View source for Unsolved:Lives of the Necromancers

{{Short description|19th-century book by William Godwin}}
{{Infobox book
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| name              = Lives of the Necromancers
| image             =
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| author            = [[Biography:William Godwin|William Godwin]]
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| country           = United States
| language          = English
| series            =
| subject           = Magicians
| published         = 1834
| media_type        = Print
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| awards            =
| isbn              = 1153638215
| oclc              = 606221214
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'''''Lives of the necromancers or An account of the most eminent persons in successive ages who have claimed for themselves or to whom has been imputed by others the exercise of magical powers''''' (1834) was the final book written by English journalist, [[Philosophy:Political philosophy|political philosopher]] and novelist [[Biography:William Godwin|William Godwin]].  The book concerns [[Unsolved:Paranormal|paranormal]] [[Social:Legend|legend]]s from [[Social:Western culture|western]] and [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]]ern history. In 1835 it was reviewed by [[Biography:Edgar Allan Poe|Edgar Allan Poe]] of the ''Southern Literary Messenger''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlvMwKUtUCEC&pg=PA176 |title=Edgar Allan Poe, 1809–1849: A Critical Biography|author=Una Pope-Hennessy|page=176|year=1934|publisher=Haskell House}}</ref>

== Content ==
The book begins with an introduction that explains the ways in which superstitions and other mythical beliefs could have originated during the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]],  before the scientific revolution. The first chapter is entitled ''"Ambitious Nature of Man"'' and briefly explains many concepts including divination, chiromancy, interpretations of dreams, casting of lots, fairies, Rosicrucianism, [[Unsolved:Oracle|oracle]]s and [[Unsolved:Necromancy|necromancy]].{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The second chapter gives examples of necromancy and [[Social:Witchcraft|witchcraft]] from the [[Religion:Bible|Bible]], such as the Pharaoh's dream of the seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine which could not be interpreted by "all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men."{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The third chapter covers the Greeks, their deities, [[Religion:Demigod|demigod]]s, the argonauts, and even tales of the idiosyncrasies of [[Biography:Pythagoras|Pythagoras]] and [[Biography:Socrates|Socrates]]. He claims of the latter "that he repeatedly received a divine premonition of dangers impending over himself and others."{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The fourth chapter covers Rome and includes discussions about Virgil and Romulus, among others.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The fifth chapter is about the casting out of devils in the Christian religion and the mentioning of sorcery in the New Testament. He discusses Simon Magus, [[Biography:Nero|Nero]], and [[Biography:Elymas|Elymas the sorcerer]], amongst others.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The sixth chapter flows from the fifth in that it covers the changes that took place under Constantine which affected necromancy and witchcraft.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The seventh chapter covers the history of necromancy in the East and mentions [[Religion:One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian nights]] and Persian tales, amongst others.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The eighth chapter covers the [[History:Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] in Europe and mentions [[Biography:Merlin|Merlin]] and St. Dunstan.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The ninth chapter looks at Europe and the Saracens and mentions Pope Benedict IX and Pope Gregory VII, as well as Macbeth, King of Scotland, Virgil, [[Biography:Roger Bacon|Roger Bacon]], and [[Biography:Thomas Aquinas|Thomas Aquinas]] amongst others.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The tenth chapter is entitled "Revival of Letters" and mentions Joan of Arc, Richard III and Eleanor Cobham.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The eleventh chapter is entitled "Sanguinary Proceedings Against Witchcraft" and covers the persecution of suspected witches. Dr Faustus, Luther, Cornelius Agrippa and [[Biography:Nostradamus|Nostradamus]] are amongst the people mentioned. Witches in Sweden, New England and the Lancashire witches are specifically discussed.{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

The conclusion mentions some laws that were passed in various parts of the world to remove the punishment of witchcraft, such as the 1736 English statute that stated "no capital prosecution should for the future take place for conjuration, sorcery and enchantment, but restricting the punishment of persons pretending to tell fortunes and discover stolen goods by witchcraft, to that appertaining to a misdemeanour."{{sfn | ''Project Gutenberg'' | 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Godwin |first=William |year=2010 |orig-year=1834 |title=Lives of the Necromancers |isbn=978-1153638210 |oclc=606221214 }}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/lives-of-the-necromancers/oclc/450612705/editions?start_edition=1&sd=asc&referer=br&se=yr&qt=sort_yr_asc&editionsView=true&fq= |title=Formats and Editions of Lives of the Necromancers |publisher=[[WorldCat]] }}
* {{cite book | title=Lives of the Necromancers | via=Project Gutenberg | date=4 May 2022 | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7082 | ref={{sfnref | Project Gutenberg | 2022}} | access-date=6 May 2022}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Refbegin}}
* [https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog ''Lives of the Necromancers: or, An account of the most eminent persons in successive ages, who have claimed for themselves, or to whom has been imputed by others, the exercise of magical power'' : Godwin, William, 1756–1836] at the [[Internet Archive]].
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-b05AAAAcAAJ Lives of Necromancers]'' (1834) @GoogleBooks.
{{Refend}}


[[Category:Books about magic]]

{{Sourceattribution|Lives of the Necromancers}}