On the Secret Works of Art and Nature and the Nullity of Magic

acts of service, for he admits that Bacon did not approve of the devilish black art, as he praised the power of art and nature (preceding page); rather, he accuses him of the superstition by which a false worship, according to the ordinances of men, is shown to God instead of the true one, which consists in faith and a good conscience. But Libavius has very clumsily saddled Bacon with this vice. For we do not learn doctrines of faith from Bacon; rather, because he investigated the forces of nature as a philosopher, we read his writings so that we may learn to know nature. Now, if the writings of all those who hold perverse principles in religious opinions are worthless, then we must throw away all the philosophical books of the heathens, of Hermes, Aristotle, Galen, and others, and indeed, if one follows Libavius, the books of the Papisten Papists/Catholics as well. According to this, he teaches the very same philosophy that he tries with all zeal to cast to the ground and rejects with all his might, namely the philosophy of Paracelsus and the Rosencreutzer Rosicrucians; he teaches that this very thing should be accepted. Consequently, Libavius must either accept the superstition of Bacon—of which he has made him suspect—himself, or he must cease, if he considers it more appropriate, to slander the good name of worthy men.