A Catalogue Raisonne? of Works on the Occult Sciences, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Catalogue Raisonne of Works on the Occult Sciences, Vol. 1<br><br>In bringing before the public a work of this description I feel it necessary to say a few words by way of Preface. The name of "Rosicrucian" does not appear to have been known until the commencement of the Seventeenth Century, when Europe was beginning to emerge from the depths of the intellectual darkness of the middle ages. The Reformers, notably Calvin and Luther, had to a great extent broken up the ground preparatory to a new era. This welcome change did not, however, prevent religious fanatics of many sorts from trading on the credulity of the masses, as is witnessed by the number of quacks who extorted money, under the pretence of being able to tell fortunes, and to perform transmutation, even by means of a compact with the evil one. It seemed as though a horde of sharpers was let loose, and they gulled people in a wholesale manner. Things were in this state when in the year 1614 two anonymous pamphlets appeared, the one called The Universal and General Reformation of the whole wide World, and the other The Fama Fraternitatis, or Brotherhood of the Praiseworthy order of the Rosicrucians, a message to the Governments, Nobles, and Scientists of Europe. These works caused an immense excitement, and were translated into several languages; a large number of pamphlets were circulated in reply, and the whole of Christendom was stirred to its utmost depths. This state of things went on for some considerable time, and finally seemed to exhaust itself; but curiously enough fresh evidences of interest in Rosicrucianism crop out at intervals. In the Encyclopdia Metropolitana it is stated definitely that in 1630 there was a London College of Rosicrucians.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.