"For
the inventors and practioners of the rites, however deeply versed in the lore
of their subject and however obedient to its rules, often gave proof of the
artistic temperament, to the advantage of the literature which has survived.
The aim, like that of astrology, alchemy and applied science as a whole, was
strictly practical; the means show evidence of creative instincts, poetical
imagination and feeling for beauty and drama… Some
of the rites are radiant and serene; others are lurid and even sinister; others
again vibrate with spiritual power; and the boons demanded are not so disproportionate
to the pressure brought to bear upon the gods as is too often the case.
Although they include immunity from such commonplace ills as headaches and
fevers and requests for beauty, victory and misfortunes on one’s foes, the most
important processes were undertaken for loftier reasons: for divine visions or
communion with gods, for immortality or regeneration, for dreams, for
prophecies and oracles. And when the aim was a lower one: the procuring of a
familiar spirit, or the constraint of another’s love, the language in its
intensity and fecundity rises above the normal ritual level."[1]
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