a bit 'a Agrippa

The Doctrines of Mathematicks are so necessary to, and have such an affinity
with Magick, that they that do profess it
without them, are quite out of the way, and labour in vain, and shall in no
wise obtain their desired effect. For whatsoever
things are, and are done in these inferior naturall vertues, are all done,
and governed by number, weight, measure, harmony,
motion, and light. And all things which we see in these inferiours, have
root, and foundation in them: yet nevertheless
without naturall vertues, of Mathematicall Doctrines only works like to
naturals can be produced, as Plato saith, a thing not
paataking of truth or divinity, but certain Images kin to them, as bodies
going, or speaking, which yet want the Animall
faculty, such as were those which amongst the Ancients were called Dedalus
his Images, and automata, of which Aristotle
makes mention, viz. the threefooted Images of Vulcan, and Dedalus, moving
themselves, which Homer saith came out of
their own accord to exercise, and which we read, moved themselves at the
feast of Hiarba the Philosophicall Exerciser: As
also that golden Statues performed the offices of Cup bearers, and Carvers
to the guests.
.
.
.
And we read in faithfull Historians, that in former times Rocks have been
cut off,
and Vallies [valleys] made, and Mountains made into a Plain, Rocks have been
digged through, Promontories have been
opened in the Sea, the bowels of the Earth made hollow, Rivers divided, Seas
joyned to Seas, the Seas restrained, the bottome
of the Sea been searched, Pools exhausted, Fens dryed up, new Islands made,
and again restored to the continent, all which,
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although they my seem to be against nature, yet we read have been done, and
we see some reliques of them remaining till this
day, which the vulgar say were the works of the divell [Devil], seeing the
Arts, and Artificers thereof have been dead out of
all memory, neither are there any that care to understand, or search into
them. Therefore they seeing any wonderfull sight, do
impute it to the divell, as his work, or think it is a miracle, which indeed
is a work of naturall, or Mathematicall Philosophy.
As if anyone should be ignorant of the vertue of the Loadstone, and should
see heavy Iron drawn upwards, or hanged in the
Aire (as we read the Iron Image of Mercury did long since at Treveris hang
up in the middle of the Temple by Loadstones,
this verse attesting the same.

The Iron white rod-bearer flies i'th' Aire.

The like to which we read was done concerning the image of the Sun at Rome,
in the Temple of Serapis) would not such an
ignorant man, I say, presently say it is the work of the divell? But if he
shall know the vertue of the Loadstone to the Iron, and
shall make triall of it, he presently ceaseth to wonder, and doth no more
scruple it to be the work of nature. But here it is
convenient that you know, that as by naturall vertues we collect naturall
vertues, so by abstracted, mathematicall, and
celestiall, we receive celestiall vertues, as motion, life, sense, speech,
southsaying [soothsaying], and divination, even in
matter less disposed, as that which is not made by nature, but only by art.
And so images that speak, and foretell things to
come, are said to be made, as William of Paris relates of a brazen head made
under the rising of Saturn, which they say spake
with a mans voice. But he that will choose a disposed matter, and most fit
to receive, and a most powerfull agent, shall
undoubtedly produce more powerfull effects. For it is a generall opinion of
the Pythagoreans, that as Mathematicall things are
more formall then Naturall, so also they are more efficacious: as they have
less dependence in their being, so also in their
operation. But amongst all Mathematicall things, numbers, as they have more
of form in them, so also are more efficacious,
to which not only Heathen Philosophers, but also Hebrew, and Christian
Divines do attribute vertue, and efficacy, as well to
effect what is good, as what is bad.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Occult Philosophy. Book II. (part 1)