SOURCE: A preface to Occult Philosophy by Henry Cornelius Agrippa, in Three Books of Occult Philosophy or Magic, Book One: Natural Magic by Henry Cornelius Agrippa, edited by Willis F. Whitehead, 1897. Reprint by The Aquarian Press, 1971, pp. 25-27.

In his preface to Occult Philosophy, Agrippa emphasizes his view that a magician is not a sorcerer, but "a wise man, a priest, a prophet."

I do not doubt but the title of our book of Occult Philosophy, or of Magic, may by the rarity of it allure many to read it, amongst which, some of a disordered judgment and some that are perverse will come to hear what I can say, who, by their rash ignorance, may take the name of Magic in the worse sense and, though scarce having seen the title, cry out that I teach forbidden Arts, sow the seed of heresies, offend the pious, and...