DE VIERI, Francesco

by Francesco De Vieri

£4,250 · Offered by Sokol Books

First edition of this work on demons, familiar spirits, necromancers and other aspects of the occult by Francesco Vieri the Younger, called Verino (1524-1591). Born of a noble family, Verino taught at the University of Pisa, first holding a chair in Logic and later in Philosophy. He was a representative of Neoplatonism, who aimed at reconciling Paganism with Catholic theology, and a follower of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Most of his works were vernacular and include meditations on Plato s theology, Aristotelian meteorology and lectures on ethics, love and literature. The Discorso was inspired by an event in the Benedictine monastery of Sant Anna in Pisa. In 1574 some nuns showed typical signs of demonic possession (speaking Latin, revealing secrets and mysteries of faith). Verino was asked to study their affliction and the effectiveness of the rites of exorcism applied. The work was composed for the Archbishop of Pisa, Jacopo Borbone, and received the approval of the local Inquisition. Preliminaries are the dedication to the Venetian aristocrat Bianca Cappello, an address from the printer and a list of sources, including the Fathers of the Church, Dante, Pythagoras, Hermes Trismegistus and the Platonic philosophers, such as Pico and Marsilio Ficino. Part 1 contains an introduction and provides an exhaustive explanation of the concept of demon , merging Aristotelian, Platonic and Catholic arguments. Verino lists three meanings: the demon mentioned by Socrates, or the inner

• Binding: Hardcover

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