thers, and an
Oracle to declare his Decrees by; this does not seem to be rational.

But as far as this kind of Divination is in Use in our Days, yet I do
not find room to charge the Devil with making any great Use of Fools,
unless it be such as he has particularly qualified for his Work, for as
to _Ideots_ and _Naturals_, they are perfectly useless to him; but a
sort of Fools call'd the Magi, indeed, we have some Reason to think he
often works with.

We are not arriv'd to a certainty yet, in the settling this great Point,
namely, what Magick is? whether a diabolical Art or a Branch of the
Mathematicks? Our most learned _Lexicon Technicum_ is of the latter
Opinion, and gives the _Magic Square_ and the _Magic Lantern_, two Terms
of Art.

The _Magic Square_ is when Numbers in _Arithmetical Proportion_ are
dispos'd into such Parallels or equal Ranks, as that the Sums of each
Row as well _Diagonally_ as _Laterally_ shall be all equal; for Example,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Place these Nine in a Square of three, they
will _directly_ and _diagonally_ make 18. Thus,

+------------+
| 5 | 10 | 3 |
-------------|
| 4 | 6 | 8 |
-------------|
| 9 | 2 | 7 |
+------------+

This he calls the _Magic Square_, but gives no Reason for the Term, nor
any Account of what infernal Operations are wrought by this Concurrence
of the Numbers; neither do I see that there can be any such Use made of
it.

The _Magic Lantern_ is an optic Machine, by the Means of which are
represented, on a Wall in the Dark, many Phantasms and terrible
Appearances, _but no_ Devil _in all this_, only that they are taken for
the Effects of Magic, by those that are not acquainted with the Secret.

All this is done by the help of several little painted Pieces of Glass,
only so and so situated, plac'd in certain Oppositions to one another,
and painted with different Figures, the most formidable being plac'd
foremost, and such as are most capable of terrifying the Spectators; and
by this all the Figures may be represented upon the opposite Wall, in
the largest Size.

I cannot but take Notice, that this very Piece of optic Delusion seems
too much akin to the mock Possessions and infernal Accomplishments,
which most of the Possessionists of this Age pretend to, so that they
are most of them meer Phantasms and Appearances, and no more; Nor is the
Spirit of Divination, the Magic, the Necromancing, and other Arts which
were call'd Diabolical, f