La dignità magica. Magia e dignificatio hominis nell’opera di Giovanni Tritemio e di Cornelio Agrippa di Nettesheim

Abstract

The present work starts from the desire to deepen the figure and thought of two leading exponents of the ‘magical’ or ‘occult’ Renaissance in a Germanic milieu: Johannes Trithemius and Cornelius Agrippa. Both located in a chronological and conceptual horizon, on the one hand conditioned by the legacy of Florentine neo-Platonism and the rediscovery of the hermetic-kabbalistic thought that took place between the 15th and 16th centuries, and on the other hand anticipating the variety of authors related to the later theosophical and alchemic current (17th and 18th centuries), Trithemius and Agrippa are examined as the greatest exponents of a ‘ceremonial’, ‘divine’, or ‘high’ magic. Focusing mainly on the key concepts of dignitas and dignificatio hominis, the dissertation aims to analyze an important part of the work of both authors in order to deepen their reflection on magic in the framework of a profound meditation on man and his creative potential in a supernatural sense. The first section focuses primarily on the historical-biographical determination of the figure of Agrippa. A part on critical literature follows. The section closes with a detailed presentation aimed at identifying the working hypothesis on which the dissertation is based. The second section is dedicated to the presentation of the Abbot Trithemius and his magical conception through an in-depth analysis of original texts. The main purpose of the second section is to deepen the nature of the intellectual relationship between the Abbot and Agrippa, especially with regard to the influence that the former might have had on the latter as regards the formulation of a particular kind of theurgic magic. Finally, the third section consists of a careful analysis of some fundamental steps taken from the Book III of De occulta philosophia by Cornelius Agrippa. The notion of ‘divine magic’ is examined in depth. The fundamental lines of an ‘occult’ anthropology are carefully reconstructed. The central part of the section is dedicated to examining the concept of dignificatio in Agrippa. Taken by the author as initiatory “key” (clavis) whose possession guarantees the comprehension of the whole work, the dignificatio constitutes the most eminent arcane, as well as a factor of major peculiarity as well as speculative and operative depth of the De occulta philosophia. [edited by Author]