Simon Magus
Preserved but no longer current.
Isidore tells us that Simon Magus -I. died in the reign of Nero, and adds that he had proposed a dispute with Peter and Paul, and had promised to fly up to heaven. He succeeded in rising high into the air, but at the prayers of the two apostles he was cast down to earth by the evil spirits who had enabled him to rise.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Simon Magus” mean?
Isidore tells us that Simon Magus -I. died in the reign of Nero, and adds that he had proposed a dispute with Peter and Paul, and had promised to fly up to heaven. He succeeded in rising high into the air, but at the prayers of the two apostles he was cast down to earth by the evil spirits who had enabled him to rise.
Is “Simon Magus” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.