led to obsessive or irrational behavior who devote themselves to the study of them. He argued that should he attack this subject directly in a formal, academic method original: "Dogmatick Method", he himself would become ridiculous for treating such fooleries seriously. And he judged it more to the purpose to turn all this ridicule on the Count of Gabalis. The Count of Gabalis is the title character of a famous 1670 satirical novel by Henri de Montfaucon de Villars, which mocked the occult sciences. The secret sciences of the Kabbalah original: "Cabal" are among those illusions original: "Chymæras," referring to the mythical Chimera; here meaning impossible or foolish fantasies—