Of Bindings and Ligatures
Perrone Compagni — Table of Comparison
1533 edition (3:46): W, 3: 33 + W, 3:31 (first passage) + many ad ditions
This chapter, De prima specie furoris a Musis (“Of Bindings and Ligatures”), 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 closely to W 3:33, W 3:31 in the Würzburg draft and appears to be substantially preserved in the 1533 edition. The direct correspondence shows that Agrippa regarded this material as settled relatively early and did not feel compelled to revise it significantly.
The stability of this chapter across the manuscript and printed versions suggests it belongs to the secure core of Agrippa's natural-magical argument as it was constituted by 1510. Such chapters allow scholars to reconstruct the intellectual foundation on which the more elaborate structures of the 1533 edition were built.
Scholarly Perspectives
The chapters on binding, invocation, and exorcism represent the operative core of ceremonial magic — the actual techniques of spirit-communication. Lehrich (2003) analyses these chapters in relation to the broader theory of magical signification: to bind a spirit is not to coerce a physical entity but to deploy the correct names, seals, and ritual conditions that align the operator with the spirit's position in the celestial hierarchy. Miles (2008) notes that the comprehensive treatment of these techniques constitutes the material that Agrippa's apparent retraction in the epilogue attempts to disown — a move Miles reads as paradox rather than genuine repudiation.