The Count of Gabalis

( 8 )

not have fallen in battle against a stubborn pol-
tergeist? original: "Poltergeist" — literally a "rumbling spirit." In the 17th century, these were often viewed as lesser, troublesome elemental spirits. Perhaps he committed the
imprudence, while speaking to God upon the flam-
ing throne, of looking Him in the face; and
it is written,

whoever looks upon Him, shall
die. A reference to the biblical warning in Exodus 33:20 that no man can see the face of God and live.
Perhaps he only died in appear-
ance, according to the custom of the Sages, who
pretend to die in one place and transport
themselves to another. The narrator alludes to the popular belief that great occult adepts, such as the Rosicrucians, faked their deaths to escape public scrutiny and continue their work in secret immortality. Be that as it may,
I cannot believe that the manner in
which he entrusted his treasures to me de-
serves punishment. However, it happened like this.

My simple understanding always led me to
suspect that there was much emptiness in all so-called
secret sciences geheimen Wissenschaften: A collective term for esoteric and occult studies, including alchemy, magic, and the Kabbalah.: therefore I was
never tempted to waste my time leaf-
ing through their textbooks. But since I
found it equally reasonable [not] to condemn without
cause all those who dedicate themselves to
them—who are for the most part otherwise wise
people, full of knowledge and merit in the
state and on the battlefield—so it occurred to
me, in order to avoid injustice and to avoid
tiring myself by reading tedious
books; against all those of whom
I