THE NINTH CHAPTER.

HE infamous BELIAL hath no other desire than that of obtaining the power of hiding and obscuring the True Divine Wisdom, so that he may have more means of blinding simple men and of leading them by the nose; so that they may always remain in their simplicity, and in their error, and that they may not discover the Way which leadeth unto the True Wisdom; seeing that otherwise it is certain that both he and his Kingdom would remain bound and that he would lose the title which he giveth himself of "Prince of this World," having become the slave of man. This is wherefore he seeketh to annul and destroy utterly this Sacred Wisdom. I, however, do pray all and singular to be upon their guard, and in no way to despise the Way and Wisdom of the Lord, nor to allow themselves to be seduced by the DEMON and his adherents; for he is a liar and will be so

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eternally; and may the Truth for ever flourish; for in following out and obeying with fidelity that which I have written in these Three Books, not only shall we arrive at the desired end, but we shall sensibly know and feel the Grace of the Lord, and the actual assistance of His Holy Angels, who take an incredible pleasure in seeing that they are obeyed and that you intend to follow out the Commandments of God, and that their instructions are observed. Such then are the particular points upon which I insist.

This Wisdom hath its foundation in the High and Holy Qabalah 1 which is not granted unto any other than unto the First-Born, even as God hath ordained, and as it was observed by our predecessors. Thence arose the difference, and the truck 2 or exchange between JACOB and ESAU; the primogeniture being the Qabalah, which is much nobler and greater than the Sacred Magic. 3 And by the Qabalah we can arrive at the Sacred Magic, but by the latter we cannot have the Qabalah. Unto the Child of a Servant, or of an Adulterer, the Qabalah is not granted, but only unto a Legitimate Child; as occurred in the case of ISAAC and ISHMAEL; but the Sacred Wisdom through the Mercy of God all can acquire, provided that they walk in the right Path; and each one should content himself with the Gift and Grace of the Lord. And this must not be done out of curiosity, and with extravagant and ridiculous scruples, wishing to know and understand more than is right; seeing that temerity is certainly punished by God, Who then permitteth him who is presumptuous not only to be turned aside out of

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the True Way by the Second Causes, 1 but also the DEMON hath power over him, and he ruineth and exterminateth him in such a manner, that we can only say that he himself is the sole cause of his own ruin and misery. It is certain that the OLD SERPENT will attempt to contaminate the present Book with his venom, and even to destroy and lose it utterly, but O LAMECH! as a faithful father I entreat thee by the True God Who hath created thee and all things, and I entreat every other person who by thy means shall receive this method of operating, not to be induced or persuaded to have any other sentiment or opinion, or to believe the contrary. Pray unto God and ask Him for His assistance, and place all thy confidence in Him alone. And although thou canst not have the understanding of the Qabalah, nevertheless the Holy Guardian Angels at the end of the Six Moons or Months 2 will manifest unto thee that which is sufficient for the possession of this Sacred Magic.

Wherefore all the Signs and Symbols given in the Third Book, are written with Letters of the Fourth Hierarchy; 3 but the Mysterious Words wherein consisteth the Secret 4 have their origin in and are drawn from the Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Chaldean, Persian, and Arabian languages by a singular Mystery and according unto the Will of the Most Wise Architect and Fabricator of the Universe, Who alone dominateth and governeth it by His All-Power; all the Monarchies and Kingdoms of the World are submitted unto His Infinite Power, and unto this Sacred Magic and Divine Wisdom.

Footnotes

36:1 As I have pointed out in my "Kabbalah Unveiled," I consider this a truer orthography than "Cabala," or "Kabbalah".

36:2 Troque ou change.

36:3 That is to say the True and Unwritten Qabalah, which is the Ancient Egyptian Magical Wisdom; and not later Hebrew perversions thereof.

37:1 That is to say the Administrators of the First Cause, i.e. the various Divine Powers, or Gods and Goddesses, who act more directly on matter.

37:2 Abraham here alludes to the period of preparation required from the Neophyte, as described later.

37:3 Regarding the Hierarchies, see end of Third Book.

37:4 Thus in the Indian "Mantras" the force and mystery of the Words themselves is especially insisted on.