"Magic language is usually distinguished from ordinary language. There are, in principle, three ways to achieve such a distinction. The first is to use a sacred language. The second is to use poetic, heightened language. . . . A third possibility is almost restricted to magic or ritualistic uses of language, and that is Mumbo-Jumbo. All three possibilities are used in Mesopotamian magic."
—I. Tzvi Abusch, Mesopotamian Magic, 1999
Wonderful definition of magic, but the quote is actually by Niek Veldhuis, in his article, "The Poetry of Magic," which appears in the volume _Mesopotamian Magic_, edited by Tzvi Abusch and Karel van der Torn.
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