TRITHEMIUS, Johannes.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Liber octo questionum, Scarce first octavo edition, second overall, of this popular work on demonology and magic by one of the most prominent occultists of Renaissance Germany. Dedicated to Emperor Maximilian, the book addresses his concerns over magic and contains a detailed classification of demons. This copy has an appealing contemporary German ecclesiastic provenance and further signs of early readership.Johann Heidenberg (known as Trithemius after his native town, Trittenheim, 1462-1516) was a prolific writer on history, cryptography, and lexicography. Famous as a "magician" due to his occult inclinations, he identified himself as a "philomagus" (friend of magic) and admitted in a letter that "he himself has read many books of superstitious and even diabolical magic, but... this is necessary, if one is to learn to distinguish natural from illicit magic" (Thorndike, p. 550). In 1505, Tritemius met Emperor Maximilian I at the diet of Cologne, subsequently becoming his counsellor. Liber octo questionum ("Book of eight questions"), first published in 1515, was Trithemius's last work and contains his answers to eight theological questions the emperor asked him during their first meeting. Questions 3, 5, 6 and 7 concern witchcraft. They address miracles and whether they can be performed by magicians through pacts with demons, the source of magician's powers in relation to God and demons, and the justified existence of evil. The answer to question 6 (on "the power of witches")

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