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The story of the beliefs and practices called 'magic' starts in ancient Iran, Greece, and Rome, before entering its crucial Christian phase in the Middle Ages. Centering on the Renaissance and Marsilio Ficino - whose work on magic was the most influential account written in premodern times - this groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with foundations that were distinctly philosophical. Besides Ficino, the premodern story of magic also features Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, Aquinas, Agrippa, Pomponazzi, Porta, Bruno, Campanella, Descartes, Boyle, Leibniz, and Newton, to name only a few of the prominent thinkers discussed in this book. Because pictures play a key role in the story of magic, this book is richly illustrated.… (more)
User reviews
Little attention is given to what the ordinary person considered to be "magic," and what types of causes warranted burnings at the stake. Most likely the chimney sweep knew nothing at all about the gentile exchanges between effete scholars, but rather more about the fears of supernatural agents who could effect astounding displays.
While the first is interesting in its own right, it leaves the reader who wanted to know what real people were thinking about magic and the arcane undercurrents of their mundane existences feeling a bit frustrated and disappointed. But perhaps this is to fault it for the book it isn't than for what it is. At the very least, though, the title should reflect the rather narrow slice it looks at, even if it does so in exquisite detail.