CHAPTER 1

FABULOUS SOURCES

The apocryphal Book of Enoch says that there were angels who consented to fallfrom heaven that they might have intercourse with the daughters of earth. "Forin those days the sons of men having multiplied, there were born to themdaughters of great beauty. And when the angels, or sons of heaven, beheld them,they were filled with desire; wherefore they said to one another: 'Come, let uschoose wives from among the race of man, and let us beget children.' Theirleader, Samyasa, answered thereupon and said: 'Perchance you will be wanting inthe courage needed to fulfil this resolution, and then I alone shall beanswerable for your fall.' But they swore that they would in no wise repent andthat they would achieve their whole design. Now there were 200 who descended onMount Armon, and it was from this time that the mountain received itsdesignation, which signifies Mount of the Oath. Hereinafter follow the names ofthose angelic leaders who descended with this object: Samyasa, chief among all,Urakabarameel, Azibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Azkeel, Sarakuyal, Asael, Armers,Batraal, Anane, Zavebe, Samsaveel, Ertrael, Turel, Jomiael, Arazial. They tookwives, with whom they had intercourse, to whom also they taught Magic, the artof enchantment and the diverse properties of roots and trees. Amazarac gaveinstruction in all secrets of sorcerers; Barkaial was the master of those whostudy the stars; Akibeel manifested signs; and Azaradel taught the motions ofthe moon".

This legend of the Kabalistic Book of Enoch is a variant account of the sameprofanation of Mysteries which we meet with under another form of symbolism inthe history of the sin of Adam. Those angels, the sons of God, of whom Enochspeaks, were initiates of Magic, and it was this that they communicated toprofane men, using incautious women as their instruments. They split upon therock of sense-attraction, becoming enamoured of the female sex, and the secretsof royalty and priesthood were extracted from them unawares. Primitivecivilisation collapsed as a consequence, and the giants, who typified bruteforce and unbridled appetite, fought together for the world, which escaped onlyby immersion in the waters of the deluge, wherein all traces of the past wereeffaced. This deluge symbolised that universal confusion into which humanity isbrought of necessity when it ignores and does outrage to the harmonies ofNature. There is kinship between the fall of Samyasa and that of Adam; the lureof sense seduced both; both profaned the Tree of Knowledge; and both were drivenfar away from the Tree of Life. It is needless here to discuss the views, orrather the simplicity, of those who take everything literally and believe thatknowledge and life were once manifested under the form of trees; let us confessrather and only to the deep meaning of sacred symbols. The Tree of Knowledgedoes actually inflict death when its fruit is eaten; that fruit is the adornmentof this world; those golden apples are the glitter of earth.

In the Arsenal Library there is a very curious manuscript entitled The Book ofthe Penitence of Adam, and herein Kabalistic tradition is presented under theguise of legend to the following effect: "Adam had two sons—Cain, who signifiesbrute force, and Abel, the type of intelligence and mildness. Agreement wasimpossible between them; they perished at each other's hands; and theirinheritance passed to a third son, named Seth." Here is the conflict of twoopposing forces diverted to the advantage of a synthetic and united force. "NowSeth, who was just, was permitted to approach as far as the entrance of theEarthly Paradise, without being threatened by the Kerub and his flaming sword."In other words, Seth represented...