| Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa |
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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a Magic ian and Occult writer, Astrologer , and Alchemist . He may also be considered an early Feminist . LIFE He was born of minor noble birth in Cologne September 14 1486 ; according to his student Johann Weyer , Agrippa died in Grenoble , in 1535 , and while no evidence places Agrippa clearly after 1534 there is little reason to doubt Weyer. Some have proposed the date February 18 1535 , but this is entirely unconfirmed. In 1509, he taught at the University of Dole in France , lecturing on Johann Reuchlin 's ''De verbo mirifico''; as a result, Agrippa was denounced, behind his back, as a "Judaizing heretic." Agrippa's vitriolic response many months later did not endear him to the University. In 1510, he studied briefly with Johannes Trithemius , and Agrippa sent him an early draft of his masterpiece, ''De occulta philosophia libri tres,'' a kind of ''summa'' of early modern occult thought. Trithemius was guardedly approving, but suggested that Agrippa keep the work more or less secret; Agrippa chose not to publish, perhaps for this reason, but continued to revise and rethink the book for twenty years. He was for some time in the service of Maximilian I , probably as a soldier in Italy, but devoted his time mainly to the study of the occult sciences and to problematic theologico-legal questions, which exposed him to various persecutions through life, usually in the mode described above: he would be denounced for one sort of heresy or another, privately, and would then reply with venom considerably later. Apart from losing several positions, however, it does not appear that Agrippa was persecuted in any significant fashion. During his wandering life in Germany , France and Italy he worked as a Theologian , Physician , legal expert and Soldier . After Agrippa's death, rumors circulated about his having summoned demons. In the most famous of these, Agrippa, upon his deathbed, released a black dog which had been his familiar. This black dog resurfaced in various legends about Faustus , and in Goethe 's version became the "schwarze Püdel" Mephistopheles . Contrary to much received opinion, however, there is no evidence whatever that Agrippa was seriously accused, much less persecuted, for his interest in or practice of magical or occult arts during his lifetime. WRITINGS Agrippa is perhaps best known for his books:
A spurious ''Fourth book of occult philosophy,'' sometimes called ''Of Magical Ceremonies'', has also been attributed to him; this book first appeared in Marburg in 1559 and was certainly not by Agrippa. (A semi-complete collection of his writings were also printed in Lyon in 1550 ; more complete editions followed.) MODERN EDITIONS OF AGRIPPA'S WORKS ''De occulta philosophia libri tres.'' Ed. Vitttoria Perrone Compagni. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 1992. ''Three Books Of Occult Philosophy.'' Trans. J. F. Edited by Donald Tyson. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1993. ''Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex.'' Trans. Albert Rabil, Jr. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. No proper modern edition of ''De vanitate'' presently exists. FURTHER READING Lehrich, Christopher I. ''The Language of Demons and Angels.'' Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2003. The only in-depth scholarly study of Agrippa's occult thought. Nauert, Charles G. ''Agrippa and the Crisis of Renaissance Thought.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965. The first serious bio-bibliographical study. van der Poel, Marc. ''Cornelius Agrippa, the Humanist Theologian and His Declamations.'' Leiden and Boston: Brill, 1997. Detailed examination of Agrippa's minor orations and the ''De vanitate'' by a Neo-Latin philologist. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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