Hi,
I have the edition in question in front of me now -- the reason for Skinner's
stance in the introduction is a little unclear (I am being generous). He says
that the text, "The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy", is "often said" to be
"spurious" and that this is "repeated by one 'authority' after another". Skinner
points out, though, that a simple glance at the contents would "confirm that
only the first two treatises claim to be by Henry Cornelius Agrippa" (p. vii).
The two treatises in question are "Of Geomancy" and "Of Occult Philosophy, or of
Magical Ceremionies: The Fourth Book". Now, Skinner forwards no actual argument
as to why "Of Geomancy" should be attributed to Agrippa ( he writes as if there
is no question about the attribution) and, although mentioning Johannes Weir's
declaration that the "Of Occult Philosophy" "was not after the style of his
master" (p. viii) he refers to a later statement by Weir (not referenced)that in
fact "Agrippa wa so prolific that it was impossible to be sure exactly what
amongst posthumously published material was actually by him" (p. viii). That is
the sum total of the Skinner's argument.
Hope this helps.
Chris Miles
Quoting Daniel Harms <[log in to unmask]>:
> As close as I can come at the moment:
>
>
>
> "The so-called Fourth Book appeared in Latin some thirty years after
> Agrippa's death. Johann Weyer, a student of Agrippa's, denounced this
> work to be spurious (cf. Praestigiis Daemonum, 1563) and that evaluation
> has rarely been questioned. An exception to this is Stephen Skinner in
> his 1978 introduction to the facsimile edition published by Askin
> Publishers."
>
>
>
> http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa4.htm
>
>
>
> Does the introduction provide a reason for his statement that the Fourth
> Book should be attributed to Agrippa?
>
>
>
> Dan Harms
>
> Coordinator of Instruction Librarian
>
> SUNY Cortland Memorial Library
>
> P.O. Box 2000
> Cortland NY, 13045
>
> (607) 753-4042
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of jason winslade
> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 4:41 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Agrippa's 4th book
>
>
>
> Can anyone provide a quick reference to what the current scholarship is
> about the authorship of Agrippa's 4th book of Occult Philosophy? I know
> that it was considered spurious but Skinner's recent (2004) edition is
> now claiming it's authentic. Just looking for a footnote, really.
>
> thanks!
>
>
>
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