De occulta philosophia — 1510 / 1533 Comparison

Agrippa von Nettesheim · Würzburg draft (W) vs. Cologne edition (K)
← Back to chapter index
Book II — Mathematical Magic — Chapter 60

Of Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit

< Quod, humanae imprecationes naturaliter imprimunt suas vires in res exteri­ ores et quomodo animus humanus per singulos dependentiarum gradus ascendit in mundum intelligibilem fitque similis spiritibus et intelligentiis sublimiori­
New in 1533

Perrone Compagni — Table of Comparison

1533 edition (2:60): new (title not recorded in the Tables of Contents at­ tached to A)

This chapter, < Quod, humanae imprecationes naturaliter imprimunt suas vires in res exteri­ ores et quomodo animus humanus per singulos dependentiarum gradus ascendit in mundum intelligibilem fitque similis spiritibus et intelligentiis sublimiori­ (“Of Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit”), 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.

According to Perrone Compagni's table of comparison, this chapter is new in the 1533 edition and has no direct counterpart in the Würzburg manuscript (W = MS M.ch.q.50). The description notes: \u201c(title not recorded in the Tables of Contents at­ tached to A).\u201d Its addition reflects the conceptual enrichment Agrippa undertook between approximately 1510 and the early 1530s, incorporating sources and arguments unavailable or unexplored in the juvenile draft.

The absence of this chapter from the Würzburg draft invites reflection on what prompted its insertion in the mature edition. Agrippa's intellectual biography between 1510 and 1530 — including his engagement with Neoplatonism, Kabbalah, Hermetism, and scholastic natural philosophy — provides the context for understanding such additions. The partial edition A (sigla A in Perrone Compagni) may offer clues about when the material was composed.

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.