For your files…

This comes from Christopher Kessler who presented it in the Elders group as a very very early citation of mentalism and bizarre.

The manuscript dates from around 200 AD and has recently been made available to the public by the Vatican. The full title is Book IV of Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies (Philosophumena). Chapters 28 to 41 describe performance specifics, including pre-show work, novel impression devices, Q&A, billet switching, stage illusions, and spirit writing, and effects of bizarre Magick. Book IV is the relevant one. A PDF version is available for free from the Vatican library: http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/04z/z_0180-0254__Hippolytus_Romanus__The_Refutation_Of_All_Heresies_[Schaff]__EN.pdf.html

Originally posted in the Bizarre Magick Facebook group.