Of the Proportion and Harmony of Human Parts
Perrone Compagni — Table of Comparison
1533 edition (2:59): W, 2: 37-38-39-40-41-42-43 + W, 2: 45 (end; the first half was left out) + many additions
This chapter, cis sermonibus deservientibus (“Of the Proportion and Harmony of Human Parts”), 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 derives from W 2:37, W 2:45 of the Würzburg draft, but has been substantially expanded — Perrone Compagni notes many additions. The scale of interpolation suggests Agrippa rethought and broadened the original argument considerably; the 1533 text is in essence a new development of the earlier material rather than a simple revision.
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
The chapter on human proportions and harmony brings together the Vitruvian tradition of the homo quadratus with Pythagorean-Neoplatonic number theory. Lehrich (2003) reads this as Agrippa's most explicit statement of the macrocosm-microcosm principle: the human body, structured according to the same mathematical ratios that organise the cosmos, is the living bridge between the elemental world below and the celestial world above. The magician's self-knowledge is therefore simultaneously cosmological knowledge.