Ynde dicatur praestigium, et quia fuerit
The Deception of Magic
The holy fathers warned against the deceptive arts of magic and forbidden mathematics, which arise from demonic influence.
Its author. The holy fathers long ago banned from the court those who practice the more harmful illusions, magical arts, and the various forms of forbidden mathematics. They did this because they knew that all these crafts—or rather, these evils—arose from a pestilent familiarity between demons and men, and that those who practice them very often put them forward with the sole intention of deceiving. The Lord, warning the faithful soul against them, says: 'If they say to you, and it happens just as they said, do not believe them.'
The Origins of Illusion
The practice of illusion is traced back to Mercury, the master of magi, whose arts serve as the foundation for the various forms of magic.
Mercury, however, is said to have discovered the illusion, which is named for its ability to blind the sharpness of the eyes. He was the most skilled of the magi, able to make whatever he wished invisible or, so it seemed, to transform things into other forms. Indeed, all the figments of 'mathesis'—when you extend the penultimate syllable—are referred to magic, which has many and diverse forms.
Read the original Latin
auctor eiu8. Eos autem qui nocentiora praestigia artesque magicas et uarias species mathematicae reprobatae exercent, iam pridem sancti patres ab aula iusserunt, eo quod omnia haec artificia uel potius maleficia ex pestifera quadam familiaritate demonum et hominum nouerint profluxisse, uerumque persaepe proferunt sola intentione fallendi, a quibus animam fidelem Dominus arcens ait: Si dixerint uobis, et ita euenerit, ne credatis eis. Praestigium uero Mercurius dicitur inuenisse, quod ex eo sic dicitur, quod aciem praestringat a oculorum. Fuitque magorum peritissimus, ut quascumque res uellet inuisibiles faceret, aut, ut uidebatur, in alias species transformaret. Omnia siquidem mathesis, dum penultimam extendis, figmenta ad magicam referuntur, cuius plurimae species sunt et diuersae.
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study