Of Exorcisms and Their Virtue
Perrone Compagni — Table of Comparison
1533 edition (3:49): W, 3: 36 + a short addition
This chapter, De quarta specie furoris a Venere (“Of Exorcisms and Their Virtue”), 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 3:36 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
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.