title: Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment
author:  Brian P. Copenhaver 
description: 'Brian Copenhaver's Magic in Western Culture is a towering achievement in the field of intellectual history that is evidently the product of years - or decades, one suspects - of its author's immersion in the primary sources. In spite of its focus on the history of magic, this book is in factessential reading for students of the history of ideas, the history of philosophy, the history of medicine, the history of science and even students ofart history, since Copenhaver places great stress on the significance of images in both the development and the dismemberment of the western magical tradition. It would be a shame if the book's readership were confined to historians of magic, since its significance is so much more far-reaching.' Francis Young, Reviews in History<br /><br />'This is a significant work that brings together decades of thinking about an important subject for the history of science and helps to cast it in a new light. It is grand in scope and ambition, seeking a big picture that provides a convincing account and critique of writings about magic over a long period.' Richard Dunn, British Journal for the History of Science<br /><br />'Magic in Western Culture is the culmination of nearly half a century of research on the magical and occult tradition in Europe. ... This is a very rich book ...' Rienk Vermij, Isis<br /><br />'Brian Copenhaver is an eminence grise in the history of magic especially as it relates to the history and philosophy of science in the Renaissance; he has been grounding, clarifying, and revising the scholarly understanding of early modern magic and its philosophical-cosmological underpinnings for some four decades now ... Magic in Western Culture remains a book filled with intellectual treasures; it is also a handy updated collection of some of Copenhaver's best work on the history of magic in a package that both scholars and students will take pleasure in reading.' Claire Fanger, Metascience
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  Introduction
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It had been 97 years since the day that the supernatural power which heralded
  the arrival of what is now known as modern magic was observed by the USA at
  the time. It had been approximately 80 years since the development of magical
  techniques turned into the development and human modification of Magicians.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  During this brief period of time, no, actually it was an even shorter time, as
  it only took 50 years or so to create a stable production of powerful
  Magicians – the "bloodlines" that belonged to "famous lineages of Magicians".
  Upon further consideration, this was a rather astounding fact - In a mere half
  century, they had successfully developed the "race" known as Magicians.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course, there were a host of reasons lurking in the background. In order to
  bring about this possibility, more developed countries invested massive
  scientific as well as economic resources and began a furious competition.
  Since the start of the latter hal