Magic, or the Secret System

XVIII

Preface.

for a Pantheon original: "Maria rotonda," the Roman Pantheon, here used as a metaphor for a grand, unified architectural design with the tasks of a common laborer.

Regarding the specific arrangement and purpose of the present writing, the first part contains everything that is essential to the system of the Unknown Philosophers, insofar as they have presented it in the two aforementioned works, but in a different order than they themselves employed. This was done not merely because their arrangement seemed inconvenient to many readers, but also because I wished to condense their entire content into a few short sheets. To this end, that which appears scattered in several places concerning the same subjects had to be collected and brought under certain main articles. In this way, the reader is enabled to survey the entire system of our authors with a steady gaze, as well as to judge the unique characteristics of their teachings according to their true relationship. Certain matters have received more light through this simple juxtaposition than they possessed in the original writings