Essai sur la magie, les prodiges, et les miracles chez les anciens

[Brussels], 1817. FIRST EDITION. Contemporary publisher’s wrappers lined with printing waste, manuscript spine title. Uncut. A fine copy in original condition. First edition, a curious attempt to reconcile magic and religion. The author describes paranormal occurrences in the Bible and other ancient texts from Greek, Roman, and Hindu tradition and uses contemporary understanding about magic and science to explain them. He incorporates spells and recipes from Renaissance grimoires, evidence from contemporary scientific treatises, and sleight-of-hand magic tricks, all cited in extensive footnotes.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is a section on psychoactive drugs. Salverte describes preparations of marijuana, opium, belladonna, and other plants which may have been available and used by the ancients to bring about visions and miraculous wellness.
Salverte dedicated this volume to his “friend” Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt, a French chemist known for synthesizing the first organometallic fluid. This title was expanded and published in two volumes in 1829.
OCLC records only one copy in the U.S., at the University of Michigan.
This first edition not in Caillet or de Guaita. Imprint date taken from Quérard, La France Littéraire.