Lives of the Necromancers
Or, an Account of the Most Eminent Persons in Successive Ages, Who Have Claimed for Themselves, or to Whom Has Been Imputed by Others, the Exercise of Magical Power

A leading British intellectual's examination, published in 1834, of influential historical figures who were associated with supernatural practices.

William Godwin (Author)

9781108044172, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 February 2012

490 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm, 0.62 kg

The political philosopher and writer William Godwin (1756–1836), who was also the husband of writer Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley, was known for his philosophical works and novels. In this work, originally published in 1834, Godwin turns to the issue of the supernatural, and to some of the famous - and sometimes unexpected - people associated with it. He begins by defining some magic practices, such as divination, astrology, and necromancy, giving examples of the latter from the Bible. The remainder of the work consists of brief sketches of people and places involved in the occult world, beginning in the Ancient Middle East and Greece, surveying the Christian era in Europe, and ending with the New England witch trials. In a remarkable work of synthesis, he discusses apparently supernatural episodes in the lives of many historical figures, from Socrates and Virgil to Joan of Arc and James I.

Preface
Introduction
1. Ambitious nature of man
2. Examples of necromancy and witchcraft from the Bible
3. Greece
4. Rome
5. Revolution produced in the history of necromancy and witchcraft upon the establishment of Christianity
6. History of necromancy in the East
7. Dark Ages of Europe
8. Communication of Europe and the Saracens
9. Revival of Letters
10. Sanguinary proceedings against witchcraft
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]