Abraham, The Jew: (Alchemist and magician, circa, 1400)

Comparatively few biographical facts are forthcoming concerning
this German Jew, who was at once alchemist, magician and
philosopher; and these few facts are mostly derived from a very
curious manuscript, now domiciled in the Archives of the
Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal, Paris, an institution rich in occult
documents. This manuscript is couched throughout in French, but
purports to be literally translated from Hebrew, and the style of the
handwriting indicates that the scribe lived at the beginning of the
eighteenth century, or possibly somewhat earlier.
A distinct illiteracy characterises the French script, the
punctuation being inaccurate, indeed frequently conspicuous by
its absence, but an actual description of the document must be
waived till later. Abraham was probably a native of Mayence,
having come thence after the exile of the Jews from Spain, and
appears to have been born in 1362. We find that his father, Simon
by name, was something of a seer and magician, and that the boy
accordingly commenced his occult studies under the parental
guidance, while at a later date he studied under one, Moses, whom
he himself describes as " indeed a good man, but entirely ignorant
of The True Mystery, and of The Veritable Magic."
Leaving this preceptor, Abraham decided to glean knowledge by
travelling, and along with a friend called Samuel, a Bohemian, by
birth, he wandered through Austria and Hungary into Greece, and
thence penetrated to Constantinople, where he remained fully two
years. He is found next in Arabia, in those days a veritable centre
of mystic learning; and from Arabia he went to Palestine, whence
betimes he proceeded to Egypt. Here he had the good fortune to
make the acquaintance of Abra Melin, the famous Egyptian
philosopher, who, besides entrusting to him certain documents,
confided in him by word of mouth a number of invaluable secrets;
and armed thus, Abraham left Egypt for Europe, where eventually
he settled in Germany, some say at Wurzburg, but better
authorities posit Frankfurt.
Soon he was deep in alchemistic researches, but these did not
prevent him from espousing a wife, who appears to have been his
cousin Matilde Stein; and by her he had three daughters and also
two sons, the elder named Joseph and the younger Lamech.
He took great pains to instruct both of them in occul affairs, while,
on each of his three daughters, he settled a dowry of a hundred
thousand golden florins. This considerable sum, together with
other vast wealth, he claim to have gained by travelling as an
alchemist; and whatever is the truth of this statement, he certainly
won great fame being summoned to perform acts of magic before
man rich and influential people, notably the Emperor Sigismun of
Germanv, the Bishop of Wurzburg, King Henry VI. of England, the
Duke of Bavaria, and Pope John XXIII.
The remainder of Abraham's career is shrouded in mystery while
even the date of his death is uncertain, but it i commonly supposed
to have occurred about 1460. The curious manuscript cited above,
and from which the foregoing facts have been culled, is entitled
The Book the, Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin, as delivered by
Abraham the Jew unto his son Lamech. The volume was translated
around 1899 by one of the founders of the modern British Golden
Dawn, and long time Imperator of its Paris Lodge, MacGregor
(Samuel Liddell) Mathers.
This title, however, is rather misleading, and not strictly accurate,
for Abra-Melin had absolutely no hand in the opening part of the

work this consisting of some account of Abraham's youth and early
travels in search of wisdom, along with advice to the young man
aspiring to become skilled in occult arts. The second part, on the
other hand, is base on the documents which the Egyptian sage
handed the Jew, or at least on the confidences wherewith the
former favoured the latter; and it may be fairly accurately defined
as dealing with the first principles of magic in general, the titles of
some of the more important chapter being as follows: " How Many,

and what are the Classes of Veritable Magic ? " - What we Ought to

Take int Consideration before the Undertaking of the Operation, "
Concerning the Convocation of the Spirits, " and " I what Manner
we ought to Carry out the Operations.
Passing to the third and last part, this likewise is most derived
straight from Abra-Melin; and here the author eschewing
theoretical matter as far as possible, gives information about the
actual practice of magic. In the first place he tells how " To
procure divers Visions, - How one may retain the Familiar Spirits,
bound or free in whatsoever form, " and how " To excite Tempests,
while in one chapter he treats of raising the dead, anoth he devotes
to the topic of transforming oneself into " dive shapes and forms, "
and in further pages he descants o flying in the air, on demolishing
buildings, on discovering thefts, and on walking under the water.
Then he dilates o the Thaumaturgic healing of leprosy, dropsy,
paralysis and various more common ailments such as fever and se
sickness, while he offers intelligence on - How to be b loved by a
Woman, " and this he supplements by direction for commanding
the favour of popes, emperors, and oth influential people.
Finally, he reverts to the question summoning visions, and his
penultimate chapter is titled, " How to cause Armed Men to
Appear, " while the concluding pages treat of evoking " Comedies,
Opera and all kinds of Music and Dances." It is by employing
Kabalistic squares of letters that a these things are to be achieved,
or at least, almost all them, and lack of space makes it impossible
to deal with the many different signs of this sort, whose use he
counsels.
It should be said, in justice to the author that he manifests little
selfishness, and seems to have striven after success in his craft
with a view to using for the benefit of mankind in general. His
writings are besides, a firm belief in that higher self existing in
man, and a keen desire to develop it.