PREFACE
The work which we offer to the
public must not be confused with a collection of reveries and
errors
to which their authors have tried to give credence by announcing
supernatural feats; which the credulous and the ignorant siezed
with
avidity. We only quote the most respectable authorities and most
dignified in faith. The principles which we present are based on
the
doctrines of the ancients and modern, who full of respect for the
Divinity, were always the friends of mankind, endeavoured to recall
them to virtue, by showing them vice in all its deformity. We have
drawn from the most pure sources, having only in view the love of
truth and the desire to enlighten those who desire to discover the
secrets of Nature and the marvels which they unfold to those who
never separate the darkness which surrounds them. It is only given
to
those who are favoured by The Great Being, to raise themselves
above
the terrestial sphere, and to plan a bold flight in the etheric
regions; it is for these priviledged men that we write.