Theurgia. Or, the Egyptian Mysteries

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This historic book may contain various typos, missing text, images, or index. Buyers can download a free scanned copy of the original text (without errors) from the publisher, dated 1895 and not illustrated. The Pythagorean school explored how different musical elements correspond with the soul's dispositions. They utilized specific songs to achieve exartysis (adaptation), synarmoga (elegance of manners), and epaphe (contact), effectively guiding the soul's emotions towards more positive states. Before sleep, they purified their reasoning through particular odes, ensuring tranquil rest and favorable dreams. Upon waking, they employed different songs to shake off sleep's heaviness. Additionally, they believed that music alone could heal emotional disturbances and even physical ailments, leading to the term epode, meaning enchantment. Proclus, in his commentary on Plato's First Alcibiades, notes that some musical instruments are repressive, aiding in education by calming youthful turbulence, while others are motive, fostering energetic enthusiasm. In mystic practices, instruments like the pipe stimulate reasoning and emotional engagement, demonstrating music's profound impact on human behavior and life.