William Wynn Westcott
'SEVEN years have passed since this essay was written, and theMSS. pages have been lent to many friends and students ofmystic lore and occult meanings. It is only at the earnest requestof these kindly critics that I have consented to publish thisvolume. The contents are necessarily of a fragmentary character,and have been collected from an immense number of sources;the original matter has been intentionally reduced to the leastpossible quantity, so as to obtain space for the inclusion of theutmost amount of ancient, quaint and occult learning. It isimpossible to give even an approximate list of works which havebeen consulted; direct quotations have been acknowledged innumerous instances, and (perhaps naturally) many a statementmight have been equally well quoted from the book of acontemporary author, a mediæval monk, a Roman historian, aGreek poet, or a Hindoo Adept: to give the credit to the modernauthor would not be fair to the ancient sage, to refer the reader toa Sanskrit tome would be in most cases only loss of time andwaste of paper. My great difficulty has been to supplyinformation mystic enough to match the ideal of the work, andyet not so esoteric as to convey truths which Adepts have stillconcealed. William Wynn Westcott'
