Quod nulla divinatio sina astrologia sit perfecta
Revised & ExpandedPerrone Compagni — Table of Comparison
1533 edition (2:53): W, 2: 50 (except for two passages, transferred to K, 1: 52 and K, 1: 57) + W, 2: 55 (except for two short passages, transferred to K, 2: 54) + three additions
This chapter, Quod nulla divinatio sina astrologia sit perfecta, occupies a significant place in Agrippa's systematic exposition of occult philosophy. In the 1533 Cologne printed edition (De occulta philosophia libri tres, sigla K in Perrone Compagni's critical apparatus), the text represents Agrippa's mature formulation of the ideas it addresses, the product of over two decades of reading, travel, and revision since the composition of the Würzburg draft.
This chapter corresponds to W 2:50, W 2:55 in the Würzburg draft, with shorter additions in the 1533 text. The core argument is preserved from W, but Agrippa refined it with supplementary passages, qualifying or extending particular points.
The extent of revision in this chapter illustrates the dynamic character of Agrippa's rewriting process. Rather than simply updating facts, he appears to have substantially reconfigured the argument. Comparison with the partial edition A — which represents an intermediate stage — may reveal whether the additions were introduced gradually or in a single later revision.
Scholarly Perspectives
Book II is described by Lehrich (2003) as 'Mathematical Magic' — the celestial level of the ascending programme, in which Pythagorean and Neoplatonic number theory reveals the proportional structures that organise the cosmos. The transition from Book I's elemental correspondences to Book II's mathematical ones marks a shift from observation of particular things to understanding of universal principles. Miles (2008) notes the paradox: Book II's elaborate systems of sacred names and numerical characters appear to endorse a 'natural language' theory of magical power, but this reading is complicated by the deeper qualifications Agrippa introduces in Book III.