A key to physic, and the occult sciences

original: "physic" — the study and practice of medicine.

People are capable of deriving great improvements from reading; and it is not so much a lack of natural ability as a lack of hard work original: "industry" and focus that causes so many men to dishonor the image of God and degrade the respected professions of Theology original: "Divinity", Medicine, and Law.

It rarely happens that a lack of intelligence or natural mental gifts are the obstacles that cause men to fail in their professional character. A person must be truly unteachable and unfit if education, experience, observation, reading, or research cannot guide them properly through life. Yet, without hard work and an earnest desire for knowledge and improvement, neither education nor natural talent can save us from the wreckage of error or the shame of ignorance. Stubborn men, even those with the greatest potential in the world, are a lost cause; they are often permanently led astray by foolishly following the fantasies of their own minds. Meanwhile, others—though gifted with good sense and deep understanding that could make them leading figures in society—give up their capacity for discernment and research. They content themselves with blindly accepting whatever they see or hear, particularly in the practice of medicine, in the law, and in the church.

The problems caused by this general behavior are many and severe. By blindly following the vague notions and false doctrines of others—by shutting their eyes against the light of reason and research and refusing to trust the evidence of their own senses—they pass errors from one generation to another. This continues until the uneducated public, dazzled by the "brilliant" ignorance of a few learned men, becomes devoted to their mistakes, turning error and irrational zeal original: "enthusiasm" — in this period, the term usually referred to religious delusion or fanatical, ungrounded passion. into a generational disease.

Therefore, we see the necessity of consulting our own reason and employing our own understanding when judging all our worldly and spiritual affairs. We must act and judge for ourselves on all occasions that immediately concern our health, our happiness, or our lives, and throughout all those afflictions and misfortunes we struggle with in this world as we journey toward a better one—to one more glorious and permanent, which is the ultimate goal and reward of all our labors! In these situations, our senses are always ready to support our efforts and perform their duty; it is unquestionably the responsibility of all people to exercise, improve, and use them. Yet it is generally astonishing to see how distrustful we are of the very faculties Nature has given us as guides, and how eagerly we submit to the opinions of others—people who cannot feel what we feel, and whose judgment is often based on flawed principles, or sometimes on no principles at all. This behavior, however, is not at all suited to the dignity and role assigned to humanity. Man, having been placed at the head of all God's works upon earth, walking in...