A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi, with Biographical and
Critical Essay by ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE.
“A very curious book.”--_Time._
“To the rapidly-extending catalogue of remarkable books published by
Mr. George Redway, of London, an important addition has been made by
the issue of a digest of the writings of Eliphas Levi. Many people,
we dare say, will consider the volume to be ‘full of nonsense,’
but it is really a very curious and improving work, going over a
vast space of ground, and presenting a great deal of matter that
is worth thinking over. The author has earned a title to be heard.
As a contribution to what is called ‘occult science,’ the present
book will, of course, find a welcome from many readers, among those
especially whose passion it is to grope for the unseen, and to these
the varied contents will give delight. The matter contained in Mr.
Waite’s volume is wonderfully varied, and much of it worth reading,
even by those who do not believe in magic of any kind, black or
white.”--_Glasgow Herald._
“No determined student of Nature’s higher mysteries, setting out
from the standpoint of modern European culture, can afford to remain
ignorant of Eliphas Levi’s works. But to study them in the original
is a wearisome task, if for no other reason, on account of their
aggregate length. The present single volume is a digest of half a
dozen books enumerated by the present author in a ‘biographical
and critical essay’ with which he prefaces his undertaking. These
are the _Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie_, the _Histoire de la
Magie_, the _Clef des Grands Mystères_, the _Sorcier de Meudon_, the
_Philosophie Occulte_, and the _Science des Esprits_. To attack the
whole series--which, indeed, it might be difficult to obtain now
in a complete form--would be a bold undertaking, but Mr. Waite has
endeavoured to give his readers the essence of the whole six books in
a relatively compact compass.”--_Light._
“Let no man think that such transcendental mysteries as the
astrologer and the magician plunge into have disappeared from
the face of the earth. Their votaries defy derision, they meet
contempt with a calm consciousness of power, and a sublime sense of
superiority; for in this generation the magicians have found a new
prophet, a new hierophant--almost a new gospel.... Meanwhile, lest
our readers should suppose that the modern students of the science of
magic are not in deadly earnest, or that they are few in number or
poor in substance, let them, with all due awe and thankfulness, buy
this handsome volume, and as they open it let them cast a glance at
the amazing list of works published and publishing by a single firm
on the various branches of the occult sciences. Having done that, let
them ask themselves whether some forms of faith--for we dare not drop
a hint of disrespect--do not die hard.”--_Athenæum, Aug. 6th, 1887._
_12mo., cloth, 2s._