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    Egyptian Magic (Illustrated Edition) (English Edition)

    Por E.A. Wallis Budge

    Sobre

    A study of the remains of the native religious literature of ancient
    Egypt which have come down to us has revealed the fact that the
    belief in magic, that is to say, in the power of magical names, and
    spells, and enchantments, and formulæ, and pictures, and figures,
    and amulets, and in the performance of ceremonies accompanied by
    the utterance of words of power, to produce supernatural results,
    formed a large and important part of the Egyptian religion. And it is
    certain that, notwithstanding the continuous progress which the
    Egyptians made in civilization, and the high intellectual
    development to which they eventually attained, this belief
    influenced their minds and, from the earliest to the latest period of
    their history, shaped their views concerning things temporal as well
    as spiritual in a manner which, at this stage in the history of the
    world, is very difficult to understand. The scrupulous care with
    which they performed their innumerable religious ceremonies, and
    carried out the rules which they had formulated concerning the
    worship of the divine Power or powers, and their devotion to
    religious magic, gained for them among the nations with whom they
    came in contact the reputation of being at once the most religious
    and the most superstitious of men. That this reputation was, on the
    whole, well deserved, is the object of this little book to shew.
    Egyptian magic dates from the time when the predynastic and
    prehistoric dwellers in Egypt believed that the earth, and the
    underworld, and the air, and the sky were peopled with countless
    beings, visible and invisible, which were held to be friendly or
    unfriendly to man according as the operations of nature, which they
    were supposed to direct, were favourable or unfavourable to him. In
    -nature and attributes these beings were thought by primitive man to
    closely resemble himself and to possess all human passions, and
    emotions, and weaknesses, and defects; and the chief object of magic
    was to give man the pre-eminence over such beings. The favour of
    the beings who were placable and friendly to man might be obtained
    by means of gifts and offerings, but the cessation of hostilities on the part of those that were implacable and unfriendly could only be
    obtained by wheedling, and cajolery, and flattery, or by making use
    of an amulet, or secret name, or magical formula, or figure, or picture
    which had the effect of bringing to the aid of the mortal who
    possessed it the power of a being that was mightier than the foe who
    threatened to do evil to him. The magic of most early nations aimed
    at causing the transference of power from a supernatural being to
    man, whereby he was to be enabled to obtain superhuman results
    and to become for a time as mighty as the original possessor of the
    power; but the object of Egyptian magic was to endow man with the
    means of compelling both friendly and hostile powers, nay, at a later
    time, even God Himself, to do what he wished, whether the were
    willing or not. The belief in magic, the word being used in its best
    sense, is older in Egypt than the belief in God, and it is certain that a
    very large number of the Egyptian religious ceremonies, which were
    performed in later times as an integral part of a highly spiritual
    worship, had their origin in superstitious customs which date from a
    period when God, under any name or in any form, was unconceived
    in the minds of the Egyptians. Indeed it is probable that even the use
    of the sign which represents an axe, and which stands the
    hieroglyphic character both for God and “god,“ indicates that this
    weapon and. tool was employed in the performance of some
    ceremony connected with religious magic in prehistoric, or at any
    rate in predynastic times, when it in some mysterious way
    symbolized the presence of a supreme Power.
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