people hâve recognised its talismanic virtue, that is to say, its 
power as an instrument of the wilL 
But with many ikons and images, it is easy to steai their virtue. 
This can be done sometimes on a tremendous scale, as, for example, 
when ail the images of Isis and Horus, or similar mother-child 
combinations, were appropriated Wholesale by the Christians. The 
miracle is, however, of a somewhat dangerous type, as in this 
case, where enlightenment has corne through the researches of 
archaeologists. It has been shown that the so-called images of 
Mary and Jésus are really nothing but imitations of those of 
Isis and tiorus. Honesty is the best policy in Magick as in other 
lines of life. 
138 —