DOCSLIB.ORG

The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science Third Edition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science Third Edition The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science Third edition John Henry Magic and the Origins of Modern Science 4 Magic and the Origins of terms. Success as a natural magician depended upon a profound knowledge of bodies, and how they act upon one another, in Modern Science order to bring about the desired outcome [53; 146; 313]. Repeat­ edly we see Renaissance natural magicians insisting that their form of magic depends upon nothing more than knowledge of nature, so much so that one recent historian has suggested that we should designate this kind of thinking as 'Renaissance natural­ ism' to distinguish it from what he thinks of as real magic [156]. Further important sources of the empiricism of the Scientific In a very real sense, however, the separation of the natural­ Revolution were to be found in the magical tradition, and these istic elements from other aspects of magic was just what was influences can be seen at work in a number of areas. They deserve accomplished during the Scientific Revolution. The history of separate consideration here, however, because they have gener­ magic since the eighteenth century has been the history of what ated considerable historiographical debate [304; 54; 216; 221; was left to that tradition after major elements of natural magic 146]. A number of historians of science have refused to accept had been absorbed into natural philosophy [153; 150: Chs 5, that something which they see as so irrational could have had 6]. Moreover, for us magic deals with the supernatural, but any impact whatsoever upon the supremely rational pursuit of for early modern thinkers magic relied for its effects upon the science. Their arguments seem to be based on mere prejudice, manipulation of natural objects and processes. For them only or a failure to understand the richness and complexity of the God could bring about supernatural events. Even the demon­ magical tradition. ologist, in summoning a demon - perhaps the Devil himself - to The Renaissance recovery of Ancient texts which stimulated so do his bidding, only expected the demon to be able to perform many other areas of intellectual life clearly resulted in a renewed like an extremely knowledgeable natural magician, using the burgeoning of magical traditions. The flourishing of magic hidden natural powers of objects to bring about desired events certainly owed a great deal to the rediscovery of Ancient Neopla­ [36; 53; 156; 150: Ch. 7]. The reason why natural magic has tonic writings, which included the writings attributed to Hermes disappeared from our conception of magic is precisely because Trismegistus (although it is now generally agreed that the claims of the most fundamental aspects of the tradition have now been Frances Yatesand her followersabout the influence of the so-called absorbed into the scientific world-view. Or, to put it another Hermetic tradition have been greatly exaggerated [54]), but it is way, the scientific world-view developed, at least in part, out of a now clear that it also owed much to new trends within Renaissance wedding of natural philosophy with the pragmatic and empiri­ Aristotelianism. The principles upon which the medieval theory of cal tradition of natural magic [146,153]. magical interactions was based derived, inevitably, from scholastic The pragmatism of magic is obvious. The aim of the magus Aristotelianism. During the Renaissance, a number of Aristotelian is always to bring about some desired outcome, either for his philosophers, notably Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-94) own benefit or that of a patron or client [54; 83; 84; 87; 88; and Pietro Pomponazzi (1462-1525), refined the more naturalis­ 139; 294; 216; 287]. The empiricism of magic may seem more tic aspects of the magical tradition (in which magical effects were surprising to us. Yet this is built into the logic of natural magic. brought about by exploiting the natural, but occult, properties of How else could the magus learn about the occult powers of one things), while Neoplatonizing philosophers, like Marsilio Ficino body to affect another? The less diligent might rely on semiol­ (1433-99) and Tommaso Campanella (1568-1638), developed a ogy: reading the signs, or signatures, which God has set down more spiritual or demonic form of magic [53]. to enable us to read the book of nature (a favourite histori­ If we wish to understand the role of magic in the Scientific ans' example is the walnut, the structure of which resembles Revolution, it is important to note the existence of so-called the brain inside the skull, a clear sign from God that it can be natural magic as, arguably, the dominant aspect of the magical used to cure diseases of the brain) [305]. The more diligent will tradition. Natural magic was based on the assumption that certain check things out for themselves (although, in practice, natural I hinKshave hidden, or occult, powers to affect other things and so magicians tended to rely heavily upon traditional claims in the ;It'cOIllplishphenomena which were inexplicable in Aristotelian magical literature; if something is mentioned in more than one or two books, it must be authoritative [53]). !i6 57 The Scientific Revolution and the Origins 0/ Modern Science Magic and the Origins of Modern Science The relevance of magic to the reformation of ideas about the physical world. In other words, the numbers Fludd used were correct wayto understand the natural world can be seen in the fact imposed upon the heavens by his own fancy, but Kepler used that, surprising though it may seem, technology was inextricably only numbers which can be seen to be built into the actual system linked with magic throughout the Middle Ages and the Renais­ [54; 95; 72; 131]. Kepler's distancing of himself from Fludd in sance [83; 84; 253; 153]. This does not mean that the uninitiated this way should not be seen as a rejection of magical traditions, believed machines were worked by inner demons (remember, however, but as a reaffirmation of sound natural magic. When magic was believed to work by natural means). The elaboration Francis Bacon wrote that 'There is a great difference between the of mechanical contrivances to produce marvellous effects was Idols of the human mind and the Ideas of the divine', he might simply regarded as the exploitation of the occult, but natural, have spoken for Kepler, and it is clear from what he went on powers of things and therefore the province of the magician [83; to say, that Bacon nonetheless believed that God's Creation bore 296]. Moreover, because of the close links between mechanics and signs of its significance and usefulness for mankind: 'That is to mathematics, this kind of exploitation of machinery was often say,between certain empty dogmas, and the true signatures and called 'mathematical magic'. So magic also became associated marks set upon the works of creation as they are found in nature' with the mathematical approach to understanding the physical [quoted in 8: 323; 150]. world [84; 146; 153; 42; 91]. Indeed, associations between magic Accordingly, it is important to note that Kepler's determina­ and mathematics were so commonplace that there was a notice­ tion of celestial harmonies, using Tycho Brahe's extremely accu­ able attempt by numerous mathematicians to dissociate them­ rate observations, enabled him to prove to his own satisfaction selves from magic as they began to rise in social status. Magic had that there are only six planets because God created the universe always been condemned by the Church because of its demono­ in accordance with a 'geometrical archetype'. God separated the logical associations, and it was always distrusted by the common planets from one another, Kepler became convinced, by nesting people who were all too aware of the fraudulent use of magic. It them alternately with each of the five so-called Platonic solids. The became important, therefore, for the new breed of mathematical point about these solids is that the principles of Euclidean geom­ practitioners to distinguish themselves from the wrong kinds of etry establish that they are the only three-dimensional bodies magicians [219; 330]. of their kind. No other closed solid can be made with all faces The process was by no means simply a wholesale rejection of the same. Thus, when God inscribed a cube inside the sphere of anything that smacked of magic. Many thinkers at this time still Saturn, touching the sphere at its eight corners, and then used sawmagic as a noble and worthwhile pursuit and their concern was that cube to demarcate the sphere of Jupiter, so that that sphere with corruptions or debasements of it.Tohannes Kepler, consum­ touched each face of the cube, and proceeded similarly with the mate mathematical astronomer that he was, can also be seen to tetrahedron between Jupiter and Mars and so on, the creation of have been deeply affected by the magical tradition of numerol­ planets had to stop with six, since there were no remaining solids ogy. It is well known that a major stimulus to his work in cosmol­ which God could use to determine where to place the next planet ogy was his attempt to answer the question of why there were [95; 185; 148]. Kepler's use of mathematics was very different only six planets. This is not a scientific question: it seeks to under­ from Fludd's, but it can hardly be said that it was not steeped in stand what is so significant about the number six that God should the Neoplatonic magical tradition. have used it, and no other number, to be the number of planets. Natural magic was, as William Eamon has pointed out, 'courtly But there is a world of difference between Kepler's numerologi­ science par excellence' [84: 225], and it flourished in the courts of cal question and how he pursued the answer and, say, Robert Europe, particularly in the earlier part of the period [87; 88; 139; Fludd's kind of numerology.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Knowing and Doing in the Sixteenth Century Natural Magic: Giambattista Della Porta and the Wonders of Nature1
    24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Manchester, 2013. Symposium S074 “Connected histories? Science and technology from a new historiographical perspective”. Tuesday, 23rd July. Knowing and doing in the sixteenth century natural magic: Giambattista della Porta and the wonders of nature1 SAITO, FUMIKAZU History of Science/CESIMA/PUCSP Mathematics Education/History of Mathematics-HEEMa/PUCSP [email protected] Abstract In the first book, chapter 3, of Magia naturalis, Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615) states that: “Quoniam ipsam Magiam activam; & naturalis Philosophiae portionem describimus…”, i.e., “Seeing Magick, as seen before, is a practical part of Natural Philosophy…”. By this Della Porta referred to knowledge of a particular set of phenomena which would enable him to operate nature from within. Actually Magia naturalis covers a broad spectrum of issues which include topics related to the art of distillation, perfumes, fireworks, cookery, fishing and hunting etc. The purpose of all these subjects was to survey whole natural and artificial things in order to reproduce them. One could infer that each phenomenon described in Magia naturalis was singular and could only be known through empirical bias of investigation. That is why all reports in his Magia naturalis are reduced to the formula: “how to make, how to do etc”. In this sense, one could say that natural magic is a kind of art (techne) in the Aristotelian sense because it implies the sort of knowledge which depends on the ability of those who will manipulate phenomena. That is why the conception of natural magic is usually closely associated in meaning to “skill”.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the History of Astrology (And Magic) Accurately
    42 ARTICLES Understanding the History of Astrology working on this material has inspired these reflections and I sincerely hope that others (and Magic) Accurately: Methodological will find them useful. The entire process has Reflections on Terminology and Ana- unfolded as a series of increasingly refined approximations, tacking back and forth be- chronism tween big picture issues and detailed treat- H. Darrel Rutkin ments of particular people and institutions Unit for History and Philosophy of Science, within their broader socio-political and reli- University of Sydney gious contexts and structures, all of which (Australia) require focused attention. To grasp astrology accurately in its proper historical perspective, I have found 1. Introduction: Grinding that we should first identify and correct for New Conceptual Lenses two broader distorting modern biases drawn from a fundamentally anachronistic, yet still nderstanding the history of astrol- virtually ubiquitous understanding of astrol- ogy accurately as 20th- and 21st- ogy’s complex range of places within the century historians of science, phi- premodern map of knowledge. Since the Ulosophy, religion, politics and culture poses various focuses of conceptual lenses seem a complex range of challenges—conceptual mainly to be ground, as it were, on the basis and contextual—some of which will be ex- of fundamental distinctions and disciplinary plored in what follows. Many more will be configurations, I will endeavor to replace explored in my soon to be forthcoming these outdated historiographical lenses with monograph, Reframing the Scientific Revolu- new more accurate ones, ground in accord- tion: Astrology, Magic and Natural Know- ance with three fundamental premodern ledge, ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic
    Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic • Marina Montesano Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic Edited by Marina Montesano Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Religions www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic Special Issue Editor Marina Montesano MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editor Marina Montesano Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, Universita` degli Studi di Messina Italy Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) from 2019 to 2020 (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special issues/witchcraft). For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03928-959-2 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03928-960-8 (PDF) c 2020 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. Contents About the Special Issue Editor ...................................... vii Marina Montesano Introduction to the Special Issue: Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic Reprinted from: Religions 2020, 11, 187, doi:10.3390/rel11040187 ..................
    [Show full text]
  • Magic and Technology in Early Modern Europe
    , of rare books and , manuscripts in science and technology originally do- ANTHONY GRAFTON : nated by the Burndy Library to the You have published a great deal on a wide Smithsonian Institution Libraries form range of topics. What, in general terms, the core of the Dibner Library’s collec- v z are the questions that interest you? tion. Over the years, the book collection MAGIC AND What really interests me is how peo- has been supplemented by the Smithsonian’s own holdings ple do things. I see that as the ques- and gifts from individuals and institutions, and now numbers TECHNOLOGY tion that unifies my apparently completely disparate inves- some , rare books. The Dibner Library’s holdings are tigations of topics in Antiquity, in the Renaissance, in the contained within and searchable via the Smithsonian Insti- IN EARLY Baroque, and in the modern age. More specifically, I’ve al- tution Libraries’ online catalog, . ways been interested in how scholars did things in the past: how scholars studied documents, how they edited them, MODERN EUROPE how they turned them into historical narratives and other The most widely recognized portion of the Dibner Library kinds of publication; and I have a strong interest in similar are the “Heralds of Science,” works selected by Bern uuuuuuu questions about ancient and early modern scientists. I’m al- Dibner as the most significant titles in the formation and ways less interested in intellectuals’ grand theses—Is Prov- development of Western science and technology. They idence ruling world history?—than I am in asking, What were presented in his classic book, Heralds of Science (Nor- DIBNER LIBRARY LECTURE kind of methods did they use? How do we make sense of those methods historically? What sense did they make at walk, Conn.: Burndy Library, ; reprinted in by , Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press; revised edition in by the time? What work did those methods do that others Burndy Library and Washington, DC: Smithsonian Insti- wouldn’t have? It’s in pursuit of that kind of information tution).
    [Show full text]
  • White Devil, Black Magic: Remnants of Occult Philosophy in The
    WHITE DEVIL, BLACK MAGIC: REMNANTS OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY IN THE DRAMA OF JOHN WEBSTER by JOSEPH GAVIN PAUL B.A., The University of Lethbridge, 2000 B. Mgt, The University of Lethbridge, 2000 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of English; English Literature) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July 2003 © Joseph Gavin Paul, 2003 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada i ii ABSTRACT John Webster's most widely studied and performed plays, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, are both rife with images that are drawn from what can generally be termed "occult philosophy"—a belief in esoteric spiritual knowledge, magic, supernatural forces, astrology, and the conjuration of spirits. Using occult philosophy's reverence for the inherent powers of language as a backdrop, this thesis will examine Webster's incorporation of these conspicuous images. I contend that Webster himself is interested in the magical possibilities of language, not in the context of the occult however, but in the context of the theatre.
    [Show full text]
  • Physies and Magie Disenchanting Nature1
    Physies and Magie Disenchanting Nature1 Gregor Schiemann Introduction A widespread view of the natural seien ces holds that their historieal develop­ ment was accompanied by a constantly widening gap between them and magie. Originally closely bound up with magie, the seien ces are supposed to have dis­ tanced themselves from it in a long-drawn-out process, until they attained their 2 present magic-free forrn. 1 would like, in this essay, to discuss same arguments in support ofthis plausible view. To this end, I shall begin with adefinition of magi­ eal and seientifie eoneepts of nature - adefinition appropriate to the considerable length of time from the beginnings of seien ce (which ean plausibly be plaeed in Greek antiquity) tothe present day. One ean define as 'magiea!' a eoneept of nature whieh asserts the possibility of gaining knowledge of secret natural forces, and the possibility of man's influ­ encing same ofthem. These forces are 'secret' in several senses. Their pr€sumed effieaey springs from a hidden, meaningful nexus that eomprehends the whole of nature, and is often dependent upon the knowledge ofthis nexus. Also, one can know ofthese forces, and in some cases influence them, only in th e context of actions not accessible to ev€rybody.3 This definition by no means covers the whole speetrum of coneepts included in the idea of magie, but ean be put forward to gain an initial orientation to the relationship between many of the varieties of magie and the seienees.4 Natural scienee, in contrast to magie, denies the exist~ ence of secret forces.
    [Show full text]
  • Giovan Battista Della Porta's Histrionic Science
    eScholarship California Italian Studies Title Giambattista Della Porta's Histrionic Science Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5538w0qd Journal California Italian Studies, 3(1) Author Kodera, Sergius Publication Date 2012 DOI 10.5070/C331012022 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Giovan Battista della Porta’s Histrionic Science Sergius Kodera* Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) was one of Europe’s main proponents of a decidedly non-academic, yet erudite natural magic in the context of Italian Naturalist philosophy.1 His works in this field, which also encompasses the arts of physiognomy, ciphers, distillation, and optics (to name but a few) ranked him amongst the most famous and popular writers and scientists of his day. Even though from early on his work was severely hampered by the close surveillance of the Roman Inquisition, this Neapolitan nobleman had sufficient means and social standing that allowed him to continue his works and stay in the Regno for most of his life.2 One of Porta’s lifelong concerns was the description and production of extraordinary experiments that would testify to his amazing abilities as a natural magician. Porta not only divulged traditional recipe books, classical literature, and secrets of the trades, but also his own experiments.3 Yet he was not only one of the most renowned “professors of secrets” of his time,4 but also authored at least seventeen successful works for the theater, some of them important mannerist plays.5 In their Wonders and the Order of Nature, Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park have outlined Della Porta’s deep interest in the marvelous and his concern with demonic arts.6 Like * I wish to thank the editors, Rossella Carbotti and John Marino, as well as one anonymous reviewer for their many invaluable suggestions and all their efforts to improve this text.
    [Show full text]
  • Giambattista Della Porta and the Wonders of Nature
    CIRCUMSCRIBERE 14 (2014): 17-39 17 Knowing by doing in sixteenth-century natural magic: Giambattista della Porta and the wonders of nature Fumikazu Saito• Abstract In the first book of Magia naturalis, chapter 3, Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615) stated that natural magic was the practical part of natural philosophy. Della Porta referred to knowledge of a particular set of phenomena from which one could operate naturally. In fact Magia naturalis covers a broad spectrum of issues that include topics related to the art of distillation, perfumes, fireworks, cookery, fishing and hunting. The purpose of these subjects was to survey natural and artificial things to reproduce them. In this sense, one could say that natural magic was a type of art (techne) in the Aristotelian sense, because it implied the type of knowledge that depended on the ability of the ones who manipulated phenomena. This is why the concept of natural magic is usually closely associated with “skill.” The aim of this paper is to discuss natural magic as a science that was close in meaning to techne, because it involved a concrete sense of craftsmanship and the connotation of the ability to devise stratagems. However, once natural magic was no longer limited to intellectual or manual activity, it could not be considered a mere technical art or technical science (i.e., a technology or technique). Keywords Natural magic; Science and art; Wonders of nature; Devices and apparatus; Early modern science • Graduate Program in Mathematics Education/Graduate Program in History of Science/Center Simão Mathias of Studies in History of Science, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Modern Science
    THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF SCIENCE VOLUME 3 Early Modern Science Edited by KATHARINE PARK LORRAINE DASTON CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 22 MAGIC Brian P. Copenhaver The Middle Ages took magic seriously, though it was not a key issue for that period of European history, as it had been in late antiquity. Many medievaltheologians treated magic with fear or loathing, in fact, and philoso­ phers were often indifferent to it. But in the late fifteenth century, magic enjoyed a remarkable rebirth, acquiring the energy that kept it at the cen­ ter of cultural attention for nearly two hundred years, as great philoso­ phers and prominent naturalists tried to understand or confirm or reject it. Afrer Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)took the first steps in the renaissance of magic, prominent figures from all over Europe followed his lead, including Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522), Pietro Pomponazzi (1462-1525),Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, ca. 1493-1541),Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576),JohnDee (1527- 1608), Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615), Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639),Johannes Baptista van Helmont (1579- 1644), Henry More (1614-1687),and others ofequal stature. Eventually,how­ ever, as Europe's most creative thinkers lost confidence in it, magic became even more disreputable than it had been before Ficino revived it. Around 1600, some reformers of natural knowledge had hoped that magic might yield a grand new system of learning, but within a century it became a syn­ onym for the outdated remains of an obsolete worldview.' Before examining I D. P. Walker, Spiritual and Demonic Magic ftom Ficino to Campanella [1958] (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000); Frances Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tra­ dition (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964); Brian P.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SPIRITUAL ANTHROPOLOGY of CORNELIUS AGRIPPA By
    Doctoral Dissertation OBTINERE MENTEM DIVINAM: THE SPIRITUAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF CORNELIUS AGRIPPA By: Noel Putnik Supervisors: György E. Szőnyi György Geréby Submitted to the Medieval Studies Department, Central European University, Budapest in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Studies, CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................ 6 INTRODUCTION: Cornelius Agrippa through Anthropological Glasses .......................................11 The “Agrippan question”: the magus versus the Christian? ................................................................11 Anthropology as the crux of the problem ........................................................................................... 15 Demarcational boundaries and terminological considerations ........................................................... 20 The sources ......................................................................................................................................... 28 De occulta philosophia libri tres (1510/1533) ................................................................................ 28 Agrippa’s anthropological treatises (1515–18) .............................................................................. 30 De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum atque artium (1526) .......................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Philosophy of Natural Magic by Henry Cornelius Agrippa Von Nettesheim
    THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL MAGIC BY HENRY CORNELIUS AGRIPPA VON NETTESHEIM COUNSELOR TO CHARLES THE FIFTH, EMPEROR OF GERMANY, AND JUDGE OF THE PREROGATIVE COURT OFFICIAL EDITION A COMPLETE WORK ON NATURAL MAGIC, WHITE MAGIC, BLACK MAGIC, DIVINATION, OCCULT BINDING, SORCERIES, AND THEIR POWER. UNCTIONS, LOVE MEDICINES AND THEIR VIRTUES. THE OCCULT VIRTUE OF THINGS WHICH ARE IN THEM ONLY IN THEIR LIFE TIME, AND SUCH AS REMAIN IN THEM EVEN AFTER THEIR DEATH. THE OCCULT OR MAGICAL VIRTUE OF ALL THINGS, ETC. 1913 The Philosophy of Natural Magic By Henry Cornelius Agrippa. This edition was created and published by Global Grey ©GlobalGrey 2018 globalgreyebooks.com CONTENTS Agrippa Sublime Occult Philosophy Preface Early Life Of Cornelius Agrippa Cornelius Agrippa To The Reader Agrippa To Trithemius Trithemius To Agrippa THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL MAGIC Chapter 1. How Magicians Collect Virtues From The Three-Fold World Is Declared In These Three Books Chapter 2. What Magic Is, What Are The Parts Thereof, And How The Professors Thereof Must Be Qualified Chapter 3. Of The Four Elements, Their Qualities, And Mutual Mixtions Chapter 4. Of A Three-Fold Consideration Of The Elements Chapter 5. Of The Wonderful Natures Of Fire And Earth Chapter 6. Of The Wonderful Natures Of Water, Air And Winds Chapter 7. Of The Kinds Of Compounds, What Relation They Stand In To The Elements, And What Relation There Is Betwixt The Elements Themselves And The Soul, Senses And Dispositions Of Men Chapter 8. How The Elements Are In The Heavens, In Stars, In Devils, In Angels, And Lastly In God Himself Chapter 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Magician Or Witch?: Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
    MAGICIAN OR WITCH?: CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE'S DOCTOR FAUSTUS Michelle M. Matthews A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate college of Bowling Green State Univeristy in partial fulfillment of the requriments for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2006 Committee: Dr. Simon Morgan-Russell, Advisor Dr. Audrey Becker ii ABSTRACT Dr. Simon Morgan-Russell, advisor In this project, I look closely at the play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and its relationship to the witchcraft and magic debates that occurred in Early Modern Europe. Europe was alive with witch crazes in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; witches were considered a manifestation of diabolical evil, and accusations of supernatural power being used for the purposes of evil spread quickly as tortured captives, attempting to save themselves, agreed to implicate others as their cohorts. This same period saw a Neoplatonic revival among humanists who believed that by dedicating their lives to contemplation and humility with an overriding faith in God, they could access benevolent magic in order to improve the world. Even though there was a thriving debate among the elite population on what constituted a witch and the powers a witch possessed, humanists who promoted benevolent magic were often accused and condemned for witchcraft, their reputations never recovering. Doctor Faustus is unique in that it presents the dreams of the Neoplatonist philosophers for a benevolent magic at the same time as it portrays the behaviors associated with witches by both the general and elite population. By looking closely at the text and comparing it to orthodox treatises, popular beliefs, and the Neoplatonic writings, I argue in this paper that Faustus turns his back on God by committing sins such as signing a pact with the devil, uniting with a demon, mocking Christianity, and performing maleficium.
    [Show full text]