1

[ThisessaywasfirstpublishedinTheFaustianCentury:GermanLiteratureandCultureintheAgeofLutherand
Faustus,editedbyJimVanderLaanandAndrewWeeks(NewYork:CamdenHouse,2013),pp.6791.Inthat
versionthefootnotesareabbreviated;heretheyaregiveninfull.]

[Index: Henricus Cornelius Agrippa, critical humanism, higher education, Hermetism,

magic, Nicholas Cusanus, Marsilio Ficino]
[Date: 2013]

CorneliusAgrippasDoublePresence
intheFaustianCentury

MichaelKeefer

1.Doublevisioninthecanonofgreatmen
TheBibliothqueSainteGeneviveinParisisnotmerelyagreatlibrary,andone
ofthemidnineteenthcenturysarchitecturaltriumphs:itisalso,likethePanthon,which
itfaces fromthenorthsideofthePlace duPanthon,astructurevisibly devotedto
commemorating the illustrious dead. That commemoration, however, contains one
notableerrorthatoffersapointofentryintothischapterssubject,whichisthepeculiarly
redoubled participation of the early sixteenthcentury humanist, occult philosopher,
skeptic,satirist,andprotofeministCorneliusAgrippaorHenricusCorneliusAgrippa
abNettesheym,togivehisfullLatinnameinwhatwearecallinginthisbookthe
Faustiancentury.

2
OneaspectofthatredoubledparticipationstemsfromAgrippasplacewithinan
intellectual current of the fifteenth to early seventeenth centuries which celebrated
unconstrainedhumancapacitiesinamannersometwentiethcenturyscholarswitha
nodtoGoethesFaust,nodoubt,andperhapsalsotoOswaldSpenglersDeclineofthe
Westidentified as having Faustian qualities. The other has to do with Agrippas
posthumousdemonization,whichbothparalleledandcontributedtothedevelopmentof
the sixteenthcentury legend of Faustusa narrative that was itself shaped by wider
currentsofreligiousrepression.Takentogether,theypointontheonehandtoaroadnot
taken in European culture, a pattern of thought and interpretation that, although
influential inartandliterature, andviewedbysomecultural historians asadefining
featureoftheRenaissance,nonethelessremainedmarginalwithinthemajorinstitutions
of learningand on the other hand, to the forces of repression that ensured its
marginality.
TheBibliothqueSainteGenevivesentiresecondfloorisanimmensereading
room,morethaneightymetresinlengthandnearlytwentymetreswide.Theexternal
stonefacingsofthissecondstoreyareornamentedwithatallarcadeofshallowarches
fouronthebuildingswestside,nineteenacrossitssouthface,andanotherfouronthe
eastsidethatarepiercedintheirupperpartbywindows.Belowthesewindowsineach
archarepanelsinscribedwiththenamesofgreatwriters,thinkers,lawmakersandartists:
thirtyundereacharch.BeginningonthelibraryswestsidewithMosesandHomer,the
namescontinueinhistoricalsequenceacrossthesouthface,endingonthelastarchofthe
eastsidewithfiguresincludingBeethoven,Hegel,theastronomerLaplace,thenatural
scientistCuvier,andthewritersChateaubriandandSirWalterScott.
ThelibrarythuspresentstostrollersinthePlaceduPanthonacanonicalrecital
ofhumangreatnessuptothetimeofits completionin1851amightylistofeight
hundredandtenmemorablenames.Buttheflneurofpedanticdispositionwhodevotesa
fewminutestoskimmingoverthislistwilldiscoverapeculiaranomaly:itincorporates,
infact,onlyeighthundredandninedistinctpeople,foroneofthenamesoccurstwice.
Underthesixtharchfromtherightonthesouthfacewefind,afterLARIOSTE,
andprecedingTHOMASMORUSandERASME,thenameofAGRIPPA(qualifiedin

3
smallerlettersas DENETTESHEIM)whoreappearsunderthefiftharchfromtheright,
sandwichedbetweenLETASSEandJEANBODIN.Thoughthenamethistimeisgiven
asC.AGRIPPA,itisunquestionablythesameperson.
Thebanalexplanationofthisdoubleappearanceinthecatalogueofgreatnessa
privilegenotgrantedtoPlato,Virgil,Dante,orShakespearemustbethatthisearly
sixteenthcenturyhumanisthadfallenintosuchobscuritythatthelistscompilersfailed
tonotetheidentityofhisLatinwritingswiththevernaculartranslationsandlatereditions
ofhisworksthatearnedhimcontinuingnotorietyforgenerationsafterhisdeath.
Of that midnineteenthcentury obscurity there can be no doubt. Goethe gave
Agrippasfirstname,Heinrich,tohisFaustaslytribute,itwouldseem,tohisown
earlyreadingofAgrippa.1 ButamorejuvenileenthusiastforAgrippaswritings,Mary
ShelleysVictorFrankenstein,wasrebukedattheageofthirteenbyhisfatherforreading
suchsadtrash.2AndbythetimetheBibliothqueSainteGenevivewasbuilt,Agrippa
hadfullydescendedintothenursery:TheStoryoftheInkyBoysinthe1848English
renderingofHeinrichHoffmannsStruwwelpetertellsinsimplerhymeshowthreelittle
racistsarepunishedbytallAgrippabybeingdippedintohisenormousinkwell,from
whichtheyemergeasblackastheboytheyhavebeentormenting.3
1

TheintertextuallinksbetweenAgrippaandGoethesFausthavelongbeenrecognized:seeGerhard
Ritter,EinhistorischesUrbildzuGoethesFaust.(AgrippavonNettesheym,PreussischeJahrbcher141
(1910):30005,HaroldJantz,GoethesFaustasaRenaissanceMan:ParallelsandPrototypes(Princeton:
PrincetonUniversityPress,1951),pp.55,58,12427,bothofwhomarecitedbyCharlesNauert,Agrippa
andtheCrisisofRenaissanceThought(Urbana:UniversityofIllinoisPress,1965),pp.33031;andalso
RolfChristianZimmerman,DasWeltbilddesjungenGoethe.Bd.1,ElementeundFundamente;Bd.2,
InterpretationenundDokumentation(2vols.,Munich:Fink,196979),vol.2,pp.92106.Mephistophiles
firstappearanceinthesecondandthirdscenesofFaustintheformofablackpoodleisadeliberateechoof
thepolemicallegends(discussedbelow)thatformedaroundAgrippaafterhisdeath.Inmyquotationsfrom
earlymoderntexts,u/vandi/jaremodernizedthroughout.Ihavenototherwisemodernizedspelling,
punctuation,oraccents.
2
MaryWollstonecraftShelley,Frankenstein;or,theModernPrometheus.The1818version,ed.D.L.
MacdonaldandKathleenScherf(2nded.,Peterborough,ON:BroadviewPress,1999),p.68.
3
SeeHeinrichHoffmann,DerStruwwelpeteroderlustigeGeschichtenunddrolligebilder.Nachdruckdes
FrankfurterOriginalausgabe(Stuttgart:LoeweVerlag,1986)andTheEnglishStruwwelpeterorPretty
StoriesandFunnyPicturesforLittleChildren.AfterthesixtheditionofthecelebratedGermanworkofDr.
HeinrichHoffmann(Leipsic:FriedrichVolckmar,1848).InHoffmannsoriginal1846text,thegiant
disciplinarianinDieGeschichtevondenschwarzenBubenisdergroeNikolas,astern(andvery
muchpreSantaClaus)St.Nicholas.Hoffmannsrhymeconflateselementsofdifferenttraditionsaboutthe
saint(intheNetherlands,SinterklaasbringschildrengiftsonDecember5,theeveofhisfeastday,
accompaniedbyBlackPeter,ZwartePiet,whodisciplinesnaughtychildren;inpartsofSwitzerlandthe
saintscompanion,Schmutzli,issaidtocarryoffbadchildreninasackandsometimestodrownthem).

2.Agrippascontexts:lifeandlegend
Strange error though it seems, the Bibliothque SainteGenevives double
mentionofAgrippacannonethelessbeofsomeassistanceincontextualizingthiswriter.
CorneliusAgrippa(14861535)wasknownearlyinhiscareerasadiplomatand
soldier in the service of the Emperor Maximilian, and a welltraveled humanist of
encyclopediclearning,whohaddoneadvancedstudyinlawandmedicine.Hepracticed
bothprofessionsascityadvocateandoratorinMetz,ascivicphysicianinGenevaand
Fribourg,andascourtphysiciantoLouisedeSavoie,themotherofFranoisIandregent
ofFranceduringthekingscaptivityinMadrid.AttheuniversitiesofDle,Cologne,
Pavia,andTurin,helecturedonvarioussubjects(includingprincipallywhatwemight
call,dependingonourpreconceptions,eithertheologyortheosophy).Hesecuredroyal
patronagewiththeHapsburgsaswellaswiththeValoiscourt,buthistwomainstintsof
courtservice,intheFrenchcourtatLyons,andinAntwerpinthecourtofMargaretof
Austria,whowasgovernoroftheNetherlandsforhernephewtheEmperorCharlesV,
bothendedbadly.4
AgrippaswidecircleofcorrespondentsincludedDesideriusErasmusandPhilipp
Melanchthon,whosenamesappearwithhisunderthefirstoftheBibliothqueSainte
Genevive arches we have noted. So also does that of Marguerite de Valois (better
knownasMargueritedeNavarre),5 authorofthe Heptameron,sisterofFranoisI,and
generouspatronofhumanistscholarsandpoets.(Agrippasoughtherpatronageduring
histimeinLyons;thenamesoftwowriterswhomshethoughtmoredeserving,Franois
OnecanonlyguessastowhytheEnglishtranslatorsubstitutedAgrippaforSt.Nicholas;Morleys
biography,whichcontributedtoAgrippasslowreturntointellectualrespectability,wasn'tpublisheduntil
1856.
4
SeeNauert1965,pp.84103,10511.
5
AlsoknownasMargueritedAngoulme,thendAlenon(afterherfirsthusband),shewasmarriedagain
in1527,toHenriIIofNavarre.ThisValoisprincess(14921549)isnottobeconfusedwiththelater
MargueritedeValois(15531615),thedaughterofKingHenriIIofFranceandCatherinedeMedici,who
becameanunwillingconsort(LaReineMargot)ofthekingofNavarre,laterHenriIV,andwhowrotea
scandalousmemoir.

5
RabelaisandClmentMarot,appearunderthesamearchofthelibrarysfacade,anda
third,PierredeRonsard,underthenextone.)
Ashisdifficultieswithroyalpatronsmightsuggest,Agrippawasacontroversial
figureandcombativetoboot.In1509,afterlecturingattheUniversityofDleonthe
celebratedGermanhumanistJohannReuchlinsChristianappropriationoftheKabbalah
inhisbookDeverbomirifico(1494),hewasdenouncedinasermonbytheheadofthe
FranciscanorderinBurgundy,JeanCatalinet,asajudaizingheretic.Thatputanendto
AgrippasteachinginDlethoughnotofcoursetohisworkasatransmitterofthe
Hermetic,Neoplatonic,ChristianCabalist,andothermagicaldoctrinesheimbibedfrom
Reuchlin, as well as from Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico, Johannes Trithemius, and
others:afirstversionofAgrippasDeoccultaphilosophiawascompletedin1510,and
circulatedinmanuscriptinItalyandFrance.6Agrippaalsocirculatedanangryresponse
toCatalinet,7whichmadehimanearlycontestantinthecontroversiesthatswirledaround
Reuchlinformorethanadecadeafter1510,pittinghumanistscholarsagainsttheological
conservativesintheuniversitiesandthechurchhierarchy.
InJanuary1509,JohannesPfefferkorn,aJewishconvertandamemberofthe
Dominicanorder,hadlaunchedascurrilousantisemiticcampaignaimedatsecuringthe
confiscationanddestructionofallJewishbooksintheHolyRomanEmpire.Whenthe
ArchbishopofMainzraisedobjections,theEmperorMaximilianaskedReuchlin,anoted
juristaswellastheleadingChristianHebrewscholarinEurope,tobeoneofagroupof
advisors on this subjectand although Reuchlin was the only one to oppose the
confiscation, the Emperor decided not to proceed with it. Outraged by this result,
PfefferkornpromptlylibeledReuchlin,whoseindignantresponseledtoopenwarfare
withtheDominicanorderinvolving,inshortorder,acondemnationbytheUniversity
ofColognes theological faculty,andlegal actions againstReuchlin bytheinquisitor
JacobHoogstraten,firstinMainzandtheninRome.8
6

SeePaolaZambelli,WhiteMagic,BlackMagicintheEuropeanRenaissance:FromFicino,Pico,Della
PortatoTrithemius,Agrippa,Bruno(Leiden:Brill,2007),p.129.
7
SeeNauert1965,pp.2529.ForthetextofthisExpostulatiocontraCatalinetum,disseminatedin1510
fromEngland,whereAgrippathenwas,seeHenricusCorneliusAgrippa,Opera,ed.RichardH.Popkin(2
vols.,c.1580;rpt.Hildesheim:GeorgOlms,1970),vol.2,sig.Hh6vIiv(49298).
8
Englishtranslationsofkeytexts,togetherwithausefulbriefaccountoftheReuchlinaffair,areprovided

6
ThecontroversydevelopedintowhatAndrewGowhascalledadirtywar,with
viciousslandersonbothsides.9However,Reuchlinshumanistsupportersmadeatleast
oneinterventionofenduringliteraryvalue:UlrichvonHuttensandCrotusRubeanuss
satiricalLettersofObscureMen(1515,expandedin1516and1517).Thiscollectionof
purported correspondencemost of it featuring the University of Cologne humanist
OrtwinGratius,whohadbeeninvolvedfromthebeginninginPfefferkornscampaign 10
mercilesslylampoonedReuchlinsenemiesasignorantbuffoons.ThehaplessGratiuss
response, a collection of Lamentations of Obscure Men (1518), contains an abusive
exchangeoflettersbetweenAgrippaStygianus,apractitionerofsinisterdemonicrites,
andGeorgiusSubbunculator,whoisanxiousaboutthepossibilitythat(asMarlowes
Doctor Faustus would speculate seventy years later) hells a fable. 11 The infernal
implicationsofStygianusareobviousenough:peoplewhoconcernthemselveswiththe
trafficacrosstheriverStyxarenecromancers.Theothernameappearstobeaderisive
modificationofthehumanistcognomenunderwhichtheselfproclaimednecromancer
byErikaRummel,TheCaseAgainstJohannReuchlin:ReligiousandSocialControversyinSixteenth
CenturyGermany(Toronto:UniversityofTorontoPress,2002).SeealsoJamesOverfield,ANewLook
attheReuchlinAffair,StudiesinMedievalandRenaissanceHistory8(1971):167207,andhis
HumanismandScholasticisminLateMedievalGermany(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1984),as
wellasCharlesZika,ReuchlinandErasmus,inExorcisingOurDemons:Magic,WitchcraftandVisual
CultureinEarlyModernEurope(Leiden:Brill,2003),pp.6997.
9
AndrewColinGow,TheRedJews:AntisemitisminanApocalypticAge,12001600(Leiden:Brill,1995),
p.138.Pfefferkornsinitialcampaignwasclearlyantisemitic,buttherewasalsoantisemitismontheother
sideofthecontroversymostviciouslyinthebloodlibeldirectedatPfefferkorninapamphletfrom
1514/15,DieGeschichtunndBekantnudesgetaufftenJuden/genanntJohannesPfefferkorn.SeeGow,
pp.13839,andHeikoA.Oberman,JohannesReuchlin:VonJudenknechtenzuJudenrechten,inArno
Herzig,JuliusH.Schoeps,andSaskiaRohde,eds.,ReuchlinunddieJuden(Sigmaringen:JanThorbecke
Verlag,1993),p.61,n.82.
10
SeeGow,RedJews,pp.13335;PeterG.BietenholzandThomasB.Deutscher,eds.,Contemporariesof
Erasmus:ABiographicalRegisteroftheRenaissanceandReformation,Volumes13(1985,rpt.Toronto:
UniversityofToronto,1995),p.124;andDietrichReichling,OrtwinGratius:SeinLebenundWirken,eine
Ehrenrettung(Heiligenstadt:WilhelmDelion,1884),pp.4156.
11
ForGratiussLatintext,seePaolaZambelli,AgrippavonNettesheimindenneuerenkritischenStudien
undindenHandschriften,ArchivfrKulturgeschichte51,Heft2(1969):280;andforanEnglish
translation,Zambelli,MagicandRadicalReformationinAgrippaofNettesheim,JournaloftheWarburg
andCourtauldInstitutes39(1976):70.GeorgiusSubbunculatorasks:Sinonsuntinferi,sinonsuntregna
Plutonis,siElysiumacChymerasjuxtahabemus,quidobseronobiserit,quiRegecoelicontemptoet
virtutibusdeniqueomnibusinexiliummissis,intersaxumetsacraperpetuolamentabimur?Theremaybe
areminiscenceofthistextinMarlowesFaustus,whoconfoundshellinElysium(ChristopherMarlowe,
TheTragicalHistoryofDoctorFaustus:ACriticalEditionofthe1604VersionandoftheCensoredand
Revised1616Text,ed.MichaelKeefer[Peterborough:BroadviewPress,2008],I.iii.60,195),andsays(to
thedevilMephastophilis,ofallpeople),Come,Ithinkhellsafable(II.i.128,210).

7
GeorgiusSabellicusFaustushadadvertisedhimselfin150607inwhatwasprobablya
printedbroadsheet(partsatleastofthetextarepreservedinaletterwrittenin1507by
themagicianandBenedictineAbbotJohannesTrithemius).12 Subbunculatormeansa
botcherup of old clothesan apt enough debunking metaphor for Faustuss wildly
eclecticheterodoxy.13GratiusthusseemstohaveinitiatedapairingofAgrippa,theoccult
philosopher,withFaustus,thenecromanceranddiviner,thatwouldbecomehabituallater
inthecentury.
ShortlyafterthepublicationofGratiussattack,AgrippatangledinMetzwitha
powerfulmemberoftheDominicanOrder,theinquisitorNicholasSavini.Actinginhis
functionascityadvocate,AgrippasecuredthereleaseofawomanwhomSavinihad
torturedonachargeofwitchcraft,restoredherconfiscatedproperty,andaccusedthe
inquisitorofheresy(Savinisclaimthatthewomanwasawitchbecausehermotherhad
beenoneamounted,hesaid,todenyingtheefficacyofbaptism). 14 Atmuchthesame
time,earlyin1519,AgrippawasdrawnintoacontroversyinwhichtheleadingFrench
humanist,JacquesLefvredtaples,hadbecomeenmeshed,overtheapparentlyabsurd
questionofhowmanytimesSt.Anne,themotheroftheVirginMary,hadbeenmarried.
Therewasinfactascholarlypointtoit:Lefvrescriticisms,onphilologicalgrounds,of
unscriptural legends peddled by preachers had drawnturfwar attacks from the Paris
theological faculty. And Agrippas involvement was evidently unplanned: having
supportedLefvrespositionindiscussionsinMetz,hewasdenouncedfromthepulpitas
ahereticarepetitionofhisexperiencewithCatalinetandconsequentlywroteasmuch
TheletterwasaddressedtoJohannesVirdungvonHassfurt,astrologertotheElectorPalatineat
Heidelberg,whohadalsoreceivedacopyofFaustusstext,andhadindicatedtoTrithemiushiseagerness
tomeettheman.ForareadingofTrithemiussletter(andofFaustusseclecticism),seeFrankBaron,
DoctorFaustusfromHistorytoLegend(Munich:Fink,1978),pp.1139.
13
SeeMichaelKeefer,MisreadingFaustusMisreading:TheQuestionofContext,TheDalhousieReview
65.4(Winter198586):528;andMarlowe,p.66.
14
SeeNauert1965,pp.5960,andZika,AgrippaofNettesheimandHisAppealtotheCologneCouncilin
1533:ThePoliticsofKnowledgeinEarlySixteenthCenturyGermany,inExorcisingOurDemons,pp.
14649.InDevanitate,ch.96,Agrippagivesanaccountofthecaseandoftheargumentsheusedagainst
Savini;seeAgrippa,OftheVanitieandVncertaintieofArtesandSciences,trans.JamesSanford[1569],
ed.CatherineM.Dunn(Northridge:CaliforniaStateUniversityPress,1974),pp.35152.Agrippaslate
textattackingthewitchhunters,Adversusinquisitoreslamiarum,whichfellintothehandsoftheinquisitor
SistodaSienaandwasdestroyed,hasbeenreconstructedinZambelli,CornelioAgrippa,SistodaSienae
gliinquisitori,Memoriedomenicanen.s.3(1972):14664.
12

8
inhisowndefenseasinLefvres.15
Thecumulativeeffectofthesecontroversiesseemstohavebeentopersuadesome
factionsamongtheburghersofMetzthatAgrippastalentsmightbebetterexercised
elsewhereandtoconvinceAgrippahimselfthatMetzwasthestepmotherofallgood
lettersandvirtues.16
BythetimeMartinLuthersconcurrentdifficultieswithChurchauthoritieshad
blossomed into an open schism, Agrippas reputation was such that the Strasbourg
humanistandReformerWolfgangCapitocouldrecounttohim,inaletterwrittenin
1522,aconversationwithanadmirerofAgrippasencyclopediclearningandbrilliant
refutationsofsophistry:thispersonidentifiedhimasaforerunnerofLuthers,[who]
thereforecannotopposehim:whatLutherseesnow,hesawlongago.17
DespiteCapitosevidentdesiretobringhimonside,andhisownearlyrolein
disseminatingLutherantexts,AgrippanevercommittedhimselftotheReformation;his
affinitieswereratherwithwhathasbeencalledtheRadicalReformation, 18andafterhis
deathhewasharshlycriticizedbytwooftheleadingmagisterialReformers.Sincehe
alsorefusedtotemporizeinthemannerofErasmuswiththetheologiansofthemendicant
orders,itcannothavebeenaltogetherasurprisethatwhenhepublishedhistwomajor
works, DeincertitudineetvanitatescientiarumetartiumatqueexcellentiaVerbiDei
declamatio(1526,printedin1530;commonlyreferredtoasDevanitate),andDeocculta
philosophialibritres(ms.version1510,expandedversionprinted153133),theformer
was promptly condemned by the theological faculties of Louvain and the Sorbonne,
15

Nauert1965,pp.6162.
Nauert1965,p.68,quotingAgrippa1970,vol.2,EpistolarumliberII.xxxiii,p.681.
17
Agrippa1970,vol.2,EpistolarumliberIII.xv,pp.72930:Bonushicvirdetecoepithonorificloqui
initinere:depinxitmihivirumquendamomniumeruditissimum,professionemedicum,scientiasimulver
cyclicum&omniscium,maximautemvalentemdisputatione,quileviarticulosophistarumimpetus
dimoveat.Percontabardenomine.Agrippa,inquit,estoriundusColonia,educationeItalus,experientia
curialis,hocestaulicus,urbanus,civilis.Improvisoquidemgaudioferperturbatussubieci:Quid,inquam,
medicusilledeGermanicahaeresisentit,numrepugnatLuthero?nnefacitcumdoctissimis
Parisiensibus?tumille,Nihilminus,inquit,nampraeireLutheropotest,resisterenonpotest,quaemod
Lutherusilleolimvidit.EnemiesofthenascentReformationwerebythistimeattackingErasmus,
Reuchlin,andLefvreasprecursorsofLuther;seeA.L.Herminjard,ed.,Correspondencedes
rformateursdanslespaysdelanguefranaise(9vols.,186697;rpt.Nieuwkoop:B.deGraaf,196566),
vol.1,p.64.
18
SeeZambelli1976(reprintedinZambelli2007,pp.13882).
16

9
whiletheprintingofthelatterwasinterruptedanddelayedbymorethanayeardueto
attacks by the Cologne Dominicans 19and resulted, according to late and possibly
unreliablesources,inAgrippasbanishmentfromtheHolyRomanEmpire.20
Houndedbythemendicantorders,andpersecutedbysecularauthoritiesaswell,
Agrippadiedinpovertyin1535.Butseveralofthecontemporarieswhosenamesappear
withhisunderthefirstoftheBibliothqueSainteGenevivesarchesfoundoccasionto
rememberhiminensuingdecades.ThenaturalistConradGesner,whohadbeenastudent
ofCapitosandbecameafolloweroftheZwinglianHeinrichBullinger,devotedwhat
PaolaZambellidescribesasalongandaccuratearticletoAgrippainhisBibliotheca
universalis (1545);butwhilecreditinghimwithresistanceonmanypointstoRoman
Catholicdoctrineandauthority,GesneralsocriticizedAgrippaforconcealinghisdeep
convictions.21
Othercontemporaries,whosecommentscontainelementsoffiction,ofpolemic,
orofbothtogether,weremoreunflattering.FranoisRabelaissTierslivredesfaictzet
dictzHeroquesdunoblePantagruel,publishedin1546,containsachapterinwhichthe
court soothsayer Her Trippa, consulted by Panurge about his plans for marriage,
informshim,inagiddylistofmorethanthreedozenformsofdivination,thathewill
infalliblybeacuckoldallthisfromonewho,whileseem[ing]veryclearlytoseeall
heavenlyandterrestrialthingswithoutspectacles[],wasnotablewithalltheskilland
cunningthathehad,toperceivethebumbastingofhis[own]wifebythelackeysofthe
court.22
19

Nauert1965,pp.10809,11213.
SeeZambelli2007,pp.16263.
21
ConradGesner,Bibliothecauniversalis(Zurich,1545),fol.309v;citedbyZambelli2007,pp.14445.
22
FranoisRabelais,TheCompleteWorksofDoctorFranoisRabelais[].Trans.SirThomasUrquhart
andPeterMotteux,ed.J.LewisMay(London:AbbeyLibrary,c.1960),SecondPart,p.62;Tierslivre,ch.
xxv,inRabelaisOeuvrescompletes,ed.PierreJourda(2vols.Paris:ditionsGarnierFrres,1962),vol.1,
p.506:luyunjourparlantaugrandRoydeschosescelestesettranscendentes,leslaquaisdecourt,parles
degrez,entreleshuys,sabouloientsafemmeplaisir[].Etil,voyanttouteschosesaetheresetterrestres
sansbezicles[],seulementnevoioitsafemmerimballante,etoncquesnensceutlesnouvelles.The
layersofsatiricalfictionandofpossibleunderlyingactualityhereareimpossibletodisentangle.While
Agrippasfirsttwomarriageswerehappy,hedivorcedhisthirdwifein1535(JohannWeyer,Witches,
Devils,andDoctorsintheRenassance:JohannWeyer,Depraestigiisdaemonum,ed.andtrans.George
Mora,BenjaminKohl,andJohnShea[Tempe,Arizona:Medieval&RenaissanceTexts&Studies,1998],
II.v,p.113).Ironically,onepossiblesourceforRabelaisextendedjokeisanepigramofSirThomas
MoresthatAgrippaquotesinDevanitate,ch.31(seeAgrippa1974,p.103).
20

10
Inthesameyear,PauloGiovio(14831552),whosenamelikewiseappearsbeside
AgrippasunderthefirstofthetwoSainteGenevivearches,publishedanaccountof
himinhisElogiavirorumliterisillustriumthatbothechoesOrtwinGratiussattackand
alsoprefiguresthekeyfeaturesofthelegendofFaustus.GioviowritesthatAgrippa,
thoughpossessedofamarvelousgenius,cametoscornthescienceshehadacquiredand
thetruthsofreligion,andwasintheendexposedasaservantofthedevil:
For,havingbyhisunlimitedpowersofcomprehensionandhis
prodigious memory mastered the principles and inner secrets
andscaledtheheightsofallartsandsciences,heproceededto
attackthesciences,tochallengethetruthofreligiousdoctrines,
and in his witty discourses to ridicule the labor spent on all
studies.Andthishedidthemoreemphaticallyandeffectively
becausehesupportedsuchnovelargumentswiththeweightof
HolyWrit[].
Hediedbeforehereachedoldageinamean,darkinnat
Lyons,execratedbymanyasawretchsuspectedofpracticing
blackart,becausetheythoughthetookaboutwithhimanevil
genius[Cacodaemon]intheshapeofablackdog.Therefore,
when,asdeathdrewnear,hewasurgedtorepent,hetookoff
thedogsleathercollarstuddedwithnailsinapatternofmagic
symbolsandangrilyburstoutwiththeselastwords,Begone,
accursedbeastthathastutterlydestroyedme!Andthatfavorite
dog,theconstantcompanionofallhisjourneyings,desertedhis
dyingmasterandwasneverseenagain,forwithonemadleap
heplungedintotheArarandthosewhoassertedtheyhadseen
theincidentthinkhedidnotswimoutagain.23
23

Paulo Giovio, An Italian Portrait Gallery: Being Brief Biographies of Scholars

Illustrious within the memories of our grandfathers [], trans. Florence Alden Gragg
(Boston: Chapman & Grimes, 1935), p. 139; Giovio, Pauli Iovii Novocomensis Episcopi
Nucerini Elogia virorum literis illustrium [] (1546, rpt. Basle: Petrus Perna, 1577),
sigs. qv-q2 (pp. 186-87):QuisinHenriciCornelijAgrippaesedatovultuportenosumingenium
latuissecrediderit?Hicenimimmensocaptu,vastaquememoria,scientiarumartiumqueomniumrationes,
arcanaqueintima&summosapicescomplexusdisciplinasconvellit,religionesindubiumrevocat,

11
ThisnarrativeappearstohavehelpedtolaunchthelegendofDoctorFaustus,for
twoyearslater,in1548,theLutheranpastorJohannesGastsoughttooutdoGiovioby
claimingthatthenecromancerFaustussdog,andhishorseaswell,werebothdevils
andthatthemannerofhisdeathleftnotraceofdoubtastohisdamnation:hewas
strangledbythedevilandhisbodyonitsbierkeptturningfacedownwardeventhoughit
wasfivetimesturnedonitsback.Godpreserveuslestwebecomeslavesofthedevil. 24
GioviosstoryalsobecamepartofthegenerallyacceptedassessmentofAgrippaslife,
reappearing, for example, in the preface to James Sanfords 1569 translation of De
vanitate.25
Twomuchbetterknowntheologians,bothReformers,whosenamesstandamong
AgrippascontemporariesontheSainteGenevivefaade,disapprovedofhimnoless
violently.JeanCalvindenouncedAgrippainhisDescandalis(1550)asoneofabandof
Lucianici homines, imitators of the satirist Lucian of Samosata, who in their wild
madnessvomitedupexecrableblasphemies.26
studiorumqueomniumlaboresfestivadeclamationederidet:eoquevehementiusatquevalidius,quodtantas
novitatisargumentasacrarumliterarumauctoritateconfirmentur[].Excelsitvitanondumsenexapud
Lugdunumignobili&tenebrosoindiversorio,multiseumtanquamNecromantiaesuspicioneinfamem
execrantibus,quodCacodaemonemnigricanisspeciecircumduceret,itavtquumpropinquamortead
poenitentiamurgeretur,canicollarelloreummagicisperclavorumemblematainscriptumnotisexoluerit,in
haecsupremaverbairateprorumpens,Abiperditabestia,quaemetotumperdidisti:necusquamfamiliaris
illecanis,acassiduusitinerumomniumcomes,&tummorientisdominidesertor,posteaconspectusest,
quumpraecipitifugaesaltuinArarimseimmersisse,necenatasse,abhisquiidvidisseasserebant,
existimetur.ThisdefamatorystorywasrefutedbyJohannWeyer,whohadbeenAgrippasstudentand
hadwalkedhisdogforhim.ThedogsnamewasMonsieur(whichwecanidentifyasanAgrippanjoke:
thiswasthetitleintheFrenchcourtoftheDauphinFranois[15181536]);andAgrippadiedinGrenoble,
notLyons.SeeWeyer,II.v,pp.11314.
24
P. M. Palmer and R. P. More, The Sources of the Faust Tradition from Simon Magus
to Lessing (New York: Oxford University Press, 1936),p.98,quotingfromGastsSermones
conviviales,vol.2(1548):Canemsecumducebatetequum,Satanasfuissereor,quiadomniaerrantparati
exequenda.Canemaliquandoserviformamassumere,etesculentaadferre,quidammihidixere.Atqui
miserdeplorandumfinemsortitusest,namasatanasuffocatus,cuiuscadaverinferetrofacieadterram
perpetuospectans,etsiquinquiesintergumverteretur.Dominuscustodiatnos,nesatanaemancipia
fiamus.
25
SeeAgrippa1974,p.4.
26
Jean Calvin, De scandalis quibus hodie plerique absterrentur, nonnulli etiam
alienantura pur Evangeli doctrina (Geneva: Joannes Crispinus, 1550),sig.G.iii(p.53):
QuotquotergovidemushodieLucianicoshomines,quitotamChristireligionemsubsannant;sigs.Giii v
Giv:Agrippam,Villanovanum,Doletum,&similesvulgonotumesttanquamCyclopasquospiam
Evangeliumsemperfastuosesprevisse.Tandemeoprolapsisuntamentiae&furoris,utnonmodoinFilium
Deiexecrabilesblasphemiasevomerent,sedquantumadanimaevitamattinet,nihilacanibus&porcis
putarentsedifferre.Alii(utRabelaysus,Deperius,&Goveanus)gustatoEvangelio,eademcaecitatesunt
perculsi.Curistud?Nisiquiasacrumilludvitaeaeternaepignus,sacrilegaludendiautridendiaudaciaante

12
And Philipp Melanchthon, who shared Martin Luthers fondness for adapting
patristicandapocryphalnarrativestohisownneeds,incorporatedamentionofAgrippa
into his late lectures at Wittenberg in the mid1550s. Shaping motifs from patristic
accounts of the archheretic and necromancer Simon Magus into a parallel narrative
aboutthemagicianFaustus,Melanchthoneffectivelyvalidatedhisownquasiapostolic
authoritybyplacinghimselfinthepositionoccupiedbytheapostlesPhilipandPeterin
theirencounterwithSimoninthecanonical ActsoftheApostles.HeknewIoannes
Faustus,whowasborn,heclaimed,inKnittlingen,ashortdistancefromMelanchthons
hometownofBretten(thereisinfactgoodevidencethatthenotoriousDr.Faustus,
whoseChristiannamewasGeorgorGeorgius,wasborninoneoranotherofthetwo
villages ofHelmstadt inthevicinity ofHeidelbergandWrzburg).27 TheWittenberg
studentsweresolemnlyinformedthatFaustushad,likeSimonMagus,attemptedtofly;
thathediedatthedevilshandsintheDuchyofWrttemberg;andthatduringhislifehe
hadwithhimadogwhichwasadevil,justasthatscoundrelwhowrote Devanitate
artiumlikewisehadadogthatranaboutwithhimandwasadevil. 28Melanchthonalso
emphaticallyrefutedtheboastofFaustusmagus,amostfilthybeastandasewerof
many devils, that all of Charles Vs victories in Italy had been won by his magic.
This,hesaysseverely,wasanutterlie.Imentionthisforthesakeoftheyoung,so
thattheymaynotreadilygiveeartosuchvainmen.29Theseconcludingremarksindicate
profanarant?
27
SeeBaron,pp.1618;Marlowe,pp.6468.
28
PalmerandMore,pp.10102,quotingfromJohannesManlius,Locorumcommuniumcollectanea
(1563):Vivens,adhuchabebatsecumcanem,quieratdiabolus,sicutistenebuloquiscripsitDevanitate
artiumetiamhabebatcanem,secumcurrentem,quieratdiabolus.Forfullerexplanationsofthelogicof
apostolicvalidationatworkinMelanchthonsfabulationsaboutFaustus,seeKeefer,RightEyeandLeft
Heel:IdeologicalOriginsoftheLegendofFaustus,Mosaic22(1989):8889,andMarlowe,pp.7074.
WecanidentifyMelanchthonssourcefortwoofhiscontributionstotheFaustuslegend:hisinsistencethat
themansnamewasJoannesandthathehadstudiedmagicatCracow.MelanchthonhadknownJohannes
VirdungvonHassfurt,therecipientofTrithemiuss1507letteraboutGeorgiusFaustus:Virdungcastthe
youngMelanchthonshoroscopejustafewyearslater,andhehadstudiedatCracow.Aconflationof
FaustuswithVirdungisunderstandable:bothweredeeplyinterestedinmagicandpracticedphysiognomic
andastrologicaldivination,andbothwereassociatedwiththeUniversityofHeidelberg,fromwhich
FaustusreceivedhisMAin1490.
29
PalmerandMore,p.103,quotingfromManlius:IdemFaustusmagus,turpissimabestia,etcloaca
multorumdiabolorum,vanegloriabaturdeseomnesvictorias,quashabueruntCaesarianiexercitusinItalia,
essepartasperipsumsuamagia.Idenimdicopropteriuventutem,nestatimtalibusvanishominibus
assentiantur.

13
thattogetherwiththedevildogmotif,AgrippasbriefserviceinthecourtoftheEmperor
CharlesVemblazonedonthetitlepagesofhisbookshadbeenabsorbedintostories
aboutFaustus.
Reflection on the contemporaries of Agrippas whose names appear with his
underthefirstofthetwoarchescanthusgivesomesenseoftheintellectualcurrentsto
whichhebelonged,aswellasanappreciationofthemannerinwhichthedemonizing
tacticsofanopponentlikeGratiusmodulatedinlaterdecadesintoaprocessofpolemical
legendformationintimatelylinkedtotheelaborationoftheFaustuslegend.
InthereappearanceofC.AGRIPPAunderthenextarchoftheBibliothque
SainteGenevive,heissurroundedbywriterssomeofwhomhadscarcelybeenbornby
the time of his death. We need mention just three: the doctor and polymath Jerome
Cardan(15011576),whointwobooksdatingfromthemid1550sdenouncedAgrippaas
a man born to all evil and pernicious to the human race, and called the Abbot
Trithemius,aletterfromwhomprefacedallearlyeditionsof Deoccultaphilosophia,
more mendacious eventhanAgrippa;30 thepolitical philosopherJeanBodin(1530
1596),whoseDeladmonomaniedessorciers,publishedin1580,describedAgrippaas
theworstsorcererofhisageindeed,oneoftheworstofalltime; 31 andthelucidly
skepticalMicheldeMontaigne(15331592),whose Essais,firstpublishedinthesame
year,giveevidenceincontrastofaseriousandattentivereadingofDevanitate.32
30

Jerome Cardan, Les livres de Hierome Cardanus medecin milannois, intituls de la

Subtilit, & subtiles inuentions, ensemble les causes occultes, & raisons dicelles,
trans. Richard le Blanc (Paris: Guillaume le Noir, 1556),sig.Vvv.iii(fol.365):Agrippaa
rempliunlivredetellesmatieres[i.e.poisons],hommentoutmal,&perniciousaugenrehumain.
(CardanisreferringtoanapocryphaltextattributedtoAgrippathathehadencounteredinmanuscript.)See
alsoCardan, Hieronymi Cardani Mediolanensis medici De rerum varietate libri XVII
(Basle: H. Petri, 1557 ),sig.dD8(p.803):FuitvirpauloantenostramaetatemmendaciorAgrippa
[],AbbasTrithemius.
31
JeanBodin,Deladmonomaniedessorciers(Paris:JacquesduPuys,1580),fol.219v:Agrippa,leplus
grandSorcierquifutonquesdesonaage;fol.220:ilnyahommedesainiugement,quineconfesseapres
avoirleuleslivresdAggrippa,quecestoitlundesplusgrandsSorciersdumonde.
32
EchoesofDevanitateareparticularlyapparentinMontaignesApologiedeRaymondSebond,the
longestofhisessays;seePierre Villey, Les sources et lvolution des Essais de Montaigne,
2 vols., 1908; 2nd ed. (Paris: Hachette, 1933),vol.2,pp.16670;andKeefer, The
Dreamers Path: Descartes and the Sixteenth Century, Renaissance Quarterly 49
(1996):48.AgrippaisquotedrespectfullybyotherFrenchwritersoftheperiod,amongthemthe
playwrightJeandelaTaille,whodescribeshimashomme[]dunmerveilleuxsavoir(JeandeLa
Taille,DramaticWorks,ed.KathleenM.HallandC.N.Smith[London:AthlonePress,1972],p.23).

14
ThenearconcurrentpublicationofatwovolumeeditionofAgrippas Opera,a
FrenchtranslationofDevanitate,andaLatineditionofthesamework(in1580,1582,
and1584respectively)indicatesthatprintersthoughttheretobeacontinuingpotential
readership.33OnecanseehowthecompilersoftheSainteGenevivecanoncouldhave
idly taken Agrippa for a contemporary of Bodin and Montaignethough another
referencetohimfromthesameperiod,hadtheyencounteredit,mighthavealertedthem
to his actual place inhistory. ThesupposedboastofFaustus soearnestly deniedby
Melanchthonthreedecadespreviouslyseemstohaveundergonealateraldrift:in1584
thehistorianAndrThevetfeltitnecessarytorefutetheopinionthatthemilitaryvictories
oftheEmperorCharlesV(whoabdicatedin1556anddiedtwoyearslater)hadbeenwon
byAgrippasmagic.34

3.FromMarlowetotheclassicalparadigm
OntheothersideoftheEnglishChannel,meanwhile,Agrippawasbeingread
withinterestbywriterslikeSirPhilipSidney,EdmundSpenser,andtheplaywrightJohn
Lyly,whointhecourtprologuetoCampaspe(1584)wrotethatWhatsoeverwepresent,
wewishitmaybethoughtthedancingofAgrippahisshadows,whointhemomentthey
wereseen,wereofanyshapeonecouldconceive.35Bytheendofthatdecade,thefirst
canonicalformoftheFaustuslegend,the HistoriavonD.JohannFausten (1587),had
The1580OperaisAgrippa1970;seeJean George Thodore Graesse, Trsor des livres rare

33

et prcieux ou Nouveau dictionnaire bibliographique, 7 vols. ( Dresden: Rudolf

Kuntza, 1859-69),vol.1,p.45andNauert1965,p.337fornoticesofthe1582Frenchtranslationof
Devanitate;andseeChristopher I. Lehrich, The Language of Demons and Angels:
Cornelius Agrippas Occult Philosophy (Leiden: Brill, 2003),p.235fornoticeofthe1584
editionofDevanitate.
34
Andr Thevet, Les vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres (2 vols., Paris: Par la
vesue I. Keruert et Guillaume Chaudiere, 1584),vol.2,fol.542v543.
35
John Lyly, The Complete Works of John Lyly, ed. R. W. Bond., 3 vols., 1902 (rpt.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967),vol.2,p.316.(LylyisnotincludedintheBibliothqueSainte
Genevivecanon.)OnSidneysawarenessofAgrippa,seeA. C. Hamilton, Sidney and Agrippa,
Review of English Studies n.s. 7, no. 26 (1956);andonSpensers,seeKeefer, Agrippa, in
The Spenser Encyclopedia, ed. A. C. Hamilton (Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1990).

15
beenprinted,translatedintoEnglish,andpromptlydramatizedbyChristopherMarlowe.
HisDr.Faustus,appearingonstageforthefirsttimein1589,announcedintheplays
openingscenehisambitiontobeascunningasAgrippawas,/Whoseshadowsmadeall
Europehonorhim.36
TheGermanhumanistandoccultphilosopherismoresignificantlypresentinthis
playthanthemerementionofhisnamewouldsuggest.HostilereadersofAgrippalike
AndrThevethadunderstoodhisclaiminDevanitatetobeProfessingeDivinitee 37as
mere hypocrisy: despite the books evangelical orientation, they suspected that its
rhetorical demolitions oftheorthodox forms ofknowledge weredesigned toprepare
readersforthemagicaldoctrinesespousedinDeoccultaphilosophia.38(WouldtoGod
hehaddrownedaloneinthisgulfofimpiety,Thevetadded:todaywewouldnothave
suchaheapofatheists,blasphemersandscoffersasthiscenturyhasproduced.Agrippa
hatchedinfiniteswarmsbothofmagiciansandatheists.)39
Thispatternofascoffingdoubtthatleadsdirectlyintoacommitmenttomagicis
echoedinthefirstspeechofMarlowesFaustus.Havingearnedhisdoctorateindivinity,
Faustusproclaimshimselfahypocrite:hewillbeadivineinshow.40Afterrehearsinga
sophisticalcritique ofthestandardacademic disciplines,ofwhichthereisnohintin
Marlowesprincipalsource,the Historieofthedamnablelife,anddeserveddeathof
Doctor John Faustus (1588), or English Faust Book, he bids farewell to divinity.
Proclaiming that These metaphysics of magicians / And necromantic books are
heavenly, herapturouslycelebrates theworldofprofitanddelight, /Ofpower,of
honor, of omnipotence, that magic offers its practitioners41in language that is
paralleledinDeoccultaphilosophiabutnotinMarlowessource.
InthesixthchapterofBookIII,forexample,Agrippawritesthatthemaguswho
36

Marlowe,I.i.11819(p.183).
Agrippa1974,ch.1,p.12.
38
SeeforexampleThevet,vol.2,fol.544rv.
39
Thevet,vol.2,fol.543v:Et,pleutDieu,quetoutseulilsefustnoyencegoulphredimpiet,
aujourdhuynousnaurionsuntasdAthees,demesdisans&brocardeurs,commecesieclelesnousa
produict.PourlaMagie&AtheismeAgrippaenaenclosuneinfinitedeformillieres.
40
Marlowe,I.i.3,p.174.
41
Marlowe,I.i.5055,pp.17879.
37

16
worksthroughreligioncanlearntoexercisequasidivinepowers:
Our mind therefore, pure and divine, burning with religious
love,adornedbyhope,anddirectedbyfaith,placedintheheight
andsummitofthehumansoul,attractsthetruth,andsuddenly
comprehending,beholdsinthedivinetruthitself,asthoughina
certainmirrorofeternity,alltheconditions,reasons,causesand
sciencesofthingsbothnaturalandimmortal.Henceitcomes
to us, who are established in nature, sometimes to rule over
nature,andtoaccomplishoperationssowonderful,sosudden,
andsodifficult,wherebythespiritsofthedeadmayobey,the
stars be disordered, the divine powers compelled, and the
elements enslaved: so men devoted to God, and elevated by
these theological virtues, command the elements, drive away
mists, summon winds, collect clouds into rain, cure diseases,
raisethedead.42
Subtractthereferencestoreligionanddivinetruth,andonemightbeleftwithsomething
notunlikeFaustussrhapsody:
Allthingsthatmovebetweenthequietpoles
Shallbeatmycommand.Emperorsandkings
Arebutobeydintheirseveralprovinces,
Norcantheyraisethewind,orrendtheclouds;
Buthisdominionthatexceedsinthis
Stretchethasfarasdoththemindofman!
Asoundmagicianisamightygod:

42

Deoccultaphilosophia,III.vi;Agrippa1970,vol.1,p.321:Mensitaquenostrapuraatquedivina,
religiosoamoreflagrans,spedecora,fidedirecta,positainculmine&fastigiohumanianimi,veritatem
attrahit,omnesquererumtamnaturaliumquamimmortaliumstatus,rationes,causas&scientias,inipsa
veritatedivina,tanquaminquodamaeternitatisspeculointuetur,subitocomprehendens.Hincprovenit
nosinnaturaconstitutos,aliquandosupranaturamdominari:operationesquetammirificas,tamsubitas,tam
arduasefficere,quibusobediantmanes,turbentursidera,coganturnumina,serviantelementa:sichomines
Deodevoti,actheologicisistisvirtutibuselevati,imperantelementis,pelluntnebulas,citantventos,cogunt
nubesinpluvias,curantmorbos,suscitantmortuos.

17
Heretire,mybrains,togetadeity!43
Bythetime herefers toAgrippabyname,Marlowes Dr.Faustushas alreadybeen
emulatingorparodyinghimformorethanahundredlines.
TheadmiringreferencestoshadowsbyLylyandMarlowesFaustusalludeto
that kind of necromancy that Agrippa termed scyomantia, divination through the
invocationoftheumbraeorshadowsofthedead.44 LikeMarlowesfriendThomas
Nashe,whoin TheUnfortunateTraveller (1594)calledAgrippaanabundantscholar
whobarethefametobethegreatestconjurerinChristendom,andrepresentedhimas
earning this reputation with necromantic displays resembling the one with which
MarlowesFaustusentertainedtheEmperorCharlesV,45thesewritersidentifyAgrippaas
notjustatheoristofnecromancy,butapractitioner.Theymayhavebeeninfluencedin
thisbyaspuriousfourthbookofDeoccultaphilosophia,availablebythelate1560sinat
least three editions,46 which contained detailed instructions for rituals of ceremonial
magic,and,asGarethRobertsnoted,waswidelyreadinlatesixteeenthcenturyEngland,
along with other magical handbooks like Peter of Abanos Heptaemeron that were
printedwithit.47
43

Marlowe,I.i.5764,p.179.
Deoccultaphilosophia,III.xlii;Agrippa1970,vol.1,sig.E3(p.437).Agrippacontrastsscyomantia
withnecyomantia,whichinvolvesbloodsacrificeandthereanimationofcorpses,asinthehorrifying
ritualofthewitchEricthoinLucans Pharsalia or De bello civili, ed. D. R. Shackleton Bailey
(Stuttgart: Teubner, 1988),VI.637827.However,Agrippasdiscussionisconfusing.Healsorefers
tothewitchofEndorsraisingofSamuel(1Samuel28:1120),andKirkesinstructionstoOdysseusfor
obtainingpropheticknowledgefromtheshadeofTeiresias(OdysseyX.51630)andtheensuingnekuia
(OdysseyXI.23ff).Onemightassumethesetobeinstancesofscyomantia.ButAgrippadoesntappearto
distinguishbetweentheseandtheriteofErictho,andOdysseussriteinvolvedabloodsacrifice.The
concludingparagraphsofthespuriousfourthbookborrowfromthischapter,butomittheliteraryallusions;
inthistext(Agrippa1970,vol.1,sigs.M8vN[pp.56061]),asinAgrippaschapter,thewordsumbrae
andanimaeareusedinterchangeably.
45
Thomas Nashe, The Works of Thomas Nashe, ed. Ronald B. McKerrow, revised by F.
P. Wilson, 5 vols., 1958 (rpt. Oxford: Blackwell, 1966),vol.2,p.252;compareDoctorFaustus,
IV.ii(Marlowe,pp.23841),asceneusuallyascribedtoacollaborator,butevidentlypartoftheplays
originaldesign.
46
Inthemid1550sCardanstatedthatthisfourthbookhadnotyetbeenprinted(Cardan1556,sig.Xxx.iv
[fol.367v).Graesse,vol.1,p.45,noteseditionsofitin1565and1567,aswellasaneditionprintedin1567
inParisofDeoccultaPhilosophiaL.III,quibusaccesser[unt]spuriusAgrippaeliberdeCeremoniis
Magicis,HeptameronPetrideAbano[];thefourthbooksubsequentlyappearsineditionsofAgrippas
Opera.
47
Gareth Roberts, Necromantic Books: Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus and
Agrippa of Nettesheim, in Christopher Marlowe and English Renaissance Culture,
ed.Darryl Grantley and Peter Roberts (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999),pp.15155.
44

18
In1625,GabrielNaudcriticizedthosewho,condemningAgrippaasamagician
and thereby following the ignorance or the passion of Paulo Giovio and of
demonologists,ratherthanthetruthofhistory,arrivedatsounfavourableandsinistera
judgmentofamanwhowasnotonlyanewTrismegistusinthethreehigherfacultiesof
theology,law,andmedicine,butwhoalsotraveledinbodythrougheverypartofEurope,
andexercisedhismindonallthesciencesanddisciplines.NaudarguedthatAgrippa
deservedbetterthantobeabusedwithstorieswhichwouldbemuchmoreappropriatein
themagicaltalesofMerlin,Maugis,andofDoctorFaust,thaninwritingswhichare(or
rather should be) serious and wellexamined.48 But by this time, the patterns of
thoughtandinterpretationthatAgrippahadparticipatedinwereonthevergeofbeing
permanentlydisplacedbyanewparadigm.
Justtwoyearspreviously,in1623,amanwasburnedatthestakeinthecityof
Moulins in the Auvergne for the crime of merely possessing a copy of De occulta
philosophia.49 Also in 1623, the Minim friar Marin Mersenne published a massive
polemicagainstoccultist,naturalist,andskepticaltendenciesinFrance,inthecourseof
which he denounced Agrippa as Archimagus50and in that same year made the
acquaintanceoftheyoungphilosopherRenDescartes,whosereputationandwritings
Mersennewouldhelpverymateriallytoadvanceoverthenexttwodecades.
48

Gabriel Naud, Apologie pour tous les grands personnages qui ont est faussement
souponnez de magie (Paris: Franois Targa,1625),p.404:cestplustostsuivrelignorance
oulapassiondePauleJove&desDemonographes,quelaveritedelhistoire,defaireunjugementsipeu
favorable&sinistredecethomme,quinapasestseulementunnouveauTrismegistestroisfacultez
superieuresdelaTheologie,Jurisprudence&Medecine,maisquiavoulupromenersoncorpspartoutesles
partiesdelEurope,&faireroulersonespritsurtouteslesSciences&disciplines;p.419:Cettepreuve
quiestlaplusforte&lamoinsdesguiseequepuissentavoirnosadversaires,estantainsirenduevaine&de
nulleconsequence,ilnyariensifacilequedeveniraboutdesautres,lesquellesseliroientbeaucoupplus
proposdanslesRomansmagiquesdeMerlin,Maugis,&duDocteurFauste,quedanslesEscritsserieux
&bienexaminez,ouquiledevroientestre,deplusieursHistoriens&Demonographes.(Maugisisa
magicianwhofiguresprominentlyinthethirteenthcenturychansondegesteLesquatrefilsAymon,andin
laterchapbookversionsofthestory.)
49
SeeMarin Mersenne, Correspondance du P. Marin Mersenne, ed. Cornelis de Waard
et al., (18 vols., Paris: Mme Paul Tannery and ditions du Centre national de la
recherche scientifique, 1932-1988),vol.1,p.51n.Thisburningwasnotanisolatedevent;it
followedtheexecutioninToulousein1619ofthedeistGiulioCesareVanini,andinParisin1622ofthe
occultistJeanFontanier;seeA. C. Grayling, Descartes: The Life of Ren Descartes and Its
Place in his Times (2005, rpt. London: Pocket Books, 2006),pp.11921.
50
Mersenne, Questiones celeberrimae in Genesim, cum accurate textus explicatione,
in hoc volumine Athei et Deistae impugnantur (Paris, 1623),col.490.

19
Descartesmostwidelyreadtexts,the Discoursdelamthode (1637)andthe
Mditations mtaphysiques (1641), contributed decisively to what Michel Foucault
described as a major shift in the configuration of knowledge and interpretation, a
modification of the fundamental dispositions of the whole pistm of Western
culture51thesupplantingofasixteenthcentury pistm basedonsimilitude anda
systemofvisiblesignatureswhichmakemanifestthehiddenanalogiesthatshapeand
resonate through the whole cosmos, by la pense classique, whose key element,
according to Foucault, is a Cartesian critique of resemblance that excludes it as
fundamentalexperienceandtheprimaryformofknowledge,denouncingitratherasa
confusedmixturethatmustbeanalyzedintermsofidentityanddifferences,ofmeasure
andorder.52
The slender evidential basis of Foucaults schema, and its capricious non
recognitionbothofaninstitutionallydominantscholastictheologicalparadigmthatwas
visiblyinconflictwiththepistmofresemblanceandanalogyduringthesixteenthand
earlyseventeenthcenturies,andalsoofemergentelementsofaclassicalstructuringof
knowledgewithinsixteenthcenturyculture,haverightlyreceivedcriticism:nonemore
brilliant,perhaps,thanthatofGaryTomlinson,whoafteridentifyingsomeofFoucaults
majordeficienciesandusingAgrippas Deoccultaphilosophia asacorrectivetohis
distinctly arbitrary structuring of the field of resemblance and analogyconceded
nonetheless that Foucaults paradigmshift narrative retains a significant degree of
validity.53
While acknowledging that a paradigm shift indeed occurred during the mid
seventeenth century, we should also admit that it was preceded by a situation of
extraordinary complexity. Tomlinson notes thatas one would expectthere are
significantanticipationsoftheemergentclassicalparadigmwithinthesixteenthcentury.
51

Michel Foucault, Les mots et les choses: Une archologie des sciences humaines
(Paris: Gallimard, 1966),p.68:toutelpistmdelacultureoccidentalesetrouvemodifiedansses
dispositionsfondamentales.
52
Foucault,p.66:Lacritiquecartsiennedelaresemblanceestdunautretype.[.]cestlapense
classiqueexcluantlaresemblancecommeexpriencefondamentaleetformeprimairedusavoir,dnonant
enelleunmixteconfusquilfautanalyzerentermesdidentitetdedifferences,demesureetdordre.
53
Gary Tomlinson, Music in Renaissance Magic: Toward a Historiography of Others
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993),pp.3266,18990.

20
AsIhavearguedelsewhere,therearealsotextuallyexplicitconnectionsinDescartes
writingsbetweenthe adfontes projectofspeculativeoccultisthumanismthatunderlies
the paradigm of resemblance and analogy, and the Cartesian project of providing
philosophy with a secure foundational structure of existentialmetaphysical axioms. 54
Moretothepoint,forpresentpurposes,isthefactthatmostofthesixteenthcentury
criticsofAgrippawhosecommentshavebeensurveyedabovewereparticipants,inone
wayoranother,inthedemonizinganddemonologicaldiscoursesofwhatIhavetermeda
scholastictheologicalparadigm.
Awiderangleinterpretivelensisneeded,however,ifwearetomakesenseof
CorneliusAgrippasdirectandconsciousasopposedtohisshadowy,penumbral,and
largelyposthumousparticipationintheFaustiancentury.

4.TheFaustianparadigmanditscontexts
IneveryaspectofAgrippasintellectuallifewhetherwechoosetofocusonhis
participationinahighlyselfconscioushumanistmovementwhoseleadingfiguresduring
the decades of his maturity were Erasmus, Lefvre dtaples, and Reuchlin; on his
lifetimeprojectofasynthesisofmagicaltraditionsderivedfromHermetic,Neoplatonic,
KabbalisticandothersourceswithaChristianitylargelypurgedofmedievalaccretions;
oronhisearlysympathyforLutherandhissubsequentinfluenceonradicalreformers
he was involved with the defining Renaissance project of a return ad fontes, to the
sources.
Thatprojectcanbeunderstoodashavingunfoldedinthreeoverlappingphases.
Thefirstwasprimarilyphilologicalthoughitsprogram,exemplifiedinthefourteenth
century by Petrarch, of recovering classical texts, reviving a classical Latinity, and
emulatingtheliteraryachievementsofancientRomeandGreece,revealedintheworkof
LorenzoVallaacenturylateracapacitytoshakedominantorthodoxies.
Admired as a leading scholar and Latinist, Valla also initiated critical
54

SeeKeefer1996a,esp.3363.

21
comparisons of the Vulgate New Testament with the Greek original, challenged the
linguistic,metaphysical,andmethodologicalfoundationsofscholasticAristotelianismin
his Repastinatiodialecticeetphilosophie (1439),55 andfrontallyattackedtheChurchs
claimstotemporalpoweranditscorruptpoliticalmachinationsinhisDefalsocreditaet
ementitaConstantinidonationedeclamatio (1440).Vallaknewthatinchallengingthe
papacys priestly violence (iniuria pontificis), he was risking not just
excommunication,butdeath.Undauntedbythisterrifying,twofoldperil(duplexhic
periculiterror)andfortifiedperhapsbythefactthathispatron,AlfonsoVofAragon,
wasatwarwiththePopeheannouncedinringingtonesthepublicintellectualsdutyto
speaktruthtopower:Withstrengthofmind,fullconfidence,goodhope,thecauseof
truth,ofjustice,ofGodmustbedefended!Norcanonewhospeakswellbeesteemeda
trueorator,unlesshealsodarestospeak.Letusthendaretoaccusewhoeverdeserves
accusation.Andlethimwhosinsagainstallbecensuredbyonevoiceonbehalfofall.56
Asecondphaseofthereturnadfontesinvolvedarestoration,ormoreproperlya
reinvention,ofPlatoandthePlatonictradition.TwokeyfiguresinthiswereVallas
contemporaryNicholasofCusaand,severaldecadeslater,theFlorentineMarsilioFicino,
whoinadditiontoprovidingthefirstLatintranslationoftheentirePlatoniccorpusalso
wrotecommentariesonsomeofthemajordialoguesandonkeyNeoplatonictexts,as
wellasinfluentialexpositionsofhisownmagicallyinflectedPlatonism.
Cusa,thoughherecoveredmanuscriptsofPlinyandPlautusingoodhumanist
fashion,andanticipatedbysomeyearsVallasexposureoftheDonationofConstantine,
is principally remembered as a philosopher of striking originality. As Ernst Cassirer
observed,herediscoveredthePlatonicconceptsofchorismos,theradicalandirrevocable
55

ForlucidexpositionsofVallascritiqueofthepresuppositionsandproceduresofscholasticphilosophy
andtheology,seeLodiNauta,LorenzoValla,StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy(June2009Edition),
ed.EdwardN.Zalta,http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lorenzovalla/andNautasInDefenseofCommon
Sense:LorenzoVallasHumanistCritiqueofScholasticPhilosophy(Cambridge,Mass.:Harvard
UniversityPress,2009).
56
Lorenzo Valla, Discourse on the Forgery of the Alleged Donation of Constantine, In
Latin and English, ed. and trans. Christopher B. Coleman (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1922), available online at http://history.hanover.edu/texts/vallatc.html,pp.2324:
Fortianimo,magnafiducia,bonaspe,defendendaestcausaveritatis,causaiustitiae,causaDei!Neque
enimisverusesthabendusoratorquibenescitdicerenisietdicereaudeat.Audeamusitaqueaccusareeum
quicumquedignacommittitaccusatione.Etquiinomnespeccat,uniusproomniumvocecarpatur.(Ihave
substantiallymodifiedColemanstranslation.)

22
separationofthesupersensibleandthesensible,andmethexis,orparticipation,whichhe
understoodasgivingaccesstoaparadoxicalknowledgeofdivineotherness 57envisaged
through various forms of coincidentia oppositorum, among them the relationship of
likenessinincommensurabilitythatconnectsmicrocosmandmacrocosm.
CusasrecognitionofchorismoschallengedboththeNeoplatonicandscholastic
concern with a hierarchy of mediations between an originary One and the level of
ordinaryexperience,andalsotheAristotelianscholasticmethodofsyllogisticargument
basedonalogicofnoncontradictionandtheexcludedmiddle. 58Nolessimportantly,he
repeatedlyexpressedhisunderstandingofmethexisintermsderivedfromthesupposedly
ancientEgyptianphilosopher,priest,andmonarchHermesTrismegistus.59TheHermetic
definition of God as an infinite sphere whose centre is everywhere and whose
circumferencenowhererecursinCusaswritingsasanexpressionofthecoincidenceof
maximumwithminimum,andisrelatedtohisunderstandingofthehumanintellectas
capax Dei.60 Moreover, his sense of man as a microcosm who, Cassirer writes,
includesthenaturesofallthingswithinhimselfandisthusthebondthatjoinsthe
world,61likewisecomeslargelyfromHermeticsources.
AsCassirerobserved,CusasdeclarationinDeconjecturis(1443)thatthehuman
microcosmiscapableofbecomingdivine,angelic,orbeastly62 anticipatesthefamous
57

CassirernotesCusasinsistencethatTheTruth,ungraspableandinconceivableinitself,canonlybe
knowninitsotherness:cognosciturinattingibilisveritatisunitasinalteritateconjecturali.Ernst
Cassirer, The Individual and the Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy, trans. Mario
Domandi (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972),pp.2930,quotingDe
conjecturis,i.2.InNicolaiCusaeCardinalisOpera,ed.JacquesLefvredtaples(3vols.,Paris,1514;
rpt.Frankfurt/Main:UnvernderterNachdruckMinerva,1962),vol.1,fol.xliv,thetextdiffersslightly:
Cognosciturigiturinattingibilisveritatisunitas/alteritateconjecturali.CassireralsoquotesCusas
concisedefinitionofempiricalknowledge:conjecturaestpositivaassertioinalteritateveritatemutiest
participans(Cassirer1972,p.23,quotingDeconjecturisi.13;seeCusa,Opera,vol.1,fol.xlviii).
58
Cassirer1972,pp.823.
59
SeePasquale Arf, Ermete Trismegisto e Nicola Cusano, in Hermetism from Late
Antiquity to Humanism / La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico
allUmanesimo, ed. Paolo Lucentini et al. (Turnhout: Brepols, 2003), pp. 223-243.
60
SeeKeefer, Agrippas Dilemma: Hermetic Rebirth and the Ambivalences of De
vanitate and De occulta philosophia, Renaissance Quarterly 41 (1988): 614-53.For
oneinstanceofthistrope,derivedfromthelateHermetictextLiberXXIVphilosophorum,see
Excitationum,V,exsermonePaxhominibusbonaevoluntatis,Cusa,Opera,vol.2,fol.lxxxviiiv.This
samepassagecontainsastatementthatthehumanintellectiscapaxestdei(fol.lxxxix).
61
Cassirer1972,pp.40,64.
62
RegioigituripsahumanitatisDeumatqueuniversummundumhumanalisuapotentiaambit.Potest

23
passageinGiovanniPicodellaMirandolasOrationontheDignityofMan(1486,printed
1496)inwhichGodtellsAdamheisfreetofashionhimselfintowhatevershapehe
preferstobecomevegetativeorbrutish,orelsetoberebornintorationalandheavenly,
orintointellectualandangelicforms,or,finally,toattainunitywiththedivine. 63 But
both passages echo the praise of human powers of selffashioning in the Hermetic
Asclepius,accordingtowhichmencanadoptthenaturesoflowerspecies,remaincontent
withanintermediateposition,orelsebecomelikedaemonsorgods:Hence,Asclepius,
whatagreatmiracleisman,abeingworthyofreverenceandhonour!Forhepassesinto
thenatureofagodasthoughhewerehimselfagod;heisfamiliarwiththeraceof
daemons,knowinghimselftohavecomefromthesameorigin. 64InCusasstatements
of an insatiable human desireand capacityfor development into an evercloser
resemblancetoourdivineoriginal,Cassirerfoundtheclearestphilosophicalexpression
and[]deepestphilosophicaljustificationofwhathecalledthebasicFaustianattitude
oftheRenaissance.65
InBook14ofhisTheologiaPlatonica(1484),MarsilioFicinosexpositionofthe
ontologicalimportanceofthehumansoulintermsofitscapacitytoimitatetheattributes
ofGodmakespivotaluseofthesamepassagefromtheHermeticAsclepius;66elsewhere
igiturhomoessehumanusDeusatqueDeushumaniter,potestessehumanusangelus,humanabestia,
humanusleoautursus,autaliudquodcumque(Cassirer1972,p.87,quotingDeconjecturisii.14;Cusa,
Opera,vol.2,fol.lx).
63
Cassirer, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and John Herman Randall, Jr., eds., The Renaissance
Philosophy of Man (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948),pp.22425;GiovanniPico
dellaMirandola,Dehominisdignitate,Heptaplus,Deenteetuno,ed.EugenioGarin(Florence:Vallecchi,
1942),p.104.
64
Propterquodetpropedeosaccedit,quisemente,quadiisiunctusest,divinareligionediisiunxerit,et
daemonum,quihisiunctusest.Humanivero,quimedietategenerissuicontentisunt,etreliquaehominum
specieshissimileserunt,quorumsegenerisspeciebusadiunxerint.Propterhaec,oAsclepi,magnum
miraculumesthomo,animaladorandumatquehonorandum.Hoceniminnaturamdeitransit,quasiipsesit
dues;hocdaemonumgenusnovit,utpotequicumisdemseortumessecognoscat;hochumanaenaturae
parteminseipsedespicit,alteriuspartiesdivinitateconfisus(Asclepius56,ed.NockandFestugire,in
CorpusHermeticum:EdizioneecommentodiA.D.NockeA.J.Festugire;Edizionedeitestiermetici
coptiecommentodiI.Ramelli,ed.IlariaRamelli[Milan:Bompiani,2006],pp.52022).
65
Cassirer1972,pp.6869,referringtoIdiota,Lib.IIIDemente,chs.3,7,13;andquotingExcitationum,
V,exsermoneSiquissermonemmeumservaverit:Sicutvisvisivasensibilisestinfinibilisperomne
visibile(nunquamenimsatiaturoculusvisu),sicvisusintellectualisnunquamsatiaturvisuveritatis.
Semperenimacuituretfortificaturvisvivendi:sicutexperimurinnobis,quodquantoproficimusplusin
doctrina,tantocapacioressumusetplusproficereappetimus,ethocestsignumincorruptibilitatis
intellectus(Cusa,Opera,vol.2,fol.lxxxiii).
66
SeePaul Oskar Kristeller, The Philosophy of Marsilio Ficino, trans. Virginia Conant

24
healludesrepeatedlytotheregenerationtractatesoftheHermetic Pimander,whichhe
hadtranslatedin1463.67Myaimindrawingattentiontothesefactsisneithertorevive
the troppo facili syntesi, as Eugenio Garin called them, of Dame Frances Yatess
reconstructionsofaRenaissanceHermeticCabalistictraditionwhichshesawFicinoas
having initiated with his translation of the Hermetica;68 nor, conversely, to prompt
repetitionsofthecontraryexcessesofsomeofhercritics,whoonoccasionwentsofaras
to deny those texts any influence, either philosophical or magical. 69 I wish rather to
suggestthatthepivotal presenceofHermetic elements inthePlatonic revival ofthe
fifteenthcenturycanhelpusclarifythedifferencesbetweenthisandtheensuingthird
phaseofthereturnadfontes,theReformation.
WhilethemagisterialReformersconfinedthesourcestowhichtheywantedto
returnandthetraditionstheywantedtorevivetothecanonicalScriptures,supplemented
byaselectionofpatristicinterpreters,thereviversofPlatonismhappilyconsentedtoa
radicaldispersaloforiginaryauthority.Cusa,distinguishinginDepacefideibetweenthe
unchanging signifiedoffaithandtheshifting signifiers ofreligious rites inJudaism,
Christianity, and Islamsigna autem mutationem capiunt, non signatum 70made
allowanceforagenerousrelativism,whileFicinowentbeyondrecognizingPlatoasa

(1943, rpt. Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1964),p.117.

67
SeeKeeferAgrippasDilemma,625,n.35.
68
EugenioGarin,Divagazioniermetiche,Rivistacriticadistoriadellafilosofia31(1976):466;andsee
FrancesA.Yates,GiordanoBrunoandtheHermeticTradition(London:Routledge&KeganPaul,1964),
andTheOccultPhilosophyintheElizabethanAge(London:Routledge&KeganPaul,1979).
69
SeeBrian Copenhaver, Astrology and Magic, in The Cambridge History of
Renaissance Philosophy, eds. Charles B. Schmitt and Quentin Skinner (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1988),p.281:FicinosHermeticaarenotaboutmagic,andwhat
philosophytheycontainisofsmallinterest.[U]nliketheNeoplatonicsystemswithwhichitisoften
confused,thecorpusHermeticumhaslittletooffertoanyonewhorequiresaconsistentconceptualand
terminologicalframeworkforanalysisoftheproblemsitpresents.AsfarasRenaissancemagicwas
concerned,thechieftaskofHermesTrismegistuswasgenealogicalordoxographic.Thefirstofthese
sentencesissufficientlyrefutedbyKeefer,AgrippasDilemmaandKeefer,TheDreamersPath:
DescartesandtheSixteenthCentury.RenaissanceQuarterly49(1996):3076.Astogenealogy,Kristeller
devotedachapter(14670)toFicinosontologicaldoctrineoftheprimuminaliquogenere(Thefirstin
everygenusisthecauseofthewholegenus[quotedonp.147]),indicatingthatFicinoderivedthis
doctrineinhisearlyDevoluptatefromMercuriusTrismegistus.ThereisgoodevidencethatFicino,having
placedMercuriusorHermesasthefirsttextuallysubstantivefigureinthegenusofphilosophers,applied
thisontologicalprinciplebyreadingsupposedlylaterphilosophicaltextsthroughaHermeticlens.
70
Cassirer1972,p.30,quotingDepacefidei15(Cusa,Opera,vol.2,fol.cxxiv).

25
GreekspeakingMoses(asClementofAlexandriahaddoneinthesecondcentury), 71and
understoodtheEgyptianHermesasasourcenotjustforPlatobutalso,ashesometimes
daringlyinsinuated,forMoses.
Thisgenealogyofferedtheexcitingprospectofhealingtheriftbetweenfaithand
reasoninEuropeanculture(ariftexacerbatedintheartsfacultiesofthefourteenthand
fifteenth centuries by the partial supercession of the Thomistic via antiqua by a
nominalisticviamoderna)for,ifthetextsofHermestookusbacktoacommonsource
ofourreligiousandphilosophicaltraditions,theytherebyprovidedcuesforarestorative
reinterpretationofbothtraditions.
ItalsogaveexaltedstatustotheHermeticcreationmythofthefirsttractateofthe
Pimander (a text recognized in the early seventeenth century, once Greek philology
reached the level that had been attained by Latinists like Valla in the midfifteenth
century,asagnosticmidrashonGenesisdatingfromtheearlycenturiesoftheChristian
era),andreinforcedaNeoplatonicanthropologywhosecentralmotif,therecoveryofan
originallydivinehumannature,wasexpoundedinthefirst,fourth,seventh,andthirteenth
tractatesofthePimander.72SupplementedbytheChristianCabalaofGiovanniPico(who
alsowrotethe Heptaplus,anexpositionofthedeepphilosophicalcontentsupposedly
enfoldedbyMosesintothecreationstoryof Genesis)andofJohannesReuchlin(who
claimedthattheKabbalah,theorallytransmittedwisdomimpartedtothepatriarchsand
toMoses,madepossibleareconstitutionofthePythagoreanphilosophythatwasPlatos
source), this Ficinian tendency offered to decentre a culture whose foundational
principles included clear distinctions between sacred and secular canons, as well as
betweenthesacramentalmagicoftheMassandotherformsofmagic,whichtheChurch
regardedeitherassuspectorasillicitanddemonic.
Related to this Ficinian tendency was the work of Lefvre dtaples, who
although he recoiled after the early 1490s from the magical doctrines of Ficino and
Pico,73publishedtheeditioprincepsofCusasOperain1514,andalsosawthroughthe
71

Mariateresa Fumagalli Beonio Brocchieri, Pico della Mirandola (1999, rpt. Bari:
Editori Laterza, 2011),p.25.
72
SeeKeeferAgrippasDilemma,62428.
73
AftermeetingPicoinFlorence,LefvrewroteDemagianaturalis(1493)abookwhich,however,he

26
pressasequenceofhumanistretranslations ofAristotle,whomsomeofhisprefatory
epistlesintimatedcouldbeviewedasadarkerexponentofthesamepriscatheologiathat
AristotlesteacherPlatohadinheritedfromalineofwisdomthatcouldbevariously
described,butusuallyincludedPythagoras,Hermes,andZoroaster.74
Inthissecond,largelypreReformationphaseofthereturnadfontes,wecansee
at least the outline of what I am calling a Faustian paradigm of thought and
interpretation.Ifthatoutlineseemsblurred,wemightthinkitafittingconsequenceof
faultlineswithintheparadigmitselftherift,forexample,betweentheembraceofmagic
byFicino,Pico,Reuchlin,andAgrippa,anditsrejectionbyLefvreandhisfollowers;or
between the initiatic elitism of the Florentine Neoplatonists and the potential social
radicalism of Cusas docta ignorantiaa radicalism that is strongly revived in the
concludingchaptersofAgrippasDevanitate,whereordinaryunlearnedpeople,orasini,
areexhortedtocastasidehumansciences,escapefromthedarknessofignorance,
andawakentothetruelight. 75Aneffectofblurringmightalsobeappropriatelylinked
to what Umberto Eco, following Foucaults lead, has called Hermetic driftan
unlimitedsemiosisresultingfromtheinterpretivehabitwhichdominatedRenaissance
Hermetism andwhichisbasedontheprinciples ofuniversalanalogyandsympathy,
according towhicheveryitem ofthefurniture oftheworldislinkedtoeveryother
element(ortomany)ofthissublunarworldandtoeveryelement(ortomany)ofthe
superiorworldbymeansofsimilitudesorresemblances.76
TheearliestmomentintherepressionofthisFaustianparadigmismarkedbya
curiouscoincidence.In1486,MarsilioFicinopublishedhisDevitacoelituscomparanda,
neithercirculatedinmanuscriptnorprinted;hesubsequentlyrejectedbeliefinasupposedlypurenatural
magicanddeniedthatanymagiccouldbegood;seeZambelli2007,pp.5051.
74
SeeJacquesLefvredtaples,ThePrefatoryEpistlesofJacquesLefvredtaplesandrelatedtexts,ed.
EugeneF.Rice(NewYork:ColumbiaUP,1972),Ep.6,(p.21);Ep.9,(3031);Ep.43,(p.134).
75
Agrippa,vol.2,pp.31112:proiectishumanisscientiis,omniquecarnis&sanguinisindagineatque
discursu,qualescunqueillaesint[].Amoveteergonunc,quipotestis,velamenintellectusvestri,qui
ignorantiaetenebrisinvolutiestis[],evigilateadverumlumen.PaolaZambellihasremarkedthat
Socratism,orareevaluationoftheintelligenceofsimple,unculturedmen,whoareabletounderstand
whateludesscholasticsanderuditemen[]isastrongthreadunitingNicholasofCusa,Erasmus,Lefvre,
Bovelles,Agrippa,SebastianFranckandotherRenaissancethinkers(Zambelli2007,p.97).
76
Umberto Eco, Unlimited Semiosis and Drift: Pragmaticism vs. Pragmatism, in
The Limits of Interpretation (1990, rpt. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994),
p.24;quotedbyLehrich2003,pp.2324.

27
andGiovanniPicohisfamous ConclusionesandlaterinthesameyeartwoCologne
Dominicans,HeinrichKramer(orInstitoris)andJacobSprenger,publishedthenotorious
MalleusMaleficarum.Thiswasofcourseamastertextinthecomingdarkness,sinceits
appearancemarkedthepointatwhichallofthegraduallyassembledelementsrequired
forafullscalewitchcrazewereatlastinplace:beliefinadivinelypermittedsatanic
conspiracydeployinghumanagentsagainsthumankind;aconvictionthatwitchesmet
withoneanotherandtheirdemonicmasterinperiodicsabbats;andapersuasion,contrary
tothelongacceptedCanonEpiscopi,thattheirpowersincludedtransvectionaswellas
sorceryandphysicaltransformations.77
Paola Zambelli has noted that Ficinos De amore, a commentary on Platos
Symposiumthatdealscentrallywithmagic,wasreceivedwithoutastirin1469while
in148687,incontrast,PicoandFicinowereforcedtowriteApologiaefortheirtheses
onmagic,whichformthecoreof(respectively)PicosConclusionesandFicinosDevita
coelituscomparanda.Picosdefenceofthethirteenofhisthesesthathadbeendeclared
to savour of heresy was promptly condemned by Pope Innocent VIII, who shortly
thereafterwasinducedbyKramertoissuehisfamousbullagainstwitches[.],the
Summis desiderantes affectibus, [which] was included as a preface to Malleus
maleficarumin1487thePopesstampofapproval.78
Justtenyearspreviously,in1476,oneofthemorenoteworthymessianicpeasant
insurgenciesofthefifteenthcenturyhadoccurredinsouthernGermany.HansBhm,a
youngshepherdwhowasbornatHelmstadtinFranconia(possiblythesameHelmstadt
thatwouldalsoproduce,justafewyearslater,thehistoricalDr.Faustus),andwholived
inthevillageofNiklashausen,wastoldinavisionbytheVirginMarytogiveuphis
playingoffifeanddrum,andinsteadtopreachtothepeasantryamessageofradical
socialequalityandoflevelingcontemptfortheclergyandnobility.Whenpeasantsbegan
toassembleintensofthousandstoheartheinflammatorymessageofthisHolyYouthor
Drummer of Niklashausen, the PrinceBishop ofWrzburg intervened decisively: his
cavalryabductedBhmonenightandtookhimtohisfortress(named,ironically,the
77

TheclassicaccountofthedevelopmentofthewitchstereotypeisthatofNorman Cohn, Europes

Inner Demons (1975, rpt. London: Paladin, 1976).
78
Zambelli2007,p.21.

28
Marienberg), where the Holy Youth was burned at the stakesinging hymns to the
Virgininhisvernacular,theAbbotTrithemiuscallouslyinformsus,untiltheheatofthe
flamesreducedhiswordstoincoherenthowls.79
OneofthemorepersuasivecausalexplanationsoftheEuropeanwitchcrazeof
thefifteenthtoseventeenthcenturiesisthatoftheanthropologistMarvinHarris,who
speculatedthatitdevelopedastheclerisysresponsetoupheavalsofthiskind.However
illusorythehopesthatthemessianismofprophetslikeBhminspiredamongworking
people,itcorrectlyidentifiedtheiroppressorsandmovedthemtowardcollectiveaction.
The witchcraze, in contrast, fragmented and disempowered the populace, subjecting
themtothedoubleterrorofanimaginedenemyofappallingpower,combinedwiththe
veryrealrepressionofchainreactiontorturedenunciationsthatcouldbeactivatedatwill
by inquisitorial agents of the religious and civil authorities, whose terroristic
interventionsto compound popular bewildermentwere represented as the only
recoursewithinhumanpoweragainsttheafflictionsoffamine,disease,sexualimpotence
andsuddendeathbroughtonbythedevilandhishumanservants.80
Thisis,inpart,whatthelatenineteenthcenturyhistorianW.E.H.Leckywas
referringtowhen,inmoreabstracttermsbutwiththecommendablefranknessofhisage,
hetermedthelatefifteenthandsixteenthcenturiesaperiodofreligiousterrorism, 81and
judgedthatatrainofdevelopmentsculminatingintheReformationdiffusedthrough
Christendomareligiousterrorwhichgraduallyovercastthehorizonofthought.82
JoannisTrithemii[]AnnaliumHirsaugiensem[.]ComplectensHistoriamFranciaeetGermaniae,
Gestaimperatorem,regum,principum,episcoporum,abbatum,etillustriumvirorum,ed.J.G.Schlegel(2
vols.,St.Gall,1690),vol.2,pp.49091:Cmautemligareturadpalumcomburendus,carminaquaedum
seuRhythmosdeDominanostrainlinguatheutonicacompositosaltvocecanebat.Interastantesfuerunt
plures,quihominemincombustibilemforecredebant,proptermeritumsanctitatis,quodignumesse
censebant,quiDeiParenteservareturillaesus.Undepropiusstaremetuebant,formidantes,neforsam
ignisdivinofuroredispersusconsumeretintuentes.Aliiveldaemonisoperatione,velquolibetmaleficio
defensumadolescentemnonpossecomburitimebant.Unde&spiculatoreometulaborans,omnespilos
eiusfeceretabradi,nequodmaleficiumsivedaemoniumineislaterepotuisset.Ligatusadstipitem
adolescenssuaspersonabatcantilenas,quimoxutignesubmissosensitardorem,flebilivoceterti
clamabat:VVeVVeVVe.Interclusqueignibusvocenihildeincepsloquebatur,sedvoracibusflammis
consumptus,incineremresolutusest.Nihilinhisomnibusmiraculorumapparuit.
80
SeeMarvin Harris, Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture (New York:
Random House, 1974),pp.22540,esp.23940.
81
W.E.H.Lecky,HistoryoftheRiseandInfluenceoftheSpiritofRationalisminEurope(2vols.1865;
rpt.NewYork:D.Appleton,1888),vol.1,pp.3738,7982.
82
Lecky,vol.1,p.81.
79

29
One can seewhy Ficino andPico were anxious to defend their ownmagical
practicesasnaturalandlicitandwhatcourage,ontheotherhand,ittookforscholars
likeAgrippatoconfrontthewitchhuntersdirectly.Thereisacertainpathostothefact
thatwhatappearstohavebeenhismostextendedtextonthissubject,Adversuslamiarum
inquisitores,isknowntousonlythroughcommentsonit,writtenseveraldecadesafter
Agrippasdeath,bytheinquisitorSistoofSiena.83

5.Conclusion
ExponentsofthecurrentofthoughtandinterpretationthatforpresentpurposesI
havelabeledtheFaustianparadigmwerenotwhollyexcludedfrompositionsinthe
institutions ofhigherlearning.Someundoubtedlyachievedpositionsduringwhathas
beencalledthehumanisttideinGermanuniversities duringthefirstdecadeofthe
sixteenthcentury;84andtwodisciplesofFicino,LeonicoTomeoandFrancescoCattanida
Diacetto,heldappointmentsintheearlysixteenthcenturyatPaduaandPisarespectively
(though their official teaching was devoted to expounding the works of Aristotle). 85
FrancescoPatrizi,athinkerofmajorstature,wasappointedtolectureonPlatoatFerrara
in1578andatLaSapienzainRomein1592; 86andGiordanoBrunotaughtfrom1586to
1588atWittenberg,whichappearsforsomeyearstohavetoleratedworkinthelineof
FicinoandPico.87Perhapsmoretypical,however,isthesituationBrunoencounteredat
SeeZambelli,1972andZambelli,ScholastikerundHumanisten:AgrippaundTrithemiuszurHexerei,

83

ArchivfrKulturgeschichte67(1985):4179.
84
Overfield1976,417.
85
Zambelli,2007,p.1.
86
SeeFred Purnell, Francesco Patrizi, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall
2008 Edition), ed. Edward N. Zalta.
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/patrizi/.
87
OnesignofthiswouldbethepublicationatWittenbergoftheHungarianhumanistPetrusMonedulatus
LascoviussrehashofPicoinhisDehominemagnoilloinrerumnaturamiraculo,etpartibusejus
essentialibuslib.II(Wittenberg:HeredesIohannisCratonis,1585).Lascoviusbeganhisstudiesat
Wittenbergin1578,visitedGenevain1580and1583,andpublishedtherehisTheorematumdepuroet
expressoDeiverbo,tamscriptisquamvivavocetradita(1584).SeeThodore de Bze,
Correspondance de Thodore de Bze, ed. Hippolyte Aubert et al. (34 vols., Geneva:
Droz, 1960-2010),vol.22,pp.10506,n.3.

30
Oxfordwhenhedeliveredalecturetherein1583:ahostileaudiencehedescribedas
made up of pedants contained at least one member whose private reading of Ficino
enabled him to identify with precision a passage of which Bruno was making
unacknowledgeduse.88
Surprisingly, perhaps, analogous patterns of exclusion persist within
contemporaryscholarship.Historiansofhumanism,forexample,havetendedtoexclude
speculativehumanistslikeReuchlinandAgrippafromfullmembershipinthetribe, 89
whileconfessionalanddisciplinaryboundarieshaveproducedsimilardeflectionswithin
the historiography of the Reformation: Paola Zambellis illuminating work on the
Agrippan links between magic and radical reformation remains underappreciated
perhaps,assheruefullysuggests,becauseofthegreatdistancestillexistingbetweenthe
historyofphilosophicalthoughtandthehistoryofreligiousideasandmovementsinthe
sixteenthcentury.90Itmayindeedbethecase,asChristopherLehrichhassuggested,that
somereconfigurationofourownstructuresofknowledgewillbeneededbeforewecan
adequatelymakesenseofthemagicaldiscoursesoftheRenaissance.91
Our difficulties may to some extent be eased by a recognition of suggestive
analogies between certain recent trends in the human sciences and currents within
Agrippas own writingswhich include the protofeminism of his treatise On the
Nobility and PreEminence of the Feminine Sex, and the resonances with Derridean
deconstructionthatacontemporaryreadercanscarcelyavoidremarkingin Devanitate
and De occulta philosophiawhere, as though in mocking anticipation of Derridas
famousessayPlatosPharmacy,Agrippasuggeststhathisownbookcouldhavean
ambiguously medicinal value: for they that look into the books of physicians, do

88

Yates1964,pp.20710.
ThistendencycontinuesinJill Kraye, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance
Humanism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996),wherethereisnomentionof
Agrippa,andasinglereferencetoReuchlin;formorebalancedviews,seeDonald R. Kelley,
Renaissance Humanism (Boston: Twayne, 1991) and Nauert, Humanism and the
Culture of Renaissance Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
90
Zambelli2007,p.185.
91
Lehrich, The Occult Mind: Magic in Theory and Practice (Ithaca: Cornell University
Press, 2009),pp.xixiv.
89

31
togetherwithantidotesandmedicine[pharmacis],readalsopoisons.92
WemaywanttorecognizeaswellthatwhatEcotermedHermeticdriftisalsoa
matter of transdiscursive slippage, in which reading moves not just along semiotic
linkages of resemblance and analogy, but also across disciplinary boundaries. As I
remarkedmorethantwentyyearsago,Agrippasownreadingpassedsmoothlybetween
philosophical and theological textsbetween (let us say) the Hermetica or Picos
ConclusionesandpatristicwritingslikepseudoClement,Irenaeus,andEusebius.
Butthelikenesses,evenidentities,thatthisreadingproducedbetweenHermes,
thesourceofwisdom,andSimonMagus,thedemonicfountainofallheresies,between
GiovanniPicosclaim,inthetwelfthofhisConclusionesmagicae,thatTheformofall
magicalvirtueisfrommanssoulstanding,andnotfalling,andtheclaimofSimon
MagusintheClementineRecognitionestobetheStandingOne93resultedinanactive
awareness on Agrippas part of fissures within the traditions he inherited that
foreshadowedthetermsinwhichhewouldhimselfbecondemned.

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