| the texts of Cornelius Agrippa von
| Nettesheim.
|
| But for all the exponents of magic
| and alchemistic culture, the texts of
| ancient wisdom take the form of
| sacred texts which indude secrets
| that only a few men can decipher The
| truth is hidden in the past and in
| the profound. Like when dealing with
| sacred texts, it is necessary
| continuously to go BEYOND THE LETTER,
| in search of a message which is more
| and more hidden.The secret message
| expresses a Truth which is at the
| Origins and which is always the same.
|
| In the Hermetic tradition, as in the
| tradition of Platonism, the natural
| world is conceived as the image or
| living manifestation of God.
| Understanding nature can reveal the
| presence in the world of divine ideas
| and archetypes. Bacon's rejection of
| any natural philosophy founded on
| allegorical interpretations of
| Scriptures meant a withdrawal from
| exemplarism and symbolism, both
| common features of mediaeval
| philosophy and still flourishing in